Also: Is it worth it to get Office 2007? I mean, it's $150, that seems a bit much for an office suite. Right now I'm using OpenOffice and Abiword.
Also it's $200 for 2 gigs of ram in it. I'll be able to go with the default amount and buy new later for cheaper, right?
If you're already using OpenOffice and Abiword, I doubt you need Office. As for the ram, make sure to select the 1 Gig 1 Stick option, so all you'll have to do is buy another 1 gig stick.
Listen to this! ^
So far a few people have said to get 1GB and upgrade to 2GB later, but make sure your choices allow you to choose a single stick of 1GB! Sometimes 1GB (and no description) means 2 512MB sticks which give you NO room for upgrades without removing the RAM and replacing it. So if it doesn't specify, spend the extra ahead of time unless you want to buy 2GB of ram later and not just 1.
And it may be expensive, but it will probably be worth buying the extended warranty with accidental coverage. ANYTHING happens to your laptop and they will fix it. Liquid damage, you drop it, your friend plays drums on it, whatever. Especially if you want this to last you all 4 years.
Would it likely be cheaper to get 1 GB and buy an extra 1GB later from not-Dell, or get 512 and buy two sticks of 1 GB later from not-Dell?
Mai,
Newegg has laptop memory from corsair 2GB (2 x 1GB) for $85. Or single stick 1GB for $40.
Odd, yes, but I think they make sure the 2GB is paired for optimal dual-channel needs.
So if it's going to be expensive to get a single 1GB or 2GB in your laptop, you could always go 512 (or whatever is cheap) and order this off Newegg (or other online retailer).
- The ram SHOULD work in that laptop. I tried finding out what type it used, and what I found said DDR2 533MHz and this ram is a bit faster (667) but will run at 533 if that's what the 1501 maxes at.
Hmm, what's that? I can't understand your language. Must have Mac's cock in your mouth.
I hate people that Apple's build quality is superior than other brands.
It's an electronic piece of equipment, and built by probably the same people who make the other ones. It's still portable, and still has the same chance to break as any other laptop.
I don't know I have dealt with a lot of laptops (gateway, dell, acer, viao, etc..) and I have found the macbook pro to have the best build quality so far. The Macbook ain't half bad either, but you will be paying for it.
Breyker4711 on
I don't have to take this abuse from you, I have hundreds of people dying to abuse me
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5500 (1.66GHz) 2M L2 Cache, 667Mhz Dual Core
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vistaâ„¢ Business, with media
LCD PANEL 15 inch XGA LCD Panel
MEMORY 1.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
HARD DRIVE 80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio and Cyberlink Power DVDâ„¢ for Vista Basic, Business
WI-FI WIRELESS CARD Dell Wirelessâ„¢ 1390 802.11g Mini Card
BLUETOOTH WIRELESS Dell Wireless® 350 Bluetooth Module for Vista
My Accessories
PRIMARY BATTERY 6 Cell Primary Battery edit
ADDITIONAL BATTERY Additional 6 Cell Primary Battery edit
PRIMARY POWER OPTIONS 65W A/C Adapter edit
FLOPPY DRIVE No Floppy Drive edit
My Software
SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION Resource DVD - Contains Diagnostics and Drivers for Vista edit
FILE SYSTEM NTFS File System for all Operating Systems edit
My Support & Services
WARRANTY & SERVICE 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service
How's that? I plan on buying the ram that was linked up ahead. The batteries seem kinda shitty, only 4.6 hours, but that's the max they had.
Hmm, what's that? I can't understand your language. Must have Mac's cock in your mouth.
I hate people that Apple's build quality is superior than other brands.
It's an electronic piece of equipment, and built by probably the same people who make the other ones. It's still portable, and still has the same chance to break as any other laptop.
I don't know I have dealt with a lot of laptops (gateway, dell, acer, viao, etc..) and I have found the macbook pro to have the best build quality so far. The Macbook ain't half bad either, but you will be paying for it.
May not be the laptop itself. Look at it this way:
Do you think a user is going to treat a $600 laptop the same way they would a $2200 laptop? I know I wouldn't be taking my $2200 laptop around unless it was absolutely.
Which is why you see cheaper models come in to be repaired more often than others.
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5500 (1.66GHz) 2M L2 Cache, 667Mhz Dual Core
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista™ Business, with media
LCD PANEL 15 inch XGA LCD Panel
MEMORY 1.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
HARD DRIVE 80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio and Cyberlink Power DVD™ for Vista Basic, Business
WI-FI WIRELESS CARD Dell Wireless™ 1390 802.11g Mini Card
BLUETOOTH WIRELESS Dell Wireless® 350 Bluetooth Module for Vista
My Accessories
PRIMARY BATTERY 6 Cell Primary Battery edit
ADDITIONAL BATTERY Additional 6 Cell Primary Battery edit
PRIMARY POWER OPTIONS 65W A/C Adapter edit
FLOPPY DRIVE No Floppy Drive edit
My Software
SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION Resource DVD - Contains Diagnostics and Drivers for Vista edit
FILE SYSTEM NTFS File System for all Operating Systems edit
My Support & Services
WARRANTY & SERVICE 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service
How's that? I plan on buying the ram that was linked up ahead. The batteries seem kinda shitty, only 4.6 hours, but that's the max they had.
Should I get a better warranty?
See if you can upgrade the batter to an 8 or 12 cell battery. 6 cell is bare minimum.
EDIT: I'm an idiot. You said it's the max they had.
YesNoMu has a good idea, but any higher on your laptop hard drive, and you'll end up getting a slower one that drains your battery faster. I'd say keep the one you have now. And definitely get the warranty for 3 years. It's pretty important with a laptop, since you'll be moving around with it.
Bump the warranty, definitely (school computer needs accidental damage protection, and three years is safer) and you might want to bump the hard drive, too. Maybe it's just because I watch a lot of anime and other video, but 80 GB is tight on my lappy.
Bump the warranty, definitely (school computer needs accidental damage protection, and three years is safer) and you might want to bump the hard drive, too. Maybe it's just because I watch a lot of anime and other video, but 80 GB is tight on my lappy.
Yeah, I burn through HD space too. I went with the 80 GB because it was faster, though, and I can get a 500 GB external for $130.
I was thinking that the warranty might be a good idea, but it's so fucking expensive for an $800 laptop. My budget is already limited by the fact that I have to pay for my tuition entirely by myself, and buy a car (again by myself) before fall.
Is it a terrible idea to go with the monthly payments instead of paying upfront? Anyone know what they require to let you do that? I've got a fulltime job now, during the summer, but I'll likely need a new one when college starts due to my schedule.
May not be the laptop itself. Look at it this way:
Do you think a user is going to treat a $600 laptop the same way they would a $2200 laptop? I know I wouldn't be taking my $2200 laptop around unless it was absolutely.
Which is why you see cheaper models come in to be repaired more often than others.
Good point, of course there is no real way for us to quantify that point.
In my case I treated my first laptop (which was used, and I got for under 400) like gold...and I treat my Macbook with the same level of care.
Then again, all this is based on anecdotes of posters...but the anecdotes do lend themselves to the Apple quality.
Of course if you don't have, or want, to spend the money on an Apple product, Acer produces a good machine at a good price.
Breyker4711 on
I don't have to take this abuse from you, I have hundreds of people dying to abuse me
Macbook build quality is most certainly superior to 90% of the major manufacturers. Saying otherwise is turning a blind eye to the amazing features it possesses, like a completely flush bottom (and sides, and top), lack of any bumps or protrusions which can get snagged or break off, the magsafe connection, magnetic latch, etc. It's design is far superior to it's competitors (other than some guys like lenovo), and you pay out the ass for it. But it's damn worth it.
I consider that more engineering rather than build quality. I think Apple's engineering is second to none. But the build quality isn't great. My trackpad button's feeling pretty loose already. the plastic macbooks are made of doesn't inspire any confidence. If i press too hard in the area under the keyboard (sometimes even when i just put my hands down), it flexes very easily and makes clacky sounds. The screen hinge is not that great, mine creaks a tiny bit and i dont feel it holds the screen in place that well. the lcd screen is really bad for the cost. it has horrible vertical viewing angles. the keyboard is on par with most other laptops, i.e. not very good.
The hinge on my dad's macbook has gone all wonky after only a few months, so when you close the lid it doesn't sit flush with the bottom half of the machine. We've never dropped or abused that machine in any way, so I'm pretty sure it just popped out of place on its own. This does not inspire a whole lot of confidence in Apple's much-hyped "build quality" and really just proves that they're made in the same Chinese sweatshop as every other piece of shit laptop.
The hinge on my dad's macbook has gone all wonky after only a few months, so when you close the lid it doesn't sit flush with the bottom half of the machine. We've never dropped or abused that machine in any way, so I'm pretty sure it just popped out of place on its own. This does not inspire a whole lot of confidence in Apple's much-hyped "build quality" and really just proves that they're made in the same shitty Chinese sweatshop as every other piece of shit laptop.
Are you sure he never dropped it? Because I never heard of that before.
Anyways, that is what Applecare is for.
Breyker4711 on
I don't have to take this abuse from you, I have hundreds of people dying to abuse me
The hinge on my dad's macbook has gone all wonky after only a few months, so when you close the lid it doesn't sit flush with the bottom half of the machine. We've never dropped or abused that machine in any way, so I'm pretty sure it just popped out of place on its own. This does not inspire a whole lot of confidence in Apple's much-hyped "build quality" and really just proves that they're made in the same shitty Chinese sweatshop as every other piece of shit laptop.
Are you sure he never dropped it? Because I never heard of that before.
Anyways, that is what Applecare is for.
I'm like 99% sure it hasn't been dropped. He barely even uses it, and when he does it's always on a table or counter or something.
Yes, extended warranties are essential. But this is a product that enjoys so much free hype you'd think it cures cancer, so I'm sure you'll forgive me for being disappointed at the hinge breaking from only a few months of light use. The quantity of people falsely claiming, with no verifiable evidence, that Apple's "build quality" is just so much better than everyone else's is staggering. Just because something is extraordinarily well engineered and pleasantly designed does not make it more durable or functional than its big, bulky, ugly competitors.
The hinge on my dad's macbook has gone all wonky after only a few months, so when you close the lid it doesn't sit flush with the bottom half of the machine. We've never dropped or abused that machine in any way, so I'm pretty sure it just popped out of place on its own. This does not inspire a whole lot of confidence in Apple's much-hyped "build quality" and really just proves that they're made in the same shitty Chinese sweatshop as every other piece of shit laptop.
Are you sure he never dropped it? Because I never heard of that before.
Anyways, that is what Applecare is for.
I'm like 99% sure it hasn't been dropped. He barely even uses it, and when he does it's always on a table or counter or something.
Yes, extended warranties are essential. But this is a product that enjoys so much free hype you'd think it cures cancer, so I'm sure you'll forgive me for being disappointed at the hinge breaking from only a few months of light use. The quantity of people falsely claiming, with no verifiable evidence, that Apple's "build quality" is just so much better than everyone else's is staggering. Just because something is extraordinarily well engineered and pleasantly designed does not make it more durable or functional than its big, bulky, ugly competitors.
One of my temp gigs a few years back was to fix laptops for a publisher located in the Boston area. My job was to basically piece together various mactops. Sure, some of them had idiot problems (dropped down flight of stairs, spilled a caramel macciato on it, what have you) but a ton of them just had weird errors. Bowed keyboards and screens, loose and cracked hinges, the power jack getting popped out, various clusters on the keyboard going dead, illfitting trackpad, whatever. This was just from normal use. Around the same time I was also moonlighting as a general fix it fellow and saw many of the same problems on various other laptops.
Mac's build superiority is a myth based on the Mac Tax you pay. Sure, it looks prettier but like other people have mentioned before, it is still assembled with sweat shop parts by sweat shop labour.
If the Panera bread that's a minute away from my school has an electrical outlet near the outside tables I guess it'll be a non-issue, since that's where I'll be using it most for schoolwork. The price difference between the Lattitude and the Inspiron with comparable specs is quite a bit, so yeah, I guess I'll try and find a different battery elsewhere.
Final question: What kind of processor should I get with the Lattitude? Is there a large enough difference between the cheapest and the most expensive to warrant the extra $200?
Also I just noticed the Latitude doesn't have any video card listed, not even integrated. How do I find out what it has?
One of my temp gigs a few years back was to fix laptops for a publisher located in the Boston area. My job was to basically piece together various mactops. Sure, some of them had idiot problems (dropped down flight of stairs, spilled a caramel macciato on it, what have you) but a ton of them just had weird errors. Bowed keyboards and screens, loose and cracked hinges, the power jack getting popped out, various clusters on the keyboard going dead, illfitting trackpad, whatever. This was just from normal use. Around the same time I was also moonlighting as a general fix it fellow and saw many of the same problems on various other laptops.
Mac's build superiority is a myth based on the Mac Tax you pay. Sure, it looks prettier but like other people have mentioned before, it is still assembled with sweat shop parts by sweat shop labour.
I have done the same kind of work, but I really didn't notice that about the Macbooks (or Ibooks). At first it was a comment about how something "just happened", but then it was typically followed up by (with enough questioning) something like "well I stepped on it"
But then again that was usually the case with other laptops I saw too... with a couple exceptions: Gateway and Dell. I saw a ton of hinges just snap.
Breyker4711 on
I don't have to take this abuse from you, I have hundreds of people dying to abuse me
If the Panera bread that's a minute away from my school has an electrical outlet near the outside tables I guess it'll be a non-issue, since that's where I'll be using it most for schoolwork. The price difference between the Lattitude and the Inspiron with comparable specs is quite a bit, so yeah, I guess I'll try and find a different battery elsewhere.
Final question: What kind of processor should I get with the Lattitude? Is there a large enough difference between the cheapest and the most expensive to warrant the extra $200?
Also I just noticed the Latitude doesn't have any video card listed, not even integrated. How do I find out what it has?
What model latitude? I just got one for work, the D620, (as latitudes are like the business version of inspiron) and it has a nVidia Quadro MVS 110M as a built in video card. It does some games alright (been playing UO, SC, and LOTR:BFME on it) but it's nothing super.
If the Panera bread that's a minute away from my school has an electrical outlet near the outside tables I guess it'll be a non-issue, since that's where I'll be using it most for schoolwork. The price difference between the Lattitude and the Inspiron with comparable specs is quite a bit, so yeah, I guess I'll try and find a different battery elsewhere.
Final question: What kind of processor should I get with the Lattitude? Is there a large enough difference between the cheapest and the most expensive to warrant the extra $200?
Also I just noticed the Latitude doesn't have any video card listed, not even integrated. How do I find out what it has?
What model latitude? I just got one for work, the D620, (as latitudes are like the business version of inspiron) and it has a nVidia Quadro MVS 110M as a built in video card. It does some games alright (been playing UO, SC, and LOTR:BFME on it) but it's nothing super.
D520. How much did your D620 cost? I might go with that instead. I'm not sure of the specs for LotR: BFME. Would I be able to run Civ IV, WoW, and maybe Oblivion/FEAR at lowish settings (my current desktop is terrible for games) on it?
I'm not sure which Wireless thing I should get either. Or bluetooth. Do I need internal bluetooth? Also I have no idea what's going on with the versions of vista.
If the Panera bread that's a minute away from my school has an electrical outlet near the outside tables I guess it'll be a non-issue, since that's where I'll be using it most for schoolwork. The price difference between the Lattitude and the Inspiron with comparable specs is quite a bit, so yeah, I guess I'll try and find a different battery elsewhere.
Final question: What kind of processor should I get with the Lattitude? Is there a large enough difference between the cheapest and the most expensive to warrant the extra $200?
Also I just noticed the Latitude doesn't have any video card listed, not even integrated. How do I find out what it has?
What model latitude? I just got one for work, the D620, (as latitudes are like the business version of inspiron) and it has a nVidia Quadro MVS 110M as a built in video card. It does some games alright (been playing UO, SC, and LOTR:BFME on it) but it's nothing super.
D520. How much did your D620 cost? I might go with that instead. I'm not sure of the specs for LotR: BFME. Would I be able to run Civ IV, WoW, and maybe Oblivion/FEAR at lowish settings (my current desktop is terrible for games) on it?
I'm not sure which Wireless thing I should get either. Or bluetooth. Do I need internal bluetooth? Also I have no idea what's going on with the versions of vista.
I really have no close idea what my laptop cost due to govt contracts and bulk pricing (they ordered like 10 of these things), but considering it's got the fastest available proc for the model and 2GB of RAM and 100GB HD, I assume it was very expensive.
I assume it would run Civ and WOW just fine. Oblivion and FEAR would probably be fairly low-res/details to run smoothly because it's definitely not a gaming card like you can find in Inspirons.
Wireless I would suggest sticking with an internal G, unless you plan on getting N for the house or something. Very few locations are going to have N support for at least a year or two. By the time it's widespread, you'll be buying another computer anyway.
Bluetooth is really up to you. I got a bluetooth keyboard and mouse with my laptop, and I also use it to connect my blackberry. But if you have no bluetooth devices (though more and more are being made - cell phones, etc) then it's not worth the extra cost (unless they offer it cheap in a promotion).
Adding $250 to the price of something that already costs more than it ought to is really painful.
Anyhow, 4 hours is actually good for a laptop. You aren't going to find much that gets more than 5 or 6 hours. I'd be thrilled with 4 hours on mine (the 17 inch monitor was a really bad idea).
I think it looks good, you might be running sluggishly in Vista until you get more Ram. Is there any way to get 1gig on 1 dimm? Also you might consider getting a slightly slower processor in favor of a higher resolution screen. I'm not exactly sure of the differences between Core Duo's and Core 2 Duo's, but if it saves enough and leaves you enough $$$ to get more real estate on your screen, it might be worth it. Unless of course you don't really care about that type of thing.
Dude, it is $89 to bump your warranty to 3 years and $119 to add on complete care (accidental damage insurance) for that 3 year period.
Do this.
I assume you will be in school for at least three years and this will protect you from drops, spills and normal wear and tear. This is sooooo much better than dropping an extra $200 on a better CPU. College is a dangerous place filled with clumsy co-eds and dangerous things looking to make bad times for your precious computer. This is like choosing whether to slip the condom on- in the end, you are much better off playing it safe no matter how much you think it "won't happen to you."
Definitely beef up your RAM. However I would be careful with Corsair's ValuRAM, in my experience it is supercheap but also complete shit. It's got weird timing issues when used with CD/C2D systems when you have more than one DIMM installed. I had a problem with my MacBook Pro with such RAM as did my friend with a ThinkPad. Spend a few dollars more to get some other brand of RAM or read through the comments on NewEgg and see if anyone mentions using the RAM in your potential machine (or people here obviously).
Also for notebook hard drives, a higher capacity but slower drive tends to have the same data rate as a faster smaller drive. The capacity of the drive determines its areal density while the spindle speed determines how quickly it can spin the disk under the RW head. As the bit density of a drive increases the actual amount of data passed under the head increases. While a 5400rpm drive spins slower than a 7200rpm one (obviously) the amount of data they put under the head per second can be the same if the density of the slower one is higher than the faster one. If there's a 120GB or larger 5400rpm drive available you can feel safe going with that one as it is not going to be much if any slower in actual data transfer as a 80GB 7200rpm drive.
Definitely beef up your RAM. However I would be careful with Corsair's ValuRAM, in my experience it is supercheap but also complete shit. It's got weird timing issues when used with CD/C2D systems when you have more than one DIMM installed. I had a problem with my MacBook Pro with such RAM as did my friend with a ThinkPad. Spend a few dollars more to get some other brand of RAM or read through the comments on NewEgg and see if anyone mentions using the RAM in your potential machine (or people here obviously).
Also for notebook hard drives, a higher capacity but slower drive tends to have the same data rate as a faster smaller drive. The capacity of the drive determines its areal density while the spindle speed determines how quickly it can spin the disk under the RW head. As the bit density of a drive increases the actual amount of data passed under the head increases. While a 5400rpm drive spins slower than a 7200rpm one (obviously) the amount of data they put under the head per second can be the same if the density of the slower one is higher than the faster one. If there's a 120GB or larger 5400rpm drive available you can feel safe going with that one as it is not going to be much if any slower in actual data transfer as a 80GB 7200rpm drive.
Which one will use the least power? Is there even a difference?
I've got a question about laptops and was hoping it could be answered here without starting another thread.
I just got out of college and am now in the workforce; probably focusing on using Excel, Google Earth, maybe Falconview and some Pure-edge form thingies.
I'm looking for new laptops because this one is getting a little old and I have the money to afford one;
How's the Lenovo Thinkpad T61? After reading the thread I'm still confused wether or not I should go with Vista or XP.
I would imagine that a slower RPM HDD would draw less power, but I have no information to back this up.
I've heard good things about the Lenovo, but I couldn't say anything in the particular about the T61, and I would say if you are buying a new computer, go with Vista. It's "free"(included) anyway, and if they are putting it on the laptop it SHOULD have all the correct drivers for the hardware. If it doesn't, then you can bug them about it.
You may as well enjoy the benefits of Vista and it shouldn't really give you the same problems as those trying to upgrade computers from XP with parts that may or may not have correct drivers.
Posts
Mai,
Newegg has laptop memory from corsair 2GB (2 x 1GB) for $85. Or single stick 1GB for $40.
Odd, yes, but I think they make sure the 2GB is paired for optimal dual-channel needs.
So if it's going to be expensive to get a single 1GB or 2GB in your laptop, you could always go 512 (or whatever is cheap) and order this off Newegg (or other online retailer).
- The ram SHOULD work in that laptop. I tried finding out what type it used, and what I found said DDR2 533MHz and this ram is a bit faster (667) but will run at 533 if that's what the 1501 maxes at.
I don't know I have dealt with a lot of laptops (gateway, dell, acer, viao, etc..) and I have found the macbook pro to have the best build quality so far. The Macbook ain't half bad either, but you will be paying for it.
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vistaâ„¢ Business, with media
LCD PANEL 15 inch XGA LCD Panel
MEMORY 1.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
HARD DRIVE 80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio and Cyberlink Power DVDâ„¢ for Vista Basic, Business
WI-FI WIRELESS CARD Dell Wirelessâ„¢ 1390 802.11g Mini Card
BLUETOOTH WIRELESS Dell Wireless® 350 Bluetooth Module for Vista
My Accessories
PRIMARY BATTERY 6 Cell Primary Battery edit
ADDITIONAL BATTERY Additional 6 Cell Primary Battery edit
PRIMARY POWER OPTIONS 65W A/C Adapter edit
FLOPPY DRIVE No Floppy Drive edit
My Software
SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION Resource DVD - Contains Diagnostics and Drivers for Vista edit
FILE SYSTEM NTFS File System for all Operating Systems edit
My Support & Services
WARRANTY & SERVICE 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service
How's that? I plan on buying the ram that was linked up ahead. The batteries seem kinda shitty, only 4.6 hours, but that's the max they had.
Should I get a better warranty?
May not be the laptop itself. Look at it this way:
Do you think a user is going to treat a $600 laptop the same way they would a $2200 laptop? I know I wouldn't be taking my $2200 laptop around unless it was absolutely.
Which is why you see cheaper models come in to be repaired more often than others.
See if you can upgrade the batter to an 8 or 12 cell battery. 6 cell is bare minimum.
EDIT: I'm an idiot. You said it's the max they had.
YesNoMu has a good idea, but any higher on your laptop hard drive, and you'll end up getting a slower one that drains your battery faster. I'd say keep the one you have now. And definitely get the warranty for 3 years. It's pretty important with a laptop, since you'll be moving around with it.
Yeah, I burn through HD space too. I went with the 80 GB because it was faster, though, and I can get a 500 GB external for $130.
I was thinking that the warranty might be a good idea, but it's so fucking expensive for an $800 laptop. My budget is already limited by the fact that I have to pay for my tuition entirely by myself, and buy a car (again by myself) before fall.
Is it a terrible idea to go with the monthly payments instead of paying upfront? Anyone know what they require to let you do that? I've got a fulltime job now, during the summer, but I'll likely need a new one when college starts due to my schedule.
Good point, of course there is no real way for us to quantify that point.
In my case I treated my first laptop (which was used, and I got for under 400) like gold...and I treat my Macbook with the same level of care.
Then again, all this is based on anecdotes of posters...but the anecdotes do lend themselves to the Apple quality.
Of course if you don't have, or want, to spend the money on an Apple product, Acer produces a good machine at a good price.
Are you sure he never dropped it? Because I never heard of that before.
Anyways, that is what Applecare is for.
Yes, extended warranties are essential. But this is a product that enjoys so much free hype you'd think it cures cancer, so I'm sure you'll forgive me for being disappointed at the hinge breaking from only a few months of light use. The quantity of people falsely claiming, with no verifiable evidence, that Apple's "build quality" is just so much better than everyone else's is staggering. Just because something is extraordinarily well engineered and pleasantly designed does not make it more durable or functional than its big, bulky, ugly competitors.
Core 2 Duo
Nvidia GeForce 8600
1gb of DDR2 667 RAM (but I bought another gig)
160gb Hard Drive
DVD+RW
and it gets about 4 to 4.5 hours of battery. I'm never too far from a plug though so it's not really a pain to keep it charging.
One of my temp gigs a few years back was to fix laptops for a publisher located in the Boston area. My job was to basically piece together various mactops. Sure, some of them had idiot problems (dropped down flight of stairs, spilled a caramel macciato on it, what have you) but a ton of them just had weird errors. Bowed keyboards and screens, loose and cracked hinges, the power jack getting popped out, various clusters on the keyboard going dead, illfitting trackpad, whatever. This was just from normal use. Around the same time I was also moonlighting as a general fix it fellow and saw many of the same problems on various other laptops.
Mac's build superiority is a myth based on the Mac Tax you pay. Sure, it looks prettier but like other people have mentioned before, it is still assembled with sweat shop parts by sweat shop labour.
Final question: What kind of processor should I get with the Lattitude? Is there a large enough difference between the cheapest and the most expensive to warrant the extra $200?
Also I just noticed the Latitude doesn't have any video card listed, not even integrated. How do I find out what it has?
I have done the same kind of work, but I really didn't notice that about the Macbooks (or Ibooks). At first it was a comment about how something "just happened", but then it was typically followed up by (with enough questioning) something like "well I stepped on it"
But then again that was usually the case with other laptops I saw too... with a couple exceptions: Gateway and Dell. I saw a ton of hinges just snap.
What model latitude? I just got one for work, the D620, (as latitudes are like the business version of inspiron) and it has a nVidia Quadro MVS 110M as a built in video card. It does some games alright (been playing UO, SC, and LOTR:BFME on it) but it's nothing super.
D520. How much did your D620 cost? I might go with that instead. I'm not sure of the specs for LotR: BFME. Would I be able to run Civ IV, WoW, and maybe Oblivion/FEAR at lowish settings (my current desktop is terrible for games) on it?
I'm not sure which Wireless thing I should get either. Or bluetooth. Do I need internal bluetooth? Also I have no idea what's going on with the versions of vista.
I really have no close idea what my laptop cost due to govt contracts and bulk pricing (they ordered like 10 of these things), but considering it's got the fastest available proc for the model and 2GB of RAM and 100GB HD, I assume it was very expensive.
I assume it would run Civ and WOW just fine. Oblivion and FEAR would probably be fairly low-res/details to run smoothly because it's definitely not a gaming card like you can find in Inspirons.
Wireless I would suggest sticking with an internal G, unless you plan on getting N for the house or something. Very few locations are going to have N support for at least a year or two. By the time it's widespread, you'll be buying another computer anyway.
Bluetooth is really up to you. I got a bluetooth keyboard and mouse with my laptop, and I also use it to connect my blackberry. But if you have no bluetooth devices (though more and more are being made - cell phones, etc) then it's not worth the extra cost (unless they offer it cheap in a promotion).
Anyhow, 4 hours is actually good for a laptop. You aren't going to find much that gets more than 5 or 6 hours. I'd be thrilled with 4 hours on mine (the 17 inch monitor was a really bad idea).
Do this.
I assume you will be in school for at least three years and this will protect you from drops, spills and normal wear and tear. This is sooooo much better than dropping an extra $200 on a better CPU. College is a dangerous place filled with clumsy co-eds and dangerous things looking to make bad times for your precious computer. This is like choosing whether to slip the condom on- in the end, you are much better off playing it safe no matter how much you think it "won't happen to you."
Also for notebook hard drives, a higher capacity but slower drive tends to have the same data rate as a faster smaller drive. The capacity of the drive determines its areal density while the spindle speed determines how quickly it can spin the disk under the RW head. As the bit density of a drive increases the actual amount of data passed under the head increases. While a 5400rpm drive spins slower than a 7200rpm one (obviously) the amount of data they put under the head per second can be the same if the density of the slower one is higher than the faster one. If there's a 120GB or larger 5400rpm drive available you can feel safe going with that one as it is not going to be much if any slower in actual data transfer as a 80GB 7200rpm drive.
Which one will use the least power? Is there even a difference?
I've got a question about laptops and was hoping it could be answered here without starting another thread.
I just got out of college and am now in the workforce; probably focusing on using Excel, Google Earth, maybe Falconview and some Pure-edge form thingies.
I'm looking for new laptops because this one is getting a little old and I have the money to afford one;
How's the Lenovo Thinkpad T61? After reading the thread I'm still confused wether or not I should go with Vista or XP.
WiiU: jooncole (Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate)
3DS: 2122-5983-8919
I've heard good things about the Lenovo, but I couldn't say anything in the particular about the T61, and I would say if you are buying a new computer, go with Vista. It's "free"(included) anyway, and if they are putting it on the laptop it SHOULD have all the correct drivers for the hardware. If it doesn't, then you can bug them about it.
You may as well enjoy the benefits of Vista and it shouldn't really give you the same problems as those trying to upgrade computers from XP with parts that may or may not have correct drivers.