posted
I'm finally going to purchase a laptop. Any suggestions as to what I should be looking at. Minimum specs, graphics cards etc. I think I am going to look for something with as large a display as possible - I want it to run slide shows on at trade shows and to use for designing at home and on the road.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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17 inch wide screen full size keyboard with number pad (you don't know how much you miss it til ya don't have one) at least 512 megs of ram 3.06 (or better) Ghz with HYPER THREADING (practically doubles your processor speed)
60 gig HD
64 mb video card
XP home
one of those cool 128 mb usb memory sticks for portable file transfers...
posted
LOL Pat! My lap is just the right size for the grandkids I hope will be arriving sometime in the not too distant future. I'm sure it will grow accordingly to the number of Grandkids who wish to be there. For the time being though I'm sure it is ample for a small computer.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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posted
Kelly...You'll probably get all kinds of personal favourite suggestions as to what make/model/specs in a laptop.
I'm on my third one in 8 years and each one was a different brand.
I buy the biggest, fastest, bestest that I can afford at the time.
For graphics work though a large display is required and obviously a fast video card.
Something I bought for my laptop is a cordless optical mouse. No wires to have to wrap up.
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
posted
I am a heavy user of a laptop. One word DELL! I have an Inspiron 4000 and couldn't be happier with my purchase. Nearly three years with this one. Be sure to buy the maintainence plan ($175 ??) It is a bullet proof warranty, which I used because I got careless (LOL) Hope this helps
Regards,
[ March 19, 2004, 03:10 PM: Message edited by: Rick Beisiegel ]
""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3498 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
SONY VAIO....IBM THINKPAD......toshibas are good....i tend to stay away from COMPAQ now the merged with HP...i would definintly stay away.....to propriatary.....
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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I was just looking at Dell laptops today, what a co-inkydink.
They've got some smokin' prices goin on over there..
Inspiron 9100 2.8GHz Pentium 4 with Hyper Threading 15.4" display (dell has the nicest displays on the market, and availble in higher resolutions than Apple's!) 512MB DDR RAM 64MB Radeon 9700 video card (smokin!) DVD Burner (not only a CD-RW, but make DVD's too!) 60Gig Ultra ATA hard drive (sweeeet!) 4 USB ports 1394 (FireWire Port) built-in network (Ethernet) port
All for about $1500 - that's a smokin system at a killer price.
There are also some similar systems in the Dell Outlet, factory refurbished units sporting 2.8GHz, 512-1GB RAM, 64MB video, DVD, 15" displays for right around (and even just under) $1,000.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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Stay far away from HP anything, I used to buy compaq, ( corporate laptops ) and they were top notch not to mention the support, I'm on my 4th Compaq corporate laptop the last batch before the merger, and let me say the few times I had to call just to ask questions the support sucked. no comparison!!. Hp is all about just getting you off the phone.
I would look at business machines versus home machines, they are built to be mobile more, used more, and just plain through more abuse. Not to mention business machines have much better specs.
Some even have magnesium frames and lids to protect the screen from being squashed. My Evo N800V has a magnesium lid instead of plastic.
good luck!
-------------------- Bob Rochon Creative Signworks Millbury, MA 508-865-7330
"Life is Like an Echo, what you put out, comes back to you." Posts: 5149 | From: Millbury, Mass. U.S. | Registered: Nov 1998
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Do you do enough graphics design to justify a brand new laptop? Could you get away with something gently used? Check pc-rental places as they usually have laptops that are only months old for sale. Check the mom and pop computer stores, they ususally will offer to consign for their customers. Slideshows dont take too much processing power, and neither do *most* graphics applications.
I bought a brand new Jetta Pentium 3 933 laptop and really wished I looked at the used route. However even though it is old the thing still lets me do graphics work (photoshop), web work, and programming when on the road.
Another route... I have recently purchased one of the shuttle boxes. There are many companies making them, but its a computer the size of a toaster. Mine is a Pentium 4 2.8Ghz with 512m Ram. I also purchased a nice LCD for it and a microsoft wireless keyboard/mouse. If you cant see yourself using your laptop in places without power very often, this is a cheaper deal in most cases for something that is upgradable!
I will say that the laptop is great when I am away from power. However the hassle of changing out batteries and replacing them ever so often can get boring.
Good luck!
-------------------- John Milleker Baltimore, MD Posts: 42 | From: Baltimore, MD | Registered: Mar 2004
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We like Toshiba lap tops. We have 2. One was $1800 after rebates and the other was $800 after rebates.
Wait for a sale. Circuit City had the best prices compared to Best Buy and even the Internet.
The $1800 Toshiba Satellite P25 is fast, writes DVDs, has a big screen and has wireless internet. It has a couple "smart card" bays.
The $800 Toshiba Satellite A45 is smaller, the screen display is definately "cheaper" than the P25, its slower, it writes CD's (but not DVDs) and is does NOT have wireless internet. It does NOT have the smart card drives either.
I use the Tobishi A45 (the cheaper one) to run the office, take out on sales calls, take home to design on in the evening and surf the net. It is slower, but much lighter, and fits better in a bag with all the attachments.
Cindy uses the bigger lap top as a home computer, and plans our daughter's wedding on it, daily checking out super deals on bridal sites.
I like the speed of her computer vs. mine, but I just have to wait a few seconds longer.
I like the idea she can write to DVD's, but I rarely do that, and she NEVER does.
I like the idea that her computer has wireless internet and that when on vacation we can go into a Star Bucks and log on.
So here is what you should consider:
Laptops are heavier than you think, in a bag with all the gear, do you need a bag with wheels on it?
Do you need the speed? Do you need wireless? Do you need to write to DVDs? Do you need the smart card bays? Do you need the bigger hard drive?
If you can answer "NO" to the above questions, then an $800 lap top is built for you!
Get a wireless optical mouse because you will want to turn the touch pad off...forever...it sucks! on ALL laptops.
You will be happy with what you buy if you match your wants and needs to the lap top you buy.
I will never go back to a CPU for a personal computer and a big monitor or even those new expensive flat thin monitors. I want to take my computer with me to play movies, do work, show customers layouts, and log on to the internet at a coffee shop.
Lap Tops are a wise investment.
[ March 19, 2004, 08:53 PM: Message edited by: Dave Draper ]
posted
One other note about laptops - if you travel, or plan to use the laptop on airplanes, wireless mice and keyboards are a no-no. They are not allowed to be used during flight so keep a wired optical mouse in your bag if you do not like using the touchpad or the little "nub" mousey thing many laptops have stuck in the middle of the keyboard. Like Dave said, the pads and nubs stink big time. My laptop has both and I disabled the pad because I could not type without accidentally moving the pointer somewhere else. I never use the "nub".
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
Hi Kelly, whatever you get will be obsolete by the time you get back to your car! In six months time, the same spec’s will be available for around 2/3 of what you paid, so a six-month old 2nd hand unit isn’t such a bad idea, price-wise. That’s life! Something no one’s said yet is battery life- most seem to last an hour, roughly. This goes fast! Then they need plugging into the mains again. “ Acer “ here promote one with a 5-hour battery. A lot of new fast laptops seem slower than some older slower desktops- it’s the way they are configured apparently. You need to do a lot of fine tuning to turn off memory-hogging features you don’t need, which helps speed things up. I used to hate touch pads, but the one on our laptop isn’t bad- it’s a semi-circle shape and has built-in scrolling down and across, touch and drag, etc- good for quick browsing. We got a Protac Excel G733 in July last year- it was the cheapest machine around with the specs at the time- P4-2.4 ghz, 15” screen, DVDrom, CDRW, 40 gig hd, 512 mb ddrram, XP home, and a host of plugs at the back & side I’ve not used. NO FLOPPY DRIVE, though. I bought a USB fullsize keyboard though- the on board miniature one is a pain and a USB optical mouse (which helps drain the batteries!). I’ve grown used to it, and now quite like it. (fortunately it was bought for me by a mob I do voluntary work for, so I paid nil) . A 128 meg USB key is great- really fast convenient data storage & transfer. Good luck with the decision- keep us informed!
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
Hiya Kelly, My cousing just bought a Toshiba laptop too. I think he paid about $1500 with the extended warranty and insurance. It was real nice! It has a 17" touch screen that rotates 180* and folds flat so it can be used as a tablet too. He took it on vacation with him last week so he could do some work while he was on the road. It also had a compact flash card built in so I could dump my photos on it and and refill the disk.
Havin' fun,
Checkers
-------------------- a.k.a. Brian Born www.CheckersCustom.com Harrisburg, Pa Work Smart, Play Hard Posts: 3775 | From: Harrisburg, Pa. U.S.A. | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Definatly spring for a mouse. Those touchpads are terrible and cramp my hand in short order.
Also as mentioned above, look into the refurbs by Dell. I found out on good authority that the majority of the refurbs are Dells ordered, built, and order cancelled before delivery so they are really brand new. I got my desktop this way and saved $500. This thing looks and runs like brand new.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5407 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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posted
Does anyone know if, you was traveling on a plane for a long distance. I hear they have some type of "special adapter" to plug in instead of using your battery for a laptop?
-------------------- aka:Cisco the "Traveling Millennium Sign Artist" http://www.franciscovargas.com Fresno, CA 93703 559 252-0935 "to live life, is to love life, a sign of no life, is a sign of no love"...Cisco 12'98 Posts: 3576 | From: Fresno, Ca, the great USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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posted
Cisco, yep a company called "Targus" has such power adaptors. Not only will they plug into the power on airplanes they also have cigarette lighter adaptors for use in the car, built into the same unit.
They also make a large selection of other products for mobile computing.
posted
I flew last week on Continental and there was no power plugs in coach.
Cheers,
Checkers
-------------------- a.k.a. Brian Born www.CheckersCustom.com Harrisburg, Pa Work Smart, Play Hard Posts: 3775 | From: Harrisburg, Pa. U.S.A. | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
The old saying for purchasing any computer! " Buy the biggest, fastest, meanist mother you can afford!
-------------------- Tony Vickio The World Famous Vickio Signs 3364 Rt.329 Watkins Glen, NY 14891 t30v@vickiosigns.com 607-535-6241 http://www.vickiosigns.com Posts: 1063 | From: Watkins Glen, New York | Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
I've flown a couple SouthWest and AmericaWest flights that had power in the seats.
Maybe the airline industry will listen to its customers and install power in all seats with the number of people bringing electronics aboard these days.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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