Going to get a new laptop...

[dark]

Well my laptop, which is my only working computer, is starting to kick the bucket. So in the next month of so I will have to buy a new one or I never be able to come back here again or do my school work and worst of all I will be isolated for wiki...

So here is the thing, I am going to research on what is the best over all, I don't care much for games but I will get something for that for that just in case spur of the moment of, Oh shit I want to play a game this weekend and my xbox is having the shits like usual. I am not sure what screen size would be the best, if it was mainly for games I am sure the bigger the better but my 15.4" right now seems to be more than I need to just view a screen. But with games it lacks, so I guess a screen in the middle of awesome game play and reading would be around a 16" since I want something slightly different than I have now.

I also want something that has a qwerty board, I dislike not having a num pad, which I just want that freaking num lock button, just why can't they add that next to the delete button, note to self, contact some idiots making the key boards.

I refuse to ever buy a computer with vista on it again. Is Windows 7 really better? I know it looks nice and all but will it eventually have these crappy errors I encounter all the time on Vista?

Essentially I need something that will be quite powerful and last quite a while, I know with technology being outdated the day after it comes out is a problem but the tech can work a little while.

I am also wondering which processor/graphics card is potentially the best now, I know about 4 years ago I wouldn't dare go anything other than AMD but I haven't keep up on any of that stuff, graphics cards was always a dependent on who currently had the best tech but I am unsure about that today also. I don't want one sided information about these from die hard Intel or AMD fans, if you happen to be die hard about one thing or another at least give reason, I am not looking to be converted, just better informed.

The website I use is newegg, if anyone knows of a better place I would appreciate being informed of it.

Thanks.

 

[EditorOne]

I don't have anything nice to say about Dell computers. Or Dell financing.

Other than that I have no opinion. Or knowledge.

 

[johndude77]

My suggestion would be a Toshiba. These things are amazing, they last a long time and are usually problem-free. As for screen size, I have a 17" and it's perfect. My sister has a 15.4" and the one time I used it, I couldn't see shit (maybe it's my eye sight, who knows?).

I prefer vista over 7, as for after I upgraded from vista to 7 I ran into problems left and right. I'm not sure about others, but I think Vista has much less problems.

So yes, Toshiba is win, HP is pretty good, and Dell is ok.

 

[Reluctantly]

Get this Laptop and show it off to your girlfriend(s). It will turn her/them on greatly. Guaranteed or no money back. Conditions can be changed at any time I see fit.

 

[Wizardry]

You sure it isn't just a dying hard drive? I've owned and used various laptops and the most common problems stem from a dying hard drive or a video card getting too hot or some dust bunnies on the fan. What is your laptop doing? Maybe I can help...although I'm in the process of picking out a new laptop so I can help in that region, too.

*Edited to add, I know I do this a lot- Brand name does not matter as much as you think past the differences in warranty. If you check into laptops part by part you have Toshiba dvd drives and hard drives in Dell's for example. I never judge a laptop by peripherals but the main board, overall design/fan placement, and screen quality.

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

If you're buying a laptop make sure the gpu is better than a amd 5650 or nvidia 360m.

 

[dark]

@ ProxyAmenRa, I was looking at a Toshiba with the amd 5650. Any reason you suggest that?

@ Wizardry, Well the laptop is an HP. It has lost use of the wireless, that happened about a year after I got it so I am plugged in the wall now. The usb doesn't work. I can charge my ipod with it but can't do anything else other than use it as a power station. Um dvd drive works at random intervals. The touch buttons don't work anymore even though I reinstalled all the drives. Have completely deleted drives and reinstalled them no luck, same thing happens when I install a new operating system. It is just a matter of time until I loose usage of the Ethernet port... then I will be out in the cold, metaphorically since essentially I am out in the cold . I am worried the display will die on me since it has just shut off while I was tanking the DK in ICC last year... That was horrible. Battery decided to die even though it is always plugged up so it is not a portable computer anymore haha. It is just messed up. After about a year the ram just stopped working so I bought some at a fairly good price so that is really the only good thing in this computer. 4 years ago I was really good with computers, kept up on everything but that was with desktop things. I have no knowledge to laptops since this was the first I ever bought and it has lasted a while but it is essentially shit now.

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

@ ProxyAmenRa, I was looking at a Toshiba with the amd 5650. Any reason you suggest that?

If you are planning to play games on medium settings anything less than 5650 is a bad idea. Even a 5650 is a bad idea for consistent game play but it seems to be standard in slim built light weight laptops.

There is an interesting weight v. performance v. price function.

 

[Wizardry]

@ Wizardry, Well the laptop is an HP. It has lost use of the wireless, that happened about a year after I got it so I am plugged in the wall now. The usb doesn't work. I can charge my ipod with it but can't do anything else other than use it as a power station. Um dvd drive works at random intervals. The touch buttons don't work anymore even though I reinstalled all the drives. Have completely deleted drives and reinstalled them no luck, same thing happens when I install a new operating system. It is just a matter of time until I loose usage of the Ethernet port... then I will be out in the cold, metaphorically since essentially I am out in the cold . I am worried the display will die on me since it has just shut off while I was tanking the DK in ICC last year... That was horrible. Battery decided to die even though it is always plugged up so it is not a portable computer anymore haha. It is just messed up. After about a year the ram just stopped working so I bought some at a fairly good price so that is really the only good thing in this computer. 4 years ago I was really good with computers, kept up on everything but that was with desktop things. I have no knowledge to laptops since this was the first I ever bought and it has lasted a while but it is essentially shit now.

Firstly, in the event you don't want to work on your old lappy, this is the best deal bang for the buck, imo. Perfect medium gaming laptop and alright for photo editing with a really good screen. They are more interested in function over looks so its a bit blocky. Was another one I preferred over it but its been discontinued (awesome screen, metal body, sleek looks). http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np5160-clevo-w150hn-pre-order-p-2999.html

Now for your old laptop, I bet I could fix at least half of that in less than an hour depending on how the inside looks (you probably can too). You should go to a forum about your model/brand laptop. Good place for common problems and fixes for things that may just be a quirk for your model. Taking it apart the first time can be stressful but you can do it.

Some ideas:

I'd bet the wireless just needs to be completely turned off in hardware manager and turned back on, or the cords got unplugged from their ports, takes a while to take the lappy apart and about 10 seconds to plug them back up.

Usb's can have multiple issues, usually just damage inside the port though. Sometimes drivers, have to completely remove old drivers always before adding new ones. Ports get a lot of damage from transporting laptops around too roughly or leaving things in the ports that bend the insides.

Dvd player could be loose. I'd completely unscrew it and pull it out then push it back in again. Could be dying, fairly cheap to replace and easy to do yourself (really common peripheral to poop out due to shitty parts, hard drives are too).

Touch buttons- Could be driver issue or if its like my last old laptop the cable that plugs into the main board came loose. Extremely common in more "bendy" laptops. Depends on model though.

Screen- completely going off like that could be many things and it depends on how it all happened exactly and how you handle your lappy. Probably something minor and easy to fix.

Batteries are cheap to replace. Depending on model and year release date you can sometimes have them replaced for cheap or free if they are known to be shitty. etc..

 

[dark]

Laptop is stationary. There are 3 usb, I used one of them, and they are all separate on the laptop, none work now. The dvd drive works half the time, I have cleaned it but it has problems and locks the computer up if there is just one smug on a disc. The touch buttons only operate things for windows media player, nothing else. The quick launch buttons on it are pointless noise makers(when touched). Even though I have ordered a new laptop I am going to see if I can fix this up to give to my brother since his desktop is really old and doesn't work much anymore. Wireless shows a light, orange but it is supposed to be blue. Light does not change when I flip the button. The infra red device stopped working also. Not even sure what it was for. Hard drive is fine.

 

[The Gopher]

Not acer unless everywhere you use it is air-conditioned.

 

[TheHmmmm]

Brand shopping is pointless. Every brand has great models and every brand has crappy models. Some people have great experiences with Dell and shitty with Asus.

Screen size is probably the most important aspect of the laptop user experience. All the speed in the world won't help if you can't see what you're doing. On the converse, larger displays have shorter battery lives.

If you can handle a 14", the Acer Aspire 4280TG-7805 is a powerhouse with fantastic battery life.

 

[pjoa09]

No one in favor for the Thinkpad?

There are 3 in my house!

The first one was excellent the R60 still working after 5 years 3 years were warranted. $1k
The second one was okay. Z60m refurbished was a titanium back 17 inch 750 mb ram 1.8ghz centrino that was for $600.
The third one which I am currently using is the R61 with 2.0 GHZ processor and 2GB Ram.

I used to use the R60 then my bro traded it with me for the R61 then he gave it to my cousin. It had one problem though, after the 5 years the hinge started suffering and we paid roughly $10 for a rough fix on it we lost the think light on that.

The Z60m was not so great really. The buttons came loose and after a water spill the down key died and the titanium back didnt react well with the oxygen around it. It still works after 3 years but we left it as a home desktop computer. The back lit died once too but it some how came back on.

The R60 fell of a student desk back first and the Z60 was thrown hard against a wooden table and though it stayed intact I suspect the back lit suffered a little.

I used to use a BenQ before it so I suspect I must be very biased. That thing was horrible it couldn't type and was a homosexual 1GB 1.6 Ghz piece of shit.

I would only buy a Thinkpad or a MacBook Pro so far.

I find the rest of the laptops are too unoriginal, too glossy, too impractical or too flimsy.

Processors : i7 or any higher and yeah that is the best. You could look at AMD but at this point they don't stand for long with six cores only.
Graphic Cards: try NVida and ATI

I prefer Nvidia and Intel. However I use an Intel chip at the moment and always have. Thought the Z60m is a dedicated ATI Radeon something.

Thinkpads I had a 12" square for R60 and 14.1" R61 WideScreen. Both initially delivering 5 hours the R60 was later modded to have an enormous block that gave 7-8 hours of battery life and the R61 is down to 2 hours. Batteries detoriate especially in heat, which is always.

Windows 7 is alright, as fast as XP and for the most part seems faster sometimes. It's not all compatible as XP is though so feel free to downgrade but don't consider it essential. If all fails there is Linux.

Yeah, computers excite me a lot.