Guidance required in deciding what laptop to buy?

Juven

Juven

New Member
This Questions might be asked again and again, so its is here once again.
My Specifications are -
Processor - Core2Duo/i3/i5
HDD - 320 to 500GB
RAM - 3 to 4GB
Screen - 14"-15"
Ofcourse built-in Wifi, Bluetooth, LAN, Memory Card reader, 4 USB ports

My Working Environment -
Visual Studio 2010
SQL server 2008
Photoshop CS5
Dreamweaver CS5
MS Office 2010
MS Expression Studio
Adobe Acrobat Pro 10
Small Audio/Video converters

OS : Windows 7 Pro
Virtual OS : Ubuntu Server/Desktop
Price - $500-700

1. I was wondering whether to go for Core2Duo or i3, is there a difference in performance? suggest me.
2. Which brand to go for DELL or MSI or <yourchoice>? suggest me.
3. Max battery back up, expecting 3-4hrs. suggest me.
4. If possible tell me the product code or provide link. thanks.
Yes i do watch movies too.
Please suggest me the best product i can get at reasonable budget.
 
Twinbird24

Twinbird24

Member
The Core 2 Duo and i3 both contain two cores, but the i3 has several technical advantages over the Core 2. From http://www.buzzle.com:
"The technical specifications have made it clearly indicated that Intel core i3 beats its predecessor, core 2 duo in almost all departments. This is but natural as they were indeed designed to replace them. Be it processing speed, multitasking or graphic output, opting for core i3 processors is the logical choice to make!"

Although this site suggests that some models of the Core 2 Duo are better than some models of the i3.

I don't think brand makes a huge difference, honestly. Many people say Gateway is a crap brand, yet I have 2 amazing laptops from them (one of which is many years old) and a friend of mine also has a Gateway. If the laptop is good, does it really matter who made it?

Watching movies, even HD movies, doesn't require a high-end laptop, the things you listed in your Work Environment would take up more resources then a movie would.

I found this laptop on New Egg, it seems nice, although it doesn't have an Intel CPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146843CVF
The above laptop meets or exceeds all your expectations you listed except it only has 2 USB ports (3 if you include the eSATA port, which also functions as a USB port). But if you wan't more USB ports you could always buy a USB hub.
 
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Juven

Juven

New Member
I too think that brand doesnt matter but services and spare parts do. if by chance i get trouble i should be able to get the service and spare part of the defected part ASAP.
But anyway i was considering DELL Vostro 3400 and MSI X-Slim X34.
I love DELL Vostro V130 but no optical drive.
Which one of the above you suggest, considering after sales service too.
And thanks for the reply.
 
Twinbird24

Twinbird24

Member
Do you have links to the specific laptops, the ones I'm looking at are this and this. And from what I can see, the Dell looks a lot better, it has Intel Core i5 430M (2.26GHz, 1066MHz, 3MB) versus the Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 CULV (1.4GHz, 800MHz FSB, 3MB cache). It has Windows 7 Professional (32-bit) versus Windows Vista Home Premium. It has 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz versus 2GB DDR2 SDRAM (800MHz). The Dell has 320GB 7200rpm HDD versus 320GB 5400 rpm SATA HDD. But it would cost over $700 to have the Dell laptop configured like this (it can come with an optical drive), which is why it would be nice to have the links to the specific laptop you plan on buying.


EDIT**: Oh man, I've been looking at the wrong Dell Vostro D:
I will come back and reply comparing the two actual laptops later then, I don't have time right now.
 
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Twinbird24

Twinbird24

Member
Okay, if you were looking at the Vostro 3400 Laptop then I guess I wasn't looking at the wrong laptop after all.

Battery life: It really depends on what your doing, like having wi-fi turned on, LCD back light on full, multitasking, etc. would use more battery power. I would say the 6-cell could last you around 4 hours, and the 9-cell would last you around 6, which is what I read after a quick Google search, so I don't actually know this first hand. According to this site, this laptop only has "average" battery life with the 6-cell battery, so the 9-cell would probably get you above average.

I couldn't tell you much about the speakers, there are 2 built-in speakers, so you probably wouldn't get bass. This site gives you a review of the laptop, it says this about the sound:

"In terms of audio performance, the built-in speakers on the Vostro 3400 are adequate for listening to a webcast or system alert sounds, but this clearly isn't a multimedia entertainment notebook. Music sounds tinny with limited range and you will notice significant audio distortion if you increase the speaker volume to the maximum setting. Once again, the speakers are probably fine for the intended market of small business owners. Still, you'll probably want to use a good set of headphones with this notebook if you plan to listen to music while you work."
 
Juven

Juven

New Member
I was planning to move the OS to Windows 7 Professional. But the options are not showing when i was trying to customize it. Can you tell me what would be the extra price to pay for Windows 7 pro. Also feedbacks of people who are using this model.
 
Juven

Juven

New Member
I would like to know one thing.
Difference between Vostros and Inspirons?
in what way they differ. bcoz the M/B,Processors,HDD and other stuffs used are same.
Does the quality of the body differ?
 
Twinbird24

Twinbird24

Member
The internal components are pretty much the same, from what I know, It's basically only the color of the body that is different.

Apparently the Vostro, being a business laptop, comes with better customer support (http://www.lockergnome.com/blade/2008/01/04/dell-inspiron-vs-vostro-which-is-the-better-buy/), but this article is from 2008, so It may not still be true.

So unless you wan't the option of having a stylish laptop with the color of your choice, the Vostro seems to be a bit better.
 
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Juven

Juven

New Member
Yes twinbird24, i saw some reviews that say this model has poor audio quality. Is there a solution for this in terms of changing the drivers. How to set it right? Also if i go for i5 processor in this same model DELL vostro 3400 does this audio issue solve and what are the advantages in going for i5 from i3.
 
Twinbird24

Twinbird24

Member
Updating drivers wouldn't improve your audio quality, the audio drivers that come with the laptop should be just fine. It would be the speakers themselves that give you bad audio. I haven't read much about the sound quality on the laptop, but you could always buy a small set of speakers or headphones to plug into the laptop.

This link describes some of the differences between the Core i3 and i5, although you can find many more similar articles on the web.

Here are the specs for the i3: http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=42915
For the i5: http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=46472
So you can compare the specs yourself. Personally, I think the i5 is better; it has 4 cores vs the 2 cores of the i3. Of course, there are different models of i3 and i5, but in general, I'd still say i5 is better.
 
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