buying laptop - advice

ogy

first of all sorry if this is the wrong place to be asking this stuff, i checked for stickys and there was only the one about buying components etc., and there was a similar thread but it wasnt too informative

basically im planning on buying a laptop soon and im looking for some advice on best place to buy and queries on some features cos i havent a clue really:
definite requirements:
-512mb (dont mind 2 x 256)
-dvd burner
-tv-out
-HD minimum 40gb ideally 60gb

i get the impression celeron=bad but what are the benefits of p4 vs centrino?
not too bothered about wirelessness cos have a decent connection at home but itd be nice to have if it didnt hike up price too much. And will i be pissed off in a year or so due to the difference between 2x256 and 1x512 or is it nothing major

bits i dont i have a clue about:
-display xga/wxga etc?
-dvd burner all this +/-/RW/R stuff?
-other specs after p4/centrino eg 725/755/etc

main uses:
-usualy basic stuff word/downloading and music/video/basic desktop publishing/interwebbing
-running music programs like reason/cubase/cool edit etc.
-no gaming so not too worried about graphics card or anything and bog standard sound card will do for now planning upgrade later

***Important bit*** i know someone will advise to buy from jes.de or somehwere on net but i need somewhere i can pay a couple of hundred up front and then installments for a couple of months like dell/compustore(rip)/pc world. Hoping to not have to go more then €1300-€1500.

The way im thinking i can do all the stuff i want on this p3 128mb dinosaur it just doesnt run quite as smoothly as i like but its reasonably competent so i reckon upgrading to something like the above should cover my needs so hassle

appreciate any advice!
ógy

Tom Dunne

ogy wrote:

i get the impression celeron=bad but what are the benefits of p4 vs centrino?

P4 is a desktop processor - plenty of horsepower, but no consideration for battery. You can put a desktop processor in a laptop (mine's a P4 3.2Ghz), but you will get at best 1 and a half to 2 hours (I get barely two).

Centrino on the other hand, are specifically designed for laptops. The core speed drops down when on battery to save power (they normally run around 1.5Ghz). I have a work laptop that is Centrino and I get at least three hours on battery and that is with wireless networking on. Which leads me onto wireless - the Centrino brand is really a package of a lower power processor along with wireless equipment built into the laptop. You would not typically see a Centrino package in a desktop (though technically, there is nothing to stop a manufacturer from doing this).

TBH, unless you do some really heavy duty work, you will not notice the difference in processing between a Centrino laptop and a 2-3Ghz laptop. The only real difference you will notice is in battery life - only you can decide if that is worth the trade-off.

It sounds like you need to go the Dell route - for financing. Have you considered simply taking out a bank load to buy a decent spec laptop? You will pay through the nose for finance through the likes of Dell, a bank loan would work out cheaper.

Rew

More mhz does not mean more power, look at AMD vs Intel vs Apple. Intel brought in the new model number system to get away from mhz comparsions.

Centrino is a mobile CPU built from the ground up. Its a completly new CPU. The P4 is a desktop CPU. The P4M is the mobile version of that CPU (smaller, less heat and less power sucking) but is bascly just a revsion on the desktop CPU. Centrino chips preform extreamly well against P4M's of much higher clock speed (even in games *shock/horror*).

Have a look at this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=193682

Iv posted a few benchmarks that show Centrino preformance v's the P4M.

The Centrino should pregorm very well with you music apps due to the 2mb L2 cache. Haveing a decent battery comes in ver handy as well.

There are a few desktop Centrion machines, really small form factor PC's. Intel plan on a new version of Centrion next year that will include its Hyper Threading tech and they also plan to move Centrion technology in to their desktop systems to get more power without going higher with the clock speed.

DVS burners:

Dell will only sell you a DVD+ drive, alot of the othes will sell you a DVD+/-. The diferance is when you burn a DVD or one standard or the other it will only play in drives that read that standard. The PS2 for example wont play a movie on a DVD+ disc. The DVD Reader/CD Writer in my laptop wont play DVD- discs. Basicly decide what do you want the DVD-Writer for and check if it will acept DVD + or - or both.

Screen:

Diferant screens will show diferant resolutions. If I were you id go wide screen but TBH it dosnt really matter, just get the best you can afford.

dawballz

im looking for a new laptop also but although i cannot afford it at the moment i'm waiting til i can afford it then i will possibly go with cyberport.de specifically the fujitsu-siemens amilo a 1630(1640?). Plenty of AMD power, excellent graphics and 80 gig HD.

sceptre

Non-technical comment but I'd advise taking a careful look at the weight of any notebook you're thinking of buying. Many people have been tempted to buy the fastest speed demon they can lay their hands on (I've fallen into this hole myself) but if you're planning on actually travelling with it under an arm or in a bag over your shoulder you'll want something you can actually carry for longer than ten minutes. I'm going to get a new one in the next year (depending on funds and whether they're there) and given that I don't need something fast enough to run two copies of Doom3 at once (and from what you've said, neither do you), with the result that it generates enough heat to fry an egg with bugger-all battery time, I'm going to get something I can carry for most of a day under an arm. Do yourself a favour and think along the same lines.

As for financing, getting a bank loan will be much cheaper if you can do that - your typical financing company will charge you well over 20% whereas a bank loan will be half that.

That's the end of the non-techy stuff probably.