Getting a new laptop - advice please

[Bongo]

I'd imagine the sale of goods act would cover you if it failed.

[RED-DOG]

So I've got my new lappy and it seems fine. I've decided it's probably better if I don't turn it on and off all the time, so I'm going to set it to either sleep or hibernate when I close the lid. My question is, what's the difference and which is best?

[kinboshi]

So I've got my new lappy and it seems fine. I've decided it's probably better if I don't turn it on and off all the time, so I'm going to set it to either sleep or hibernate when I close the lid. My question is, what's the difference and which is best?

Why have you decided it's better if you don't turn it on and off all the time?  Windows tends to slow down during a session - and a reboot helps to speed things up.  Also, having it sat there in sleep mode is going to use more electricity than switching it off (ldo).

[AndrewT]

Always always always basic warranty - if your laptop is a lemon it's going to go wrong well within a year - anything else is just conning people.

If the thing you're buying is only worth about £600, paying a ton or over for extra warranty is insane.

Getting extra warranty is placing a bet that your laptop will go wrong - you're backing a horse at 6/1 when its true odds are at least 20/1.

you honestly believe that the odds of at least one component failing in a laptop in the first 3 years are 20/1 ?

Not in the first three years, but in the 2nd or 3rd year if it gets through the 1st year OK. As a laptop has so few moving parts, if a component is going to fail it's going to be because it's faulty rather than wear and tear, therefore it's not going to make it through the first year (where it's covered by basic warranty)

[RED-DOG]

So I've got my new lappy and it seems fine. I've decided it's probably better if I don't turn it on and off all the time, so I'm going to set it to either sleep or hibernate when I close the lid. My question is, what's the difference and which is best?

Why have you decided it's better if you don't turn it on and off all the time?  Windows tends to slow down during a session - and a reboot helps to speed things up.  Also, having it sat there in sleep mode is going to use more electricity than switching it off (ldo).

Sometimes I turn it off and it's off for several hours, but more often than not I want it on again within an hour or less and it seems much easier and is deffo quicker to just "resume" than re-boot.

I also suspect that putting it to sleep or hibernating is better for it than on off all the time, but I'm only guessing here.

It would be re-booted every few days whatever.

[Linux]

What did you go for in the end?

[kinboshi]

What did you go for in the end?

Haven't yet.  Thought I'd wait until the new year and see what bargains are about.


On a different note, but on the same theme...

For someone looking for a laptop for £375 - how does this one look: http://www.johnlewis.com/230516626/Product.aspx ?

(would be used for the normal stuff, the internetz, watching films, nothing too strenuous)

[Rod Paradise]

Have to say that I've been running Vista for nearly a year now, and so far no compatibility issues at all - that I can remember.

Same here, running smoothly since day 1

Me too, and I've had no proble

Deserves more love IMO.

[maldini32]

Had mine for near enough 2 years,it started playing up so i restored it to factory settings and boom! A brand new lappie.

[RED-DOG]

Any more views on the off/sleep/hibernate thing then?

[kinboshi]

http://www.janleow.com/life/windows-vista-sleep-hibernate-shutdown-suspend.html

[RED-DOG]

Bridie is thinking of buying this lappy (with an extra gig of ram for £12). She will use it for streaming, downloading music, surfing, and a little poker.

Whaddaya think?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152236

[bobAlike]

Bridie is thinking of buying this lappy (with an extra gig of ram for £12). She will use it for streaming, downloading music, surfing, and a little poker.

Whaddaya think?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152236

I've had a HP laptop for the last 3 years without any issues whatsoever.
I've also just bought a Dell Studio 1737 laptop for my daughter for Christmas and it's allready broken, not even 30 days old.
Had a right game with Dell support they wanted to collect the laptop tomorrow (Tuesday) but would only say that collection would happen between 9.00 and 17.30, which is a totally useless if your a working family with no one about.
Had to threaten them with refund before finally agreeing to send an engineer out on the weekend to fix it.

[RED-DOG]

Bridie is thinking of buying this lappy (with an extra gig of ram for £12). She will use it for streaming, downloading music, surfing, and a little poker.

Whaddaya think?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152236

As it turns out this lappy is out of stock. Anyone seen anything that might fit the bill?

[kinboshi]

I think I'm going for the Dell Vostro now:

Order Information    Vostro Laptop 1710 Order - UK
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T8100 (2.1 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz FSB)
Microsoft Operating System    Genuine Windows Vista® Business SP1 - English
Memory    4096MB (2x2048) 667MHz DDR2 Dual Channel
Video Card    256 MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GS (128 bit) Graphic Card
Hard Drive    250GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
Colour Choice    Glossy Black with 1.3 MP Camera
LCD    17" UltraSharp™ Widescreen WUXGA (1920 x 1200) Display with TrueLife™

£692.08     including VAT.

Bit over your original budget, but your paying for something that will last and is the absolute nuts.

geeeeeeeet it now

It arrived today.  That spec, but I went for a faster hard drive.

My previous lappie was crap, so this one is a huge improvement.  The screen is just amazing, and it's very rapid (again comparing it to a two-year old lappie that wasn't much to write about to start with though).

Did I mention how good the screen is?