Report, edit, etc...Posted by CaptainWill on 2006-09-09 at 12:25:40
I'm definitely going to need a laptop at uni, so I was deliberating as to exactly which one I should get.
My budget is around £600 (approx. $1120).
I currently have two in mind:
Dell Inspiron 640M
- Intel Core Duo 1.66GHz T2300E, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FBS
- 1024MB RAM
- 60GB HD
- Intel GMA 128MB Shared GPU
- 3+ hour battery life
Asus A6KM
- AMD Turion 64 1.8GHz MT-32, 512KB L2 Cache.
- 1024MB RAM
- 100GB HD
- GeForce Go 7300 TurboCache GPU (256MB shared, 64MB dedicated)
- 2 hour battery life
They are both similar prices, but the Asus is a little cheaper.
I might want to play some RTS on the laptop when I get to uni.
Opinions?
My budget is around £600 (approx. $1120).
I currently have two in mind:
Dell Inspiron 640M
- Intel Core Duo 1.66GHz T2300E, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FBS
- 1024MB RAM
- 60GB HD
- Intel GMA 128MB Shared GPU
- 3+ hour battery life
Asus A6KM
- AMD Turion 64 1.8GHz MT-32, 512KB L2 Cache.
- 1024MB RAM
- 100GB HD
- GeForce Go 7300 TurboCache GPU (256MB shared, 64MB dedicated)
- 2 hour battery life
They are both similar prices, but the Asus is a little cheaper.
I might want to play some RTS on the laptop when I get to uni.
Opinions?
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Mightybass101 on 2006-09-09 at 14:27:15
i personaly pefer dell.
Report, edit, etc...Posted by DT_Battlekruser on 2006-09-09 at 15:24:20
Asus, no comparison whatsoever.
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Oo.Insane.oO on 2006-09-09 at 15:28:29
Dell computers suck
Report, edit, etc...Posted by RexyRex on 2006-09-09 at 15:29:19
I'd go for the Dell because of the processor and battery life, however, I don't use that much HD space so it doesn't matter to me.
The Asus has a better graphics card (much better), larger hard drive space, but a lower battery life. And a lower price.
It depends on what you think you'll be doing with it.
The Asus has a better graphics card (much better), larger hard drive space, but a lower battery life. And a lower price.
It depends on what you think you'll be doing with it.
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Deathawk on 2006-09-09 at 16:52:57
A 7300 isn't very good... =\ but either is onboard graphics...
I know you live in the UK, so you can't buy from NewEgg, but just showing you what would be good for you..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16834115246
And, yuck, Dells are bad!!!
Unless you use them for bonfires, they self ignite!!
Or, since you use a Mac, you could get a MacBook... unfortunatly, Mac Books are relatively weak for their price. If you had $2000, a Mac Book pro would be a good buy for you
I know you live in the UK, so you can't buy from NewEgg, but just showing you what would be good for you..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16834115246
And, yuck, Dells are bad!!!
Unless you use them for bonfires, they self ignite!!
Or, since you use a Mac, you could get a MacBook... unfortunatly, Mac Books are relatively weak for their price. If you had $2000, a Mac Book pro would be a good buy for you
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Syphon on 2006-09-09 at 19:48:35
QUOTE(DT_Battlekruser @ Sep 9 2006, 02:23 PM)
Asus, no comparison whatsoever.
[right][snapback]557922[/snapback][/right]
[right][snapback]557922[/snapback][/right]
Then use the savings to buy a better battery.
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Urmom(U) on 2006-09-09 at 22:46:27
I tend to stay away from Acer because I've heard bad things about it. They are extremely overpriced too. My mom got an HP laptop and its really good. I'm not sure how good it is for gaming though.
Report, edit, etc...Posted by PCFredZ on 2006-09-09 at 22:53:55
I don't like either of the choices because the RAM is only sufficient if graphics are NOT shared, the HD space is on the low side (especially if you're looking at 60 GB), and of course, battery life are both crap.
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Deathawk on 2006-09-10 at 09:13:18
Acer is one of the best manufactuers(sp?) of monitors, and an alright manufactuer of laptops. I would say Toshiba is the best, though.. Also, gaming is what changes a 600 dollar laptop to a 1000 dollar laptop. Any laptop can be good without being good at gaming... after all, it's not very hard to... a celeron or sempron is sufficient for just checking mail, etc... where for gaming, both are not very good..
Acer isn't overpriced, laptops in general are overpriced compared to their desktop counterparts... and from there it's all about the hardware in it =\
Uhh, PCFredz, even if they have onboard graphics, it's like 64mb oboard memory, with a maximum of 128mb total, so you're only like using 64..
1024 - 64 = 960... that's a decent amount of RAM... =\ but the laptop I suggested has a dedicated video card and has 128mb of RAM on it..
Acer isn't overpriced, laptops in general are overpriced compared to their desktop counterparts... and from there it's all about the hardware in it =\
Uhh, PCFredz, even if they have onboard graphics, it's like 64mb oboard memory, with a maximum of 128mb total, so you're only like using 64..
1024 - 64 = 960... that's a decent amount of RAM... =\ but the laptop I suggested has a dedicated video card and has 128mb of RAM on it..
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Wing-of-no-Wing on 2006-09-10 at 10:38:16
Avoid Dell laptops...I used to have one, and things were always going horribly, dramatically wrong with it. Problems, over a 2.5 year span, included, but were not limited to:
-A broken motherboard that corrupted the monitor's hardware. When they replaced the monitor, the motherboard fried the new one. Then they checked it again, and replaced the motherboard, which was then fried by the corrupted new monitor. This went on for a while.
-Multiple hard drive failures.
-Power cords that could survive, maybe, a season before coming apart or dying. One, when it broke, started smoking and becoming very hot, and most likely would have caught fire if I hadn't been right there to unplug it.
-Assorted internal hardware problems: things breaking, things coming loose, etc. At one point, there was a specific point on the outside of the case that, if pressed (accidentally or on purpose), would function as an on-off switch. Internal problems at that point also meant that in order to get all the broken parts inside to line up correctly (necessary for turning the computer on), one would have to turn the whole thing upside down and shake it, praying for the correct alignment. And yes, circumstances did require that I do that in class sometimes, which really sucked.
-Service that starts out friendly, but becomes progressively less friendly as regular use repeatedly reveals the same weaknesses in the construction of their hardware. They actually threatened to investigate how I was using my computer when the power cord did its almost-exploding trick, with the implication that future problems woudl result in their termination of my warranty. (P.S., a couple years ago, more than a year and a half after I stopped using that computer, they sent out a letter confessing to, and apologizing for, the explod-y tendancies of that particular model of power cord).
-It never ran very well even when it was working. My original-model iMac, which was a good couple of years older than the Dell and had less than half the mghz rating, ran better in all regards.
-A broken motherboard that corrupted the monitor's hardware. When they replaced the monitor, the motherboard fried the new one. Then they checked it again, and replaced the motherboard, which was then fried by the corrupted new monitor. This went on for a while.
-Multiple hard drive failures.
-Power cords that could survive, maybe, a season before coming apart or dying. One, when it broke, started smoking and becoming very hot, and most likely would have caught fire if I hadn't been right there to unplug it.
-Assorted internal hardware problems: things breaking, things coming loose, etc. At one point, there was a specific point on the outside of the case that, if pressed (accidentally or on purpose), would function as an on-off switch. Internal problems at that point also meant that in order to get all the broken parts inside to line up correctly (necessary for turning the computer on), one would have to turn the whole thing upside down and shake it, praying for the correct alignment. And yes, circumstances did require that I do that in class sometimes, which really sucked.
-Service that starts out friendly, but becomes progressively less friendly as regular use repeatedly reveals the same weaknesses in the construction of their hardware. They actually threatened to investigate how I was using my computer when the power cord did its almost-exploding trick, with the implication that future problems woudl result in their termination of my warranty. (P.S., a couple years ago, more than a year and a half after I stopped using that computer, they sent out a letter confessing to, and apologizing for, the explod-y tendancies of that particular model of power cord).
-It never ran very well even when it was working. My original-model iMac, which was a good couple of years older than the Dell and had less than half the mghz rating, ran better in all regards.
Report, edit, etc...Posted by PCFredZ on 2006-09-10 at 18:24:39
If by "RTS" you mean Starcraft then both computers are overqualified.
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Urmom(U) on 2006-09-10 at 19:10:15
Don't touch Toshiba laptops, I've heard bad things about them at all the stores that I go to. ALL OF THEM!!! But I got my desktop for about 450$ after the upgrades. My friend paid 750$ for the same computer as mine with the upgrades. His doesn't even play all the games he has for some reason like mine does. Basically he got ripped off 300$.
Report, edit, etc...Posted by CaptainWill on 2006-09-10 at 20:40:48
Hmm, well thanks for the advice, but I don't have a lot of money to play with. I know that Asus is a very good manufacturer and that Dell have been known to use poor quality components in their machines.
On paper in terms of specs, the Asus wins, although it has a power-hungry AMD Turion and has only 25% of the cache size of the Intel. However, I'm looking for a more mobile laptop with better battery life.
I have a few more up for your expert review:
COMPAQ V5245EU
- AMD Turion 64 1.8GHz, 1.6GHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache
- 1024MB RAM
- 100GB HD
- ATi Radeon Xpress 200M (Shared 128MB)
- 3.5 hour battery life
- £600
Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pi1505
- Intel Core Duo 1.6Ghz T2050
- 1024MB RAM
- 80GB HD
- Intel Integrated GPU
- 'Long' battery life
- £590
I quite like the look of the Compaq.
On paper in terms of specs, the Asus wins, although it has a power-hungry AMD Turion and has only 25% of the cache size of the Intel. However, I'm looking for a more mobile laptop with better battery life.
I have a few more up for your expert review:
COMPAQ V5245EU
- AMD Turion 64 1.8GHz, 1.6GHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache
- 1024MB RAM
- 100GB HD
- ATi Radeon Xpress 200M (Shared 128MB)
- 3.5 hour battery life
- £600
Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pi1505
- Intel Core Duo 1.6Ghz T2050
- 1024MB RAM
- 80GB HD
- Intel Integrated GPU
- 'Long' battery life
- £590
I quite like the look of the Compaq.
Report, edit, etc...Posted by DT_Battlekruser on 2006-09-10 at 22:23:39
ASUS again, its video card pwns the crap out of the competition.
It's interesting, I've always found Dell computers to be of good quality; they're just overpriced.
It's interesting, I've always found Dell computers to be of good quality; they're just overpriced.
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Deathawk on 2006-09-11 at 06:48:23
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=33321
Read it
Yeah, I don't really like either of those computers... the one I suggested is the best, video card... HD Space(although spins at 120gb.. it's SATA :\) processor is good... 1gb ram... -_- I couldn't find it on an online retailer that delivers to UK :\
I'll look later for other laptops similar, though..
Read it
Yeah, I don't really like either of those computers... the one I suggested is the best, video card... HD Space(although spins at 120gb.. it's SATA :\) processor is good... 1gb ram... -_- I couldn't find it on an online retailer that delivers to UK :\
I'll look later for other laptops similar, though..