Buying a Laptop

[countrykid]

Having used my girlfriends Laptop for a week, and gradually geting used to Vista!, I ave decided to buy one for myself as my desktop model is getting old. Aware that it is best to get as much memory and hard drive storage as poss from the start (especial with a Laptop) and a decent processor, I have been looking at some Toshiba models. Due to poor eyesight I am opting for 17" screen. I might be over-specifying by my preference of the Satellite Pro P300-14Q which has 2mb ram and 250gb hard drive (massive I know) for around �470 online. The near identical model P300-14P has only 1mb memory and 120gb hard drive but at around �420 is not that much cheaper. I can't find any reviews of either model, so maybe they are too new. Has any aber got one or an recommend any others? Final question, some models I have looked at have Intel T2370 Dual Core processor (rated speed 1.73ghz), and others AMD Athlon 64x2 TK571.9ghz. Brand name aside, are they much the same in performamnce terms? The other reason for choosing 17" is the normal type keyborad with separate number pad. Main use for PC is spreadsheet, word docs, email, internet and digital photos. Not a gamer.

Many thanks

[Ethel]

That laptop is more than adequate for your needs - but it is very heavy, and I'm not sure what the battery life would be like.

If you intend using it as a replacement desktop, then that is not a problem. I would definitely opt for the 2gig version.

Can't advise on the processors, except to say they are more than up to the job for what you intend to do.

[ACtheTROLL]

I'm not sure that HDD size is as big an issue as it was ...
80 gig is plenty for your system, current tunes etc.
The ideal is then to use an esata external drive ... (firewire & usb as second and third alternatives. as your main storage.

for a few quid more you can get a nas box (just got a 2Tib one ... it's bl@@dy marvelous) and then you can share music and everything with your girlfriend from a central spot (even straming video and music to TV and round the house!!).

the downside of laptop is not much good for gaming ... (without getting a mortgage)

number pads can act badly on external keyboards ... cause the numpad on a lappy is doubled with the 789iopjklm keys which can get confusing

which is best? ... intel and microsoft are in partnership (whatever you read!) ... and AMD did recently score one hell of an own goal with their "flagship" processor.

recent tests still seem to rate intel over AMD in the punch stakes ... but BEST is relative ... and generally is measured in such small units that you'd never notice unless you were encoding many hours of video

asus always get good reviews

before you buy ... I'd recommend a trip to asda or tesco's magazine stand and see what two or three of the PC mags reccomend

[Ethel]

Ac - that Tosh has the tradional desktop keyboard, with the number pad to the right.

[countrykid]

Thanks Ethel and AC. I will mainly use the Laptop as a desktop replacement, just enjoying the fact that it does not tie me down to one room etc. I would probably use it on mains most of time so battery life would not be too big a problem, though it would be nice if it lasts a couple of hours or so.

With regards to Hard Drive, I did wonder about having a separate external hard drive to use as a back up, so 120GB in the laptop would more than do. Just a pity then that the cheaper Tosh 17" only has 1GB Ram (I made a mistake in initial post quoting MB instead of GB!! Ooops!)

Before buying, I would stil like to read a review so if any ab-er knows of any, would be glad to hear. I am avoiding Acer laptops because the one i got for my girlfriend 8 months ago has a lousey keyborad that constantly misses strokes, which makes for constant cecking ver the spelling. It is an Aspire 5633WLMi. A friend suggested it might not actually be a hardware fault, but software, as there could be a setting available to change the keypad sensitivity. If anyone can help on this, I'd be pleased. Thanks to all.

[Ethel]

I have an Acer Aspire 1680 (over 4 years old) and no problem at all with the keyboard.

Don't know what to suggest about that

[ChuckFickens]

hi countrykid,

I'll stick my 2pence worth in :)

personally for the relatively small difference in price I think I would go for the more expensive one if the extra money is not a problem.

that aside, as for battery life, you will be lucky to get within about 3/4 of what the makers say the battery will last in normal use, but if you intend to use it as a desktop replacement thats not a issue, but it's recommended to discharge the battery to about 30% every week or so and then recharge it just to keep them in condition.

Hard drives, the bigger the better as always (the natural state of a hard drive is 80+% full no matter how big it is!!) but an external drive is always a good idea too keep a backup of everything on, that way if anything goes wrong you can just format and start again without losing anything. As for the 1gb vs 2gb of ram, well if you do only get 1gb that'll be enough and it's easy to upgrade in the future if needed.

Lastly, there isn't any setting to adjust the sensitivity of a keyboard, they are just switches, on or off, why would anybody make a keyboard pressure sensitive, you either want to type a letter or not, I suspect that particular one either had a faulty keyboard, or just required a heavier touch than you are used to..

[countrykid]

Thanks Ethel and CF. The Acer laptop is stil under warranty so I could get it checked out, but my girlfriend is not keen on it going away for a repair when it will probably be returned after several weeks with "no fault found" Plus she would miss it I know, as she loves the inteernet, and of course I am using it quite a bit right now whilst spend time here recovering from an op.

Thanks again. Advice appreciated