Seek laptop advice 5

[jlockley]

And this is the closest forum I find. With a number of towers, a net book and a wonderful but soon antiquated Lenovo, it appears that a new laptop which would enable me to work in Berlin rather than San Francisco is becoming necessary.

I need less storage - it's not gaming and media, although I will probably be watching some videos - mostly productivity. Space for several programs including Paradox, Office Pro, Cardscan, etc. It appears all will be 64 bit among the new ones. Need it to be fast enough to do some graphic work, ie decent video memory, probably 3 - 4g ram, and 15.5 screen plus not too heavy. Above all, I need some degree of robustness.

I've been warned off of HP and Compaq. Have a $500 ASUS in mind (reviews suggest it is sluggish, but then again, not a gamer) and looked at a $400 special on the new Acer - how do their kits stand up. The ASUS has a 2 yr global replacement warranty, even if dropped. Nice.

My question to the assembled intelligence here (I really mean that): How do other brands stack up, including ACER. Samsung, Sony, Dell, et all. What to look for in addition to a comfortable keyboard and decent warranty.

My current Lenovo is heavy and it's a tank (but it's solid as a rock)..are they still that well built?

I have been reading Newegg, Amazon and Tiger reviews like a maniac, and they're all just scary.. It's either the best computer (possibly first) they've ever had or the worst.. therefor, advice terribly appreciated.

 

[goombawaho]

You're going to get so many opinions that are all over the place no matter where you look.

My thought is that most name brand machines at similar price points are going to be similar performers and reliability should be a wash (and how can you tell about long term reliability when a model has only been out for a year or less).

My theory - totally unscientific. Get a Dell at your price point. Many, many sold = lots of spare parts that will be available to you in later years.

 

[jlockley]

Dell's on the positive list. Many friends are satisfied. I just forgot to list it. I have just discovered the AMD e-350 chip, which should be more than satisfactory for my needs and am exploring Lenovo possibilities.
I don't mind multiple opinions. What concerns most is getting an idea which units need more repair. There are some great HP deals out there, but what research I have seen indicates that they are the least robust of all models. I don't plan to drop them from great heights, but the unit will travel a lot.

I seem to remember that Lenovo has a shock proof (within bounds) drive, which, of course may be included in all of them.

 

[jlockley]

Answer to first question:

http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf

So ASUS and Toshiba are the first choices. Thanks again.

 

[xwb]

How heavy is heavy? Remember to add the weight of the power supply when you weigh the laptops. Many laptops boast lightness but it you add the brick that is supplied to charge their batteries, it can be 1-2 kg extra. If you ring dell, ask the sales person how heavy the power supply is.

There is also a heat problem. Core i7s get very hot. My i7 can get up to 90 degrees just running 2 idle VMs and 1 internet browser. Corei5s ore AMDs might be better.

Will you be upgrading the memory soon after you get it? Dells are really painful to upgrade. On the professional versions the disks are easily removable but on the home versions, it is next to impossible to remove anything. Best get as much memory as you can when you buy it.

Other things are do you need a numeric keypad. You will need at least a 16" screen if you do. Problem is many of the machines with 16" screens have crap resolution (1366x768). The price really jumps when you get one with a decent resolution (1680x1050, 1920x1080 or 1920x1200)

Check the DVD. The ones that grab your CD have one problem: if something goes wrong, you can't get the CD out. The ones without a grab at least have a hole to poke. Dells with the grab have an eject button but it doesn't work when the power is off.

Some machines have PCI express, some don't. It is not like the good old days where all machines had a PCMCIA or cardbus slot. Nowadays everything is USB so the more USB slots you have the better.

Also check whether it has a displayport or HDMI or VGA for a second monitor. If you are investing in a second screen, check the connectors: especially if they are DVI-D. Nobody makes DVI-D to VGA cables. I had to break off the analog bits of my DVI-VGA cable to make it a DVI-D to VGA cable.

 

[jlockley]

I was thinking Core i3 initially, but really like what I read about AMD processors both for the heat and for the battery life.
A good point about battery weight. In Intel chips I was looking at Asus 45E-BAL5

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388309,00.asp#fbid=xcFxjP9kgIW

and BAL5

http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_view...3D289251%26po%3D6,00.asp?p=n#fbid=xcFxjP9kgIW

as well as ASUS U36SD

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-20122446-58/get-an-asus-u36sd-ultraportable-laptop-for-$699.99/

and the Toshiba line with AMD Quad core like

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?poid=2000004024

. and

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/pdet.to?poid=2000004024

There's a terrific deal on the 17" model, but I don't see it on an airline tray.

Looking at these, I wonder if I can't use the Lenovo T60 for another year. It is, despite the 75GB drive (usb drive) and xp a terrific unit.

Thanks for the input.

Thanks. All input is useful.

 

[BadBigBen]

Drives can be upgraded and XP ain't so bad, and yes the T60 is a robust piece...

if you really want something rugged, then think Panasonic (e.g. Toughbook 52) or Twinhead (e.g. Durabook S15C), tough I would prefer the Panasonic... but they are more expensive than others with comparable specs...

and if you are thinking about bumping, dropping, etc. while traveling, then invest in a good carry bag...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[goombawaho]

What are you talking about XWB??

"Will you be upgrading the memory soon after you get it? Dells are really painful to upgrade.

 

[xwb]

The older Dells used to be easy to upgrade: just unscrew a cover and add in the memory. The newer Dells you need to take half the machine apart before memory can be added. Maybe they've changed their design again so it is easy but I haven't seen any of these yet.

 

[jlockley]

Thanks.
I like the Panasonics, but price is an issue. I am comfortable in the price range of the models listed. I might just upgrade, but I don't think I can get any more memory into it. I agree that XP is tolerable.
I am not planning on dropping it, obviously, and it's not going on a mule trek, but I have noticed that the Lenovo has taken a couple of substantial bumps without blinking. From what I hear, the newer computers are if anything less robust than some of the early ones. Could be wrong?
The statistics above indicate that the Lenovo is less robust than either ASUS or Toshiba. They also indicate that about 1/5 of laptops go in for repair, which considering moving between continents would be a major irritation.
I thought Lenovos were nasty to upgrade, as they had/have proprietary drives. Any insights?

 

[jlockley]

You have all been a great help. I just checked on memory and drive upgrade, and it's fairly straight forward. (I built all my desktops, and it's a lot easier than that).
drives up to 500gb are under $100, 320gb under $50. sims would be between $14 and $35.
The laptop is still selling for about $250, the price of cheaper laptops of the same size, so it looks like the best idea.
The next issue is how to transfer the content of the old laptop to the new one. I am going to take it over to the har ddrive discussion but again appreciate any input.

Thank you all very much.

 

[xwb]

It depends on whether you wish to transfer data or applications.

Data is not a problem. If both the laptops can see each other over the network it is just a straight copy.

Applications are more difficult, especially if you are changing from WXP to W7. Some apps are not compatible so you may need to run them in compatibility mode. Also most PCs nowadays come with W7 64bit. The home edition does not support XP compatibility mode. You need Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate.

It took me a whole day to get my scanner to work on W7. Kept on moaning about not having a twain driver. Fixed it in the end with XP compatibility mode.

Do you still have the original installation disks? Are any of the apps node locked? The node locked ones are the worst ones, especially if the package comes from a company that no longer exists. There are various ways of getting around them but this post will be marked is inappropriate if I mention them.

 

[jlockley]

Good question about installation disks. I have a couple, but I suspect they are just additional software. I have a number of valid xp installation disks, though, so that would not be a problem.

I always keep my data in a discrete folder (Despite Window's constant attempts to get it spread out all over the system) so that's a piece of cake. What I want to do is get the entire system mirrored onto the new, larger drive, including the Lenovo proprietary partition (backup, rescue, etc) and all programs.

I am planning on keeping XP for the moment. I am not at all in love with W7, and this has been pretty stable. I will deal with Windows 8 when it arrives, at which point I may have another unit.

The 500 GB drive looks like a good idea, especially since the 400 gb on home desktop is nearly full of business stuff - 200gb only programs. Once transfer is complete, I will just use the usb case for the old drive as a portable.

 

[goombawaho]

Somebody tell the management that the post shows that three stars have been awarded, when you look at it in the list under its categoary.

Yet when you open the post, there are no stars to be found.

 

[BadBigBen]

Goom,

the issue is already in the works... Staff will take a look at it Monday, or so I am told... ;-)

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[jlockley]

Odd. There's also an issue with the link sent by email. So for now, just thank you all.

 

[jlockley]

Stars! I see Stars!! Thanks all again.