help with new laptop purchase

B

brian.ra

New Member
Hi. I'm new to this forum, but I've been learning a lot reading these posts so I thought I'd get some of your opinions on purchasing a new laptop.

I'm mostly going to be using the system for basic stuff like Microsoft Office, Internet, iTunes, watching dvds, I might add a tv tuner, etc. I don't do much gaming but I do like to play Warcraft from time to time and I may decide to try Warhammer when it comes out, but other than that I'm not going to use the laptop for gaming.

I've found a Gateway that I like for $899 with the following specs:

Processor: Pentium Core 2 Duo T5550 (1.83 Ghz)
Ram: 4GB DDR2
HD: 250GB (at 5400 rpm)
Video Card: ATI HD 2600 with 512MB GDDR3 Dedicated Memory & ATI Avivo HD

My question is: Is this a good deal or should I go through Gateways website and get the following computer for $100 more?

Processor: Pentium Core 2 Duo T8300 (2.4 Ghz)
Ram: 3GB DDR2
HD: 160GB (at 7200 rpm)
Video Card: Same as other computer (HD 2600 with 512MB GDDR3)

So is it worth spending an extra $100 to get a better processor and faster Hard drive, but also giving up 1GB RAM and 90GB of hard drive space?

The other thing I like about the first laptop is that it comes from Costco who offers free support, extends the manufacturers warranty to 2 years, and is really good about taking items back if it's in a reasonable amount of time (my cousin's laptop had the screen go out after 5 months and they gave him his money back no questions asked)

Thanks in advance for any info.
 
I say the second one, better processor, good with the ram, can always add 1GB, good graphics card.
 
the first laptop is plenty enough for World of Warcraft. not sure about warhammer, never heard of it.the extra performance from the other laptop is worth it, but for clerical tasks and mild gaming, it won't be necessary.
 
Three months ago I bought a laptop and I regretted it. I hated it so much, I sold it to my 17-yr old nephew for $450 because it was too late to get a refund.

That laptop was about $700 and it was designed for the Dollar Store Special bin. The keyboard flexed everytime so much as a finger pressed a key. I'll tell you what it was: it was a Dell Inspiron.

Don't expect things like this to last more than two years. You're lucky if it did. I swear, I couldv'e thrown out my stove because that laptop could fry a hamburger as hot as it was! Installing Linux on it was like pulling teeth and when I finally did it, the trackpad failed to work so I reinstalled Vista from the restore disc and sold it to my nephew. Poor soul, but I didn't want that piece of trash and I didn't want to waste $700 on something that belongs in the Wal-Mart Clearance sale bin, no - the garbage dump. Or underneath the tires of my Dodge 2500 pickup, flattened to pieces over and over.
 
Thanks for the advice. I am leaning more towards the second laptop because I think the faster processor would be well worth it. I just hate that you have to pay so much extra for Gateway's extended warranty, but with costco you have 2 years included in the price. I also forgot to mention that the cheaper laptop comes with the 64bit vista and the more expensive one comes with 32 bit vista. Does that make much of a difference?

Sorry to hear about your laptop concorde. Which laptops would you recommend I look at? The ones I'm currently comparing are the Gateway M6851 and Gateway M-152XL. Would these fall in the same category as the Inspiron?
 
64bit is better in my opinion, it supports 4GB and mostly every program, but i think you can get an upgrade disc to 64 bit.
 
Do you know where I can find an upgrade disk cohen? I've checked Microsoft's website and can't find it. Gateway also doesn't seem to offer it on that model as an upgrade from the site either.

So, if I can't upgrade to 64 bit on the more expensive computer, would it still be worth spending the extra money? I like that the cheaper one has both 4gb of ram and Vista 64 to take advantage of it, I just wish it didn't have the T5550 processor.
 
Don't buy a Gateway. I used to support several thousand Gateway laptops at my old job and they all sucked.
 
cohen said:
Since when?
Click to expand...

He is just regurgitating a conversation me and ttyobo (I can't remember his name but he is one of the smarter posters) or whatever his name is had on the fact that 32-Bit OSes can actually address a maximum of 4gigs of RAM. However, some legacy technologies both in the BIOS and in 32bit windows disallow to actually utilize it. However, SP1 will (Vista 32bit) will actually recognize all 4 gigs of RAM it just can't quite address it all.
 
So if 32bit can recognize 4gigs would it be better to purchase the more expensive 32 bit system and upgrade the ram later?

Which type of laptop would you recommend tlarkin? I've heard horror stories from almost every brand out there so i'm not sure which ones to stick with, especially in the price range i'm looking at (~$1000)
 
I probably don't need 4 gigs of ram to be honest. I think either laptop would work for my fairly basic computer needs. I've just heard that the T5550 processors were really bad processors (of course that was from several friends who are all hard core gamers).

I'm going keep looking and possibly look into some other brands as well, i'll definitely try HP and Acer too.
 
Acer is a reliable brand as far as getting solid performing laptops, but I prefer an IBM Thinkpad. If you can get your hands on one at a decent price it would be well worth it. And the 90Gb RAM? Get an external HD if need be.
 
Okay so I'm going to do some searching on some more brands, so far I've I'm looking at IBM, Acer, and HP. Any other suggestions?

Oh, how about Asus? I've seen these at a few stores, but haven't heard much about them.
 
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