any opinions on anything? recommendations?
Hi Wolfy
Linky
Thought so
Laptops
Started by
puresmartie
, Jun 11 2009 04:50 PM
32 replies to this topic
#32
DTXDave
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- Members
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- 158 posts
Mini Mad
Posted 12 June 2009 - 09:56 AM
I get a lot of calls from people saying they want a laptop and asking which ones are the best to get.
The price of laptops is increasing by about £30 a quarter as the Yen gets stronger against the pound, so entry-level laptops were £299 and are now £329. With the economy as it is I'm guessing they'll be £359 very soon. As a rule of thumb laptops are usually £100 more than netbooks (Netbooks start at £129 running Windows Compact Edition).
That said you can get some deals from places like Staples, Currys, PCWorld and Argos when they sell off end of lines. Also Tesco do some good deals as well.
I prefer DELLs because you can get a higher spec for your money than from other brands and they are easy enough to upgrade and repair yourself should you wish to do that. I work in IT so I'm ok with taking laptops apart and doing all the work myself.
Brand-wise it's just like every other industry. You have your cheapos, mid-range, and high-end offerings. At the cheap end you have Acer which are the Bush/Goodmans of the laptop world. They do the job but the components are cheap. Lenovos are ok, these are what used to be the IBMs but now made and owned by the Chinese. Toshiba's are nice but some people are put off by the wide glossy screens and plasticy response of some keyboards. Sony is usually high-end with their Vaio range although Tesco and some other places will sell the cheaper N10s. DELL used to be online only but they now retail through stores and supermarkets but usually only set models and builds such as entry-level Inspirons.
In regards to Operating Systems, assuming you want Windows, you are pretty much guaranteed to be offered Vista. XP is at the end of it's life (it was released in 2002) and is in extended support up to 2012. Windows 7 is on the horizon (October) but is probably not going to be available before you need the laptop, although you could always install the beta should you wish. In regards to Vista, I highly recommend Home Premium. Walk away from Home Basic as it's a barebones version of Vista and in my opinion it's pants. I've had to sort out a few Home Basic machines in the past and I've come to hate the thing.
Spec wise, for a laptop running Windows Vista Home Premium, you should opt for a minimum of 2GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a 15.4" widescreen display, 4 USB 2.0 ports, an extended-life battery if you can afford it (£20 more usually, mine lasts for 6 hours on one charge), and a DVD combo burner drive.
Microsoft Office tends to be very expensive so wait until you get your student id and then you can buy the student version for a fraction of the cost. Alternatively you can download and use Open Office which is free open source software that can read and write to Microsoft Office files so no one will know that you are not actually using Office.
Other (cheaper) options are to buy last seasons models refurbished from a reliable source, or to buy the barebones laptop hardware and install Linux (I recommend Ubuntu) or buy an OEM copy of Windows from eBuyer or another online seller and install it yourself.
Photography wise it's worth getting a laptop with a card reader built-in so you can insert your SD/XD/MMC cards staright into the laptop and play with your photos on the fly. Photographic editing software is pretty expensive for the PC, especially Photoshop. Again look at student discounts once you get your id.
I don't know much about Macs I'm afraid so I can't advise there. I do know a few people that run something called Parallels which allows them to run Windows on the Mac as well as the Mac OS. I'm sure the Mac guys on here can advise further. You'll still need a licensed copy of Windows though, which will add to the overal expense. It's probably best to find out what format any course material will be in, what you are expected to use in way of PC and software, and then work out your needs from there.
Looking on eBay the advent appears to be worth around £100 second-hand.
DTXDave
The price of laptops is increasing by about £30 a quarter as the Yen gets stronger against the pound, so entry-level laptops were £299 and are now £329. With the economy as it is I'm guessing they'll be £359 very soon. As a rule of thumb laptops are usually £100 more than netbooks (Netbooks start at £129 running Windows Compact Edition).
That said you can get some deals from places like Staples, Currys, PCWorld and Argos when they sell off end of lines. Also Tesco do some good deals as well.
I prefer DELLs because you can get a higher spec for your money than from other brands and they are easy enough to upgrade and repair yourself should you wish to do that. I work in IT so I'm ok with taking laptops apart and doing all the work myself.
Brand-wise it's just like every other industry. You have your cheapos, mid-range, and high-end offerings. At the cheap end you have Acer which are the Bush/Goodmans of the laptop world. They do the job but the components are cheap. Lenovos are ok, these are what used to be the IBMs but now made and owned by the Chinese. Toshiba's are nice but some people are put off by the wide glossy screens and plasticy response of some keyboards. Sony is usually high-end with their Vaio range although Tesco and some other places will sell the cheaper N10s. DELL used to be online only but they now retail through stores and supermarkets but usually only set models and builds such as entry-level Inspirons.
In regards to Operating Systems, assuming you want Windows, you are pretty much guaranteed to be offered Vista. XP is at the end of it's life (it was released in 2002) and is in extended support up to 2012. Windows 7 is on the horizon (October) but is probably not going to be available before you need the laptop, although you could always install the beta should you wish. In regards to Vista, I highly recommend Home Premium. Walk away from Home Basic as it's a barebones version of Vista and in my opinion it's pants. I've had to sort out a few Home Basic machines in the past and I've come to hate the thing.
Spec wise, for a laptop running Windows Vista Home Premium, you should opt for a minimum of 2GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a 15.4" widescreen display, 4 USB 2.0 ports, an extended-life battery if you can afford it (£20 more usually, mine lasts for 6 hours on one charge), and a DVD combo burner drive.
Microsoft Office tends to be very expensive so wait until you get your student id and then you can buy the student version for a fraction of the cost. Alternatively you can download and use Open Office which is free open source software that can read and write to Microsoft Office files so no one will know that you are not actually using Office.
Other (cheaper) options are to buy last seasons models refurbished from a reliable source, or to buy the barebones laptop hardware and install Linux (I recommend Ubuntu) or buy an OEM copy of Windows from eBuyer or another online seller and install it yourself.
Photography wise it's worth getting a laptop with a card reader built-in so you can insert your SD/XD/MMC cards staright into the laptop and play with your photos on the fly. Photographic editing software is pretty expensive for the PC, especially Photoshop. Again look at student discounts once you get your id.
I don't know much about Macs I'm afraid so I can't advise there. I do know a few people that run something called Parallels which allows them to run Windows on the Mac as well as the Mac OS. I'm sure the Mac guys on here can advise further. You'll still need a licensed copy of Windows though, which will add to the overal expense. It's probably best to find out what format any course material will be in, what you are expected to use in way of PC and software, and then work out your needs from there.
Looking on eBay the advent appears to be worth around £100 second-hand.
DTXDave
#33
ripthejacker
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Just On Tickover
Posted 18 June 2009 - 08:58 PM
Apple deffo the way to go! OS is just awesome, and soon Snow Leopard is being released (september).
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