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Laptop advice; as in personal pc Peter
Topic Started: May 21 2008, 02:19 PM (423 Views)
iscreamer1
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Baking Fairy Cakes
Getting the mandatory graduation gift for our daughter and could use some advice. Anyone have a laptop that they love/hate? ANy tips on what to look for when buying one?

THX
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people - Victor Borge

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Bill
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Get LOTS of RAM. At least a gigabyte, preferably two. It will inevitably come with Vista preloaded but it's been such a pain that some manufacturers are offering downgrades to XP. Don't get anything with Vista Home Basic loaded on it. It's rubbish. Go for the Pro version and make sure it has a dedicated graphics processor. That's going to make a lot of difference if it's going to run Vista smoothly.

Beyond that, with laptops it's all about the build quality. Is it going to spend most of the time sitting on a desk or is it going to get knocked around?
Put a puppet on it.
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iscreamer1
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Baking Fairy Cakes
Knocked around most likely. I'm sure she'll take it to class and the library and watch lots of movies on it. We saw one with 3GB RAM and 250GB hard drive. with a duo mobile processor. That we thought was a good price. I'm not sure what any of than means though :sweet:

THX Bill.
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people - Victor Borge

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BeatleBarb
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Irene, make sure it's not too heavy, especially if she is planning on lugging it around. I know this was a big consideration for my daughter. Also, don't leave it unattended. They disappear frequently!
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vidgamerjon
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I prefer HP or Dell myself. I have an Acer, and it's been shady as of late.
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The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.--dcTalk
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Rose
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Well, here's another clue for you all, the Walrus was Paul...
I have a dell laptop. I love it...but its big (it has a 17inch screen) which makes it too heavy to lug around to classes and such.
I'm sure dell has plenty of lighter options.
My computer also came with Vista...I've not had any real problems with it...in fact, I really don't notice any difference between this laptop...and my desktop which has XP.
My theory with computers is always get as much Ram and Memory as you can afford. But that's just me.

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"I'm in awe of McCartney. He's about the only one that I am in awe of. He can do it all. And he's never let up... He's just so damn effortless." ~ Bob Dylan
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scottycatt
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I got a MacBook Pro 15" as a gift and now I can't imagine ever owning anything else!! I am now a MAC GEEK!!! :geek:

Mac products are so user-friendly I can't imagine ever using a Windows-based computer ever again!! I LOVE MY MAC!! :wub: :wub:




Why?
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Jacaranda
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I know that a lot of people are very fond of Mac laptops. Myself I'd go with a PC but I'm such a traditionalist. :lol:
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"If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through." General Melchett, Blackadder Goes Forth




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retrollama
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scottycatt
May 21 2008, 12:52 PM
I got a MacBook Pro 15" as a gift and now I can't imagine ever owning anything else!!  I am now a MAC GEEK!!!  :geek:

Mac products are so user-friendly I can't imagine ever using a Windows-based computer ever again!!  I LOVE MY MAC!! :wub:  :wub:

Welcome to the Cult of Mac... :whistle:

I'd recommend a Mac laptop as well. I've used Mac products exclusively since the early 1990s. I've never had any problems with any of their products. I currently have a Mac desktop, and two iBooks -- one for work, and one for home. Love' em all!

Irene: If you wait 'til the end of the summer, Apple usually has some really great back-to-school deals. ;)
What a long, strange trip it's been....
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iscreamer1
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retrollama
May 21 2008, 05:22 PM
scottycatt
May 21 2008, 12:52 PM
I got a MacBook Pro 15" as a gift and now I can't imagine ever owning anything else!!  I am now a MAC GEEK!!!   :geek:

Mac products are so user-friendly I can't imagine ever using a Windows-based computer ever again!!  I LOVE MY MAC!! :wub:  :wub:

Welcome to the Cult of Mac... :whistle:

I'd recommend a Mac laptop as well. I've used Mac products exclusively since the early 1990s. I've never had any problems with any of their products. I currently have a Mac desktop, and two iBooks -- one for work, and one for home. Love' em all!

Irene: If you wait 'til the end of the summer, Apple usually has some really great back-to-school deals. ;)

Best advice yet Lisa. SHe really wants a Mac but they are more expensive than I'd like, especially as Barb says "they tend to disappear".

My husband wanted to get her a 17" but I think Rose makesd a good pont about the size and weight.

Thanks all for the input.
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people - Victor Borge

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fineline

Oh do get her a Mac!! She will love it! It is so much worth the money. My first and only computer was a Mac! The first thing I saved for when I got a job, and it was worth every penny. I agree make sure you have good ram. ;) Macs are just so much easier to use. She will have a blast.

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maccascruff
Sing the Changes
All laptops disappear, not just Macs.

I worked on a Mac and did not like it. It froze up all the time. My laptop is a Dell and I would not have Vista.
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vidgamerjon
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In my opinion, the hard drive size doesn't really matter too much. You really don't need that large of one when you're carrying a laptop around. Portable external hard drives are cheap enough now that you can get one of those to keep at your primary workstation. I'm running a 100 gig hard drive in my laptop, and a half terabyte at my workstation. Wouldn't have it any other way.
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The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.--dcTalk
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Bill
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Good advice Jon. And of course, external storage is vital in a place where computers can "accidentally" be "picked up."

Regarding the Mac or PC thing, if it's for college, it will depend on her course. If it's graphic design or multimedia, then Mac is the only choice. Then again, she might need software that only runs on PC. I had a friend who bought a laptop for his course and a Mac snob started up on him for buying PC. But the thing is, the course required software for Windows. Case closed.

Whenever you start talking technology, a lot of people will guide you towards what's best for them but not necessarily you. Getting as much RAM and processing power as you possibly can and using external storage whenever possibe are universal, but beyond that, it all depends on the individual needs. :)
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Mark Stephen Baker
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Whoops sorry, misread the topic as lap dance.
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Aimee Wilbury
STOP CHANGING THIS ADMINS
I'm a desktop person, so I can't help with laptops, but I'll say as an extra bonus, download this (It's an ISO file -- use Nero or something to burn to blank CD) and it's all free software that might come in handy.

http://softwarefor.org/

There's one for OS X and one for Windows. :) enjoy.
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Bill
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That's a great collection. Nice that someone has put it all together. I love open source! B)
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iscreamer1
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Baking Fairy Cakes
Thx again guys. Is an external drive what they call a junk drive? or is that jump drive?

We have Vista on one of our computers and I really like it. We haven't had any problems, except with a game or two and I like all the features.

Do most laptops come with built-in webcams?
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people - Victor Borge

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vidgamerjon
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A jump drive and an external hard drive are essentially the same thing. The main difference is size. A jump drive is approximately the size of your thumb, whereas the hard drive is going to be closer to the size of a small paperback book. The external hard drive can hold LOTS more information too. Also, there is a difference in price point. An 8 gig jump drive will set you back about $80, whereas you can get a half terabyte external hard drive for around $150.

And not all laptops have built in webcams, but they're getting there. Most Acers do, and I believe that most Dells are going with the built in webcams. The quality on some is not the best though.
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The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.--dcTalk
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