OT: Need advice with Laptop

[happygeek]

Last week our apartment was broken into and almost everything was stolen, including our only computer, a 1-year-old ASUS laptop. As you can imagine, I am very disturbed, sad, and angry. (I surprised the thieves and was thus able to keep them from finding and stealing my wife's jewelery, at least that was salvaged.)

To make a long story short, I need a new laptop, and will be willing to spend up to 1,000 Euros. May I have your advice please? I know very little about computers or computing.

I will not be willing to buy an Alienware or other high-end gaming rig. The laptops I have seen for 1000 Euros or under include a 17 inch display, 4 or 6 gig RAM, either a GeForce or ATI video card with either 500MB or 1 gig of memory, either Vista or Windows 7, some with a 32, with a 64, or both 32 and 64 operating systems, and various battery strengths. I haven't the slightest idea as to which graphic card is better, I figured "more memory" in them would be good, but does that all depend on the cooling units, the speed of the so-called FSB (is that right?), or other things I need to think about?

Ideally, I would like a machine which had the best of all these features, including battery duration length, but I am sure that is impossible. So to make my question as concrete as possible, could you please help me with the following?

- Which would be most important: larger graphic card memory, processor speed, or RAM?
- Which graphic cards should I avoid / look for?
- I don't understand the difference between 32 and 64 bit -- is that important? What should I look for?
- I have no experience with WIndows 7 -- does that mean hands off or get because I'll have to deal with it soon anyhow?
- Any concrete tips appreciated, thank you! Please, however, note that I am a windows idiot, and am generally not computer-saavy. Sorry for that.


Thank you very much in advance. Quick replies would be most welcome, I would like to purchase a new computer tomorrow evening GMT+1. Thank you.

[Gregstrom]

I'd say go with Windows 7, as the only other retail option is Vista ('nuff said).

If your budget stretches to one of the Acer Gemstone Blue variants, I'd recommend it on the grounds that mine is a good performer.

Try for 4 gig of RAM and a decent processor, natch.

Graphics: You don't need much for Dominions, but if you can get an ATI or nVidia card it'll be nice.

As I'm not very good at thinking in Euros and laptop prices tend to vary with location, I don't know how far your budget is likely to go.

[Quitti]

Originally Posted by happygeek

- Which would be most important: larger graphic card memory, processor speed, or RAM?
- Which graphic cards should I avoid / look for?
- I don't understand the difference between 32 and 64 bit -- is that important? What should I look for?
- I have no experience with WIndows 7 -- does that mean hands off or get because I'll have to deal with it soon anyhow?
- Any concrete tips appreciated, thank you! Please, however, note that I am a windows idiot, and am generally not computer-saavy. Sorry for that.

I haven't really paid attention to specific models lately, but with 1k e you should get a good laptop that lasts long enough. You didn't specify if you wanted a laptop for gaming or for casual use + some dominions and such small games. For the latter you might not need to spend the whole 1k. If you don't need it for the games and are not afraid to try to learn new things, I've heard MacBooks are very good laptops, but it indeed has a Mac OS and not a Windows, and might go over the 1k limit.

Generally: If you are going to move around with the laptop a lot, I'd suggest a 15" screen. It weighs less and takes less space - most laptop carrying bags/backpacks are designed for the normal ~15" screen. If you plan to watch a lot of videos or need it for work use, the 17" might be a better choice. Also you might want to keep in mind that 17" uses the battery way faster, and if you are going to go around with the laptop, you'll want to have a long battery life. There are models with +6h battery life expectancy in normal use in the 15" range.

Graphics: Memory is not really the only thing you are looking for if you want it for gaming, but when running high-end video and game applications, it matters. ATI and nVidia brands are a good bet with ½-1gig of memory.

Processor: Intel makes very good dual or quadcore processors. I don't know much about AMD laptop processors, so can't say anything about them, but I'm confident you could live with one

32/64bit+OS: Mainly has to do with the OS (Windows in this case) - 64bit supports more memory (RAM) than 32bit, which can only support up to 4gb of it. Most older programs are made for 32bit platforms, new ones should work in both, but not all. For a gaming computer you'll want a 64bit with plenty of RAM. I'd suggest going for 64bit Win7 if you can - I've heard that it's better than vista, eats less resources and so on. It shouldn't be a huge change from vista to win7.

Memory: 2-4gigs, more the merrier.

Hard drive: You'll want something with good enough read speeds and sufficient size (160gb and 320gb seems the norm). Usually you don't have to care about anything else than size though.

WLAN is a norm in laptops nowadays, don't get one without a WLAN

Producers: ASUS does quality products. I think they have 2 year warranties by default. Acer does good laptops too, like Gregstorm suggested. For a concrete example, there's an Acer Aspire Timeline 5810T - which (from a Finnish retailer) costs bit less than 700e, has Vista with win7 upgrade possible, and has around 8 hours of battery life. Should be a very solid choice. If you are willing to attempt to dig out some information (the components are mostly in english), here you go.

[happygeek]

Thank you, people!!!
Sorry, Quitti, I should have said: Looking for a laptop that will also play movies and be able to run the newer RPGs, such as Dragon Origins or whatnot -- need not have the fastest FPS for shooters, but should run current standard 2010 games without overheating.
How to tell a good processor or graphics card from one which isn't?
Thank you so much

[lch]

If you are going to have 4+ GB of RAM then you'll need a 64 bit operating system to address all of it. The thing that influences Dominions the most is raw computing power, so the CPU is the only thing of interest there, except maybe the graphics card, but anything you buy should work. As far as other resources are concerned, there are limitations in the game that make it run on hardware that is a couple of years old and those will be the same for your brand-new system. I wouldn't necessarily buy from Alienware because you pay a big chunk of money for the brand only, but if you have the cash and don't care... I've recently acquired a HP Compaq Presario CQ71-205SG notebook with 4GB RAM, 17" HD+ screen and a Dualcore 2x 2,0 GHz CPU for just 488€.

[Omnirizon]

Why are you wanting to make such a quick purchase? If you can stand the wait, taking a week to survey the options will pay big dividends. I got a 1600 dollar Lenovo T500 for 1000 dollars buy taking time and doing some hunting. Check out Newegg for good deals, and use TheFind.com search engine to search all online retailers for good prices. Compare like to like, and take the displayed 'mark-down' with a grain of salt, since displaying a high initial price just so that it looks like there is a big mark down to get to the real price is a common tactic. Often times the manufacturer site itself has great deals on backstock type stuff. Ebay is, in general, not a good idea, especially if you aren't savvy with the hardware you are looking at.

Lenovo, Sony VAIO, and MacBook are the overall best. MacBook you will pay a premium for. The others can usually be found at better than retail prices if you hunt around.

* 64-bit architecture is a must if you want more than 2GB of memory
* 4GB of memory is the going standard, but 2GB is the max for 32-bit architecture.
* dual-core Intel is virtually the only option on the market. 2+Ghz is sufficient.
* non-integrated graphics is a good idea, but you don't really have much option in the brand. For a given price range, there are usually on two options, and manufacturers will just use one of these options in all their offerings. Ultimately, the only decision to make here is integrated or non-integrated graphics.
* Windows 7 is a must
* Disk space isn't important. External Disk space is cheap, so going with whatever you find, given that all the other options are right, is the best idea.
* 15.4 inch screen is standard. If this will be parked on a desk, go for 17+ inch and get a Numeric keypad too.

In general:
* 64-bit Windows 7 Home
* 4GB RAM
* 2Ghz dual core CPU
* non-integrated graphics (unless you do no gaming/media)
* 160GB HD

If you are a traveler with power needs:
I suggest a Lenovo T500

If you are looking for a Desktop Replacement (DTR):
I suggest a Sony VAIO AW. It is an 18.4 inch screen (the biggest around). Screen size is cheap, so really it doesn't cost any more than a 15.4 inch.

If you just want something portable:
Something from the Lenovo IdeaPad line, or something from between the Sony VAIO SR and FW series (depending on your screen size / power needs).

[Quitti]

Originally Posted by Omnirizon

* 4GB of memory is the going standard, but 2GB is the max for 32-bit architecture.

Otherwise a very good advice, but 32bit supports up to 4GB. I still recommend getting 64bit OS though.

[Illuminated One]

http://www.notebookcheck.net/

I think here you can compare most models by searching for their name.
You can also compare the graphics cards in it, I'd say if you want to play newer games you should at least have an ATI or Nvidia from class 3 upwards, I'm not too much into it, though, so take it with a grain of salt.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mob...50.9596.0.html

[Omnirizon]

notebookcheck is good for compiling reviews, but don't take the ratings too seriously. Reviewers are looking at and for several different things, and will give really low marks because a machine doesn't fit _exactly_ what they want (an otherwise perfect machine with a glossy screen and they don't like glossy screens... they give it a 40%. Stuff like that). Combine this with the fact that there are generally less than 10 reviews compiled for even the most popular machines, and attempting to reduce laptop models to numbers is absurd.

[Stavis_L]

Originally Posted by Quitti

Otherwise a very good advice, but 32bit supports up to 4GB. I still recommend getting 64bit OS though.

Quibble - even though 32bit supports up to 4 GB RAM, you won't be able to actually use that amount because Windows shares the address space of the upper range of RAM for hardware access. Your "net" value will be something like 3.5 GB or so, depending on your specific hardware.

This is often an issue for me when running virtual machines that need a lot of RAM on the guest.

TLDR - if you're buying a windows box today, get 64bit Windows 7.