# Laptop advice - Dell or other?



## cmalone (9 Feb 2013)

Thinking of upgrade of laptop- have for 4 years- Dell.

Need for college/ internet/ general use

Any advice- re. this one or any other
[broken link removed]


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## dub_nerd (10 Feb 2013)

Way, way, overpriced for a 4GB Core-i3. I have bought a dozen Dells over the years, so I have nothing against them. However, I bought a 6GB Core-i5 for considerably less money than that over a year ago. Have a look around the Irish online sites (Komplett, Elara etc.) and physical shops ... you should be able to do better. Have a look at Asus machines - pretty well built and cheaper.


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## cmalone (10 Feb 2013)

*Dell*

Chatted with Dell Online Support for advice this PM- very surprised by poor level of service- no genuine attempt to advise.

Agent quoted me the UK price- which was 50 euro cheaper than the Irish one- he stated that Marketing Department set prices- not currency...

Also, wanted Microsoft Office- was 100 euro dearer if purchase with Dell than if buy direct from Microsoft.


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## stobear (10 Feb 2013)

Macbook all the way, have been a windows slave for years, and the recently acquired macbook is a revelation.


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## cmalone (10 Feb 2013)

*Mac*

Does changing to Mac mean lots of different formatting? or can files be interchanged easily


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## Guns N Roses (11 Feb 2013)

stobear said:


> Macbook all the way, have been a windows slave for years, and the recently acquired macbook is a revelation.


 
I recently got a new HP laptop running Windows 8. Only have it a week and I'm already sorry that I didn't pay the extra money and get a Macbook. Windows 8 is a pain to use especailly if you're use a mouse or touchpad. Will be changing to Mac as soon as I can.


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## AlbacoreA (11 Feb 2013)

Guns N Roses said:


> I recently got a new HP laptop running Windows 8. Only have it a week and I'm already sorry that I didn't pay the extra money and get a Macbook. Windows 8 is a pain to use especailly if you're use a mouse or touchpad. Will be changing to Mac as soon as I can.




Underneath its the same as Windows 7. You don't to use the W8 Metro interface. You can install something like Classic Shell, too.


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## AlbacoreA (11 Feb 2013)

stobear said:


> Macbook all the way, have been a windows slave for years, and the recently acquired macbook is a revelation.



Bit of difference in budget, €600 vs €1300


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## briste (11 Feb 2013)

Guns N Roses said:


> I recently got a new HP laptop running Windows 8. Only have it a week and I'm already sorry that I didn't pay the extra money and get a Macbook. Windows 8 is a pain to use especailly if you're use a mouse or touchpad. Will be changing to Mac as soon as I can.



W8 is a new type of interface. It does require you to learn new skills but it is where the UI is going, so in one sense, it is ahead of Apple. In saying that, I'm not sure why using the mouse or touchpad should cause any issues.

If you do buy a W8 laptop, make sure it has a touchscreen.

TBH, it's a crap time to be in the market at the moment. Hardware is in a transition to touchscreens but they are in short supply.


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## michaelm (11 Feb 2013)

cmalone said:


> Any advice- re. this one or any other
> [broken link removed]


Looks ok, if pricey.  You could get more for the same money or the same spec for less.  I'd go Windows 7 rather than Windows 8, 4GB RAM should be fine for what you want to do . . www.laptopsdirect.ie is worth a look.


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## AlbacoreA (11 Feb 2013)

Install Classic Shell and W8 works almost the same as W7. (its very similar underneath) You can ignore the metro interface completely.


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## Woodie (11 Feb 2013)

Working with some ICT people they are all holding off on making PC purchases at the moment unless ABSOLUTELY necessary.  If it's just for general college work, internet general use rather than a specific high powered need i.e. Photoshop, CAD or some such, I'd hold on for a quarter or two before taking the plunge.


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## AlbacoreA (11 Feb 2013)

Woodie said:


> Working with some ICT people they are all holding off on making PC purchases at the moment unless ABSOLUTELY necessary.  If it's just for general college work, internet general use rather than a specific high powered need i.e. Photoshop, CAD or some such, I'd hold on for a quarter or two before taking the plunge.



Why?


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## briste (12 Feb 2013)

AlbacoreA said:


> Install Classic Shell and W8 works almost the same as W7. (its very similar underneath) You can ignore the metro interface completely.



You shouldn't ignore the Metro UI. Once you get used to it, you realize it is way better than the old Start button.

Just hit the Windows key and start typing what you want.

Pin your most used programs to the Task bar.

Re why people are holding off on purchasing, the main reason is that people typically buy hardware for a four year cycle. In a year's time, all mid-range and up laptops will have a touchscreen. Currently, only ultrabooks have them. You don't want to be sitting around in two years time knowing that your machine out of date for the next two years.


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## AlbacoreA (12 Feb 2013)

My point though is W8 is very similar to Windows 7. I wouldn't avoid it because its not windows 7. It IS windows 7 once you get past Metro. 

Metro is just a big shell over Windows 7 IMO. I don't use the start menu much anyway, most of my commonly used stuff is in the taskbar or a shortcut on the desktop. I don't see the point of duplicating all of that on metro splash screen. Its redundant. Or why I should need to take my hand off the mouse to type something two handed when one or two clicks does the same thing with less key presses. 

Touching the screen makes sense when its a tablet or phone. But it doesn't make much sense for me. For example if I want to multi select things at 1920x1280 touch input is just too imprecise, a line of code at that res etc.


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## briste (12 Feb 2013)

W8 is very similar to XP - as it should be.

There are many differences though.

I put W8 on my W7 machine and it is more stable and feels faster.

There are also differences in file Explorer, Task Manager and much better multiple monitor support.

Don't get me wrong - W7 is a great OS; however, if I am buying a machine today, I want it for the next 4 years. In a short while, nearly all laptops will be touch. Down the road, you don't want to be in a situation where you have to explain to the person jabbing your screen over your shoulder that actually, you don't have a touchscreen.


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## AlbacoreA (12 Feb 2013)

My pet hate is people touching my screen. I don't want to have to look though their smeary greasy finger prints. 

We've had tablet PC's, Windows Mobile/CE devices, Netbooks, and now touch screen laptop. Personally I'm going to wait to see if this is another fad or not. But for machine for doing work on it won't be touch screen. A machine for entertainment, and social media, perhaps.


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## tallpaul (12 Feb 2013)

stobear said:


> Macbook all the way, have been a windows slave for years, and the recently acquired macbook is a revelation.


 
+1. Having used my new MacBook Pro for the past month, I would never go back to a Windows machine for home use. 

Yes Mac OS X does take a little getting used to, but the two operating systems are quite alike in certain respects. However, for me it is clear that Apple painstakingly examine every aspect of a computer from hardware (keyboards, screens etc.) to the software that runs on it in terms of usability and how both interact and relate. Nearly every function has three, four or five ways of being accessed which makes the whole system incredibly user-friendly.


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## stobear (12 Feb 2013)

Sorry for the delay with this reply, I have the MS Office on the MBP and I think the GUI is some much prettier on the Mac and more intuitive, the overall experience is so much more pleasant. Just cant really fault Apple for design quality on hardware and software. I use iPhoto for all the photo work but this took a little getting used to as the program does all the managing for you.


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## Woodie (13 Feb 2013)

AlbacoreA said:


> Why?



Simple; the crossover point in terms of OS and equipment is usually a poor time to make an investment.  Glitches, non suitability of software and relatively short supply in terms of range of equipment.  Many corporates will not move to Windows 8 / 2012 for many years. Same thing happened with Windows Xp / 2003 and Windows 7 / 2008.  We won't even mention Vista.
I have no doubt that home users and specific touch use will drive Windows 8 but the momentum will not gather pace until the success or otherwise of Windows 8 is clear http://www.zdnet.com/acers-definition-of-windows-8-failure-is-it-fair-7000010423/


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## AlbacoreA (13 Feb 2013)

I don't really understand that. Most companies I've worked with in IT, don't use the OS that comes on the machine. They reinstall an image of the company standard OS. As such buying hardware like computers is independent to the OS supplied on it. 

Its really only an issue for home users or small business's.


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## Woodie (13 Feb 2013)

AlbacoreA said:


> I don't really understand that. Most companies I've worked with in IT, don't use the OS that comes on the machine. They reinstall an image of the company standard OS. As such buying hardware like computers is independent to the OS supplied on it.
> 
> Its really only an issue for home users or small business's.


Think that was the point I was making.  Corporates are slow to change and as you have said will install their own OS clean rather than the bloatware that comes with most product.  
The point I was making was in response to the OP who asked about investing now.  I feel better as a home/SME its better to wait until the market is clearer unless a replacement is necessary.  The OP needs seem to be pretty standard so I'd say that the pressing need for a new PC is probably less critical just at this point in time.


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## AlbacoreA (13 Feb 2013)

Still don't get it. If a corporate uses their own software, it doesn't matter what software is on the hardware they buy. They wipe it anyway. 

The only issue I can see if  guess there will be a hardware change, like all laptops switching to touch screen, or convertible tablets. You might as well gamble on Chromebooks becoming the standard.  For a home user it will come down to price too. Will touch screens come as standard?


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