Laptop Computer

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Originally Posted by Clone1450

I think that unless you have the 64 bit version of your operating system it won't recognize more than 3 Gigs of RAM, can anyone back me up on this?

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4 is the max that XP and 32bit Vista will recognize.
However, they can't actually use all of it, generally speaking. It's so cheap, that I would just get the 4GB and not worry about it, though.

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Originally Posted by cycloneworld

I am also looking at a laptop...I will probably go with Dell as I've had 3 desktops from them and they have all been great computers.

I will be using it in the same manner as CYCRZY. Quick question: Is it worth $100 to upgrade from 3 GB of memory to 4 GB + upgrading from a 4 cell battery to a 6-cell?

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I have both a 6 cell and 9 cell for my 1525. I actually have the 6 cell in most of the time, but I have it plugged in most of the time too. I highly recommend the 9 cell for traveling, but it does stick out the back of my laptop a bit so it's a bit more unwieldy, and it's noticeably heavier with it installed.

I wouldn't go with the 4 cell unless you plan on having it plugged in a lot, or will be using it for less than roughly an hour at a time unplugged.

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Originally Posted by CYCRAZY

So i Im looking at getting a laptop. i went into best buy today and would have loved to get a Mac but dont want to pay the price for them.. And the guy at best buy said a new Sony Vaio is the next best thing to getting a Mac. So my question for you computer guys is.. is that a good one to buy considering it is 800 dollars or go cheaper with the same quality???

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Sony makes alot of very good products, however laptops aren't one of them. They change models too frequently, and support is lacking.

I would say HP or Dell. And not from Best Buy. If you are listening to
electronic advice from the sales people at Best Buy good luck to you.

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Originally Posted by Cyberclone

Sony makes alot of very good products, however laptops aren't one of them. They change models too frequently, and support is lacking.

I would say HP or Dell. And not from Best Buy. If you are listening to
electronic advice from the sales people at Best Buy good luck to you.

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I would agree. Buy HP or Dell, and buy from their website. The only reason why I bought my HP tower from Best Buy is because my computer died and I absolutely, positively HAD to have a computer for school work - I couldn't wait for it. Even then I spent only $500 for a very good machine. The laptop - I purchased a superior machine off the HP site for a price I never would have gotten at Best Buy.

- If getting an Intel, get a Core 2 Duo processor, not a Dual Core
- Get integrated graphics, not a dedicated graphics card (unless you are really into gaming, I'm guessing not), this saves battery life
- If getting 32-bit OS, 3GB of RAM is enough. If getting 64-bit OS, 4GB is nice.
- I don't think you'll see much of a difference between brands (except Gateway, I hate Gateway!!)
- Before buying, check out the reviews at Notebook and Laptop Reviews. Some laptops run really hot, while others dissipate heat well. I also like nice keyboards that don't flex, but that prolly doesn't matter to most people!
- Do you care about glossy vs. matte screen? 14 inch or 15 inch or other size?
- Don't buy until June 26th (I think that's the date), any Vista purchase after that will get a free Windows 7 upgrade
- Do you care about having an HDMI port? This isn't that important, but with more and more people having HDTVs, it can be nice to have depending on your wants

That's all I got for now.

Edit: Apparently if you buy from dell with a 32-bit copy of Vista, they are required to provide you a 64-bit copy as well. That could change your decision on how much RAM to get, but beware, they tend to rip people off for upgrading all the way to 4GB

And here you go:
Dell EPP Inspiron 15 Laptop T6400 C2D, 160GB, DVDRW, 2GB RAM $371+$29 shipping - SlickDeals.net Forums

Great price, upgrade RAM later if you wish (can prolly be had for $20 if you don't mind rebates). Doesn't have a lot of the extras, but it doesn't sound like you need a lot of the extras.

Or if you are really patient, you can wait for Windows 7.

OK, I was raggin on Gateway, but this looks like a good deal too:
Gateway T-6859u Laptop: Core 2 Duo T6400 2.0 Ghz, 4GB DDR2, 320GB HDD, DVDRW, WiFi, Webcam, Vista Premium, 14.1" WXGA LCD $502 - SlickDeals.net Forums

Don't get a cheap (but pretty powerful) HP 6000. Wireless card fried after a year and a half, most of them that are 6000 or 9000s have this issue and other problems.

My iMAC is dual boot. I run as a MAC 90% of the time, but can boot up Vista for games.

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Originally Posted by MrGreg

OK, I was raggin on Gateway, but this looks like a good deal too:
Gateway T-6859u Laptop: Core 2 Duo T6400 2.0 Ghz, 4GB DDR2, 320GB HDD, DVDRW, WiFi, Webcam, Vista Premium, 14.1" WXGA LCD $502 - SlickDeals.net Forums

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I really wouldn't trust anything coming from Gateway anymore. Their quality controls have gone down the toilet since the early part of this decade. My mother-in-law and brother-in-law both bought Gateways fairly recently and both of them have been in and out of the shop numerous times for a variety of issues - and neither of them necessarily perform the way they should.

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Originally Posted by jdoggivjc

I really wouldn't trust anything coming from Gateway anymore. Their quality controls have gone down the toilet since the early part of this decade. My mother-in-law and brother-in-law both bought Gateways fairly recently and both of them have been in and out of the shop numerous times for a variety of issues - and neither of them necessarily perform the way they should.

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Gateway's are utter garbage anymore.

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Originally Posted by CloneIce

Don't get a cheap (but pretty powerful) HP 6000. Wireless card fried after a year and a half, most of them that are 6000 or 9000s have this issue and other problems.

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I'm on my 3rd hard drive, second cpu fan in my HP zd7000. Oh, and third battery (and it lasts about 5 min).:sad:

I'm a big HP fan but Dell is good too. Do you have an employee discount program through your work or through your wife's school? You should check into that.... my company has a great HP discount program.

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Originally Posted by jdoggivjc

I would also recommend a laptop cooling pad for when you have that sucker on your lap (at least if you're into heavy gaming). I've got "discoloring" on my left leg from the heat that my laptop is putting out. My wife likes to say that my leg is "well done" and comments about how one day I'm going to lose my leg...

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I think I've had 1st degree burns my finger tips playing Half Life 2 before :rolleyes: (The downside to having your keyboard sit on top of your CPU... :no:)


Reasonable people would turn the game off for a while, but of course any game knows thats not an acceptable solution.

My solution? Give my keyboard an alcohol rub down (rubbing alcohol, not drinking alcohol) - it evaporates off quickly, cooling down the keys so it doesn't hurt to touch them any more, and I can keep playing :biggrin:

It's really hard to go wrong with a $400 Dell. I've had mine for 3 years and everything has run like butta besides the battery that seemed to be junk from the start. As soon as you get it run the dell decraptifyer

yorkspace.com » Blog Archive » Introducing the Dell De-Crapifier…

You can spend a lot more on a laptop but i think it's a waste of money. In 4 years both a $500 and a $1,500 laptop will seem old and it's a lot easier to justify one when you only spent $500 on it.

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Originally Posted by dmclone

It's really hard to go wrong with a $400 Dell. I've had mine for 3 years and everything has run like butta besides the battery that seemed to be junk from the start. As soon as you get it run the dell decraptifyer

yorkspace.com » Blog Archive » Introducing the Dell De-Crapifier…

You can spend a lot more on a laptop but i think it's a waste of money. In 4 years both a $500 and a $1,500 laptop will seem old and it's a lot easier to justify one when you only spent $500 on it.

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Is there an hp version of that?