Laptop: Best to buy.

[Turblue]

I need to buy a laptop, and would like to know people's opinions.

My criteria:
1: Stinking quick..!!!! (core 2 duo 2.0g+ etc...)
2: Good graphics. (gaming is not required)
3: Around $4,000
4: Prefer to have serial and parallel ports.

[MatsHolden]

Have you considered the new apple laptops? Seem to meet your criteria there...

[BMAN]

What would be the intended use for the laptop?

[Turblue]

Mat....

Current contender is the Macbook Pro 17" version.

I have borrowed a Mac G5 from work to take home and have a play. Just so I can get my head around it.....

My only stumbling block is no serial and parallel ports.

[Mainframe_Module]

macbook pro.


:)

osx is gorgeous, built on unix, fast, stable, generally more reliable than windows imo.

ive always owned macs and if it wasnt for my work computer (where its out of my control/choice) i wouldnt touch windows at all.
its so primative and clunky compared to osx once you get to know both platforms extensively.

and if you really NEEEED to use windows, download bootcamp and you can run windows on the macbook in dualboot.

plus for 4k you could get the big 17" one if you wanted like a desktop replacement system just with portability options....or the 15 if you intend to travel with it lots.

as for parralell/serial ports....youll find not many computers have those anymore....even pc notebooks dont thesedays. you could most likely find some kind of dock/adapter that would have external ports though.

[woody]

I know people frown at them but really some of the best deals on the market are Dells...

I have 2 dell Laptops a

My Personal one - P4 3.6 Ghz HT desktop replacement (Inspiron 9100)
And my work one - Centrino Duo 2.17 Ghz

Nothing I throw at either slows them down - both have 256Mb Mini PCI Graphics cards and both work great. Plus buy on the web and get the benefit of the web deal upgrades. Very good for their preice range and robust too.

But i take on board the previous comments too.. I'm buying a new laptop in about a month and this time i'm going for a Mac Powerbook, less hassle than patching windows, OS is faster and better and you can run practically anything you want on it in an XP or Vista VM if you REALLY need to.

Guess it all depends on your preference.

[Noir]

The ports are the issue with the Mac Book Pro.

You know my love for the macs Wayne.....17" of bliss.

[Mainframe_Module]

why do you need those ports?

just wondering what kind of peripherals need them thesedays unless its older equipment....

though generally, as i said...you can probably find a usb or firewire adapter/hub that will bridge the two...or some kind of way around it.

i love my macs..mm

[PaulyJ]

Mac's are awesome, but if you need the ports, get a Dell.
Asus are good aswell.

[Turblue]

The MacbookPro 17 is my choice at this poit. I know about bootcamp, so XP is a choice if I need the dual boot thing. Does the MacBookPro run hot? Battery life? etc etc etc.....

I have noticed that the modern lappies don't have serial and parallel now, which is a problem. Makes interfacing to cars somewhat harder. I can get around this problem if required.

The Mac I am playing with now is a dual cpu G5 with 2gig ram. It's a 3yo model. I have found it somewhat clunky compared to my core 2 duo e6600 PC. However it processes images just as fast. Wierd.

I may yet become a "one button freak-a-zoid."

[woody]

I never used a Mac properly until i recently bought my brother a brand new iMac as his was damaged during a lightening strike (he's a farmer in Northern NSW but used to be a graphic designer and still does design on the side to bring in a little extra cash)

Anyway having never used on properly before (i've had a play on them from time to time but never set one up) i was really surprised at how easy they are to move to from a PC, not only that but all my peripherals worked without any issues and connecting to my PC's was a breeze for Itunes media sharing etc.. I'd say it too me about 20 minutes orientation before I was comfortable. Hence why i'm buying one to replace my Vista laptop.

BTW have you seen the new Mac add with the vista security dude.. how true.. how funny!

[MatsHolden]

Mat....

Current contender is the Macbook Pro 17" version.

I have borrowed a Mac G5 from work to take home and have a play. Just so I can get my head around it.....

My only stumbling block is no serial and parallel ports.

Yeh i'm starting to look at one of these myself, ideal for design work as they are extremely quick and can spec up the graphics and video cards to top level for bugger all too. Was told not to bother with a PC as there isn't really a future for them, it's all Macs.

[PaulyJ]

Was walking past a comp store now at Knox, and saw a Toshiba N6420. Seemed like a very powerful laptop. Worth a look.

[InsaneAsylum]

haven't seen a laptop with serial ports for 2 years now. seldom do i see a parellel port nowdays. it seems like the only option is to use a usb to serial converter

[Wraith]

Mac Lap tops and Computers in general are awesome....

Regardless of what brand/type you get Wayne, $4000 will buy you a very good one ;)

Get the one you think is best for the money and then use USB/serial port adaptors as mentioned above.

I have an Acer 4000 (Ferrari edition) which retailed for $3,200 at the time, but I got lucky and found one brand new for $1,600 (from Dick Smith's) because the model was discontinued and there were still 5 left in stock, it runs exceptionally fast/well and the graphics are very good.

What you can do, if your buying from say Dick Smith's or Harvey Norman, is ask if they've got any models left in stock of recently discontinued models, if so, chances are it'll cost only around half what is was.......

[AF1R]

Get the ASUS Lamborghini lol.

Nah heres a good site i visit everyday
http://www.techeblog.com/?cat=3&submit=Submit (i set it to show laptops only)
Most of the laptops on that site arent even avail in australia, but it does show you the specs of the hardware so that will give u an idea of what u want.
$4000 will get u a top of the line note book regardless wat its gonna be used for. But yes, at the very least get a Core 2 Duo thats faster than 2.16Ghz.

A fast lappy would have to be 2.33Ghz, 2.0 Gig ram, & 160gig sata hdd.
If you not gonna play games then a mid range GeForce 512mb 7600 will be enough for videos. Or go the 7900GTX if u want hard core gaming on a laptop lol.

As for brands, it doesnt matter, all laptops work the same.
Just get the one that looks the prettiest :D

[stevedee3]

...you can probably find a usb or firewire adapter/hub that will bridge the two...Just be aware that many things that work with "real" onboard serial ports sometimes fall over with USB-serial converters.

[Turblue]

Exactly. And this is my concern.

Anyway, I have a fallback plan, so it's no reall issue.

Thanks for the tips people. I will start to have a sniff around. I have this sneaky feeling that a Mac will be a new toy. I am currently using a G5 at home to get a feel.

Besides, I think I will be smacked around if I don't buy one......

[poita]

the best ones to get are a PCMCIA based serial adaptor
we have the most sucess with them at work.
they seem to dot eh job very well.

as for laptops, my two picks

HP DV9205
2.0ghz Core 2 Duo
2gb ram
320gb hdd
nvidia geforce 7600 512mb video card
17" screen
4 x usb, 1 x firewire
HDMI out
Windows Vista ultimate
retails round $3999

also comes with a TV Tuner ;)

Toshiba P100/400
2.16 Core 2 Duo
200gb sata hdd
2gb dd2 ram
nvidia 7900gtx 512mb video card
bluetooth
wireless
4 x usb, 1 firewire
17" screen
vista home premium
retail of around $3799


and before u ask, i work at harvey norman so i get paid to know this stuff
need any more info just ask ;)

cheers peter

[Wraith]

Get the ASUS Lamborghini lol.

As for brands, it doesnt matter, all laptops work the same.
Just get the one that looks the prettiest :D

Agreed.........

That's why I chose the Acer 4000 Ferrari edition - best looking lap top at that time and one of the best equipped and fastest running for the money ;)

The ASUS Lamborghini edition looks pretty smart too - no doubt it packs all the goodies as well...

[ROCCO]

TURBLUE PM me....I work for a computer wholesaler...gimme specs etc etc and i'll see what i can do for ya

[pred8r]

95% of my computer gear comes from here

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/default.php

Their laptop turnover is higher than whole the harvey norman group

Re: Dell

I have a 24" Dell monitor (18 months) which was bought at a very good price and have NO complaints with their service or equipment.
If you go Dell Spend a few hours googling for discount coupons.

They used to send 'specials' faxes to my old work that were much cheaper than ANY of their standard advertised specials. They wont tell you about any other special deals they are advertising even when you do speak with Mr Punjabi @ Dell.

[Noir]

So go the 15" grab an ipod and all the accessories. ;)

[Shaun]

I pods are cool..... Speaking of which where is mine ?

[Mainframe_Module]

i ate it.

*burp*



mmm gadgets

[li@m]

The MacbookPro 17 is my choice at this poit. I know about bootcamp, so XP is a choice if I need the dual boot thing. Does the MacBookPro run hot? Battery life? etc etc etc.....

I have noticed that the modern lappies don't have serial and parallel now, which is a problem. Makes interfacing to cars somewhat harder. I can get around this problem if required.

The Mac I am playing with now is a dual cpu G5 with 2gig ram. It's a 3yo model. I have found it somewhat clunky compared to my core 2 duo e6600 PC. However it processes images just as fast. Wierd.

I may yet become a "one button freak-a-zoid."

i'm running a 12" g4 ibook and my flatmate has a 15" powerbook - both get fairly hot, but i can keep mine on my lap whereas his gets scalding hot and he normally has a fan sitting next to it to cool it down.

having said that, he does video editing and cad work on it so it gets pushed a fair bit. i use mine for internet and typing reports mainly - can't stand using cad on such a small screen and i dont like the mac version of archicad.

next purchase is a 24" imac when they update them - hoping this happens soon as some design submissions are coming up and i dont want to have to resort to using a pc till it comes!

[Noir]

i'm running a 12" g4 ibook and my flatmate has a 15" powerbook - both get fairly hot, but i can keep mine on my lap whereas his gets scalding hot and he normally has a fan sitting next to it to cool it down.


I too run a 12" ibook. These two models do run hot and there was issues with the battery (recalled due to fire) and the power lead is weak, have replaced mine twice.

Wayne you will be fine with the Macbooks...much better quality and design. But you know that already Macforum member ;)

[Mainframe_Module]

imac updates should be soon, and hopefully a new subnotebook if sources are correct. as well as an 8 core mac pro.


but yes, the first revisions all ran hot in the aluminium notebook family.
the general rule of thumb is dont buy the first revision of anything.
that said, i always do....lol

[Noir]

i always do....lol



When it is a Mac so easily done. I still hold back on purchasing the new Macbook....for now. Not having an internal modem does have its reservations. Good thing I am a sucker for accessories. Kill to have a remote.

[bill142]

My vote is for the mac. When I upgraded my desktop last year, I went with a 20" iMac Core 2 duo and haven't looked back. The new intel based macs are great so you can run windows on them as well with bootcamp or another program called parallels which allows you to run Windows within OSX instead of having to re-boot and switch like you do with bootcamp. When the lease on my laptop runs out, I will more then likely replace it with a macbook.

[Turblue]

Well, after much thinking and some degree of persuasion......

It's a MacBook Pro 15".

My new toy.

[li@m]

Well, after much thinking and some degree of persuasion......

It's a MacBook Pro 15".

My new toy.
congrats on the purchase!

you can do some pretty cool stuff with laser etching and the metal lids you know...

[Clint]

if you can, get a pcmcia serial port adapter as suggested. the usb ones are slightly better than nothing, and the pcmcia ones are better, but genuine built into the computer is the best. at work we need serial ports for connecting to laser levels, gps systems, autopilots, various agricultural and contruction devices. the usb-serial adapters just don't work most the time. they aren't a true serial port, mising some components, the pcmcia ones are pretty close to the real thing from what the other guys have said, but they are still not perfect.

for my work at home, i need serial for downloading to IC's built in serial runs 10 times faster than the usb, and is more susceptable to interference and likely to fail, which is very important for you Wayne, you need something rock solid reliable.

[ultim8DTM5]

Should have gone with HP.

[bornwild]

Dell XPS 12" for $1900.

It's got all the bells and whistles like a 7200rpm drive, 1gig ram, Geforce Go 7400, 1.83 Core duo and so on.

[Kurmudjeon]

I provide support for home and small business computer users - both Windows and Mac. For quality, reliability and a hassle free usage go for a Mac. The 17" are being sold at a reduced price now which makes me think there is a new version due soon.