# Best laptop



## helsbells (22 Jan 2008)

Hi,

I'm looking for advice on buying a laptop & hoping somebody might point me in the right direction. I need it for storing & editing digital photos, & storing music along with general home user stuff (email, web)

Have no idea which spec I need, and getting more confused the more I look online. 

Looking for a reliable brand, good value, & help on which spec I should buy (sofeware ect)

Thanks in advance.


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## aircobra19 (22 Jan 2008)

Would you consider a Mac or does it have to be a PC. I would say go for 2GB of RAM a dual core 2 processor, and as big a hard disk as you can afford. Screen size and battery life is really down to how much you will travel and need to carry the laptop. Also try a few in the shops to see which screen, text size and keyboard you like. As that makes all the difference. 

These might be useful. 

*The Notebook Buying Guide v1.0 Beta *


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## Ron Burgundy (22 Jan 2008)

aircobra19 said:


> *Would you consider a Mac or does it have to be a PC.* I would say go for 2GB of RAM a dual core 2 processor, and as big a hard disk as you can afford. Screen size and battery life is really down to how much you will travel and need to carry the laptop. Also try a few in the shops to see which screen, text size and keyboard you like. As that makes all the difference.
> 
> These might be useful.
> 
> *The Notebook Buying Guide v1.0 Beta *



good starting point.


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## 26cb (22 Jan 2008)

I have been considering the Dell XPS notebook as a 'multimedia' laptop as a replacement my current old Tosh is creaking to a halt. The spec seems decent enough. However, the MacBook looks very attractive as well.


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## Ron Burgundy (22 Jan 2008)

the one thing i can say is get 2GB of RAM. Both vista and Leapord use amazing amounts of it, so if you want you computer to run at any sort of decend speed you'll need it.


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## ClubMan (22 Jan 2008)

Ron Burgundy said:


> the one thing i can say is get 2GB of RAM.


And maybe a laptop that can be expanded beyond that without having to ditch the preinstalled _RAM _- e.g. 4 x 1GB slots with 2 x 1GB installed rather than 4 x 512MB installed; or similarly 2 x 2GB slots with 1 x 2GB installed rather than 2 x 1GB!


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## aircobra19 (22 Jan 2008)

Check out the prices on the Dell Outlet and Apple Refurbs. Some days you'll get a deal some days you won't. Shop around.


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## ClubMan (22 Jan 2008)

Also...

  				[broken link removed]  	> Biz   	> Consumer   	> Bargain Alerts > Dell Laptops Deals Thread [*Updated Daily*]


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## aircobra19 (22 Jan 2008)

ClubMan said:


> And maybe a laptop that can be expanded beyond that without having to ditch the preinstalled _RAM _- e.g. 4 x 1GB slots with 2 x 1GB installed rather than 4 x 512MB installed; or similarly 2 x 2GB slots with 1 x 2GB installed rather than 2 x 1GB!



I don't think I've ever seen a laptop with 4 slots. Usually you'll pay a premium for 1 large RAM chip vs 2 smaller ones. Also modern machines are faster with both slots filled, so thats why they configure them like that. I guess do the maths and see if its cheaper to buy extra ram afterwords.


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## ClubMan (22 Jan 2008)

Yeah - maybe there are none or few with 4 slots but the general point stands.


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## aircobra19 (22 Jan 2008)

Pity you can't order them with no RAM. Most Laptop companies charge way over the odds for RAM.


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## Shiram (22 Jan 2008)

Helsbells - I recently bought a laptop and had the same requirements you listed.  After a lot of research I went with a 2GB Toshiba 210 series.  My advice would be to shop around and prepare youself for paying a considerable amount more than the actual price of the laptop.  Anti virus and software also have to be factored in.


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## aircobra19 (22 Jan 2008)

Shiram said:


> ...Anti virus and software also have to be factored in.



Not really. You can get a freeware version of most types of application these days. Often they are better than the payware alternative.


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## ClubMan (22 Jan 2008)

aircobra19 said:


> Not really. You can get a freeware version of most types of application these days. Often they are better than the payware alternative.


Totally agree (although some "free" licenses may only be for personal/academic etc. use). See the "clean PC" thread pinned at the top of this forum.


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## aircobra19 (23 Jan 2008)

aircobra19 said:


> Pity you can't order them with no RAM. Most Laptop companies charge way over the odds for RAM.



Actually sometimes you get weird configured PC's on the Dell outlet store. With say only 256mb of ram. But the rest of the spec being good. I always wondered did people order these then cancel them, only to go grab them off the outlet and replace the ram making a saving. Seems too complicated a route though.


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## ClubMan (23 Jan 2008)

Nice lateral thinking on your part though!


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## born2bl8 (23 Jan 2008)

used this crowd recently


and bought one of these


absolutely delighted with it, only issue experienced is the DVD player is quite loud playing DVDs and not really suitable for this purpose, I don't do this much so am not really bothered

maybe someone can suggest a workaround? fix? I already upgraded RAM (fairly cheaply from www.memoryc.ie)

the real selling point is the NVIDIA graphics card
the above machine has one of the best screens I have ever seen on a laptop

as an aside which may be of relevance they are UK based so if you are a business buyer and can thus provide your irish VAT number they take off the VAT (17.5%) at source

I have also heard good reps about the DELL Inspiron 6400.

one important buying tip you might find handy is that unless you are going to be using power hungry applications CAD etc or graphic intensive 3D games then you can get a good buy at the budget end of things e.g 400-500 yo yo's,

go for a reasonable processor (dual core 1.5Mhz - found this equally good performance for normal use, the later and more expensive core2duo processor is only an option to go for is you plan to do lots of multitasking) 

also go for a good graphics card - e.g. nvidia / radeon

hope this helps


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## aircobra19 (23 Jan 2008)

I  haven't noticed a huge difference between Core Duo and Core 2 Duo to be honest. I wouldn't pay much extra for the newer chip. Its gets better battery life though.


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## helsbells (28 Jan 2008)

Thank you for all the replies, tips and information. It has been most helpful and now I know where to start and have an idea what to look for. Happy shopping


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