Laptop question

Dragonjojo · 10-23-2007, 04:47 AM

I would like to purchase a laptop. I'm looking for something that doesn't weigh very much, is very compact/small, and has decent battery life.

Basically I want something to take with me to class that isn't a burden to carry around.

No plans at all to play games on it. Just something to read ebooks, maybe watch videos, and do schoolwork in Microsoft office and what not.

Not doing anything graphic intensive so huge harddrive space or badass gfx card are not required.

Could anyone give me some recommendations? I'm not familiar with what sort of processors to look for when it comes to laptops.

As for screensize what would you guys recommend?

Also whats the difference between a laptop and tablet pc? The screen swivels on a tablet? (Sorry google seems so far away right now. I'm lazy)

Edit: By looking at things a tablet pc might be more of what i'm looking for. Seems ot be pricier but smaller screen sizes and from what I saw some of them would be really nice for reading ebooks since the screen swivels around and what not.

Thanks

Mooga · 10-23-2007, 11:49 AM

I look for the same thing out of a laptop. I'm personally using an old Dell laptop with two batteries and no optical drive.

Gigiya · 10-23-2007, 01:04 PM

You can write on tablet PC screens with a stylus, so it's really convenient for taking certain kinds of notes with diagrams and the such that would be difficult to represent in a word processor. If you're getting it for school, that is.

Personally I'd recommend Dell because of their relative quality of their support. I've had an Inspiron e1705 since May of last year and love it, and Dell has been very prompt with every replacement part (so far, the AC adapter and the little rubber feet on the bottom of the laptop to keep it from slipping) they've sent. When I've run into annoying problems in Windows with drivers or something that I couldn't fix on my own (doesn't happen often as I maintain my system well), the online chat and Dell's remote assistance program fixed it via a registry deletion really quickly.

I sound like a fanboy but compared to what I've heard from friends about support from Gateway and HP, Dell is awesome.

I'd recommend a Dell 1420 (14-inch screen) with upgraded battery and a three or four year warranty. You can find coupon codes here.

Sorry for sounding like I'm paid by Dell or a spambot for a cheesy sounding site, but I like Dell a lot and saved $399 on mine with a coupon code from that site.

SoBe Green · 10-23-2007, 01:19 PM

Wait until January or February before you get one. That is my advice.

Bakedbean · 10-23-2007, 01:25 PM

Friend of mine has this HP Tablet PC
For the price after rebate at newegg $1139 is a steal seeing that it has 2GB memory and AMD Turion 64 X2 CPU. Even has an Nvidia GPU.

Goodluck

Dragonjojo · 10-23-2007, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gigiya

Sorry for sounding like I'm paid by Dell or a spambot for a cheesy sounding site, but I like Dell a lot and saved $399 on mine with a coupon code from that site.

Thanks. Going to look into some reviews of that laptop and check it out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoBe Green

Wait until January or February before you get one. That is my advice.

What's happening then tech wise that I should be on the lookout for?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bakedbean

Friend of mine has this HP Tablet PC
For the price after rebate at newegg $1139 is a steal seeing that it has 2GB memory and AMD Turion 64 X2 CPU. Even has an Nvidia GPU.

Goodluck

Yeah that seems like a really nice one. I might read up on it and look for some reviews.

Riff Zifnab · 10-23-2007, 01:55 PM

Your looking for an ultra-compact notebook then. I'm going to throw IBM/Lenovo's name into the ring. Back in college (~3-4 years ago, chripes) I got a nice X serise used from IBM and it's the shit. Sub 3 pounds, 12" screen. It was great. Because it was used it was only $800, battery died a year after I got it (meh, it was used. Batterys only last about 3 years). I don't know how much your looking to spend but Thinkpads rock.

http://shop.lenovo.com

Innoc · 10-23-2007, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riff Zifnab

Batterys only last about 3 years).

Much less if the battery is never allowed normal charge/discharge cycles. 12-18 months tops if you keep the laptop on the cord constantly.

Dragonjojo · 10-24-2007, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riff Zifnab

Your looking for an ultra-compact notebook then. I'm going to throw IBM/Lenovo's name into the ring. Back in college (~3-4 years ago, chripes) I got a nice X serise used from IBM and it's the shit. Sub 3 pounds, 12" screen. It was great. Because it was used it was only $800, battery died a year after I got it (meh, it was used. Batterys only last about 3 years). I don't know how much your looking to spend but Thinkpads rock.

http://shop.lenovo.com

Yeah those look really nice too. That's probably around the perfect size and what not that I'm looking for.

As for my price range I haven't determined yet. I'd say around $1200ish right now at max. Maybe more once I have a real look at my finances.

I'm really leaning towards a tablet pc though. It seems like it'd be so much easier to reverse the screen and read ebooks on it. Not to mention for taking notes.

The HP one on newegg really has caught my attention at the moment.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834147536

**mervaka** · 10-24-2007, 12:33 AM

so uh, how long do dell normally take to get out of the "preproduction" stage of the order? my dad's laptop's beein there for about 2 weeks now..

Ihmhi · 10-24-2007, 01:37 AM

Go with a tablet. You can save tons of money on paper.

And RAM is very important with tablets. Microsoft Journal uses all vector graphics to make the lines (i.e. each line is a mathematical calculation, not pixels or something). If you have too many lines on the page, it will start to slow your computer down if you do not have enough RAM.

But yeah, a tablet would be awesome for college. You can just write down all of your notes right there and not worry about paper or anything. Hell, you can probably also get your textbooks in digital format (lots of book manufacturers do that, and it usually ends up being cheaper than buying the actual book). You can basically have all of your written school materials in one machine.

Dragonjojo · 10-24-2007, 02:03 AM

Yeah i'm about to order that one from newegg. Checked my finances and I can afford it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834147536

It has 2 gigs of ram. That should be sufficient right? And I can upgrade the ram in the future if need be correct?

Thanks for the replies guys. Really appreciate the feedback.

Bakedbean · 10-24-2007, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragonjojo

Yeah i'm about to order that one from newegg. Checked my finances and I can afford it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834147536

It has 2 gigs of ram. That should be sufficient right? And I can upgrade the ram in the future if need be correct?

Thanks for the replies guys. Really appreciate the feedback.

Heck yeah 2gigs is nice and it supports up to 4gigs

Ihmhi · 10-24-2007, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragonjojo

It has 2 gigs of ram. That should be sufficient right? And I can upgrade the ram in the future if need be correct?

Absolutely. XP's "sweet spot" is 2 gigs. You probably will not need any more than that.

Mooga · 10-24-2007, 03:11 PM

If you're just web browsing and typing (and lite end gaming), 1Ghz with 512 Ram runs like a charm.

פֿяαιп βαмαgεפ · 10-30-2007, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragonjojo

Yeah i'm about to order that one from newegg. Checked my finances and I can afford it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834147536

It has 2 gigs of ram. That should be sufficient right? And I can upgrade the ram in the future if need be correct?

Thanks for the replies guys. Really appreciate the feedback.

Let me just say: tha days you scribbeled on paper are over

Nice find, decent price. The only "problem" I have with HP is that, since they took over compaq, they tend to "dislike" hardware made by other manufactures(sp?) just like compaq did.

Dragonjojo · 10-30-2007, 10:43 PM

Well it arrived yesterday and I messed with it some lastnight. I'm in the process of removing a bunch of crap on it I don't want and then I'm going to make system restore discs and start putting some programs on it.

I've traditionally used AVG as my anti-virus and Kaspersky antihacker as my firewall. I'm wondering if I should put nod32 as my anti-virus on it though and whether the regular windows firewall is good enough or if i should look elsewhere.

It's the perfect size though and the weight is nice as well. It's really going to be much nicer then the disorganized folder i use now for school.

Now I just need something nice to carry it in for rainy days and also to carry around some accessories. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks guys,

Tennovan · 10-30-2007, 11:23 PM

damn dragon... I don't even need anything like that and I'm jealous right now. Sweet machine

Gigiya · 10-31-2007, 12:14 AM

I don't know how software for tablets works, but you're probably better off reformatting with all the bloatware manufacturers put on their computers.

Dragonjojo · 10-31-2007, 12:35 AM

It's crazy how much crap they give you. I'm spending more time just cleaning out the bloat then actually using the thing and having fun. I'm about done removing the bloat now though.
Going to put my AV on and setup my wireless network connects and download all the updates available.
Then i'm going to try some tweaks i found at:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166532

If anyone with vista has tried any of those tweaks and could comment i'd appreciate the feedback.

Thanks guys

10-23-2007, 04:47 AM	#1
Dragonjojo Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Laptop question I would like to purchase a laptop. I'm looking for something that doesn't weigh very much, is very compact/small, and has decent battery life. Basically I want something to take with me to class that isn't a burden to carry around. No plans at all to play games on it. Just something to read ebooks, maybe watch videos, and do schoolwork in Microsoft office and what not. Not doing anything graphic intensive so huge harddrive space or badass gfx card are not required. Could anyone give me some recommendations? I'm not familiar with what sort of processors to look for when it comes to laptops. As for screensize what would you guys recommend? Also whats the difference between a laptop and tablet pc? The screen swivels on a tablet? (Sorry google seems so far away right now. I'm lazy) Edit: By looking at things a tablet pc might be more of what i'm looking for. Seems ot be pricier but smaller screen sizes and from what I saw some of them would be really nice for reading ebooks since the screen swivels around and what not. Thanks Last edited by Dragonjojo; 10-23-2007 at 05:09 AM.

10-23-2007, 11:49 AM	#2
Mooga Colorless FTW D&A Member Beta Tester Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: A Small Box Affiliations: SRCDS.com Posts Rated Helpful 1 Times	I look for the same thing out of a laptop. I'm personally using an old Dell laptop with two batteries and no optical drive. __________________ ~ Mooga ...w00t? SRCDS.com \| Twitter

10-24-2007, 12:33 AM	#10
mervaka A Very Sound Guy! Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: May 2005 Location: UK Posts Rated Helpful 15 Times	so uh, how long do dell normally take to get out of the "preproduction" stage of the order? my dad's laptop's beein there for about 2 weeks now.. __________________ Support FF:

10-24-2007, 01:37 AM	#11
Ihmhi [AE] 0112 Ihmhi SJB Wiki Team Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Newark, NJ, United States Class/Position: A little bit o' everythin' Gametype: Also a little bit o' everythin' Affiliations: [AE] Asseater, SJB Straight Jacket Brigade Posts Rated Helpful 3 Times	Go with a tablet. You can save tons of money on paper. And RAM is very important with tablets. Microsoft Journal uses all vector graphics to make the lines (i.e. each line is a mathematical calculation, not pixels or something). If you have too many lines on the page, it will start to slow your computer down if you do not have enough RAM. But yeah, a tablet would be awesome for college. You can just write down all of your notes right there and not worry about paper or anything. Hell, you can probably also get your textbooks in digital format (lots of book manufacturers do that, and it usually ends up being cheaper than buying the actual book). You can basically have all of your written school materials in one machine. __________________ Support FF: Anime: The Thread: Reloaded The one and only anime thread on these here forums. Select the pistol, and then, select your horse.

10-24-2007, 03:11 PM	#15
Mooga Colorless FTW D&A Member Beta Tester Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: A Small Box Affiliations: SRCDS.com Posts Rated Helpful 1 Times	If you're just web browsing and typing (and lite end gaming), 1Ghz with 512 Ram runs like a charm. __________________ ~ Mooga ...w00t? SRCDS.com \| Twitter

10-23-2007, 01:04 PM	#3
Gigiya Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	You can write on tablet PC screens with a stylus, so it's really convenient for taking certain kinds of notes with diagrams and the such that would be difficult to represent in a word processor. If you're getting it for school, that is. Personally I'd recommend Dell because of their relative quality of their support. I've had an Inspiron e1705 since May of last year and love it, and Dell has been very prompt with every replacement part (so far, the AC adapter and the little rubber feet on the bottom of the laptop to keep it from slipping) they've sent. When I've run into annoying problems in Windows with drivers or something that I couldn't fix on my own (doesn't happen often as I maintain my system well), the online chat and Dell's remote assistance program fixed it via a registry deletion really quickly. I sound like a fanboy but compared to what I've heard from friends about support from Gateway and HP, Dell is awesome. I'd recommend a Dell 1420 (14-inch screen) with upgraded battery and a three or four year warranty. You can find coupon codes here. Sorry for sounding like I'm paid by Dell or a spambot for a cheesy sounding site, but I like Dell a lot and saved $399 on mine with a coupon code from that site.

10-23-2007, 01:19 PM	#4
SoBe Green SoBe Yourself Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Russellville, AR Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Wait until January or February before you get one. That is my advice.

10-23-2007, 01:25 PM	#5
Bakedbean Crap, where's a gun!? Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Friend of mine has this HP Tablet PC For the price after rebate at newegg $1139 is a steal seeing that it has 2GB memory and AMD Turion 64 X2 CPU. Even has an Nvidia GPU. Goodluck

10-23-2007, 01:55 PM	#7
Riff Zifnab -TPF- Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Hampshire Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Your looking for an ultra-compact notebook then. I'm going to throw IBM/Lenovo's name into the ring. Back in college (~3-4 years ago, chripes) I got a nice X serise used from IBM and it's the shit. Sub 3 pounds, 12" screen. It was great. Because it was used it was only $800, battery died a year after I got it (meh, it was used. Batterys only last about 3 years). I don't know how much your looking to spend but Thinkpads rock. http://shop.lenovo.com

10-24-2007, 02:03 AM	#12
Dragonjojo Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Yeah i'm about to order that one from newegg. Checked my finances and I can afford it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834147536 It has 2 gigs of ram. That should be sufficient right? And I can upgrade the ram in the future if need be correct? Thanks for the replies guys. Really appreciate the feedback.

10-30-2007, 10:43 PM	#17
Dragonjojo Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Well it arrived yesterday and I messed with it some lastnight. I'm in the process of removing a bunch of crap on it I don't want and then I'm going to make system restore discs and start putting some programs on it. I've traditionally used AVG as my anti-virus and Kaspersky antihacker as my firewall. I'm wondering if I should put nod32 as my anti-virus on it though and whether the regular windows firewall is good enough or if i should look elsewhere. It's the perfect size though and the weight is nice as well. It's really going to be much nicer then the disorganized folder i use now for school. Now I just need something nice to carry it in for rainy days and also to carry around some accessories. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks guys,

10-30-2007, 11:23 PM	#18
Tennovan The one and only Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	damn dragon... I don't even need anything like that and I'm jealous right now. Sweet machine

10-31-2007, 12:14 AM	#19
Gigiya Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	I don't know how software for tablets works, but you're probably better off reformatting with all the bloatware manufacturers put on their computers.

10-31-2007, 12:35 AM	#20
Dragonjojo Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	It's crazy how much crap they give you. I'm spending more time just cleaning out the bloat then actually using the thing and having fun. I'm about done removing the bloat now though. Going to put my AV on and setup my wireless network connects and download all the updates available. Then i'm going to try some tweaks i found at: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166532 If anyone with vista has tried any of those tweaks and could comment i'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks guys

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