# Everyone I need your help



## EWC88

Hey everyone, its time for me to get rid of the PC cause it is extremely old, extremely slow, and is really not what I need.  Now I'm not getting a PC I'm switching to a laptop because I don't have the space really, I'm a college student that will be moving out soon and dorms aren't spacey.

Now I haven't done much research on any laptops yet because really I'm not that computer smart ( meaning, I don't know whats a good memory to have or hard drive etc ) I'm hoping that this site can help me with that..

What I really want out of this laptop is: to last me awhile, be fast, not loud, and not crappy lol

To give you guys a idea what this laptop would be used for is : School work (essays, things in that nature) email, AIM, music, ipod, reasearching online, and I'd like it to have a dvd player so when I do travel I can bring it with me and watch a movie on the plane..

Now I've been looking at 2 brands: HP and Mac...Now I know some brands aaren't the greatest like Acer and such...

So basicaully I'm asking everyone on what brand and model would you suggest for me?  And any info would be great to give about on what things to look at with laptops compared to others.


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## Sir Travis D

How much are you willing to spend? You can get a cheap, and expensive config on a pc. A pc can come with better overall specs depending on how much you're willing to spend. You could think about dell's inspiron notebooks, or Hp pavilion dv6700t with intel processors. The dv6700t can be configured good with an intel core 2 duo 2.1ghz processor, 3gb ram, and a good graphics card. Make sure you get the 8400/8600/8700/8800 graphics cards if you want good performance for vista.


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## EWC88

When you say PC are you refering to a Desktop?

Also money wise I was looking at spending the $1000-$1500 price range since I was looking at a Mac


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## Sir Travis D

For $1000-1500 you can get a better config from a pc. A PC is any laptop or desktop that runs microsoft windows as an operating system. This includes hp,dell,acer,lenovo,ibm ect.


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## EWC88

What do you recommend Sir Traves D? If you were me and needed the laptop as I said what would you go for? Brand and model?


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## PHATSPEED7x

Sony vaio series are some pretty nice laptops. I got a old vaio and it still works great.


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## EWC88

Also what does blue screen of death mean?


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## PabloTeK

Just to clear a small thing here, a Mac is a PC - they use standard parts, very similar to your Dell/Alienware Travis and your Sony Adam. They also run Windows.

Asus, Dell (Latitudes) and Apple are personal favourites but you'll have to sacrifice some performance with the Mac for the same price. The Latitides are business machines but they are good for work, although the speakers are awful, headphones are needed really. Asus also have a small premium over HP and Dell etc but they do build their own laptops, which is actually quite rare.

EDIT: A blue screen of death (BSOD) is when some OS' suffer an irrecoverable crash so they shut down to prevent more issues. The screen contains an error code and sometimes the name of the file at fault.


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## Sir Travis D

@op - sorry about that I thought your post meant "i'm getting rid of my pc for a new computer" not "i'm getting rid of the pc brand"

@op, I still think the reason you dislike windows is because of the computer you have. If you don't have a good computer, you can't run windows how it should be run. That's the problem with people these days. They don't understand that windows vista is better than xp, they just say their computers can't run it and give up on it. I still think you should stay with microsoft windows if "its time for me to get rid of the PC cause it is extremely old, extremely slow, and is really not what I need".

If you get a new computer in that price range, it will run xp or vista well.

Also, a blue screen of death or BSOD is when windows crashes and the screen turns blue. Mac supporters base this on a reason to dump windows, but i've only had it once in 7 years. It usually comes from the owners misuse like the wrong kind of ram, overheating due to cheap psu ect.


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## EWC88

Sorry I should of stated what I was saying clearer...

I have a Desktop PC right now thats extremely old, slow, and just crap.. Because I'm a college student and will eventaully be moving out space is a big thing, so a Laptop will be best for me..

I have by all means no problem with Windows..My mom runs XP  on her Dell laptop and on her HP Desktop ( I use the desktop alot ) and I like it alot..Vista I never touched before, I have no problem with trying out new things so that doesn't matter..

The only problem I'm having is if I should go into the Mac world or stay with the Pc world...

I don't really know what are good brands, I mean Mac I know is and HP is too..Dell I'm a little iffy with myself because of past computers in my house that have been problems right from the start and there support sucked..even though my moms new laptop is good and so far nothing..

This laptop will be used for AIM, Email, school work, Ipod, reasearching etc..

Hope that clears everything up alot better!


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## N3crosis

You can get a decent one from HP or Alienware, but try to stay away from Mac, trust me, bad experiences.


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## EWC88

I'll tell you what, I just came back from Best Buy to check out some laptops and the one thing I don't like at all about the Mac was the screen size..13.3"! I don't like how small the screen was at all..

But the fact that you can run windows and mac was nice and how they don't get viruses but I don't know if thats enough for me to say Mac cause the screen is gonna make me blind cause I'll have to be litearlly glued to it


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## Sir Travis D

only ignorant people would get a mac "because it doesn't get viruses". Unless you're viewing -well dirty things- or you download random email files from random people, and you don't have a virus program for like $50, you will not get viruses. Windows was made for a pc. Mac's feeble attempt at gaining market share by running competitor's programs is sick and childish.


PC + no dirty things/random email file downloading + virus scanner = no viruses


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## EWC88

That was going to be my next question if I get the PC type laptop whats the BEST virus scan to get?

I don't view dirty crap or download anything from emails..Just to let people klnow lol


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## Vizy

EWC88 said:


> That was going to be my next question if I get the PC type laptop whats the BEST virus scan to get?
> 
> I don't view dirty crap or download anything from emails..Just to let people klnow lol



Go ahead and watch porn if you want to, lol.

anyways

AVG Antivirus is the best free thingy out there. AVG free is the correct name. i believe they recently came out with verison 8.0.


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## tlarkin

EWC88 said:


> I'll tell you what, I just came back from Best Buy to check out some laptops and the one thing I don't like at all about the Mac was the screen size..13.3"! I don't like how small the screen was at all..
> 
> But the fact that you can run windows and mac was nice and how they don't get viruses but I don't know if thats enough for me to say Mac cause the screen is gonna make me blind cause I'll have to be litearlly glued to it




If your absolute price limit is 1500 and you can't leap to the 1999 price of a Macbook pro and that is a need for you, then you are stuck getting a PC.  Mind you Apple does offer college students package deals and educational discounts.

You are correct that there are no known wild viruses for the Mac platform.  There also likely will not ever be one, considering Unix by design is far superior to windows from a security stand point.  Everything you listed for your uses a Mac would do just fine out of the box and you would not have any problems doing it.  Tons of universities have switched over to Mac networks, and I am also a network admin by trade and I run a Mac network.

Unfortunately, this forum is filled with PC users who don't know a single thing about the Mac platform to begin with.  I wouldn't really trust anything they really say or post, it is most likely biased opinions.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both platforms of windows and OS X.  Ultimately it will be up to you to decide what is best for you.  In my experience iTunes sucks in general and sucks a lot more on windows.  If that is a huge factor for you then you may want to consider a mac.  Remember it is all about what you want, so you make your own decision on the matter.

To give you some advantages of how OS X is better in some aspects I will list a few:

Unix POSIX compliant
No viruses
better security
command line application for everything (probably won't apply to you)
great built in software features
great built in hardware features
fast and reliable
way less of a resource hog
Unix memory management
less software bloat
can run windows if you absolutely need it
full EFI support
tons of free open source applications available

Now, some cons of the Mac (which may or may not apply to you)

Can't hardware profile anything out in the OS or firmware (n/a to you prob)
domain level configurations with windows domains can be tricky
lack of some video game support
lacks some third party support (however there is always a mac version of everything, you just get less choices sometime)
The Apple way (sometimes it just doesn't make sense why they do things a certain way)


Most of this can be applied to windows and linux a like.  You will have way less of a hassle with a Mac because of the way lower chances of your machine being compromised.  A virus or trojan would need your administrator password to install itself, which is untrue on windows via windows kernel hooks it allows apps, drivers, plug ins, etc access to the kernel.  

Ultimately it comes down to choices and preferences.  If you prefer to use OS X then buy a Mac, and if you prefer to run windows run windows.


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## daisymtc

So what you need is a small laptop with big hdd within budget?

$1400 ASUS F8 Series F8Sn-C1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T9300(2.50GHz) 14.1" Wide XGA+ 3GB Memory 320GB HDD DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GS - Retail 

$1000 ASUS F8 Series F8Sp-X1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T5750(2.00GHz) 14" Wide XGA 3GB Memory DDR2 667 250GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 - Retail 

$600 lenovo 3000 Y Series Y410(59012585) NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T5450(1.66GHz) 14.1" Wide XGA 2GB Memory 250GB HDD 5400rpm Dual layer DVD Burner Intel GMA X3100 - Retail


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## EWC88

daisymtc said:


> So what you need is a small laptop with big hdd within budget?
> 
> $1400 ASUS F8 Series F8Sn-C1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T9300(2.50GHz) 14.1" Wide XGA+ 3GB Memory 320GB HDD DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GS - Retail
> 
> $1000 ASUS F8 Series F8Sp-X1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T5750(2.00GHz) 14" Wide XGA 3GB Memory DDR2 667 250GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 - Retail
> 
> $600 lenovo 3000 Y Series Y410(59012585) NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T5450(1.66GHz) 14.1" Wide XGA 2GB Memory 250GB HDD 5400rpm Dual layer DVD Burner Intel GMA X3100 - Retail



Not a small laptop, I really don't perfer having a small screen..

I just want a laptop thats fast, is great for everything I will be using it for ( listed on 2page )


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## EWC88

Can anyone give me any good ideas on what to get?  I've been asking many people about this and I get mixed information. I know HP are great computers but I hear that there laptops aren't as great..is this true?


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## Sir Travis D

Acer laptops are bad. They have a bad build quality - don't get an acer even if they are cheap.

Some people complain about the customer service of alienware or dell. If that is a problem to you, you should read up on them, but I have only had good experiences.


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## EWC88

Yea Acer is one brand I know that really sucks, so they weren't in consideration..

Dell I have had bad expereince with, I mean grant it my mom has a wonderful laptop from them ( might be really good cause she hardly uses it lol )

I was certain on HP but I heard from a couple people that there laptops weren't great, but I still think that they are..is that true?

Alienware I was thinking about but I'm not really a gamer on a computer so I figured that alienware wasn't for me..


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## G25r8cer

First of all Acer does NOT suck!! DELL sucks!! HP is a good company and puts out good laptops and desktops! I do not suggest a Alienware either as they are way too over-priced and are over-rated!


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## Sir Travis D

g25racer is biased. Dell or Acer do not suck. They are for different people. Acer does have bad build quality and that's a fact. That's how they sell their computers so cheap. Dell is a good company. That is why they are one of the number one selling pc brands. 

@ewc88 - Alienware is a good overall company. Sure, they make occasional mistakes, but they have some of the best laptops. They are great for gaming and video/sound editing, which makes them good for about anything. The alienware m15x gets about 3 hours of battery life because of bianaryGFX, and it is great for gaming. That's why I got it but it is indeed expensive.


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## claytonr1973

g25racer said:


> First of all Acer does NOT suck!! DELL sucks!! HP is a good company and puts out good laptops and desktops! I do not suggest a Alienware either as they are way too over-priced and are over-rated!



I would disagree based on my experience. In Sept 02 I bought a dell inspiron 8200 refurb. Nice solid notebbok with only problem being a cracked screen from a nasty fall.
I bought a HP dv5210 in Aug 06 NEW that had dead pixels in 8months,a very finicky DVD drive,loose/flimsy screen hinges,and a flimsy base platform. It came will no install discs like my dell did so only option is to use restore when OS gets corrupt.
I just purchased a new notebook and bought a Dell because of my experience. Being a truck driver I leave my computer on for days at a time as my GPS is on my pc,plus a couple other programs. The vibration and shock from pot holes,speed bumps, wash board dirt roads(I do a lot of off road deliveries) really strain a pc and the Dell is still like new, where as the HP is showing it's wear and tear. While the OP may not put his through that much abuse, it's nice to know which one is tougher.


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## G25r8cer

Sir Travis D said:


> g25racer is biased. Dell or Acer do not suck. They are for different people. Acer does have bad build quality and that's a fact. That's how they sell their computers so cheap. Dell is a good company. That is why they are one of the number one selling pc brands.
> 
> @ewc88 - Alienware is a good overall company. Sure, they make occasional mistakes, but they have some of the best laptops. They are great for gaming and video/sound editing, which makes them good for about anything. The alienware m15x gets about 3 hours of battery life because of bianaryGFX, and it is great for gaming. That's why I got it but it is indeed expensive.



First of all! Your 14!! What do you know?? Did I say alienware suck? NOPE I said they are over-priced and over-rated!!


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## Dropkickmurphys

Sir Travis D said:


> Dell is a good company. That is why they are one of the number one selling pc brands.



Not true, Dell are the No1 cause they sell their PC's the cheapest.... they use cheap parts to build cheap computers, and they have a cheap tech supports (its all based in india or something).

Im not slagging off their laptops (or maybe their XPS machines), but with their basic home user pc's, thats all they are, you try and do more than a home user would and you'll kill it.

i managed to fry my old Dells (8400) first Mobo by running MSN, CoD:UO and iTunes at the same time. and i have had so many problems with it
5HDDs (or so, lost count)
3Mobos
and now it needs a new PSU.

Dave.


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## G25r8cer

Dropkickmurphys said:


> Not true, Dell are the No1 cause they sell their PC's the cheapest.... they use cheap parts to build cheap computers, and they have a cheap tech supports (its all based in india or something).
> 
> Im not slagging off their laptops (or maybe their XPS machines), but with their basic home user pc's, thats all they are, you try and do more than a home user would and you'll kill it.
> 
> i managed to fry my old Dells (8400) first Mobo by running MSN, CoD:UO and iTunes at the same time. and i have had so many problems with it
> 5HDDs (or so, lost count)
> 3Mobos
> and now it needs a new PSU.
> 
> Dave.



Yup!! Dell sucks!! They are known for crappy mobo's, hdd's, and psu's!!


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## Dropkickmurphys

g25racer said:


> Yup!! Dell sucks!! They are known for crappy mobo's, hdd's, and psu's!!



thing is, they dont make the PSUs or the HDDs, they just buy them, i cant remember the company for the HDD, so im not going to start slagging off a random company ... lol... still though, i blame Dell for giving me cheap parts LMAO!


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## tlarkin

Dropkickmurphys said:


> thing is, they dont make the PSUs or the HDDs, they just buy them, i cant remember the company for the HDD, so im not going to start slagging off a random company ... lol... still though, i blame Dell for giving me cheap parts LMAO!



No, but what they will do is use a non standard size (dimensions wise) powersupply in their case so you are forced to buy from them.

Just get a Mac, you won't be sorry.  They only use high quality parts.


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## Dropkickmurphys

tlarkin said:


> No, but what they will do is use a non standard size (dimensions wise) powersupply in their case so you are forced to buy from them.



yup, their motherboards and RAM are also "non-standardised", the motherboards are backwards and the Ram has the little bump (dont know the name) in the wrong place lol...


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## EWC88

tlarkin said:


> No, but what they will do is use a non standard size (dimensions wise) powersupply in their case so you are forced to buy from them.
> 
> Just get a Mac, you won't be sorry.  They only use high quality parts.




I thought about a make but the macbook screen was way to little...The pro was better but still a little screen...

I was thinking of HP alot but not sure anymore I want something that is going be great for my needs and will last awhile, I just want something good! lol


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## tlarkin

EWC88 said:


> I thought about a make but the macbook screen was way to little...The pro was better but still a little screen...
> 
> I was thinking of HP alot but not sure anymore I want something that is going be great for my needs and will last awhile, I just want something good! lol



How big of a screen do you want, 17"?


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## fatdragon

lol hp is ok... i surpose but if u want my experience with a hp laptop it sucks why? one my laptop had been sent in repairs for a faulty motherboard  2 months later they gave it back to me but now i cant put anything in the express slot because they didn't screw in the screws properly.
2 the fan on a hp laptop sucks first its silent then it gets louder, then its make some kind of cranky noise like the noise when u start up those old computers.
so if u want a hp laptop u have to REALLY take good care of it otherwise u will regret it like me and many other hp users


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## fatdragon

oh yeah and the wireless is pretty dodgy on some hp laptops


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## daisymtc

EWC88 said:


> Not a small laptop, I really don't perfer having a small screen..
> 
> I just want a laptop thats fast, is great for everything I will be using it for ( listed on 2page )



So what size do you want? I saw you said you will travelling around.
I've been carrying my 17"/ 15" lappy when I travel on flight/ train. I really feel  they are heavy, and a 15" laptop still big for a economy class.


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## Kill Bill

Flar0n said:


> You can get a decent one from HP or Alienware, but try to stay away from Mac, trust me, bad experiences.



your poor .exe files not running.
--------------------------
 I use a mac hack pro and it is fantastic so the experience on a real mac would be better. If you like Dell go for dell just make sure you know what your doing. (The inspirions suck)  You also say you have an iPod,iTunes doesn't crash on a mac but does the occesonal freeze on xp/vista. Basicly if you want a mac and pc get a mac and use bootcamp


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## EWC88

Hey I was thinking around a 17" screen...The macbook I looked at was 13.3" and that was a no right away..

If you don't recommend HP what do you guys think I should go for?


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## tlarkin

EWC88 said:


> Hey I was thinking around a 17" screen...The macbook I looked at was 13.3" and that was a no right away..
> 
> If you don't recommend HP what do you guys think I should go for?



HP business class are great laptops.  I have one I am selling atm, but it is a small form factor.  If you are going to buy HP, buy their business class laptops instead of their consumer ones.

I had mentioned the Macbook Pro earlier, which as a 15" screen, everything you need built in, can do everything you would want it to do.  With an educational discount it would probably run you around $1750ish give or take a bit.

If that is out of your price range or you want (or have to have) a windows laptop, I would suggest you look at getting an HP business class.

Also, Acer laptops are fine.  Almost all of them (laptops) are made from the same parts anyway, and they all have their own proprietary motherboards.  You can't build your own laptop part for part.  Everything else is pretty much standard on them as far as optical drive, HD, RAM, and ports.  

I think Acer made the top 5 total laptop sales of 2007, and you don't make a crappy product and make the top 5. 

Only a few companies actually make parts.


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## EWC88

Ok..

What specs should I look for with the things I posted on page 2 I belive that I would use this for?  Like what type of ram etc..

So atleast I can kno that and thne figure what brand suites me best..


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## tlarkin

EWC88 said:


> I'll tell you what, I just came back from Best Buy to check out some laptops and the one thing I don't like at all about the Mac was the screen size..13.3"! I don't like how small the screen was at all..
> 
> But the fact that you can run windows and mac was nice and how they don't get viruses but I don't know if thats enough for me to say Mac cause the screen is gonna make me blind cause I'll have to be litearlly glued to it



was this what you were referring to on page 2?  Can you post specific questions in the future so we can better answer them?

I didn't see anything except what you were possibly looking at and some bad information from other people on the forum...

Also, keep in mind Apple uses high end 1440 x 900 LED LCD screens, which are a lot higher quality than most PC laptops to begin with.

What are your exact needs for the laptop?  List off what you will be using it for and what programs, and then we can better help you.  Don't even worry about brands yet, we need to establish exactly everything you will use it for from wireless connectivity to applications to entertainment.


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## EWC88

EWC88 said:


> Sorry I should of stated what I was saying clearer...
> 
> I have a Desktop PC right now thats extremely old, slow, and just crap.. Because I'm a college student and will eventaully be moving out space is a big thing, so a Laptop will be best for me..
> 
> I have by all means no problem with Windows..My mom runs XP  on her Dell laptop and on her HP Desktop ( I use the desktop alot ) and I like it alot..Vista I never touched before, I have no problem with trying out new things so that doesn't matter..
> 
> The only problem I'm having is if I should go into the Mac world or stay with the Pc world...
> 
> I don't really know what are good brands, I mean Mac I know is and HP is too..Dell I'm a little iffy with myself because of past computers in my house that have been problems right from the start and there support sucked..even though my moms new laptop is good and so far nothing..
> 
> This laptop will be used for AIM, Email, school work, Ipod, reasearching etc..
> 
> Hope that clears everything up alot better!



that


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## tlarkin

*This laptop will be used for AIM, Email, school work, Ipod, reasearching etc..*

Any basic laptop will do that, be it Mac or a PC.  It just comes down to features and benefits and your price range and preferences.

A Mac will do it all and give you every feature you need out of the box.

A PC can't quite do all that a Mac can out of the box but it can with third party.

Depending on other uses, like gaming, audio recording, film editing, etc, could also play into what you want your laptop for.


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## EWC88

how does something like this look?

HPdv9700t series:    Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
• Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.40GHz)
• 17.0" diagonal WXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1440 x 900)
• 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS
• HP Imprint (Radiance) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
• Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection
• 240GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (120GB x 2)
• LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
• No TV Tuner w/remote control
• High Capacity 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• Norton Internet Security(TM) 2008 - 3 Year Subscription
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0

all for $1712.99

Now I can probably go with a 15.4" instead of a 17"

but any thoughts?


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## Sir Travis D

That looks good, but a 15" would be better in my opinion.


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## PunterCam

Those specs are complete overkill for what you're wanting to do; I 've always saved my cash and bought what I needed.

As a rule, 1Gb ram will run XP very well, and 2Gb will run Vista at a similar speed (as far as my experience goes). The 4Gbs on that spec will go to waste with word processing etc... Future proof? A laptop will no doubt die long before an upgrade would be required (again based on my experience - I'd never have a laptop as my main computer. My flat mate just had his sony vaio die with all his work on it - end of uni is weeks away...)

I'd be tempted to get a solid, quick, but basic desktop and buy a macbook as well (the fact that they're small is the appeal, they're lovely little things!).


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## EWC88

For the genuine vista it needs they say 62bit and the 4gb is what would be needed it stated thats what I put that..

I think I will go with the 15.4" instead..

And I'm still questionable because I can get a mac book pro for the same prioce...


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## Vizy

Vista? No. Vista does not need 4gb of ram. its a complete waste. Trust us, frome xperience, 2gb is enough for vista, especially for what your planning to do. 

And the 'bit' thing. Only *64* bit os can read more than 3.25gb of ram.


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## EWC88

Ok so what do you recommend then?


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## EWC88

Also lets just say just in case if anyone wants to tell me what they recommend  for a laptop the budget is 1700


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## tlarkin

Vizy93 said:


> Vista? No. Vista does not need 4gb of ram. its a complete waste. Trust us, frome xperience, 2gb is enough for vista, especially for what your planning to do.
> 
> And the 'bit' thing. Only *64* bit os can read more than 3.25gb of ram.



Actually, 32bit OSes can read up to 4Gig of RAM, it is a hardware and OS limitation that causes it to recognize less than 4gig.

Furthermore, 64-bit OSes also can take advantage of 64-bit instruction sets, which is another advantage.  However, the developer of your app, the OS, and the hardware all have to support it, so there is no real advantage for an end user running 64bit at this point in time.

Server side stuff 64bit is where its at.


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## EWC88

tlarkin said:


> Actually, 32bit OSes can read up to 4Gig of RAM, it is a hardware and OS limitation that causes it to recognize less than 4gig.
> 
> Furthermore, 64-bit OSes also can take advantage of 64-bit instruction sets, which is another advantage.  However, the developer of your app, the OS, and the hardware all have to support it, so there is no real advantage for an end user running 64bit at this point in time.
> 
> Server side stuff 64bit is where its at.



What do you suggest for a laptop then? or even what brand/model do you recommend? budget once agian is $1700


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## tlarkin

EWC88 said:


> What do you suggest for a laptop then? or even what brand/model do you recommend? budget once agian is $1700



If you want a PC laptop get an Asus, HP business class, or Lenovo.

If you want a Mac get a Macbook Pro, but save up like 200 more dollars (get your educational discount as well, which is about 10%), err maybe with the educational discount it will be around $1700, you should look into that.

This is why I don't work sales because I never forced something on to someone.  Do you live near a computer store?  Go "test drive" a bunch of laptops and get a feel for what you like.  Then post back what you like about each brand and why and we can better determine what you should get.  I can sit here all day and tell you what I prefer, but that doesn't mean you would prefer the same things I do.


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## EWC88

tlarkin said:


> If you want a PC laptop get an Asus, HP business class, or Lenovo.
> 
> If you want a Mac get a Macbook Pro, but save up like 200 more dollars (get your educational discount as well, which is about 10%), err maybe with the educational discount it will be around $1700, you should look into that.
> 
> This is why I don't work sales because I never forced something on to someone.  Do you live near a computer store?  Go "test drive" a bunch of laptops and get a feel for what you like.  Then post back what you like about each brand and why and we can better determine what you should get.  I can sit here all day and tell you what I prefer, but that doesn't mean you would prefer the same things I do.



I did try out the Macbook Pro and was pretty impressed if I must say so myself, and with the educational discount it goes down to $1799.

I also look at some HP's ( I was at bestbuy ) and I liked them as well..

Now I did like some features on the Mac, the back in time thing they have were when you delete something and earse it from your trashcan that you can retreive it back...also I did like the speed of it...The only thing that I'm questionable about is people tell me that I shouldn't get the Macbook Pro because yes it will work for what I want a laptop for but its really design for graphic art and things like that which really I'm not going be doing a whole lot of. ( mostly AIM, Email, School work, Music, )

I'm just all confused cause I don't really have the knowledge like everyone on here has with computers so this process of me picking out a laptop is taking forever..I just really want one thats going be GREAT for my needs and LAST as long as possible...Grant it I do want to get also a exterior storage thing ( don't know what its called but I know you can hook it up to your laptop and save stuff to that so its not taking up your laptop memory )


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## tlarkin

Well then it seems like you narrowed it down to a macbook pro or an HP, if you do buy HP I suggest you buy their business class, much better laptops.

Don't worry about what people say about Macs, I use them all day every day, and they get the job done.  You can do everything you want to do on a Mac.  It just comes down to your personal preference.


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## BookWen

you can change from old ram to one new!
but I suggest you buy a new laptop.I think the brand of dell is good.you can consider it.


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## EWC88

Yea I am going to for sure buy a brand new laptop, and Dell I'm a little iffy on with them..

I'm going check out a consumer report mag and other laptop mags to see what the top choices are...


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## EWC88

Ok I got a consumer reports that is from this months issue (june 08) I figured 15.4 is the screen I want I don't need the 17.  Since I'm not on a budget I decided to look at the better ones and they show either the MacBook Pro or HP Pavillion dv6700t as the top 2..

Now what do you guys think I should go for out of those 2? If you pick the HP I was thinking of customizing it to have 3GB of memory ( thinking of 4 not sure ) and should I do the 250 or 320GB for the hard drive?


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## EWC88

Anyone? Should I go with a custom HP 6700t series or MacBook Pro


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## Kill Bill

MacBook Pro 17'' 2.5GHz or the 15'' 2.5GHz the 2.4GHz 15'' is soo last year. And the MBP goes up to 4GB of ram and a 250GB HDD 5400RPM but the 300GB is at 4200RPM which is ipod HDD speed and it will be like that on the HP. Just buy the 250GB 2.5GHz C2D,8600M GT 512MB SDRAM,2 or the 4GB of Ram, 15''/17'' Display and then buy a mybook External HDD.


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## EWC88

Kill Bill said:


> MacBook Pro 17'' 2.5GHz or the 15'' 2.5GHz the 2.4GHz 15'' is soo last year. And the MBP goes up to 4GB of ram and a 250GB HDD 5400RPM but the 300GB is at 4200RPM which is ipod HDD speed and it will be like that on the HP. Just buy the 250GB 2.5GHz C2D,8600M GT 512MB SDRAM,2 or the 4GB of Ram, 15''/17'' Display and then buy a mybook External HDD.



So your saying get the HP?


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## EWC88

bump


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## tlarkin

EWC88 said:


> So your saying get the HP?



Ok, I was trying not to do this, but since you are so consistent I will humor you...


In my personal opinion, having serviced and supported, and owned about every major brand of laptop in my lifetime, the Macbook Pro is the best damn laptop I have ever owned.  Period!  I don't game on laptops though, I think that is kind of lame and would only ever game on a desktop.

It meets all of my needs and exceeds them.  I love it only being 1" thick, for me that is a selling point since I have lug it around all day every day for work.  I can support and administer windows boxes, linux boxes, and Mac OS X boxes with one machine.  

That is my opinion on it, since you asked.  Now if those needs sound similar to yours then consider it.  The decision is yours and I am not going to tell you what to get.  I will though just give you my opinion.  I have used, supported, and owned almost every major brand of laptops and have done so for years.

Don't buy a Gateway, that I can tell you.


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## EWC88

tlarkin said:


> Ok, I was trying not to do this, but since you are so consistent I will humor you...
> 
> 
> In my personal opinion, having serviced and supported, and owned about every major brand of laptop in my lifetime, the Macbook Pro is the best damn laptop I have ever owned.  Period!  I don't game on laptops though, I think that is kind of lame and would only ever game on a laptop.
> 
> It meets all of my needs and exceeds them.  I love it only being 1" thick, for me that is a selling point since I have lug it around all day every day for work.  I can support and administer windows boxes, linux boxes, and Mac OS X boxes with one machine.
> 
> That is my opinion on it, since you asked.  Now if those needs sound similar to yours then consider it.  The decision is yours and I am not going to tell you what to get.  I will though just give you my opinion.  I have used, supported, and owned almost every major brand of laptops and have done so for years.
> 
> Don't buy a Gateway, that I can tell you.




Thanks man, sorry for all of it I just want a real good laptop that will last..


And yea Gateway is not in decision at all


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