Hey everyone, I'm new here. I'm going off to university next year and am planning on selling my desktop (1 year old) and getting a laptop. I plan to use it for email/internet, instant messaging, word processing, downloading/watching movies, listening to music, watching DVDs, and burning CDS once in awhile. I don't plan on doing any heavy gaming. I have some questions:
Are laptops really just as good as desktops? Do they tend to go bad more quickly of have more problems associated with them? What are the pros/cons of laptops?
The CDRW and DVD drive in laptops seem to have slower speeds than desktops. My computer's CDRW is 52X24X52 and my DVD drive is 16X. On the laptops i've been looking at, the speeds have been much slower. Why is this? And would you notice a big difference? Also, what does a 24x/24x/4x CDRW equal?...Would you add the numbers to get a 52X drive or is it just a 24X drive?
Does heavier=Better made?
All laptops I've found out have combo drives. I've heard that sometimes there are problems with combo drives...is that true?
What are the top brands of laptops? (I heard pretty good things about Toshiba, but not so good things about Compaq). And what are some pros/cons of them (if you know of any). What brands have good reps when it comes to screen quality, sturdy construction, easy-to-use keyboard, etc.?
Can you get laptops with floppy drives built in to them? All the ones I've seen require you to buy an external floppy drive seperately.
Concerning resolution, what is a good one to have? I was told that 1280X800 isn't so good. But can't you change your resolution to whatever you want? Or can you not do this on laptops without making the picture fuzzy?
What processor is better: Intel or AMD? (big debate, I know)
The hard drive speeds in laptops is slower than desktops I've noticed (4200 rpm compared to 7200 rpm). Would you notice a difference?
What are some laptops you would recommend for around $1500 CDN?
Sorry for all the questions, but it will really help. Thanks!
Are laptops really just as good as desktops? Do they tend to go bad more quickly of have more problems associated with them? What are the pros/cons of laptops?
The CDRW and DVD drive in laptops seem to have slower speeds than desktops. My computer's CDRW is 52X24X52 and my DVD drive is 16X. On the laptops i've been looking at, the speeds have been much slower. Why is this? And would you notice a big difference? Also, what does a 24x/24x/4x CDRW equal?...Would you add the numbers to get a 52X drive or is it just a 24X drive?
Does heavier=Better made?
All laptops I've found out have combo drives. I've heard that sometimes there are problems with combo drives...is that true?
What are the top brands of laptops? (I heard pretty good things about Toshiba, but not so good things about Compaq). And what are some pros/cons of them (if you know of any). What brands have good reps when it comes to screen quality, sturdy construction, easy-to-use keyboard, etc.?
Can you get laptops with floppy drives built in to them? All the ones I've seen require you to buy an external floppy drive seperately.
Concerning resolution, what is a good one to have? I was told that 1280X800 isn't so good. But can't you change your resolution to whatever you want? Or can you not do this on laptops without making the picture fuzzy?
What processor is better: Intel or AMD? (big debate, I know)
The hard drive speeds in laptops is slower than desktops I've noticed (4200 rpm compared to 7200 rpm). Would you notice a difference?
What are some laptops you would recommend for around $1500 CDN?
Sorry for all the questions, but it will really help. Thanks!
AMD is better . Laptop drives are slower because of their size. General rule, smaller is slower and more expensive. You use to be able to get a laptop with an internal floppy, and probably still can, but since floppies aren't as popular anymore they aren't as important. I'd suggest storing your stuff on a USB pen drive. If you go toshiba stay away from the Satellite pro 6100. its an older model but you might come across it. It has major design flaws and breaks quite often. We got so many in that I made a poster with the part numbers and put it on the wall at my old job so we could order parts quickly. I configured this: