New Laptop questions

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Hi guys, :)

My current laptop is riddled with viruses and after already getting it fixed once and going again its been very slow for ages so I've decided to get a new one. Ill still keep the current one for the internet and downloading stuff. The other one will purely be for photoshop, printer, lightroom, etc and wont be connected to the internet. I have an external 500gb harddrive so thats where all my photos will be stored so this new laptop would probably only have to hold a few folders worth of RAW files while I am working on them.

I really want my post processing to be faster as it takes me twice as to edit due to the performance.

I have looked around and was aiming for under £300 (oh how deluded I was!) but have found some refurbished ones. The thing is I really dont know what is considered good. :thinking: I have found a DELL 1525 laptop and the specs go like this;

* Intel Celeron Dual Core processor T1500
* (1.86GHz, 533 MHz, 512KB Cache)
* Genuine Windows Vista (R) Basic
* 1GB memory
* 160GB hard drive

Can anyone give me any clue if this would suit my needs or what I should be looking for?

Cheers
Vicky.
 
You'll want to upgrade the memory in it as soon as you can afford it, 1gb is very low for your needs and that o/s.
 
What's the spec of your current laptop? It might be worth formatting that and getting some good AV/Spyware utilities rather than spending lots on a new laptop.
 
If you are riddled with Viruses you need some decent AV software. Even the Free ones are good for most applications. Buying a new laptop without AV software will mean you new fast machine will also be riddled with viruses. I don't know how much it is costing you to have fixed but a copy of McAfee would probably be cheaper.

Personally I'd get at least 2GB RAM in your new machine, Also opt for Windows 7 not Vista.
 
aligibbs said:
What's the spec of your current laptop? It might be worth formatting that and getting some good AV/Spyware utilities rather than spending lots on a new laptop.
Click to expand...

Have a look through, otherwise you might want to search the classifieds, second hand laptops can save a lot of money although you need to take a bit of care.
 
Viruses get the blame for everything these days. I have just fixed two machines with a very similar spec to yours and both of them were virtually unusably slow. You need to upgrade the memory to the maximum you can as already advised but also remove as much rubbish as you can from the start up sequence to avoid it taking up memory and processor cycles.

Type MSCONFIG into the run box in startup and click on the STARTUP tab. You will probably see a list of about 15 things running and most can be removed like MSoffice quick start, google toolbar and all manner of other stuff.
 
There's a Kapersky Anti Virus 2010 + free Tune Up Utilities 2010 bundle going at the moment. Saw it advertised in the papers.

Tune Up Utilities is a very good application that keeps your system in good health. Highly recommended.
 
aligibbs said:
He hasn't given the spec of the current laptop..........
Click to expand...

I didn't read it very well :) I thought that was what the OP had !

I'm with Neil_g on this one, don't bother with the Celeron and 1Gb is nowhere near enough. You would be well advised to look for a machine with 2 or better still 3Gb.
 
Thanks guys for the advice, very much appreciated. I am now out the house so cant remember what my specs are for my current laptop but will update it when I get back.

I have AVG, Avast and Spybot and they are all going pop up crazy with the amount of viruses but cant shake it.

Type MSCONFIG into the run box in startup and click on the STARTUP tab. You will probably see a list of about 15 things running and most can be removed like MSoffice quick start, google toolbar and all manner of other stuff.
Click to expand...

Thanks will try this, I dont have a clue about start up applications.

I think Ill take my laptop down to the shop and get a quote on how much to get the virus out.
ou'll want to upgrade the memory in it as soon as you can afford it, 1gb is very low for your needs and that o/s.
Click to expand...

Thanks I thought that the 160gb harddrive would be enough. How much would you say I would need for a good performance? Would the shop install more memory for me or where would I get this?

Cheers
p.s - yes I give blondes a bad name.
 
160gb is the hard drive size and it's ok, 1gb is the working memory it has and you need as much of that as you can fit/afford to buy.

/edit Memory is not difficult to fit and there are loads of photo walkthroughs available on the net to show how it's done in different machines.
 
Memory / Hard drive space .....

This is something that confuses a lot of people and the simplest way I can describe it is this.

Think of the memory (1gb) as your DESK and think of the hard drive (160gb) as your FILING CABINET. You need to use some of the desktop for your keyboard, mouse and monitor (this is like the operating system) and what is left can be used for other things but nothing can overlap. Every time you get a book or some paper out it must have its own space and when you run out you have to file something away in the filing cabinet, even for just 10 seconds. So with lots of things running you spend more time going backwards and forwards to the filing cabinet than you do doing anything useful! Then when you turn off the power everything still on the desk gets lost.

If you make the desktop twice as big (2gb) then the computer, keyboard and mouse still only take up the same space so you actually can end up tripling your usable space. And not running back and forth to the filing cabinet as often will make everything quicker.

The reality is that 1gb on that computer is USELESS I have just repaired two machines of virtually exactly the same spec. I was swearing and shouting at them by the time they opened windows etc. I was clicking on control panel then 30 seconds later clicked again thinking nothing had happened only for it to open 2-3 times. Really just get one with 2-3Gb straight away or don't bother to upgrade yet.
 
You could just format the hard drive on your current laptop, reinstall windows and start again?

If youre gonna buy a new laptop, the spec below seems rather low for the £300 mark if its reconditioned

If your willing to spend a bit more than 300, you can get a dual core machine with 2-3gb RAM, a decent size hard drive and Windows 7

Windows 7 is Microsofts way of apologizing for the balls up they made with Vista. 1gb of RAM is not enough to run vista on its own, let alone if you want to actually do anything on the laptop
 
£300 for that laptop is PANTS as stated....

Just went to PC Worlds site at random and

£319 = ADVENT ROMA 1000 Refurbished 15.6" laptop 3gb ram, 160gb hdd with HDMI output

2.2Gb Celeron, Windows 7 Home premium, 3Gb RAM, 160Gb HD

{I am not keen on Celerons but this is better than the 1Gb one you stated}

OR

£389.99 = COMPAQ CQ71230SA RECON Refurbished Laptop

2GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core T4200, Vista Home premium, 3Gb RAM, 250Gb HD, 17.3" display.

{I am not keen on Vista at all but you could upgrade later}

OR

£399 = HP G61-110sa 15.6" widescreen laptop

2.1GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core T4300, Windows 7 Home PREMIUM, 4Gb RAM, 320Gb HD

Seriously this would rip the other laptop to pieces!!!! Best MS operating system, 4Gb RAM, a bigger hard drive (bigger also usually means faster), made by HP and a good sized screen.

This is just one web site there are many more but dont spend £300 on that thing!
 
cowasaki said:
OR

£399 = HP G61-110sa 15.6" widescreen laptop

2.1GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core T4300, Windows 7 Home PREMIUM, 4Gb RAM, 320Gb HD

Seriously this would rip the other laptop to pieces!!!! Best MS operating system, 4Gb RAM, a bigger hard drive (bigger also usually means faster), made by HP and a good sized screen.
Click to expand...

This is the laptop I have just recommended friends to buy. Seems to be one of the best deals about at the moment. It's also available at Currys. :thumbs:
 
Kdot said:
This is the laptop I have just recommended friends to buy. Seems to be one of the best deals about at the moment. It's also available at Currys. :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Currys, Dixons and PC World are actually the same company :)

Yes, its down from £599 and a really good deal
 
On a completely different tangent, if you decide you want to go ahead with a machine purely for Photoshop etc, why not a desktop, the quality of the screen will be much better than on a laptop and you will get a lot more power for your money.
 
Craikeybaby said:
On a completely different tangent, if you decide you want to go ahead with a machine purely for Photoshop etc, why not a desktop, the quality of the screen will be much better than on a laptop and you will get a lot more power for your money.
Click to expand...

Aye, that would certainly be my vote too.
 
Thanks guys for all these replies, they have helped so much.

I think I am going to work on this laptop and see if I can get it up to scratch. Just have some questions.

The reality is that 1gb on that computer is USELESS I have just repaired two machines of virtually exactly the same spec. I was swearing and shouting at them by the time they opened windows etc. I was clicking on control panel then 30 seconds later clicked again thinking nothing had happened only for it to open 2-3 times. Really just get one with 2-3Gb straight away or don't bother to upgrade yet.
Click to expand...

Thanks Darren for the explanation and please dear god dont shout at me :exit:

These are the specs.
Acer Aspire 5633 WLMi
Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo T5500 Processor 1.66GHz
120 GB Hard Drive
2GB DDR2

I have found this memory, does this look any good?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-VS2GSDS667D2-667MHz-SODIMM-Laptop/dp/B000Q76LBY

You could just format the hard drive on your current laptop, reinstall windows and start again?
Click to expand...

Thanks I think I might try this. If I format the drive will this get rid of viruses?

Cheers again :thumbs:
 
Vic said:
Thanks guys for all these replies, they have helped so much.

I think I am going to work on this laptop and see if I can get it up to scratch. Just have some questions.



Thanks Darren for the explanation and please dear god dont shout at me :exit:

These are the specs.
Acer Aspire 5633 WLMi
Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo T5500 Processor 1.66GHz
120 GB Hard Drive
2GB DDR2

I have found this memory, does this look any good?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-VS2GSDS667D2-667MHz-SODIMM-Laptop/dp/B000Q76LBY



Thanks I think I might try this. If I format the drive will this get rid of viruses?

Cheers again :thumbs:
Click to expand...

If it comes with 2Gb already then they will be 2 x 1Gb so you will not have any spare slots. If you buy the 2Gb module then you will have to take out one of the 1Gb modules and will have 3Gb. If that is the spec of your current machine then there would be no point in changing it to the machine you specified as there is little difference. The only worthwhile upgrade would likely be the £399 model I mentioned. I would say that you would be better getting 1 x 2Gb DDR2 Sodimms and doing a fresh install possibly even to Windows 7 (which is VASTly better). I only shout at inanimate objects :)

As for viruses... IF your actually do have a virus then YES it would get rid of the virus but you would probably get it back from something in your backup. Most "virus attacks" I see are actually malware rather than viruses or just plain bugs. Good net discipline will stop most of these and decent malware protection will mostly stop the others.
 
Thanks Darren for all this info :thumbs:

I think I will do a fresh installation, to be honest I dont think I can afford windows 7 so might have to stick with Vista.

would say that you would be better getting 1 x 2Gb DDR2 Sodimms and doing a fresh install possibly even to Windows 7 (which is VASTly better).
Click to expand...

Do you mean buying two of these (the link) to give me 4gb? The toss then 2 x 1GB that came with the comp?

Also regarding the viruses could these be in some of the applications I have in my hard drive? I intended to re-install these after my format but dont know if I should :thinking:
 
Vic said:
Thanks Darren for all this info :thumbs:

I think I will do a fresh installation, to be honest I dont think I can afford windows 7 so might have to stick with Vista.

Do you mean buying two of these (the link) to give me 4gb? The toss then 2 x 1GB that came with the comp?

Also regarding the viruses could these be in some of the applications I have in my hard drive? I intended to re-install these after my format but dont know if I should :thinking:
Click to expand...

First problem you could have is that if you have a 32 bit version of Vista (which is almost certain) then you cannot use 4Gb and will be limited to 3-3.5Gb at most. Also the chipset in your laptop might limit the RAM to 2Gb anyway. I would suggest that the computer you have would be perfectly useable IF you do a clean install and make sure that you only install the software you actually need. Also make sure you do not install all the bloatware that comes with things (such as google toolbar). Then run MSCONFIG and remove everything that starts with the computer other than your malware and virus protection. This will cost you nothing....

Then save up till you can reach the magic £400 mark and get a decent laptop rather than throwing money at this one.
 
that sounds like good advice and this is what I'll do. Had a look at msconfig there wasnt a lot running on the startup tab however there was quite a lot running on the Services tab which i stopped.

I'm backing up spare files to my hard drive then will try and do a clean install.
 
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