Me buying myself a laptop

Lillefot · **on:** June 12, 2008, 04:27:15 PM

Hiya,
I had some serious talk with my parents some days ago, regarding computers and internet connections.
Untill now, I've been using the family computer, which I have to share with the rest of the family in order to get acess to the net.

I convinced them, I'm studying at a IT school, I have long travels which time are used for nothing but sitting on my bum doing... nothing.
I'm very interessted in graphic programs, such as P-shop, which my old bucket has problems with... <_<
The screen, HAS to be good! I'm MAD at my current one!!! :angry:

So, they decided to pay 645,47 USD for any laptop I'll buy, if I want one to a higher price (which I will, cause 645,47 USD doesn't get me far here) I'll have to put in my own money between.
Another great thing is that they'll buy me a broadband connection!
THAT's awsome for me! Finaly I can get onto the net/MSN whatever in my cottage, alone! And out on the run! YAY!

I know that stationary PC's have larger monitors by rule, but it's laptop for me.
17 inch screen is minimum for me, can't afford larger.

About trademarks, currently, it's a fight between ACER and HP, ACER's about to win that. NO Mac, can't afford, and I don't want to.

The one that I'm most into now (and that is at a reasonable price) has this among other things:

ACER Aspire
-17-inch WXGA+ (Widescreen)
- Intel Core 2 Duo T5550
- 4GB DDR2
- 250GB HDD
- Webcam
- Digital sound

I belivie it's good enough for me, and the price's fairly okay: 1 370,02 USD.

What do you think? Lot of members here are computer folks (looking at LBTlover and Littlefoot

)
So I thought I should ask.

:

Either way this buying'll come out, it will be lightyears better than my old lazy crook bucket! -_-

Thanks in advance!

/Lillefot

Kor · **Reply #1 on:** June 12, 2008, 07:56:29 PM

That is great news. I can't advise you or give opinions on laptop brands, but one option you may do is maybe you can have an lcd or crt monitor that you can use with your laptop when you are home. That is one idea. Though a laptop with a small screen would be annoying to use when you use it away from home.

Do you have friends or friends of your parents who use laptops that you can ask their experiences on?

The specs of that one looks pretty good. I think graphics programs eat up ram so the ram the laptop comes with should be enough, but I've not used graphics programs so can't say, and the dual core should keep it from slowing down for programs that use up a lot of ram, assuming the programs can use both cores, I think they have to be written to be able to utilize them. I don't know if graphics cards would help with a graphics program or if it's not needed for what you'll be doing. I'd guess a webcam may make it easier to get your drawings onto a computer to edit and touch up later. Not tried it but I guess it should. It'll eat up power, or so i heard, so be sure to keep it off when your not using it.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #2 on:** June 12, 2008, 08:38:47 PM

Sorry, but buying a new laptop is just crazy when there's craigslist.org. I'll bet you could find a used one with close to those specs for around $600 and it wouldn't have stupid vista. Although vista can be removed from new computers if desired, but it's really hard if they don't have xp drivers for them. <_<

Petrie. · **Reply #3 on:** June 12, 2008, 09:11:59 PM

Craigslist is popular in Denmark??? I don't think so. ebay maybe.

That doesn't sound too bad spec wise. What's the warranty? You should make sure you have three years and no less. You'd be amazed how much these laptops cost to fix if they break.

Malte279 · **Reply #4 on:** June 13, 2008, 02:57:36 AM

I don't know much about computers, but there are a few things I would check (apart from the general performance) when buying a laptop:
Are one or several "feet" of the laptop attached to its battery? If so that would be a drawback forcing you to always have the battery attached to your laptop even when it is provided with energy via cable (it may shorten the live of the battery).

If you turn the screen as dark as you can turn it, is there a light gray stripe at the bottom of the screen? There shouldn't be.

Is there any information on how loud the laptop becomes when it operates for a longer period of time?

Is it a reflecting screen (last time I had to buy a laptop I had to take one with a reflecting screen for lack of alternatives, but I really regret this as the reflecting screen is a just a pain to work with in bright rooms).

Any USB ports on the front or the side of the laptop? If they are at the back only this can sometimes be rather inconvenient.

Is there are wheel to turn the volume up or down? This sure would be a benefit as such a mechanical volume control will work even in some situations (programs loading etc.) where other volume controls may not work.

Lillefot · **Reply #5 on:** June 14, 2008, 08:48:26 AM

Yeah, what is craigslist.org??? :huh:
Note: I'm from Sweden, not Denmark.

:

The warranty at this company selling this one is either 2 or 3 years.

Malte, Its has 4 USB ports, I think all of em' is on the left/right side.
I've been trying this Aspire one with a friend who has it, but with less spec.
It worked just fine, he haven't had any problems with it, except that the touchpad broke once.

Kor, Thanks for the tips mate. Yeah, I will use it mostly for graphic programs, so it has to keep up with all that and work fast.

I wonder if this one will, but from what I've heard, yes. It shall.

Kor · **Reply #6 on:** June 14, 2008, 09:09:47 AM

I don't know a lot about graphics programs but I assume what you need is a powerful cpu, maybe dual core and a lot or ram, which the one you are thinking of getting does seem to have.

Will it be to heavy for you to comfortably carry around and use? That is a consideration some think about also, also what is the battery life like, or will you have a second battery. Not a consideration at home with ac power, but may be one if you use it away from home, like it's screen size. With the touchpad remember to set the sensitivity to what you are comfortable with, maybe by trying different settings and see which you find most comfortable. Another important consideration is how is the size of the keys and keyboard for you, to small, ok, just right. Another consideration to think about.

Good idea on getting the minimum that you can comfortably use, though like I mentioned before you can always use a larger monitor while at home with it, if it has an external video port, which I assume all laptops have. Getting one with a to small screen would be annoying for you to use away from home. Good luck on finding one that meets or exceeds your needs and expectations.

Petrie. · **Reply #7 on:** June 14, 2008, 07:07:27 PM

Quote

Note: I'm from Sweden, not Denmark.

Heh, sorry.

Um, my personal opinion is no warranty, no good. Too much money to spend without some sort of protection if it breaks.

Lillefot · **Reply #8 on:** June 15, 2008, 05:57:32 AM

Quote from: Petrie,Jun 14 2008 on 06:07 PM

Quote
Note: I'm from Sweden, not Denmark.

Heh, sorry.

Um, my personal opinion is no warranty, no good. Too much money to spend without some sort of protection if it breaks.

No problem mate, you probably just took me for being Vilstrup.

Nah, warranty here is... maybe not the best, and it would cost me 2000 SEK extra.
I'm not gonna translate that into USD but it's not worth it in my opinion.
Besides, they always comes with some sort of warranty. Might be no need to buy that extra one. /thinking...

Petrie. · **Reply #9 on:** June 15, 2008, 06:58:20 AM

Just so you know, three years is my benchmark...everyone wants their computer to last a long time.

Lillefot · **Reply #10 on:** June 15, 2008, 06:58:53 AM

Quote from: Petrie,Jun 15 2008 on 05:58 AM

Just so you know, three years is my benchmark...everyone wants their computer to last a long time.

Hehe, sure! :^.^:

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #11 on:** June 19, 2008, 12:48:12 AM

I would still strongly suggest buying off craigslist. Take a look at this laptop I'm about to buy:

http://bellingham.craigslist.org/sys/724148246.html

Detailed specs:

1.4ghz Pentium M processor

512mb ram (you can get the max of 2gb for $44 from crucial.com)

60GB hard drive (easy and cheap to upgrade, but honestly most people don't need more than that)

XP Pro (original license so you can be assured it's a legal copy)

It came out at the end of 2005. It's perfect for most people. It's $150 and you can add 2gb of ram for only $44. That means you can get a really fast laptop for only $200. It will even be able to handle vista and office 2007 (though I don't know why anyone in their right mind would install either of those).

Kor · **Reply #12 on:** June 19, 2008, 10:25:42 AM

I'm sure if they have a craigslist (whatever that is) in the country that he lives in.

Lillefot · **Reply #13 on:** June 19, 2008, 04:45:07 PM

I appreciate all your tips and opinions, I really do!
But when the superior folks(mum and dad) speaks, I have no other choice but to listen. <_<
So, no E-shops for me.

Ok, I've bought it, and I love it!

So, ACER Aspire 7720G in the end.

Processor: Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo T5550 1,83 GHz. with double core. 667MHz FSB, 2 MB cachememory (L2)

Internal (RAM): 4GB (2x 2GB DDR2 667Mhz). Max 4GB

Graphic:: NVIDIAÆ GeForceô 8400M GS with 256MB dedicated graphic memory, up to 1023MB shared graphic memory.

Sound/Audio: Dolby Home Theater 5.1. Digital sound via SPDIF.

Harddrive: 250GB HDD

System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

Monitor: 17.0-inch WXGA Crystal Brite (1440x900 )

Wbcam 0.3 megapixel CrystalEye

Size: 404 x 298 x 38/44mm (BXDXH)

Veight: 3,68 kg

Works fantasticly, (yes, even though it has Vista) and it's fast!
And today I finaly got my 3 broadband connection, so now I can enter internet and MSN in my cottage. At last!

I've tried out the cam, sound, screen etc, and it's awsome! Love the screensaver from The Power of Five!

:
My old bucket will be used as a HDD now. Besides, I don't know what to do with it anyway. I might bring it to school and "experiment" with it.

:

Still downloading the programs I want, and transfeering some of the content from the old one (such as LBT stuff) but I'm already more than satishfied with my new laptop, I'll sure have lots of fun with it!

Petrie. · **Reply #14 on:** June 19, 2008, 05:32:52 PM

Quote

Sound/Audio: Dolby Home Theater 5.1. Digital sound via SPDIF.

Entirely doesn't matter since you're using analog outputs (that green cable). Doesn't seem to be too bad a system at all. More than I'd ever need for sure.

Kor · **Reply #15 on:** June 19, 2008, 05:48:28 PM

Looks and sounds like a neat computer, congrads and hope you have lots of fun with it.

Lillefot · **Reply #16 on:** June 19, 2008, 06:14:14 PM

Kor, Yeah, I'm already at it! :^.^:

Petrie, I know, but these analog speaker's aint any good. I think I should buy some good ones with Bluetooth, If I can find any!

:

Kor · **Reply #17 on:** June 19, 2008, 06:53:09 PM

Maybe some here can suggest good speaker brands to look for.

Lillefot · **Reply #18 on:** June 19, 2008, 07:08:18 PM

Would be appriciated!

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #19 on:** June 19, 2008, 07:37:59 PM

Ya know, Acer is well known for being easy to install xp onto it. Well, yeah of course it's fast with vista, but you've got 4GB of ram! Seriously though, it would just fly with xp. Boot time would be around 12 seconds.....literally!