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Posted by jmcclesk (Member # 1355) on :
 
First off i know very little about computers. I am thinking about replacing my satellite (a25-s207). I seem to be having alot of problems with it lately. Rather than put any more money in it. I want to replace it. In the 800-1200 range what is a good laptop? I mostly surf the net, load picts. I want something fast (i hate to wait). I have a wireless network setup and to keep it that way. I dont need a webcam. Is there any way i can stay with xp and a new machine??? Is vista THAT much better xp??? Is it worth the upgrade???

One more question my cpu is a p-4 2.66ghz how do i compare that to the duel core stuff t5450??? t7500 thanks jon

[ December 02, 2007, 06:46 PM: Message edited by: jmcclesk ]
 
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
XP will run faster than vista, especially on a laptop.

anything with a duel core will be more than twice as fast as your current 2nd gen p4 is.

look for something with 2gb ram, >100gb hd, and a screen size that you want.


personally I use a 12.1" widescreen 3lb laptop, as my laptop I only use when I travel, I have a desktop when I'm home, so I just wanted something fast and light. I really like it, but it's not for everybody, if your eyesight sucks you'll want at least a 15.4" widescreen lappy.
 
Posted by N8 (Member # 6048) on :
 
Personally I would go with a dell for what you describe. Very reliable comps for the price. My whole office is Dell and Alienware and we do high-end production stuff. Check out dell.com see what they are offering, then go to www.notebookreview.com then click "Dell Coupons" and see what you can find there. Dell allows you to combine offers. So will mention newegg and tigerdirect, but I had issues with units from the both of them.

But dell shoudl set you right. I was able to get a full blown e1705 for 1500 shipped.

good luck

On a side note, It will be hard to find new units with XP although you can downgrade yourself. Vista is a resource hog but you can work worry free on the newer machines. WOuldnt install vista on a older machine. Also I would look for the core 2 duo chip

[ December 02, 2007, 07:11 PM: Message edited by: N8 ]
 
Posted by jmcclesk (Member # 1355) on :
 
Thanks for the input. I use a laptop for my only computer. Everything i looked at comes with vista having xp was not a build option. Short of buying xp and installing it, is there any other way. It just seems stupid to me to buy a new computer and still having to buy xp.
 
Posted by jmcclesk (Member # 1355) on :
 
When you say work worry free on a new machine what do you mean???
 
Posted by asskickn88 (Member # 4957) on :
 
I have XP that I can install for you. Vista takes a lot of memory to run so if you install it on an older machine it can actually run slower, a new machine built for it will work fine. Personally I'm attached to XP, most people I've talked to hate Vista and have "downgraded" to it.
 
Posted by N8 (Member # 6048) on :
 
Yup you will have to downgrade to XP on your own. Not a big deal to do. I can actually walk you through it in a pm or 2. What I mean by worry free is that on a newer machine built for Vista you wont have many issues. We use it professionally at the office with no issues. Installing it on a older machine with like 1gb ram you will have some bottleneck issues when you run a bunch of programs.
 
Posted by jmcclesk (Member # 1355) on :
 
What should the life span of a laptop be?? I bought my toshiba in 2002 it was fine except for the last 6-8 months. First the hard drive went bad. Then i had to buy the recovery disc. I have had to reinstall it 2-3 times. The computer works fine for a while then it goes slower. It locks up to the point where i have to restart 4-5 times during a session.

Toshiba is the only laptop i have found that will allow you to buy one with xp on it

If i buy a new computer wwith vista. What speed and ram should i look for??? I want to be at least as fast as my p-4 with 1gb and xp.
THANKS WITH ALL THE INFO

[ December 02, 2007, 08:17 PM: Message edited by: jmcclesk ]
 
Posted by essasin (Member # 4741) on :
 
The only laptop I would buy with my own money is a lenovo/ibm thinkpad.
 
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
dell has the option to let you get XP also.

the problem with buying a machine with vista on it, and then 'downgrading' to XP is actually finding the drivers for all of the hardware in the machine, like the wifi card, the sound card, etc. Compaq/HP in particular make life hard by not making drivers available for any operating system other than the one the system was sold with.

However, dell/acer/toshiba/a few others do have the drivers readily available on their webpage so you don't have to go google hunting for the drivers yourself.

The lifespan on a laptop for being your 100% only computer at home, should be about 4-5 years.

When you are at home, I would recommend a laptop cooling pad to set the laptop on, keeping it cool will make the components last longer, especially the hard drive.
 
Posted by N8 (Member # 6048) on :
 
+2 on cooling pad.

Unfortunately technology wise the lifespan is about 2 years for a laptop. Things are moving fast with the technology. Function wise I +1 on about 4-5 years.

Take good care of you machine with frequent defrags, stay up to date on patches and run virus scans can be a good idea too.
 
Posted by jmcclesk (Member # 1355) on :
 
Ok now i understand. It has been about 5 years. I also use to use this computer to tune cars with. It has see a BUNCH of 1.6 60fts. The thing about heat makes me think. After i got it back from having the hd replaced and looked at, It still shut off. I took the thing apart and found a BUNCH of crap in the heat sinks. (for 350.00 you think the computer service co would do that) I cleaned it out. It runs MUCH cooler now and has NEVER shut of since then.

I guess i have got my moneys worth time wise.
i do defrag and virus scan regulary.

[ December 02, 2007, 09:22 PM: Message edited by: jmcclesk ]
 
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by jmcclesk:
Ok now i understand. It has been about 5 years. I also use to use this computer to tune cars with. It has see a BUNCH of 1.6 60fts. The thing about heat makes me think. After i got it back from having the hd replaced and looked at, It still shut off. I took the thing apart and found a BUNCH of crap in the heat sinks. (for 350.00 you think the computer service co would do that) I cleaned it out. It runs MUCH cooler now and has NEVER shut of since then.

I guess i have got my moneys worth time wise.
i do defrag and virus scan regulary.
wow, a place charged you 350 bucks to replace the hard drive?

seriously, it takes less than 5 minutes to physically swap the hd in a laptop!

I don't charge enough, wow.
 
Posted by jmcclesk (Member # 1355) on :
 
No that was for everything. I didnt have a restore disc. They had to save everything, all programs and data. They put in a toshiba hd 60gig that was about 125.00
I also bought a update for some software 50.00 The rest was install and a daig fee. I think they also charged a extra 20.00+ for next day service.

[ December 02, 2007, 09:38 PM: Message edited by: jmcclesk ]
 
Posted by liftedF150 (Member # 868) on :
 
you think about getting a mac? I have been anti mac for years but alot of people in my office have been getting the new macbook pro and i got to say i really like it. You can also make it so you have run windows on your machine and you can flip back and forth using parralles.
 
Posted by N8 (Member # 6048) on :
 
MAC's have their fair share of issues as well. And bootcamp isnt as great as some may think. But if MAC's were cheaper I would probably have more of them at the office [Big Grin]
 
Posted by 93ReefBlue5.0 (Member # 5780) on :
 


[ December 05, 2007, 01:49 PM: Message edited by: 93ReefBlue5.0 ]
 
Posted by 93ReefBlue5.0 (Member # 5780) on :
 
heres my input... i had only used xp before i bought my new laptop.. i bought a new HP laptop for school.. it came with Vista installed, from the get go even with a centrino duo core processor and 2 gigs of ram, it was a bit slower.. I actually don't mind Vista.. I just need to add some ram and a quicker hard drive..

When looking for a new laptop go for a dual core processor(intel), atleast 2 gigs of ram and a big hard drive. 200gig and atleast 5400rpm.. don't get anything slower than that or the comp will be slow. I hope this helps a little..
 
Posted by jmcclesk (Member # 1355) on :
 
Reefblue-what is the speed of your cpu??? Thanks n8-i have been looking into dell, with the discounts 1500.00 will get a nice computer.
 
Posted by 93ReefBlue5.0 (Member # 5780) on :
 
its the 2.2ghz intel core 2 duo

[ December 05, 2007, 01:53 PM: Message edited by: 93ReefBlue5.0 ]
 
Posted by Joooestang66 (Member # 2828) on :
 
Get a Macbook or Macbook Pro, use Bootcamp and run Windows XP or Vista. This MacBook is the best Windows laptop I've owned.
 
Posted by Joooestang66 (Member # 2828) on :
 
Get a Macbook or Macbook Pro, use Bootcamp and run Windows XP or Vista. This MacBook is the best Windows laptop I've owned.
 
Posted by StangSpdstr (Member # 1254) on :
 
ive had a macbook pro for the past year no problems i love it and i run xp on it!
 




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