What Laptop should i buy?

[Win Never]

I have a PC at the moment with 19" screen,handy for playing 4 tables with some overlapping, but i was thinking of getting a laptop so i can play sitting on my sofa etc. Can anyone recommend a laptop which is suitable for online playing and one that i can play 2 or more tables on??

Also does anyone on the forum use wireless connection??

Sorry i aint up to speed on either of the above, thanks in advance for any tips or help.

[mikkyT]

Wireless is plain and simple. If you haven't used it before then you will need to get yourself a wireless router. This baby is effectively your WiFi transmitter. Your laptop (which will need to be WiFi enabled or have a WiFi USB adapter) will recieve the signals from the router. Obviously any WiFi enabled device will be able to connect to your wireless network so the first thing you will do is to connect to the routers home page and configure yourself a secure password (known as secure ID or SID).

The instructions will be self explanatory and I would recommend something like Linksys with easy to understand instructions. You will be looking for a G rated (54Mb) router - 802.11G. The other rating is B, which is 11Mb. (Similar to the different LAN connections 10Mb/100Mb you will want the faster, as the cost is negilible).

As for laptops, if you can find them then the best value for money has to be the machines that are sold in Aldi. Both the PCs and the Laptops offer some serious punch for a fraction of the cost of a high street store. You would be hard pushed to build a machine to that spec yourself (and obviously you cant build your own laptop).

Youre going to want something with a large screen - perhaps a widescreen which is going to push up the cost but for long poker sessions, comfort is paramount. And for multi tabling, a must.

[yt]

u really recommend the laptop in aldi? is that first hand advice?
if so i might get one!

[Sheriff Fatman]

The best laptops for online poker IMO are the Dell 6000 and the Dell 9300's, depending on whether you want a 15" or a 17" machine.  I have a 9300 which is more of a desktop replacement model so not the most portable of laptops!

In both cases I'd suggest upgrading the screen to the WUXGA screen which give 1920x1200 resolution, meaning 4 tables open with no overlap.

I got mine from the Dell Outlet store and saved about £350-400 on the new price.  These are pre-specced machines that are available due to cancelled orders, etc and come with the usual guarantees.

As for Wi-Fi I'm using it at home via a Linksys router plugged into the desktop PC.  The laptop picks up the signal around the house without problems.  I've had one or two hiccups with it at times but, in general, its been excellent.

Sheriff

[mikkyT]

A google five mins googling will net you with a large array of comments RE the Aldi laptop. Effectively the products they have been selling are either Medion or some  rebadged MSI laptops.

http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-13200.php

[yt]

who needs google with this forum!
thanks for the link

[AndrewT]

For playing multi table poker, your number one consideration for a laptop is size and resolution of your screen. Unfortunately, this can be a bit of a problem with laptops as big screen = big laptop. I'm not up on the latest models but Sheriff's 1920x1200 screen sounds as good as I think you'll get without breaking the bank.

Wireless connections are great. Word of warning though - when you play poker in the kitchen whilst cooking sausages, don't have the laptop too near to the pan, unless you want a grease spattered machine.

[mikkyT]

unless you want a grease spattered machine.

 

Don't visit those naughty sites after crashing out of that big MTT

[snoopy1239]

Don't buy mine. It always loses.

[mikkyT]

As with most PC/IT problems, the answer is usually USER ERROR 

[snoopy1239]

As with most PC/IT problems, the answer is usually USER ERROR 

[Win Never]

Thanks to everyone who replied to the thread, and also to Nemesis who sent me a very good PM about it aswell.

This forum is superb so many people willing to take time to reply and help someone else out.


Cheers to everyone