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Buying new laptop [BOUGHT]

Buying new laptop [BOUGHT]

Postby phileysmiley » Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:40 pm

My 3 1/2 year-old Toshiba Satellite A105-S2716 is about to be retired. I've already replaced the HDD (a year ago), the battery (a month ago), and now the monitor went. So we have decided it's time for a new one.

I'm looking for something around $600. I prefer Newegg but I've also been looking at TigerDirect and Radio Shack just as a starting point, as well as Google price comparisons (which is actually pretty good). When it comes time to buy I'll check Pricegrabber to be sure but right now I'm just narrowing down choices, not prices.

I have 5 main considerations:

1) Brand -- I think I'd prefer to stay with Toshiba. I've been pretty happy with them.
2) Memory -- It came with 1GB and I upgraded to 2GB (which is max). But that is definitely not enough since my photo editing software practically maxes that out. So 3GB is a minimum but 4GB seems to be a standard now so I think I'd go with 4GB.
3) Hard drive -- It came with 100GB and I upgraded to 200GB. That's actually okay since I have a couple externals and I don't keep much on it. So I don't need over 250GB I don't think.
4) CPU -- I have Intel Pentium M 1.73 GHz now. The CPU choices are AMD Turion X2, Intel Core 2 Duo, and Intel Pentium dual-core. Core 2 Duo seems the most popular.
5) Screen -- I have 15.4 Wide. I don't mind going to 16 (which seems to be more popular) but it has to be wide.

All the Toshibas in the 4GB RAM category come with Vista Home Premium 64-bit.

I guess I'm pretty sure what I want for all those except #4. That's the main thing that's changed since my last laptop-shopping and I don't know much about today's processors.

Any thoughts on AMD Turion X2 vs Intel Core 2 Duo vs Intel Pentium dual-core?
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Re: Buying new laptop

Postby phileysmiley » Mon Jul 06, 2009 12:19 am

Tiger also has this:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... se=4340453

I also found a couple good Lenovo here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... rchInDesc=

Especially this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834146583

It seems I can't get a Toshiba with 4GB RAM and a widescreen under 17.1".
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Re: Buying new laptop

Postby yeshuas » Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:46 am

I would get a core 2 duo over a dual core
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Re: Buying new laptop

Postby nightfire » Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:59 am

So kind of off topic i know, but just my two cents...

Out of all the laptop work i've done, the absolute best bang for buck has been Asus, and they have some new models out on newegg that dollar for dollar are beating out HP and Alienware.

I have recommended them to at least three people, and have had no problems with them as far...Just food for thought though
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Re: Buying new laptop

Postby JabbaPapa » Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:30 am

If you were French I would *definitely* suggest one of THESE :

http://www.ordissimo.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=248

... but you're not :lol:

Or you could order one of THESE : http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/20/ls-q ... n-heck-fr/ :P

(...) OK more to the point :

____________________________

yeshuas wrote:I would get a core 2 duo over a dual core


A Core 2 Duo _is_ a dual core :P

---

I've been positively impressed with Toshiba laptops whenever I've got my hands on one, although their WiFi networking can occasionally be a little flakey.

4GB and Vista x64 seem like a good idea, but Q) are their any triple- or quad- core laptops out there ? The third core (and up) *really* makes a huge difference... A) Yes there are, AMD has released the Turion 64 X3 processor, and some laptops are available to make use of it ; and there are some extreme i7 quad core laptops out there too.

BUT the Turion 64 X3 has really only just started rolling out, and is currently limited to a very narrow choice of PCs -- so although this is the CPU that would get you very high performance at a low price, it's pretty much unavailable for some months (unless you can find a manufacturer willing to upgrade an existing Turion X2 model, which sounds pretty unrealistic as they would need to write a new BIOS for it) -- and the Intel quad core laptops seem to be PROHIBITIVELY expensive !! :confused (seems starting price for a decent quad core laptop is something like THIS $1800 : http://computershopper.com/laptops/revi ... p-7808u-fx )

It's a shame you have to buy now, as the upcoming W7 laptops in late Autumn will probably be better deals than what you'll find today :(
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Re: Buying new laptop

Postby phileysmiley » Mon Jul 06, 2009 12:01 pm

yeshuas wrote:I would get a core 2 duo over a dual core

Thanks! That is a huge help. :yesnod:

nightfire wrote:Out of all the laptop work i've done, the absolute best bang for buck has been Asus, and they have some new models out on newegg that dollar for dollar are beating out HP and Alienware.

Hmm interesting. I know they make great mobos. I'll take a look. It doesn't have to be Toshiba, especially since I now see that they may not have the configuration I'm looking for.

JabbaPapa wrote:If you were French I would *definitely* suggest one of THESE :

http://www.ordissimo.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=248

... but you're not :lol:

Or you could order one of THESE : http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/20/ls-q ... n-heck-fr/ :P

Hmm okay, becoming French is definitely not an option. :P


JabbaPapa wrote:
yeshuas wrote:I would get a core 2 duo over a dual core

A Core 2 Duo _is_ a dual core :P

I think he meant in reference to the ones they listed, which were Intel Core 2 Duo vs Intel Pentium dual-core. That's how they list them.

JabbaPapa wrote:I've been positively impressed with Toshiba laptops whenever I've got my hands on one, although their WiFi networking can occasionally be a little flakey.

4GB and Vista x64 seem like a good idea, but Q) are their any triple- or quad- core laptops out there ? The third core (and up) *really* makes a huge difference... A) Yes there are, AMD has released the Turion 64 X3 processor, and some laptops are available to make use of it ; and there are some extreme i7 quad core laptops out there too.

BUT the Turion 64 X3 has really only just started rolling out, and is currently limited to a very narrow choice of PCs -- so although this is the CPU that would get you very high performance at a low price, it's pretty much unavailable for some months (unless you can find a manufacturer willing to upgrade an existing Turion X2 model, which sounds pretty unrealistic as they would need to write a new BIOS for it) -- and the Intel quad core laptops seem to be PROHIBITIVELY expensive !! :confused (seems starting price for a decent quad core laptop is something like THIS $1800 : http://computershopper.com/laptops/revi ... p-7808u-fx )

It's a shame you have to buy now, as the upcoming W7 laptops in late Autumn will probably be better deals than what you'll find today :(

I'm glad you like Toshiba too. I've had no problem with WiFi networking. My laptop has been working fine that way for 3 1/2 years, so I've been okay with that. The processor choices I listed were the only ones available for Toshibas from Newegg and TigerDirect. Unfortunately it really is urgent that I do this ASAP. The very latest I need to do this is early September August since I'm going to the Toronto Film Festival on September 10.

Thanks for the feedback, though. It definitely helps. :yesnod:
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Re: Buying new laptop

Postby phileysmiley » Mon Jul 06, 2009 12:23 pm

One issue with Toshiba is that the only 4GB RAM with Core 2 Duo widescreen under $800 is 17.1", which is a bit large. There's a 13.3" at $800 but that's a bit small (I sound like Goldilocks).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... rchInDesc=

They do have more Asus models with 4GB RAM and Core 2 Duo but they don't have any widescreen at all under $1000.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... rchInDesc=

Maybe I just need to give up on the widescreen.

Asus does have a 4GB RAM/16"/320GB HDD/Core 2 Duo with NVIDIA GeForce GT 120M 1GB built in for $800.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834220520

I found Intel Quads but they are $1350 and up. No AMD.

Here are ALL the Core 2 Duo laptops with 4GB RAM, any brand. You can see that the 2 cheapest ones actually are 15.4" and 15.6" widescreens for $600. That would be perfect. They are Lenovo and Acer (but I really won't consider Acer for various reasons). There is also a MSi for $600 after rebate (scroll down).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... rchInDesc=

Here's a comparison of the 4 widescreens under 17" under $650:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productco ... 6834152116

BTW I have looked at TigerDirect and they have essentially all the same models, and in almost every case they are more $$.

What about http://www.dell.com/home/laptops ?
They have a 4GB RAM/Pentium Dual Core/15.6" widescreen for $600. You can upgrade it to Core 2 Duo for $35. They also have XP downgrades available lol. They also have Windows 7 Upgrades free included in price. I also get airline miles if I buy from Dell lol.
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Re: Buying new laptop

Postby NT50 » Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:55 pm

It's been a while since I purchased one for myself.
Of course I still recomment Toshiba to my customers but I have been watching and reading up on the ASUS.
They have been getting good points on there syetms.
Dell, as usual you have people who hate them and people who love them. You just never know which one your going to get.

I personally woudl either buy the Toshiba or the ASUS and woudl stay away form Dell due to their poor support.
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Re: Buying new laptop

Postby nightfire » Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:27 pm

Haha someone who acknowledges that Dell is the worst company on the face of the earth!

Replaced mobos on so many Dells to know the Extended warranty is worth more than the computer....

I've noticed that Asus on Newegg has been pushing the free upgrade for built in Nvidia products, which means you will get a cutting edge card with it for no extra $$, and i believe that video processing on laptops is underappreciated by the general mainstream marketing (staples, Dell)(The only two ads we get in our paper for computers)

If you need to get it soon Newegg is the best at that, but a friend of mine went to buy one of those $1600 Asus models and had to wait a week or so, because they were sold out
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Re: Buying new laptop

Postby phileysmiley » Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:17 pm

NT50 wrote:It's been a while since I purchased one for myself.
Of course I still recomment Toshiba to my customers but I have been watching and reading up on the ASUS.
They have been getting good points on there syetms.
Dell, as usual you have people who hate them and people who love them. You just never know which one your going to get.

I personally woudl either buy the Toshiba or the ASUS and woudl stay away form Dell due to their poor support.

Thanks! That's actually what I'm leaning toward now.

Well...I just returned from a trip to Best Buy. The purpose was a) to check their prices and b) to actually get hands on. I have found in the past that, especially with electronics, you MUST see and feel and play with the item before buying it online.

Which brings me to... Asus...yeech!!! They may be excellent quality but their keyboard is a mess. The keyboard itself takes up less than half of the bottom panel. Half of it is wasted space where the scratch pad is. It just won't be suitable on a day-to-day basis and there isn't much that it offers that I can't get in the others. So I have ruled them out.

They did have a Toshiba which would basically be the "replacement" for the one I have and it wasn't even available in this configuration at Newegg.

The Dell was closest in competition and I was weighing the 2, but leaning towards Toshiba if only because I am more familiar with their laptops having used one for 3 1/2 years.

nightfire wrote:Haha someone who acknowledges that Dell is the worst company on the face of the earth!

Replaced mobos on so many Dells to know the Extended warranty is worth more than the computer....

I've noticed that Asus on Newegg has been pushing the free upgrade for built in Nvidia products, which means you will get a cutting edge card with it for no extra $$, and i believe that video processing on laptops is underappreciated by the general mainstream marketing (staples, Dell)(The only two ads we get in our paper for computers)

If you need to get it soon Newegg is the best at that, but a friend of mine went to buy one of those $1600 Asus models and had to wait a week or so, because they were sold out

I have ruled out Asus. The keyboard design is just too uncomfortable.
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