New to laptops

[robpicken]

Hi there all,

Bit of background first - I've not actually owned a laptop before, I've had various desktops down the years which have all served me well until my latest on (now about 3 years old however) which is a Dell Dimension with the most apalling hardware compatibility issues - there is a reason for this info trust me.

Now my dad did me a bad turn, he got a new laptop and gave me his old one, which is slow and cumbersome but I have to say it is very convenient for surfing the web, downloading emails, chatting online with friends, word processing/spreadsheets etc. Not too much for games but would be nice to play Champ or the Civ/old Fallout games...

So I've basically decided to take the plunge, but in all honesty I don't want to end up paying over the odds for something hideously over-specced that I'll probably never use. I'm loath to go into a shop and ask because retail salespeople aren't my forte but I digress...

I've been looking around the net for various deals and offers and a friend pointed me this way as an impartial and knowledgable source of info on the subject.

So far I've found a lot of hardware that I like, or that looks nice, or that sounds good or is hideously expensive, but I have no idea what I'm looking at.

I guess my questions are:

:are Acer/Asus/Lenovo etc to be trusted as I've not much experience of them and some of their laptops look like a child's toy.
:Apple macbooks? worth it? (I have no allegiance either way)
:are web books a waste of time?
:is it really worth getting anything larger/smaller than a 15 inch screen?
:I've read dell laptops are the business but have had atrocious experiences with Dell's other lines in the past, is it time to forgive and forget?
: oh also, I was looking at the Dell Studio 15 line and they now seem to have a worse spec/fewer options today than on Tuesday? Is this the case?

Sorry for general length and ramble, any help much appreciated

R

 

[Mattus]

:are Acer/Asus/Lenovo etc to be trusted as I've not much experience of them and some of their laptops look like a child's toy.

You'll probably get different opinions from everyone you ask, to be honest. Personally I'm inclined to trust Lenovo, since they bought IBM's PC division and I've heard very good things about the ThinkPads. No experience of Asus's laptops but they're well-regarded as a component manufacturer. Not a huge fan of Acer, as two of my mates bought Acer laptops and they both died within a year. Just anecdotal evidence, though, really, and not to say that you'd have any problems.

:Apple macbooks? worth it? (I have no allegiance either way)

Depends what you're looking for. They're very stylish, pretty well-built and can also run Windows. They're also pretty expensive, especially if you just want to surf the internet. I think you'd need the Macbook Pro for gaming, which is pricier still.

:are web books a waste of time?

In my opinion, yes. I think the screens are too small. The clue's probably in the name, though; if you just want it to surf the net, then it's a cheap alternative. For anything else, I'd look elsewhere.

:is it really worth getting anything larger/smaller than a 15 inch screen?

Again, personal preference, really. If portability and battery life aren't important and you're gonna be using the machine as a desktop replacement, a larger screen is nice to have. My laptop has a 13-inch screen, which is great for me because I value portability.

I've read dell laptops are the business but have had atrocious experiences with Dell's other lines in the past, is it time to forgive and forget?

The Vostros seem to be doing pretty well. I haven't heard of any major problems with Dell laptops that couldn't be put down to a bad batch, and the ones I've played with have certainly been well-made.

 

[Burningmace]

Take a look at the Dell Inspiron 1525. They're a new range from Dell that isn't too pricey but can be customised to play some reasonably new games. Plus they come standard with plenty of features and a good deal of power, so you should be sorted.

However, if you're looking to play some serious games, look at the XPS Gaming range. They're pricey (starting at £829) but if you want to play games that's the price you pay.

 

[Hutch]

Cant go wrong with a macbook or macbook pro Obviously depends on use, but for any office tasks/internet use, I much prefer my mac!

 

[cokecan]

You'll probably get different opinions from everyone you ask, to be honest. Personally I'm inclined to trust Lenovo, since they bought IBM's PC division and I've heard very good things about the ThinkPads.

Just want to kinda of echo this, at my last job we had a lot of lenovo thinkpads and I was given one for work. It was a great laptop (T42 i think it was),pletny fast enough for everything you listed, I used to photoshop quite a bit on mine + a bit of C&C red alert 2 etc every now and then lol, just before I left that job we got aload of the newer T60's in and they seemed just as good as the older T42's we had

 

[Mattus]

Take a look at the Dell Inspiron 1525. They're a new range from Dell that isn't too pricey but can be customised to play some reasonably new games. Plus they come standard with plenty of features and a good deal of power, so you should be sorted.

That's a good suggestion. I said about my friends whose Acers died... both of them bought a 1525 and so far they're very happy. I've had a play and they seem to be pretty solid, especially for the money.

 

[robpicken]

That's a good suggestion. I said about my friends whose Acers died... both of them bought a 1525 and so far they're very happy. I've had a play and they seem to be pretty solid, especially for the money.

In reply to both of these points (and to everyone else) I'll have a look at that suggestion - thanks everyone, very helpful!

Final Q though - is there a lot of difference between Centrino and Core 2 Duo? I've no idea which is better, guessing Centrino as you can get Core 2 Duo desktops...? Also what's the deal with integrated graphics and separate graphics cards - is it the same as in desktops where integrated = crap?

 

[Mattus]

IIRC Centrino is just a brand name which manufacturers can use if their laptop uses a Core 2 processor, an Intel chipset and an Intel wireless card.

 

[TheVoice]

Dell is definitely worth a look, they have a decent range of machines now. There's an excellent Dell deals website that you can find via Google that points you to the best Dell prices, and handily shows all of their current systems.

 

[Deep]

:are Acer/Asus/Lenovo etc to be trusted as I've not much experience of them and some of their laptops look like a child's toy.

I've got an Acer 5670 laptop, I have owned it for 2 years and it has only broken once. I sent it off to them and they repaired it within a few days. This incident happened within the 1st year so was covered by warranty.

I used to take my laptop home with me every week from uni, i would just jam it in my bag and take it home, it got knocked around a bit but is still going strong.

I would definitely recommend an Acer laptop