New Lappy

[RED-DOG]

Kin. I live in a caravan. No room for a second screen.

It has walls - doesn't it?  Wall-mount the second screen.

*Sighs and shakes head, humours Kin* 

Wow! Great idea Kin, never thought of that. Thanks mate.

[RED-DOG]

As an illustration, www.dabs.com have 350 different laptops for sale.

Only 22 of them have 4:3 screens.

Just 3 of those don't have an XGA (1024x768) screen, a resolution that was current last century...

They are a £1760 Sony (AR71ZU), a £1700 Lenovo (T61P) and a £665 Samsung http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4SSF.

If you play 4 or more tables frequently then more pixels is going to make sense - and in the current market that means widescreen. You can get a WSXGA+ (1680x1050) from around £550 http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4LMZ. WUXGA (1920x1200) laptops are mostly over a grand.

Looking at the pictures/illustrations, those WXGA screens look like a 'normal' screen. i.e. just slightly wider than they are high.

[AndrewT]

If buying a Dell, which I would personally recommend as being a reliable sturdy machine

Tracey won't like you describing her in such terms.

[kinboshi]

Kin. I live in a caravan. No room for a second screen.

It has walls - doesn't it?  Wall-mount the second screen.

*Sighs and shakes head, humours Kin* 

Wow! Great idea Kin, never thought of that. Thanks mate.

No problem, any time.

[Longines]

Looking at the pictures/illustrations, those WXGA screens look like a 'normal' screen. i.e. just slightly wider than they are high.

A 'normal' screen is the same ratio as a 'normal' TV, 4 pixels across for every 3 down. Most widescreen laptops have 4.8 pixels across for every 3 down.

Apparently not that much of a difference and a little difficult to spot from a small jpg but if you compare a 15" 4:3 and a 15" 16:10 side-by-side, it's immediately obvious.

[RED-DOG]

Thanks yet again.

So the common consensus seem to be that Dell is the way to go. I've had a look at their website and confusion has set in. Every time I browse 'laptops' it seems to show me a different selection.

Would you be so kind as to recommend specific machines and provide links.


Thanks, and 

[Longines]

Sure.

Your max budget is...?

[RED-DOG]

Sure.

Your max budget is...?

A much as, but no more than I need to spend to get the best machine for my requirements.

'Best" to include such factors as value for money, fit for purpose, reliability etc.

For instance, If I wanted to buy a car and I said my budget was up to £1250,000 that wouldn't mean I needed a Rolls Royce, or that it would be the best buy.

What I need is advice that says "I think you need to spend X amount and I recommend this model because..."

[kinboshi]

Doesn't always work like that with computers Tom.  Once you know what you want to do with it (play poker, browse porn, etc.) then the only other factor is price.  My usual advice is go for the most expensive one you can afford within your budget as it will 'last longer'.

I'd say you want a minimum of 2GB of RAM whatever you get.
Screen that matches your requirements.
The rest I'd probably judge according to cost.

[Snatiramas]

I need one.


Anyway, I will probably buy a new machine. my criteria are...


I don't much fancy Vista and would probably install XP

, as well as photograph manipulation and storage.

Now I have Vista on my machine and to be honest I love it particulalry as I use a pen/graphics tablet all the time. So much pen enablement on Office 2007 when run on Vista. All you need is at least 2gb of RAM. Oh and I am playing on a 17" widescreen shiny HP and I love it.

[RED-DOG]

My usual advice is go for the most expensive one you can afford within your budget as it will 'last longer'.

That would be my avice too, if I were selling instead of buying.




More expensive doesn't = last longer. IMHO of course.

[kinboshi]

Not last-longer in terms of not falling apart, but in terms of having enough processor power, memory, etc., so that in two year's time it's not completely obsolete.

If you try to cut-corners on the spec to save a few hundred quid, it's something you'll usually regret in 12 month's time. 

Of course, you could spend more on a machine and it literally falls to pieces meaning that it's no good at all in a few year's time.

[Longines]

Indeed Kin.

Not much point doing the whole "I think you need to spend X amount and I recommend this model because..." spiel if you have decided to spend £299.

However, Dell Inspiron 1720 (N0672005 is the code to search for)

C2D T5550 1.83GHz 2MB cache
17" 1440x900 TFT
3GB RAM
250GB HDD
128MB Graphics card

£549 delivered

for £659 delivered you can have it with a WUXGA 1920x1200 screen. Bargain.

[RED-DOG]

Not last-longer in terms of not falling apart, but in terms of having enough processor power, memory, etc., so that in two year's time it's not completely obsolete.

If you try to cut-corners on the spec to save a few hundred quid, it's something you'll usually regret in 12 month's time. 

Of course, you could spend more on a machine and it literally falls to pieces meaning that it's no good at all in a few year's time.

In my (limited) experience, a few years down the line the extra few hundred quid wil buy you a new, reduced price, better spec lappy anyway.

Example. About 4 0r 5 years ago I bought my first didgital camera. I could have spent £300, but I spent £550 to "Future-proof" it.

The camera is still going fine, but a few weeks ago I bought one that was miles and miles better in all departments for £140.

[RED-DOG]

Indeed Kin.

Not much point doing the whole "I think you need to spend X amount and I recommend this model because..." spiel if you have decided to spend £299.

However, Dell Inspiron 1720 (N0672005 is the code to search for)

C2D T5550 1.83GHz 2MB cache
17" 1440x900 TFT
3GB RAM
250GB HDD
128MB Graphics card

£549 delivered

for £659 delivered you can have it with a WUXGA 1920x1200 screen. Bargain.

Link FFS!! Do you think I have nothing better to do?

BTW- What is the benefit of a WUXUGA screen?