Which notebook to choose?

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Casio

Casio

Born From Jets
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BradleyH131
I'm going to purchase myself a Notebook for university studies. I don't want to spend an excessive amount, so my budget is around the 1200-1300AUD$ (1000$USD). Preferably from a shop, or somewhere where I can pay off in installments, although I don't mind eBay or like if the right one comes up.

I am doing a degree in Multimedia, so it will consist of sound/video editing, as well as things like Photoshop and word processing. In addition I am doing a few subjects in games development (And possibly changing my degree to that field) so being able to play games would be nice.

I found two that looked good today in a store

1:
Toshiba A100/Q03NB

Intel Core Duo TT2250 1.73Ghz
1GB DDR2
60GB SATA
DVD everything drive
15.4" Widescreen XGA
Intel Graphics Media Acelerator 950
And a heap of other stuff such as Ethernet And Wireless LAN, Card Readers, 4 USB ports, an IEE1394 port, IR Port, Blue Tooth, PC card slot, Fingerprint reader, and a bunch of Software running on XP Pro

2:

Intel Centrino Pentium M 740 1.73Ghz
512MB DDR2
80GB SATA
DVD everything
15.4" WXGA
ATI X700 128MB
And in comparison to the above, it only has card readers, 3 USB ports and Wireless. Running XP Media Centre.

Both are within 50$ difference. And the obvious choice is number 1 right? The only thing I am wondering is the capabilities of the graphics card. I hear that the Intel GMA 950s are pretty woeful when it comes to anything even resembling a game, does this extend to programs such as Photoshop and other video programs? Also, is their a great difference between the abilities of the Core Duo and Pentium M in terms of speed?
 
Maybe you should consider building one from HP or something so you can get exactly what you want? The second one would likely be better for your needs purely based on the video card. The Pentium M is a single core processor isn't it? It looks like there would be a noticeable difference in the two involving non-graphics work.
 
Casio
I am doing a degree in Multimedia, so it will consist of sound/video editing, as well as things like Photoshop and word processing. In addition I am doing a few subjects in games development (And possibly changing my degree to that field) so being able to play games would be nice.
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Get a used MacBook Pro!! :sly:
 
I would agree with the above, but the cheapest a refurbished MBP runs is around $1500. You can get a refurbished MacBook for around $1000 though.
 
Yeah, I didn't read the first post untill after I made mine. I suggest you do what Ebiggs said and spec one out from HP or the like. Although, I doubt you are going to be able to get a laptop with anything that resembles a decent video card in your price range. Most laptops in that range use GMA950 or an equivalent. If you want a good video card in a laptop, you're more than likely going to have to buy a gaming specific laptop, and those are well out of your price range.
 
I'll tell you, for $1,000US you can get a decent laptop including a decent dedicated graphics card (not high end, but decent), and usually I would recommend that.. But, being in college myself for a graphics degree, I'll tell you right now that they're going to have you using a Mac for a lot of your projects and the like, and having to go to school to complete an assignment would not be fun. Keep that in mind.
 
In addition to my utter hate for Macs, the cheapest new Mac book would set me back $1700AUD+, for that price I could get a half decent laptop with dedicated graphics. $1350 would be my top, top, top most limit. Even just checking eBay not even normal MacBooks are in my range.

Unfortunately in Australia you can't build your own HP laptops. You get what you're given. I can upgrade Dells, and I can get a similarly spec'ed one with a "ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 256MB HyperMemory™", but if I read a few sites correctly, that just seems to take 256MB from your RAM and isn't really much better then GMA 950.

I could just buy the top one, and play games on my desktop I guess. (Well, as many games as I can with a FX5200 AGP...)
 
opendriver19a
try searching for dv2221 or dv2000 and look for the right specs:tup:
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Just so happens that my dad has some contacts and got me a list of a few decent Notebooks.

The ones now amazingly among my price range are:

(The dv222x you said)
» HP Pavilion dv2222TX Entertainment Notebook PC [RY264PA]
  • Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
  • Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2250 (1.73GHz, L2 Cache 2MB, 533MHz FSB)
  • 14.1” WXGA High Definition BrightView Widescreen Display 1280 x 800
  • 1024MB (2 x 512MB)
  • 80GB (5400 rpm)
  • Lightscribe Super Multi DVD Writer (+/-R +/-RW) with Double Layer support
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7200 (with 128MB of Turbocache Video Memory)
(Really sightly more then I want to spend)
HP Pavilion dv6207TX Entertainment Notebook PC [RU879PA]
  • Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
  • Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T5200 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB)
  • 15.4” WXGA High Definition BrightView Widescreen
  • 1024MB (2 x 512MB)
  • 120GB (5400 rpm)
  • Lightscribe Super Multi DVD Writer (+/-R +/-RW) with Double Layer support
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7400 (with up to 256MB memory (128MB dedicated + 128MB
(Slightly cheaper)
Compaq Presario V6201AU Notebook PC [RU931PA]
  • Genuine Windows Vista™ Business
  • AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Dual Core Mobile Technology TL-60 (2GHz)
  • 15.4” WXGA High Definition BrightView Widescreen
  • 1024MB (2 x 512MB)
  • 120GB (5400 rpm)
  • Super Multi DVD Writer (+/-R +/-RW) with Double Layer support
  • NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6150 (Up to 128 MB shared video memory)
Is there a big difference between Intel Core Duo and Intel Core 2 Duo? The difference between the top 2 is 133$AUD (107$US), so it may be worth it for the bigger screen, more HDD and better graphics card?
 
Yes, the core 2 duo is a much better chip than the core duo and apparently it also uses less power in addition to being more efficient than its predecessor. It'll probably be able to handle apps like Photoshop and the like with more ease, so I'd recommend it.
 
Oh good God no!!!


Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease don't buy an HP/Compaq. They're really really terrible. Overweight, with poor battery life (in terms of per-charge and in terms of lifespan), they have poor keyboards, below-par drivers, especially for things like the touchpad, and they mount critical functions on the corners, where they break as soon as you drop it. Additionally, the hardware support is badly implemented (my IBM ThinkPad can detect and connect to more WLAN points than an equivalent-age HP can in all areas where I've compared the two). Put simply, my experience of them is that HP laptops are approximately two years behind other brands in terms of quality.

I'd look at the Tosh and I'd also take a close look at Acer laptops. I recently put in an Acer for my sister in law and it's working very well. Took some time to strip out all the "free" junk, but it's a good machine. If you can run to an up-spec IBM/Lenovo, they're excellent too - my IBM T42 is the first business laptop I've had that I would actually spend my own money on.
 
Really? Those are through my dad's business and they supply the employees solely HP/Compaq laptop I'd assume because they are of quite good quality. He's been at the company for at least 5 years, and has had his laptop upgraded by the company twice, both of which were HPs which he hasn't had any problems with. And he has his moving everyday and in airport luggage most weeks.

So are you saying that the first Tosh I posted (With a RRP of $1176), is a better buy then the HP dv6207TX (With a RRP of $2000).

I did look at Thinkpads, but they're well out of my price range, the T42 you posted is $2999 here. Although I do like the IBM little mouse thingy in the middle of keyboard over those touchpads which have taken over.
 
GilesGuthrie
Oh good God no!!!


Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease don't buy an HP/Compaq. They're really really terrible. Overweight, with poor battery life (in terms of per-charge and in terms of lifespan), they have poor keyboards, below-par drivers, especially for things like the touchpad, and they mount critical functions on the corners, where they break as soon as you drop it. Additionally, the hardware support is badly implemented (my IBM ThinkPad can detect and connect to more WLAN points than an equivalent-age HP can in all areas where I've compared the two). Put simply, my experience of them is that HP laptops are approximately two years behind other brands in terms of quality.

I'd look at the Tosh and I'd also take a close look at Acer laptops. I recently put in an Acer for my sister in law and it's working very well. Took some time to strip out all the "free" junk, but it's a good machine. If you can run to an up-spec IBM/Lenovo, they're excellent too - my IBM T42 is the first business laptop I've had that I would actually spend my own money on.
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Surprisingly, I'm actually going to agree with you. Surprisingly because I've on average been very happy with my HP Compaq. It was great to begin with, but it's now sprouting numerous non-lethal yet horribly annoying problems.

On the upside, it's been quick, it's been fairly reliable (hey, it boots afterall) and the screen and mass number of connections on each side are great.

What's not so great, however, are the list of faults it's developed, along with the ridiculously poor components it seems to be constructed with.

The S-Video output doesn't work, nor does one of the USB ports, the DVD drive goes in and out of appearing as hardware, the wireless card is pathetic, the video card is the exact same one fitted to my Mum's £400 Acer (I payed £900 for this) and isn't even worth playing anything on (to the degree that simple stuff like The Sims 1 actually displayed better on my old desktop), and the battery life wouldn't be dissimilar if I attached it to a couple of AA batteries. I wouldn't mind if this was 5 years old, but it's actually just over a year and a half since I bought it. The desktop I had before this (made by Tiny, of all people) lasted 5 years without any hardware issues. It had one Virus, and that's all we ever had to sort out. This has crashed around 8 times since I bought it, and the wireless card has malfunctioned 3 times, sending the system into a recurring restart->boot->restart.

Just for the record, the desktop I'm talking about was a Time/Tiny 1.8ghz P4 with 256mb of ram, a 60Gb hard drive and a 32mb generic graphics card. By comparison

In case you didn't want to read all that, I'll sum up. Don't buy anything branded HP. Buy something else, like a Mac. Or an Acer. Or a Morphy Richards Bread maker.


I think the Toshiba (even though that's been #1 on my computer brand hating list for a while) you posted is the best deal. I've decided to stop avoiding them with my life, since the toaster version I owned had a serious design fault and has since been taken off the market. Just make sure you keep it cool and you'll be fine. (although to be honest I think the Compaq is doing exactly what the Tosh did, albeit at a much slower speed that puts you in a false sense of security. Anywho...)
 
Casio
Really? Those are through my dad's business and they supply the employees solely HP/Compaq laptop I'd assume because they are of quite good quality. He's been at the company for at least 5 years, and has had his laptop upgraded by the company twice, both of which were HPs which he hasn't had any problems with. And he has his moving everyday and in airport luggage most weeks.

So are you saying that the first Tosh I posted (With a RRP of $1176), is a better buy then the HP dv6207TX (With a RRP of $2000).

I did look at Thinkpads, but they're well out of my price range, the T42 you posted is $2999 here. Although I do like the IBM little mouse thingy in the middle of keyboard over those touchpads which have taken over.
Click to expand...

HP are so desperate to be "World's #1 maker" that they sell computers to businesses at < 1% margin. So your Dad's business is likely buying them because they're cheapest. I think that with laptops, the quality of the computer is more important than the numbers on the spec sheet. I would certainly feel more comfortable about recommending someone spent $1,170 on a Tosh than $2,000 on an HP, yes. And that is mainly because of the longevity issue: if you spend $1,170 on a laptop you can write it off sooner than a $2,000 laptop. And my experience shows me that an HP will not last long enough. That's both from personal use and from supporting them in a business environment. Your Dad has been very lucky that he hasn't had trouble with his machine. Let's not even get into HP OnSite support...

I have to caveat that by saying that I don't have a great deal of experience of Toshibas.

Interestingly, your first two machines come with XP, and the HPs all have Vista. There are a couple of points that you should bear in mind:

Firstly, a Vista machine on equivalent hardware will be slower than an XP machine on the same platform, because its resource utilisation is higher. I don't think that 1GB RAM is really enough for a Vista box, especially one that is going to be supporting an arts/design student.

Secondly, laptops are picky about drivers, and so I would not recommend a laptop user moves to Vista this early. I'm advising my clients not to really consider Vista until deep into the third quarter of this year, and that's for desktop deployment. I wouldn't recommend a Vista Laptop deployment until Q2 08, because I simply don't think that the drivers will have been properly sorted until then.

If I were in your position, I'd hunt down a Tosh or an Acer or a Dell (try the Dell Outlet store) with XP Pro on it.
 
Ok, I'll take your advice and look into a few more Tosh's and Acers. However, I am still seriously considering the HP because it is a 2000$ laptop that I get for about the same price as that first Tosh, and does everything I was looking for but couldn't afford. But I'll definitely take your advice on board and see if it comes with warranties and what it covers.

Opendriver have you had any problems with yours?
 
None at all. I have yet to use it to the full extent, so I dont think that anything bad will happen to it. However, there is one downside to my laptop. If you are anything like the guy "monk" from the one TBS show, you will hate this thing. Why? FINGERPRINTS. Almost as bad as my PS3.....

The DVD drive could be a little faster because its taking about 10 minutes to burn a full DVD
 

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