What Laptop & More ? [Archive]

Venomator

16-05-2006, 11:16

Hi all - one or two for the techies among us;

I am currently using a Tosh Tecra laptop that I have to return in a few months.

For reasons I will not bore you with here I think a laptop is necessary for my purposes rather than a desktop ... for now and the forseeable at least !

My questions are; :help: please !

1. Having searched the various forae here I am still undecided what laptop to go for... :shrug: doh I know !
a. For working/travelling purposes I need to have XP Professional and full MS Office suite and wireless and, preferably Bluetooth connectivity .
b. For own use I need, obviously speed, capability and storage for photography and wireless broadband internet access.
c. Budget = I don't really want to afford more than around £800 or so ?

2. Once I have my new toy I will need to transfer all files and stuff, including set-up/formats (?) from this one to the new kit;
a. What/how is the best way to go about this please ?

3. After all of the above I feel it my duty to wipe the slate completely clean :naughty:
a. Is this easy in terms of wiping out everything on the Tosh ?

I hope you can/will be able to offer advice and pointers in resolving these few quandaries and thank you all in advance for both reading and, where you do for helping in any way no matter how small. :thankyou:

Finally, Site Staff - as technically our 'puters are accessories to our hobby/profession I have posted in C, L & A but if this is not correct please feel free to move me on ! :shrug:

Many thanx for any help/advice you can offer !

matty

16-05-2006, 12:29

if you have the original OP that came with the laptop, either reinstall it or recover the partition, that will nuke it.

I have a IBM thinkpad that does a fine job, no idea of the spec, will check it out when i get home

you want memory and a larger HDD, that will do it

before you nuke the old one, use the files and settings transfer wizard that uncle bill built into his software, that will make that side of it very simple and quick to undertake

Venomator

16-05-2006, 12:38

Cheers Matty, will bank the info ! :thumbs:

Have been looking at the Thinkpads most recently and quite like the look of them. Next up, in order were probably Sony and Dell. :thinking:

Previous threads on the Laptop/Desktop debate were quite helpful in this respect but didn't really answer all the choice issues. :shrug:

RobertP

16-05-2006, 13:53

For everyday use you want something with a big enough screen.....for travelling you want small and light so 1st decision.

Not sure why you need XP pro instead of home that most come with.

Personally I'd just watch the bargains sites for a brand and spec that I liked on a special offer and get that.

If you have many Gigs of photo files etc on the outgoing laptop you may want to network them and copy your files across first. Long time since I used the transfer wizard - I know it got email details across Ok but can't remember if it could do personal data files.

I used a small downloaded program called 'boot and nuke' on the outgoing PCs at work. It comes as an ISO that you use to burn a bootable CD. Once booted you confirm and it proceeds to wipe and write and wipe again the hard drive so it is erased and not recoverable. If you want to return the laptop working then use the restore CD (assuming it has one :) )

Venomator

16-05-2006, 14:13

Thanks for the comments Robert; :)

Screen size needs to be workable - transportability is secondary to workability.

XP Pro purely for compatibility/workability factors ... not 'spert in either just hedging bets and going with what I am used to ? Do you reckon it makes no difference ?

I will explore networking as it is not just pics I have there are loads of excel, word, powerpoint, outlook and project files too - some very large too ! :eek:

Will look at 'boot & nuke' when the time comes, thanx for the tip. It does not need to be 'working' when I return it. ;)

Thanks again for taking the time to respond ! :thumbs:

RobertP

16-05-2006, 14:38

Hard to imagine there is anything in XP pro that you would notice missing in home version - I don't for anything that I do.

If you are a gamer that will change your hardware decisions as a decent graphics card in a laptop tends to push the price up.

As to networking if you are using a wireless router for your internet access then its just a few settings to get two laptops talking on a network.

namllihs

16-05-2006, 15:15

I can reccomend Dell, go onto their website add the bits you want and get a price. Got mine last month, ordered it online 22:30 on Wed, delivered 12:00 Fri.
HTH

Venomator

16-05-2006, 15:58

I can reccomend Dell, go onto their website add the bits you want and get a price. Got mine last month, ordered it online 22:30 on Wed, delivered 12:00 Fri.
HTH

Thanx S Hillman ! ;)
Out of interest - what model and build did you go for ?

If you are a gamer that will change your hardware decisions as a decent graphics card in a laptop tends to push the price up.

Thanx Robert ... not a gamer and useful to know 'Home' may be OK - keeps the options a tad more flexible. :)

DJW

16-05-2006, 16:34

Well I've had Thinkpads for years now, working for IBM. Last one was a T43 from memory...just the right size, good battery life, good ergonomics.....very good & reliable, apart from HD which failed after a 18 months....although I was using it 10hrs+ Mon- Friday every day. Just make sure whichever model you choose has a DVD writer to backup thos critical files ;)

namllihs

16-05-2006, 16:47

Inspiron 1300: 1.5ghz processor,15.4 inch screen 512mb RAM:bang: (wish i'd got 1024mb) 80gb hard disk

combo DVD/CD burner built in Wi-Fi and 10/100 network adapters. PC Express card slot.

what I liked was the way you could add and subtract features and get an updated price and compare different specs.

whitewash

16-05-2006, 17:43

i just bought an acer aspire 1644WLMi, seems fine from where im sitting

RobertP

16-05-2006, 18:46

My wife has an Acer widescreen. She always puts it down one side first. The USB plug touches down first and that has been enough to break the socket mount so it needs to go back.

That said I've not read of many faults with Acer but they do tend to be basic machines.

whitewash

16-05-2006, 18:59

spec on mine-
2 ghz m760 processor
1gb ram
100gb HDD
15.4" screen

not exactly basic but it wasnt too pricey, its also reasonably light

Steep

16-05-2006, 19:25

From RobertPs post in suppliers and shopping
Dell inspiron 9400 £821.33 delivered
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=N05942

Original thread here.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=6100

Ross

16-05-2006, 21:01

Try the Dell factory outlet for big savings - all the kit is fully refurbished and tested and has full warranty as well

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=uk&l=en&s=dfo&~ck=bt

Gemok

16-05-2006, 21:39

depending on how long you can wait register on www.hotukdeals.com and set up the "deal alerts" to email you about laptop offers saw a admitedly low spec dell for £299 not that long ago

Venomator

16-05-2006, 23:01

Well guys, such a great response so far - I really appreciate all your inputs; :clap:

DJW - like the looks a lot Dave, but the T43 starts over £1K and then is only 512 RAM :shrug: you must get 'em discounted/free ?

Namllihs - Thanx, you can always upgrade very easily !

Whitewash - Doesn't look half bad actually and worth the melting pot !

Steep - Thanx for the links, I keep coming back to the Inspirons ! (had seen the TPF thread earlier) :thumbs:

Evilowl - Great new site for me to keep an eye on, thanx ! ;)

Gemok - Thanx for the reminder, I have a little time so can watch this one for a bit ! :)

Again all your help is much appreciated - :thankyou: but keep it coming ?

whitewash

16-05-2006, 23:08

Whitewash - Doesn't look half bad actually and worth the melting pot !

its nice looking, its quick, the screen is "the sex" (its all shiney!), my only annoyance with it is one small keyboard layou thing (*** im not use to laptops!) and the fact that there are 2 buttons on the front, one for wireless and one for bluetooth, these enable or disable the fucntionality, when im lying with the laptop on my lap with my feet on the table i keep accidentally disabling the wifi!:bonk:

Hacker

17-05-2006, 07:44

Great information here as I will also be looking for a new laptop soon due to probable redundancy.

V, if you want to 'wipe the slate clean' use something like evidence eliminator where the paths to all deleted items, favourites, cookies etc etc is wiped over, just re-formatting will not get rid of stuff you don't want other people to see or find. Forensic software, which a lot of companies have, will find it quite easily.

Biggus

17-05-2006, 09:32

I've just got an Asus A6KM laptop (http://uk.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=5&l2=24&l3=0&model=794&modelmenu=1) as a replacement for my old one which fell down the stairs with me, and it's very good.

Spec is...
AMD Turion64 MT-32 (25w) 1.8GHz
512Mb PC2700 DDR (in 1 of the 2 slots)
80Gb Hitachi 5400rpm HD
8x dual layer DVDRW
64Mb Nvidia Go 7300 w/Turbocache (256Mb)
15.4" widescreen 1280x800 w/Color Shine
1.3Mp webcam
10/100/1000 LAN
54g wireless
Bluetooth
4x USB 2.0
1x Firewire
SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro card reader (why dont they ever put CF on?)
XP Home
2yr global wty (std)
Asus Bag
Asus optical mouse

Having looked around cost is about £700, and I'm going to upgrade the RAM to 1Gb with another stick of 512Mb from Crucial for under £40. I'll get 2x 1Gb sticks when the price comes down a bit as it's £93 a stick.

The gfx seems perfectly capable of running Age of Empires 3 & World of Warcraft with only turning down settings like water reflections etc. (even the Nv6800 on 2nd PC has to do that), although gaming is what I want it for.

Battery has lasted a minimum 2hrs each time up to about 3hrs, which is pretty good IMHO, and could probably last a little longer if power settings were lowered. Takes about 4hrs to charge while switched on, 2.5hrs when not.

Great keyboard with no flex and has a fairly normal layout.

noah

17-05-2006, 12:49

has anyone tried the 15.4 inch dell inspirons as they seeem to have an option to have a 1600x1080 screen res which would be nice to have?

mfwild13

17-05-2006, 13:12

has anyone tried the 15.4 inch dell inspirons as they seeem to have an option to have a 1600x1080 screen res which would be nice to have?That'll be me then - Inspiron 6000. Very happy with laptop and screen.

Gandhi

17-05-2006, 13:48

DJW

17-05-2006, 14:12

This looks quite good for the dosh :-

ThinkPad Z60m Widescreen
Intel Celeron M Processor 370 (1.50GHz)
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
512MB Memory
Multi-Burner (DVD/RW CD/RW)
Modem and Integrated Gigabit Ethernet
80GB Hard Disk Drive
15.4” WXGA TFT/1280x800
Intel Centrino Mobile Technology 802.11 (a/b/g) Wireless
Fingerprint Reader
Integrated 915GM graphics up to 128MB
Bluetooth
Li-Ion battery life up to 4 hrs (6-cell)
Travel weight: 2.9kg

£702 here (http://www.digitalkingdom.co.uk/INU_products/INU_ProdDetailsL4.ASP?ref=M8524054)

Needs memory upgraded to 1GB, but the firewire is good if you have DVI video camera. Widescreen is miles better for PS work. You can also watch widescreen DVDs, plus with S-Video output you can drive your TV. Also has built in 3-1 digital media reader from what I can see

Venomator

17-05-2006, 15:02

Kellie has an ASUS aspire, not sure of the model number nut it was under 700 notes. 1gb, 100 gb H/d, mobile celeron processor (yeuch) wifi etc. Tis very good for the money but the battery life and screen are absolute gash. Maybe 2 hours off the battery with the wireless on and the screen is extremely sensitive to viewing angles!

I would imagine you're going to be doing editing on it, so the screen would have to be major factor surely?

Thanx for the comments Ghandi - much appreciated ! :thumbs:

Do you mean Acer Aspire ? Sounds like you're not keen on Celeron - why ? :thinking:

And yes the screen will be one of the main concerns ... ? :shrug:

Cheers,

Venomator

17-05-2006, 15:10

This looks quite good for the dosh :-

ThinkPad Z60m Widescreen

Needs memory upgraded to 1GB, but the firewire is good if you have DVI video camera. Widescreen is miles better for PS work. You can also watch widescreen DVDs, plus with S-Video output you can drive your TV. Also has built in 3-1 digital media reader from what I can see

Thanks a lot for the detail and linky Dave ... I will check this one out too !

This is great ... so many choices now ... will have to start shortlisting soon but I am sure there is still input to come and it is quite useful for other members too !

Cheers again,

Venomator

17-05-2006, 15:14

I've just got an Asus A6KM laptop (http://uk.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=5&l2=24&l3=0&model=794&modelmenu=1) as a replacement for my old one which fell down the stairs with me, and it's very good.

Hope you recovered from the fall better than your last laptop ? ;)

Many thanks for the spec and link Biggus ... I have spent some time exploring their site and I have to say, never having heard of them I am a little impressed ! ;)

Has anyone else got one or know of this manufacturer - good or otherwise ? :shrug:

RobertP

17-05-2006, 15:26

Has anyone else got one or know of this manufacturer - good or otherwise ? :shrug:

I have always used Asus motherboards in the computers I have built and have never had a failure or problem with any of them - no idea if the same carries over to laptops :)

Ross

17-05-2006, 17:59

I would steer clear of Asus laptops going on past experience with them. Strangely their motherboards are excellent though.

The only laptop brands I would spend my own money on are:

Apple
Sony
IBM
Compaq
Dell

whitewash

17-05-2006, 18:24

do apple laptops scratch as easily as their ipods do? (i.e you just have to look at them and they form a scratch..)

Venomator

18-05-2006, 08:23

I would steer clear of Asus laptops going on past experience with them. Strangely their motherboards are excellent though.

Thanx for contributing Evilowl ! :thumbs:

If the motherboards are so good what experiences have put you off ? :thinking:

And, of your preferred list ... what sits on your workstation ?

Ross

18-05-2006, 17:58

do apple laptops scratch as easily as their ipods do? (i.e you just have to look at them and they form a scratch..)
My girlfriends 15" G4 Powerbook is very scratch resistant, not a single mark after 18 months hard use.

Thanx for contributing Evilowl ! :thumbs:

If the motherboards are so good what experiences have put you off ? :thinking:

And, of your preferred list ... what sits on your workstation ?
Mainly the warranty claims and the technical support. The hardware is not actually bad in itself.

Of my list, I have a Sony S2XP and, as I mentioned above, my girlfriend has an Apple Powerbook. Both are excellent machines and worthy of their price tags (around £1800 each brand new 18 months ago) although the Onyx black screen of my Sony spanks the Apple screen from here to next week.

Slightly out of your budget I know - but I wouldn't hesitate to spend the same on them again in the future.

If you can get down to London then I can recommend you take a stroll down Tottenham Court Road and check out every single laptop available on the market in one place...but then go away and buy online!

Venomator

18-05-2006, 20:50

If you can get down to London then I can recommend you take a stroll down Tottenham Court Road and check out every single laptop available on the market in one place...but then go away and buy online!

I might just do that EO ... thanx for the tip !

And as for Sony ... popped into local Sony shop and came across their VGN-FE11 H for a shade under £900 ! Cannot find it for this on the net ... and nearly succumbed !

And seriously impressed with the machine, especially the screen ... :p and had Vaio before the Tosh I have now so I know they are OK.

:thinking: :shrug:

noah

18-05-2006, 21:01

That'll be me then - Inspiron 6000. Very happy with laptop and screen.
sorely tempted myself. these are definately worth a look ven, unless you don't like things too small on the screen

Venomator

18-05-2006, 21:11

sorely tempted myself. these are definately worth a look ven, unless you don't like things too small on the screen

Thanx Noah ... As it happens I had this one up on a HotDeal.uk screen !

What do you mean by too small on screen Noah ? :thinking:

15.4" Wide Screen UltraSharpTM WXGA (1280 x 800) LCD Panel < this was a pasty btb NOT a pastie !?! :lol:

This seems to be the same for all 15.4 wides ? :shrug:

mfwild13

18-05-2006, 21:31

Most widescreen laptops are 16:10 format. The standard 1280 x 800 are great for watching DVDs/TV etc on the laptop but 800 pixels is pretty small really for other uses especially photo editing. I upgraded mine from the default to the 1680 x 1050 screen to give better vertical space. Noah is referring to the fact that you are then getting more pixels per inch which means things will look smaller although it is possible to select larger text sizes to overcome this.

FYI I also upgraded the video adapter and the HDD to the 7200 RPM one (60Gb).

noah

18-05-2006, 21:32

the dells i was thinking of has a resolution of 1600x1080 as opposed to the 1280x800 on that one so given the same screen size everything will be smaller, but you can fit more on it so use the space better.

edit: oops too slow ^^^what he said :)

Venomator

18-05-2006, 21:50

noah

18-05-2006, 21:56

nope, gotta get it done when ordering it. i'm not sure who else offeres it apart from dell.

Venomator

18-05-2006, 21:59

nope, gotta get it done when ordering it. i'm not sure who else offeres it apart from dell.

Uhuh ... doh ! Found it thanx ... xtra £90 on the 6400 ! :(

So it can't be done on something like the Acer equivalent then ? :thinking:

Venomator

18-05-2006, 22:52

As a follow on to that ... would a 17 wide at 1440x900 need upgrading to 1920x1200 too then ? :thinking:

And would the 17" be better overall ? :shrug:

Sorry if I am being a tad fick ! :help:

mfwild13

18-05-2006, 23:16

I would go and look at them in Dixons or PCWorld. The 17" Laptops are pretty big so may be an issue if you want to travel with it regularly.

As regards the upgrade, I personally wouldnt buy a laptop less than 1024 in height but it depends on how and what you use the PC for. If you think about images posted here that are 800 pixels high, with the usual clutter in the standard browser app you will have to scroll to see the full image if your screen is less than 1000 pixels high.

Venomator

18-05-2006, 23:22

Things are achieving clarity ... at last ! Photo stuff is a must as we will only have the lappy ! The screen is therefore (one of) the key factors. :D

Next stop PCWorld then ! Thanx again Mark ... :thumbs:

Edit - NOT to buy of course ... just lookin' !

mfwild13

18-05-2006, 23:36

Things are achieving clarity ... at last !Good. If its any consolation it took me at least two months to decide what to buy and I work in IT.
Next stop PCWorld then ! Thanx again Mark ... :thumbs:
Edit - NOT to buy of course ... just lookin' !Enjoy your window shopping

Venomator

19-05-2006, 10:12

Good. If its any consolation it took me at least two months to decide what to buy and I work in IT. Enjoy your window shopping

I still have a little time but don't want to spend two months looking ... it is doing my head in ! :( - and going w/shopping later today !).

Anyway ... I believe I am able to start the shortlisting, at least of manufacturers;

Sony : Dell : Acer : Asus : Lenovo : Toshiba (you never know with 66% back ? :thumbsdown: ) ... not in any particular order really ! :p

Then there is the screen ... it has to be wide but ... 15.4" or 17" still toying.

If (biggy !) I stick to my original budget then it would rule out Sony : Asus : Toshiba and probably the Thinkpad ... leaving a clear choice of;

Dell - Inspiron 6400 or 9400 ... depending on how it is specked up by choice ! :thinking:

Acer - Aspire ... probably core duo series ! :shrug:

But then, if the budget is blown ... omigawd :help: ... don't go there !

Still pleased to receive further comments guys 'n gals ... esp now it is narrowing down a bit ?

Thank you all for helping, contributing or just plain commenting ... it really has helped tremendously peeps ! :thankyou:

Rich

19-05-2006, 23:27

Buy the new Apple Macbook (not the pro). They are £749 and will run WinXP by using Bootcamp, will be very small and great on battery life.

noah

19-05-2006, 23:30

i'd go for a 15.4 inch screen if you indend on taking it anywhere. the 17's are great for a desktop replacement but are really a bit big to fit in normal bags imo.

Venomator

20-05-2006, 17:31

Buy the new Apple Macbook (not the pro). They are £749 and will run WinXP by using Bootcamp, will be very small and great on battery life.

Thanx Rich ... prob bit smaller at 13" than I was looking for I think and ... pound for pound are they not more expensive than non-Mac ? :shrug:

I'd go for a 15.4 inch screen if you indend on taking it anywhere. the 17's are great for a desktop replacement but are really a bit big to fit in normal bags imo.

Cheers again Noah ... this will run & run a bit ... went to PCWorld yesterday to compare side by side and again today with Jill (lovely place ... NOT) but she thinks the 15.4" should do nicely and who am I to argue ... except I do rather like the idea of the bigger screen and mobility is second to photobility ... probably ? :(

Also went back to look at the Sony VGN FE11 s ... at £899.99 can this be beaten ? Such a lovely looking machine too ... :eek:

Rich

20-05-2006, 22:42

I think for what they are, the Macbook will work out cheaper than a non mac. When you take into account size and weight, battery life etc, your windows machines start to get VERY expensive.....

If its the wrong size though, its the wrong size :D

You could always have a look out for the Dell special offers or the Factory Refurbs there.

Venomator

22-05-2006, 14:14

Thanx once again Rich ! :thumbs:

Decided just to check and noticed a whole raft of notebooks and stuff on eBay ... worth watching a few to see what goes for what ... and some of my shortlisted ones on there too ! :geek:

Anyone have experience of buying 'puter gear via eBay please ? :thinking:

Thanx again all ... :thumbs:

Rog... :p

RobertP

22-05-2006, 14:45

Laptops are a favourite of ebay scammers so I'd make some checks before paying. Look up the address you are given to see who lives there.....get a phone number and speak to the seller.....look to see what they have sold before. 50 feedbacks for 10p items bought and then selling a laptop is not good ;)

A bargain price from Nigeria or Latvia or somesuch might make you think too :)

I've used ebay a lot but I'd not consider it for a new laptop.

Venomator

22-05-2006, 15:04

I've used ebay a lot but I'd not consider it for a new laptop.

Thanx Robert ... I have been looking particularly at a couple of sellers who only sell 'puters and related with loads of sales and extremely positive feedback on all of them ! :suspect:

They seem to sell 'cancelled order' Dells and such like and, on the face of it appear genuine. One or two are in London and offer pick up so no laptop = no cash I suppose ! :'(

Would not entertain a 'private' type seller unless very close to me and I could see and try before buying ! In any event I try and do cash with pick-up as protection for me. :eek:

Value your input though as ever ! :thumbs:

mfwild13

03-06-2006, 08:11

Dont know if you are still looking Ven but latest Dell offer on Inspiron 9400 via Hotukdeals (http://www.hotukdeals.com/Article4565.phtml)

Venomator

03-06-2006, 19:29

Dont know if you are still looking Ven but latest Dell offer on Inspiron 9400 via Hotukdeals (http://www.hotukdeals.com/Article4565.phtml)

I absolutely am Mark ... thanks for the hu ! 6400 or 6400 that is still my main question ! (i.e. 15.4" or 17" widescreen is the main choice still to make !). :thinking:

RobertP

04-06-2006, 21:43

Ven....

I saw this and thought of you.....

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/editorial/toshiba_wc2006

:lol:

Venomator

04-06-2006, 21:49

Ven....I saw this and thought of you.....

Thanx Rob !?! :razz:

On a Tosh at the mo but ...

seen one world cup victory and doubt I'll live to see another ...

so I guess I'll live without another Tosh too ... :p

Still not finally decided what replaces it though ... :thinking: :shrug: :thinking: