I need a new laptop - what do you use?

[JanC]

Hi everyone,

I need a new laptop. I mainly use mine for image processing, email and web with some admin stuff but the image processing capability is the key issue. Storage is not an issue as I use external hard drives.

What do you use - recommend or advise to give a wide birth too?

[mikeleslie]

I use a Dell Inspiron 9400 which has a 17" screen. I opted for the glossy WUXGA+ screen and I love it. It's my main computer.

Although I expect the Apple fan boys will be along shortly to recommend a macbook pro, however the Dell costs about £700 which is about the same cost as a macbook pro's power supply :D

One other thing to note is the Inspiron 9400 will probably be out of production in a month or so and replaced with a Santa Rosa based 17".

[-Oy-]

Hi - Apple fan boy here :)

A Macbook pro is a lot more expensive than a Dell Inspiron. In the same way that a Ferrari is more expensive than a Ford Escort :)

My advice - go to your nearest Apple Store and try one. Or maybe the cheaper smaller Macbook - they start at £699.

If you want to go the PC route - Dell laptops are an excellent choice.

[Venomator]

Dell Inspiron 6400 ... 15.4" Wide Screen all to my own spec ... :love: ... but purchased through an ebaY re-seller who was exceptionally helpful ... :D

And Dell's after sales and technical support just cannot be faulted ... :clap: ... they are superb imgo ... :thumbs:





HTH Jan ... ;)



:p

[JanC]

I've been looking at the cheapest macbook at £669 from comet.
http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/product.do?sku=369780&tab=specification

could a mac fan tell me if this has enough oomph to do the job?

[mikeleslie]

Hi - Apple fan boy here :)

A Macbook pro is a lot more expensive than a Dell Inspiron. In the same way that a Ferrari is more expensive than a Ford Escort :)


Ferrari's need expensive servicing and there is only a handful of garages in the UK that do it properly. :D

Actually I really like Macs, just cannot justify the high price. £650 for my laptop £1800+ for the similar spec macbook.

[mikeleslie]

I've been looking at the cheapest macbook at £669 from comet.
http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/product.do?sku=369780&tab=specification

could a mac fan tell me if this has enough oomph to do the job?

Nope, you need another 1.5gb of memory to make photoshop fly. Also I am sure you can get a better deal than that going to apple.com/uk.

You can also look at their refurb store, most of the products are like new and have a full warranty. In fact they have a better spec one on there now for £679 and I am sure there is a discount code somewhere on the net to give you a few ££ off that.

[SeanBoyce]

Jan C,Looking at a Toshiba A-205-S4567,has 2g Ram,120g Hard drive,will be my first labtop and its not too expensive.Good luck in your Choice. Sean

[digitalfailure]

Dell 6000 here as a lappy

up spec on the screen, gfx and battery and it's rather spiffing :D

[ppp]

if you get one just make sure it has a Core2Duo processor in it

[Sharkey]

http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/ukstore.woa/6044040/wo/Zu69I0QGMdrU2AuZJ2h1yamyU0U/2.?p=0

This is the UK Apple page for the machine I think you are quoting. You'll see its up spec on the one you are looking at for the same price. As to whether man enough.
Gaming - Not the best but Ok for fun players.
Aperture - Not the best but will run fine.
PS etc - Yes absolute s**t hot on PS3 (2gig ram preferred)
Everything else pretyy damn good.
Yes they are more expensive but performance/reliability versus £ is exceptional.

Highly recommended.

[da8iwr]

Just to add about the apple idea, if you know anybody who works at an education establishment, IE, School or Uni, you get about 20-40% knocked off the price of any Apple products.

My Fiance works at the University of Sunderland and we bought my Laptop that way.

Maybe just try and blag it and say you used to work there or still do and wonder if you can get the discount.

For example if you call up Lloyd's TSB insurance, and say you work in a call centre in Sunderland or Glasgow, you get the 20% staff discount there as well. I used to work in one as a student and left in 2001, but still say I'm staff, and they never ask for any form of proof.

Just an idea :)

[CarlOgden]

If you go the Apple route, stick with the standard memory and buy extra from Crucial or some company like that, you'll save loads.

I've got the 13" white macbook for its portability, run with 1.2Gb ram and it's fine for office/PS2. Would be faster with 2Gb but I'll get that in due course.

If you want Office, just go into PC World and get the Student edition, 3 licenses for £109 is what I paid for it.

Carl.

[AdWright]

If you want Office, just go into PC World and get the Student edition, 3 licenses for £109 is what I paid for it.

Or check if your employer is a member of the Microsoft Home User Program - £17.50 is what I paid for Office 2004!

[desantnik]

I've currently got an IBM Thinkpad.

Had several of them over the years and have always thought they were one of the best "portable computers" (they are no longer "laptops" after someone burnt themselves on one that was on their lap - seriously, have a look at what yours is labelled as!!). Rugged, reliable, ergonomic and most importantly relatively light weight! I have dragged mine all over the world!

This one is only a T43, but plenty fast enough for what I do with it...RAM is the key, spend your money on 2Gb and it will fly!

[ps2user]

Had a dell xps m1210 but found the 12" screen too small and resolution too low so i returned it and got a dell XPS M1710 with 17" glossy WUXGA. Its a big beast but the high resolution helps a lot and i calibrate the screen with a Panatone Huey :)

One thing i would suggest is to use XP instead of Vista as i find vista is slower and uses more resources than XP. My M1710 is C2D 2.16Ghz 2gig Ram 256MB Graphics card and XP runs more quicker and allows more resources for your other apps. Then again thats my opinion before i get flamed :)

I've added a sandisk extreme 3 SD card as a readyboost and can't find much difference