Help me buy a laptop

[tonyjaymz03]

So with my current laptop slowly dying, I've been looking around. This is the laptop I'm thinking about getting right now:

A Sony Vaio w/ Windows Vista(on clearance)
* Microsoft® Works
* Quickbooks Simple Start 2009
* Norton Internet Security (30 Day Trial)
* 320GB Hard Disk Drive (5400rpm)
* Standard Capacity Battery
* 14.1" widesceen display with XBRITE-ECO™ technology (1280x800)
* Intel® Pentium® Processor T4200 (2.00GHz)
* Blu-ray Disc™ playback (Windows XP Professional downgrade disk not available when this option is selected)
* WLAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth® technology
* Sangria Red
* Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit
* 4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)

For 779.99. is that good?

Edit: I went to go buy it and now the Sont website is saying it isn't available. Awesome. But either way, I'm looking at that configuration.

 

[Jaxxxson Mayhem]

Is the processor a core 2 duo?


Other than that it's not a bad price.

 

[tonyjaymz03]

I've been tooling around and now I've got this laptop set-up:

Sony Vaio w/ Windows 7
4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
Blu-ray Disc™ playback
Intel® Pentium® Processor T4300 (2.10GHz)
NVIDIA® GeForce® G210M GPU (256MB VRAM)
320GB Hard Disk Drive (5400rpm)

For $794. I can't decided whether or not to hold off buying it. The blu-ray drive is free, and something I really want, but buying this now would pretty much wipe out my savings, and I really don't want to do credit card/payment plans if I don't have to. Do you think i can find a laptop like this in say, 2 weeks to a month from now? I mainly want blu-ray, lots of memory for files(usually text documents or music) and maybe photo/video editing. I downgraded the video card because I won't be playing games on this. Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[Sabre]

Blu ray on laptop is pointless due to the fact you only benefit the resolution if you are sitting X feet away.

 

[Jaxxxson Mayhem]

Blu ray on laptop is pointless due to the fact you only benefit the resolution if you are sitting X feet away.

Not if you have HDMI out or any other out that supports HD resolutions.

 

[Sabre]

Ah, touch'e. I always forget about being able to connect a laptop to an external monitor etc.

 

[vivisectvi]

When it comes to PC's I usually go Toshiba. But the one you're quoting looks quite good. Is the BRD just playback or can it burn too?

 

[tonyjaymz03]

When it comes to PC's I usually go Toshiba. But the one you're quoting looks quite good. Is the BRD just playback or can it burn too?

Just playback, which is okay, don't really need to burn anything. I'm looking at Gateway laptops right now, anyone have any history with those?

 

[Jaxxxson Mayhem]

When it comes to PC's I usually go Toshiba. But the one you're quoting looks quite good. Is the BRD just playback or can it burn too?

Just playback, which is okay, don't really need to burn anything. I'm looking at Gateway laptops right now, anyone have any history with those?

I'm using my Gateway right now to type this post and it is mighty dandy..

 

[tonyjaymz03]

I'm also thinking about getting a Mac,but is it really worth the money? or is it just a status symbol type thing?

 

[Sabre]

Macs are an odd machine. Depends what you use the laptop for.

 

[Jaxxxson Mayhem]

I'm also thinking about getting a Mac,but is it really worth the money? or is it just a status symbol type thing?

I am vehemently anti-apple. It is strictly a status symbol. Stick to PCs.

 

[tonyjaymz03]

You guys have been a lot of help

Okay how about this, a Dell Inspiron 15 for $639
-Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T4300
-4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
-500GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
-Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD

 

[Smues]

I have a weaker version of the Inspiron 15 that I got for $499 and it's working great for me, so I would think the one you're looking at would be just fine, and good value for the $.

 

[DCH]

You keep getting crappy processors that are 4-5 years old. Try get an Intel Core 2 Duo, halving the RAM to 2GB, reducing the HD to a 320 (unless you really need 500) and boosting the graphics card to an nVidia 8500 or something along those lines. Making these changes will boost your performance while costing the same. At the moment you're putting way too much into stuff that computer companies focus on and not enough on what really runs your rig. You don't need 4GB RAM on a laptop. The price you quoted is pretty steep (in my opinion it's not that good). Try get windows 7 instead of Vista, as it chews less RAM, is less bloated, etc.

 

[Sabre]

I would kill for 4gb of ram in my laptop, it would make encoding hd material so much faster.

 

[Rendclaw]

Actually anything over 3 GB of RAM would be ideal, since the first and best thing to do to increase the performance of your laptop would be to upgrade the RAM, and max it out if you can. Vista turned out to be a memory hog, something that they fixed with Windows 7, but if you're thinking about upgrading to 7, wait until the first Service Pack comes out before you do. Another idea would be to look at getting a lower-end gaming laptop. They cost a little more but its almost always a better idea to make sure that the system can handle what you throw at it rather than going on the cheap and it never quite performing up to your standards. I was looking through Maximum PC the other day, and depending on the company you go with, their low end gaming laptops looked pretty good. Macs are great machines, but my problem with them from day one has always been that their systems are way too damned expensive for what you're getting, and I am in agreement with everyone here that they are status symbols now.

My one complaint about the other computer companies is that they put so much crapware on their systems, its not even funny. Once you get the thing, you spend the first two hours or so deleting all the shit you don;t need and never would use.

My girlfriend inherited her mother's system, which is a pretty decent laptop. It came with 3 GB of RAM, and for $50 we can max it out at 4. In contrast, I bought a laptop in 2005, and I seriously regret not making sure the RAM could be upgraded to at least 2 GB, and now I'm paying for it. Thank goodness my main system is still running strong at five years old, but I think once I get myself out of debt I am going to replace that system too.

Sabre, go to crucial.com. Their prices are good, and the memory is quality.

 

[Sabre]

Interesting, ill check that out when i get home.

I inherited my dads work laptop following his retirement last year. Its the following.

Sony VAIO VGN-BZ11MN: £649 exc VAT

* 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 P8600
* 2GB RAM
* 160GB hard disk
* 15.4in 1,280 x 800 TFT
* Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics
* Dual-layer DVD writer
* Gigabit Ethernet
* 802.11abg+draft n WLAN
* 267 x 362 x 29.8-37.7mm (WDH)
* 2.7kg
* 2yr C&R warranty
* Windows 7

I currently download 720p content and have to re-encode for it to work when i burn it to the AVCHD standard, and 2gb of ram doesnt really cut it, as i have no available resources available during the process.

 

[Jaxxxson Mayhem]

Can't you plug in a jump drive/thumb drive/USB memory stick/etc and tell Windows to use that as RAM?

 

[Sabre]

 

[Jaxxxson Mayhem]

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/readyboost.aspx


ReadyBoost

 

[Sabre]

Well shit on me, i have plenty of USB flash drives.

 

[ZGangsta]

I'm also thinking about getting a Mac,but is it really worth the money? or is it just a status symbol type thing?

Overpriced fashion statement.

Definitely go for Windows 7, it's miles better than Vista.
2GB of RAM is not very much these days, try for more.

Also, in my experience, ReadyBoost is cool, but not particularly useful

 

[Sabre]

Ive got a 2gb SD card running under ReadyBoost now, and its improved my laptop awsomely. Usually when i was converting I couldnt youtube/watch videos etc. Now its like im not converting at all.

 

[tonyjaymz03]

I've decided to hold off until the end of the month. But I've pretty much narrowed my choices down to either a Sony Vaio, a dell Inspiron 15, or an Asus from Best Buy. $gb ram and at the very least 300gb hdd is my main priorities. I went to a Apple store yesterday, was not impressed at all. They seem like good laptops but not for 500-700 bucks more.

 

[Vitamin X]

The ASUS from Best Buy is probably the same model I have, I think. I have an X83v and it's been really awesome for me- I got it refurbished from geeks.com for $550, about $350 less than what BB and Newegg are charging for it.

It has 4GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive, AMD Athlon64 X2 (that's a dual core) and an HD graphics card with 3D acceleration, which is very, very rare for a machine under 1k. I agree with everyone else here on Apples, although I'm slowly coming around for a couple reason. One, is that if you don't know very much about computers or aren't into fixing/tweaking them to your liking, but the bigger reason is because of one huge thing: customer service. AppleCare is absolutely fantastic in taking care of your machine if it bricks or has a problem with it, which is something that is a much bigger pain in the ass to deal with in a laptop than a desktop.

Don't be afraid of buying refurbished, by the way. Friend of mine made this great point: They're better than buying brand new, because if it has a problem, it's already been fixed/replaced and it's cheaper.

 

[Agent_Bond34]

When it comes to PC's I usually go Toshiba. But the one you're quoting looks quite good. Is the BRD just playback or can it burn too?

I decided to go with Toshiba when I got my laptop this past weekend.

This was what I got.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B2+Duo+Processor+-+Black+Onyx/9549054.p?id=1218122294915&skuId=9549054

 

[Rendclaw]

Those things are true, Leo, but its still not worth paying at extra 40% minimum for it. Its the same thing with iPods and the like, even though iPods are great, I can find an MP3 player for at least 25% less.

 

[Vitamin X]

iPods have a lot more third party accessories which are useful, plus they're hard drive based and have more capacity than any other MP3 player out there. They completely own that market, as much as I dislike them, they did make a superior product there.

I just can't get on board with either the iPhone (I have a Pre, and the Motorola Droid with Google's Android 2.0 looks even better) or Mac OSX, and I'm a video editor so I have to hear it from idiot novice film editors all the time about Final Cut this and Final Cut that. I think I could run the hell out of OSX on my laptop (there's apparently ways to do this- "Hackintosh"es they call 'em) but much like when I used to run Ubuntu, my question is why? Guess it's just preference. Although Windows 7 is absolutely the best OS Microsoft has put out there. Sexy, functional, very customizable and runs very smoothly.

 

[tonyjaymz03]

So I went for the Asus from Best Buy. $530 after taxes and pretty much everything I wanted. Thanks for all the help guys!