First time laptop buyer

helpmeplease

I want to buy a new laptop, as I need one for work.

However, I will also be using it for multimedia. This is where I need help.

I will be storing lots of music and video files, as well as photos.

I have a 1tb external hard drive already, but what are the main system requirements that I should be looking out for? I want it to be pretty fast, my home PC is incredibly slow, it drives me nuts.


Thanks in advance.

leninbenjamin

what's you're budget? and how important is portability to you?

for multimedia and that I'd normally recommend getting a 17'', but these are typically twice as heavy as 13''

helpmeplease

Sorry, I should have specified. I want to try to stay under 700 euros if possible.

Portability is not hugely important, I would want a 15 inch screen at least.

leninbenjamin

ok, for that anyway you should be able to get a

512MB Graphics Card (ATI 4570 or Nvidia 9600m),
4GB ram,
250 or 320 HDD,
a 2.2 or 2.4Ghz Core2Duo (keep away from Pentium Dualcore, look out for Core2Duo's with the code P8xxx or T9xxx if possible)

those are kinda the specs i'd look for.

if you're looking for blu-ray, sometimes you can see the Sony FW range available on offer in places, they'd do what you want, but I think they'd push you over your budget a bit (might have to pay €900 or so).

best value I've seen lately for your kind of specs though have been the Dell Vostro range. Have a look at the 1720 (just note that prices dont include VAT as they are in the small business section of the site). Maybe something like this:

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=ie&cs=iebsdt1&kc=N4X17203&l=en&m_30=143330&oc=N1017207&rbc=N1017207&s=bsd

The other one to look out for would be the Acer Aspire, sometimes those 16'' and 17'' laptops can be had for great value in some of the usual retail outlets. Actually, this Acer in Argos of all places isn't the worst value:

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5081471/c_1/1|category_root|Office%2C+PCs+and+phones|14572996/c_2/2|cat_14572996|Laptops+and+mini+laptops|14573068.htm

not as good a processor as the Vostro though.

none

These were the main models I considered last year. I got the first one (because it came first on eBay) but the other two were also in contention.

Sony Vaio AW11Z/B
Acer Aspire 8930G
Fujitsu Siemens AMILO Xi 3650

What is important for me in DTR (desktop replacement) notebooks:
* Screen size & resolution (at least 17"/1280*1024)
* Multiplicity of conventional interfaces (USB, Firewire)
* Multiplicity of supported card formats (SD, CF, MS, XD)
* Capacious HD (at least 320GB)
* Enough RAM (at least 3GB)
* Web camera
* Feedback

Yes, if I buy something of this caliber, it is normally for at least 3 years.

leninbenjamin

none wrote: »

These were the main models I considered last year. I got the first one (because it came first on eBay) but the other two were also in contention.

Sony Vaio AW11Z/B
Acer Aspire 8930G
Fujitsu Siemens AMILO Xi 3650

all of those models are overpriced. And indeed, the Acer, the only one that falls in the OPS budget category is €100 more expensive for a model that has a weaker processor than the one I linked to... maybe peripherals are important to some people, but not to me. I prefer to buy an external card reader/monitor/HDD/blu-ray (if i need it) and keep my cash in my pocket.

oh and don't buy of laptopsdirect. They have an appalling reputation.

none wrote: »

Yes, if I buy something of this caliber, it is normally for at least 3 years.

All laptops should last 3 years tbh. Doesn't matter the 'calibre'. my €700 Vostro has lasted me 2 so far and frankly i expect another 2.

none

My Aspire 1700 served me more than 5 years and only this years started to show its age. I said more than 3 but in fact I was more hinting at closer to 5 My first laptop (Gateway Solo) is 8 years old and still very usable, by the way:)

Those models you linked to have worse screen size and resolution and for me, as I pointed out, this is critical. Number one factor, in fact.

You can indeed buy something which your PC doesn't have but who would argue that having this built-in isn't better? I don't advise paying over the odds for some built-in trendy gadget, all I'm saying you need to keep an eye on what you need and look for models where this can be already present.

And I never buy or recommend Dell - they are my second worst computer brand (after HP).

none

With regard to laptopsdirect. They just have the biggest database, that's why I use them as a reference.

When I bought a laptop for my wife last year, they delivered next day. Literally. Without any special requests or anything like this.

When I was hunting for the 3G version of Samsung NC10, they suddenly showed it in stock. After ordering, I waited almost for two weeks before cancelling it and losing more than a tenner on currency exchange.

You see, it's 50/50 for me and I suspect it's roughly like this for others. It's like Ryanair of the retail market - nobody (openly) praises them but many use them (behind the scenes).

leninbenjamin

the Vostro is 1440x900. If having a 1080p screen is important to you, then it's only €121 extra. Still better value for the specs you're getting than any model you've listed.

Secondly, as for the reliability of Dell vs Hp. vs Acer vs. Sony vs. whoever... doesn't make a whit in my opinion. At the end of the day it's an Intel CPU and chipset (primarily), Nvidia or ATI graphics, generic HDD, generic DVD drive, generic Wifi card... the internals are largely the same across brands. I've generally not found much a difference really in terms of reliability. Not enough at least to warrant me paying more for a particular brand.

Overheal

1080 should not be a primary for a laptop purchase if you ask me. Displays are expensive enough. Wait till you drop one, and have to replace it.

External drive is going to do most of the work for you. Get your internal drive based on RPM and cache if that information is available at the point of sale. 5400 is standard, but 7200 will give you faster loading times. cache sizes on the CPU will also factor in to your PC's responsiveness.

Keep in mind your home pc might be slow because it simply needs maintenance. it takes someone with practice about an hour to optimize a PC if theres not something terribly wrong with it. Just run CCleaner, trim down services and startup through msconfig, etc.

helpmeplease

External drive is going to do most of the work for you. Get your internal drive based on RPM and cache if that information is available at the point of sale. 5400 is standard, but 7200 will give you faster loading times. cache sizes on the CPU will also factor in to your PC's responsiveness.

How do I find out this info? Should it be listed on the spec of the machines that I am looking at?

Leninbenjamin, that Dell Vostro seems to be good, thanks for the link.

Can anyone tell me why Dell has such a bad reputation though??

I have spent the last 20 minutes casually looking. Here is what I have found so far:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-15-6-inch-Laptop-Premium/dp/B0027FFU2O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1255343823&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-15-6-inch-DVD-RW-Premium/dp/B002IVTTJC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1255343823&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-17-inch-Pentium-Dual-Core-Premium/dp/B0027FFU4M/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1255343823&sr=1-24

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.206-1699.aspx



I would be grateful if anyone could give their opinions on the suitability of these laptops, bearing in mind that I will need it for work (therefore Microsoft Office/Word) plus media (music, movies, internet, all the usual).

Plus I was also looking at the two suggested by leninbenjamin.

Which would be the best option?

Voodu Child

helpmeplease wrote: »

Can anyone tell me why Dell has such a bad reputation though??

They don't. I would say their reputation is pretty normal or average.

leninbenjamin

helpmeplease wrote: »

How do I find out this info? Should it be listed on the spec of the machines that I am looking at?

It should be listed on the technical specifications.

helpmeplease wrote: »

Can anyone tell me why Dell has such a bad reputation though??

Some people have had bad experiences and Dell are very popular. Put that together and it means you're more likely to hear of a Dell going wrong than any other brand even though there's very little difference.

We've had Dell's in my house way back as far as i can remember (90-91 being the first). Over the years i'd say we've had 7 different machines, 3 desktops and 4 laptops (soon to be 5). We've had one failure, a laptop went after it was about 2.5 years old due to something wrong with the power supply.

I think in recent years Dell's failure rates have gone up though, but I've almost always found it to be mostly the high end stuff that's affected. This is because Dell cut corners on the cooling solutions, so it's something to beware of. For that reason I'd never bother with an XPS or similarly expensive range with Dell, but nothing would stop me getting a mid range Vostro or Inspiron like you're after.

helpmeplease wrote: »

I have spent the last 20 minutes casually looking. Here is what I have found so far:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-15-6-inch-Laptop-Premium/dp/B0027FFU2O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1255343823&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Aspire-15-6-inch-DVD-RW-Premium/dp/B002IVTTJC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1255343823&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-17-inch-Pentium-Dual-Core-Premium/dp/B0027FFU4M/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1255343823&sr=1-24

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.206-1699.aspx

The big thing about those is that neither of them have a dedicated graphics card (at least there's no mention of them on Amazon). Integrated graphics should be fine for what you're doing, but it can struggle a little with HD content. So considering you wanna get 3 years plus out of that laptop i'd look for a graphics card to future proof it a little.

Overheal

Dell has very high volume of sales. Complaints are an inevitability. I will however note their MX line has gotten an abnormally high volume of issues and complaints from what Ive read.

If you dont need it, Dedicated GPUs are a little more power hungry even idle. Even then, I could name a few nvidia cards to avoid like the plague. Unless youre a gamer who has no desktop machine, you can do without it.

I think manufacturers have woken up to the heating issues though - everyone was competing to make the fastest laptops; and failure rates went through the roof. We're now down to who can make the smallest, cheapest, lightest and quietest netbooks and mid range laptops. I suspect thats why there has been little shift from 2ghz dual core in the last 2+ years.

If it doesnt mention it you can assume the Hard drive is 5400rpm which is the common standard. 7400 is again, one of these things that consumes a smidge more juice and generates a little more heat. Trade off in speed might be worth it to you though.

helpmeplease

Someone just recommended MSI to me. Anyone have any opinion on them? Can't say I have heard of them before.

http://www.komplett.ie/k/kl.aspx?bn=11156&mfr=MSI&gclid=CLKXltOluJ0CFUxs4wodEnVzkQ