Laptop Advice

[Steve Frazier]

I have to replace my laptop and my knowledge of computers is limited. I'd like opinions from you folks in the know rather than someone who is trying to sell me something. My use of my laptop is pretty basic, surfing the web, a letter now and then and downloading pics from a digital camera. I'm not a gamer at all and don't use business programs on the laptop.

I'm looking at two units, both are exactly the same price. The specs are very similar. I'll list the differences here:

Unit A

17.3" screen
AMD Dual-Core A6-4400M Accelerated Processor 2.7GHz (3.2GHz with AMD Turbo Core Technology 3.0),1MB Cache
500GB HDD (5400rpm, Serial ATA) Hard drive
Integrated 1MP Webcam and Microphone
DVD SuperMulti drive (Dual Layer)

Unit B

15.6" screen
AMD A-Series A4-4300M Processor
320GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
720p HD Camera
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer w/ SW Royalty for Windows 8

The memory is identical on both machines at 4GB DDR3 1600MHz (4GB X 1), both have Windows 8 installed. I'm leaning toward Unit A as I prefer a larger screen, it also appears to have a better processor if I understand processor specs correctly. The hard drive capacity is larger but a little slower than Unit B, is this correct? Will that make much difference for my use? Opinions?

Thanks!

 

[andrewpond]

Love my BlackBerry playbook. 150 bucks. Great for casual Web surfing ie read and posting on HEF

 

[RollOver Pete]

Ive got one of these,
http://youtu.be/VZGSvwSuF2E
http://youtu.be/QxCV0bZGE00

If you are interested, pm me.
I can hook you up with a Toughbook for a fraction of their original price.
Satisfaction Guaranteed for as long as you own the thing.
pm me.....and we'll talk.

 

[dirtdobber1]

Steve,

I"m no computer expert, but if all you do on your laptop is surf the web, download pictures, and write a letter every now and then, either machine will serve you well. Digital pictures can take up considerable disk space, so the machine with the larger hard drive may be the better choice. I like larger screens as well.

You need to make sure the machine you pick will read and write a CD and DVD, has a wireless internet card, and has plenty of USB ports for other devices to connect. The machine with the larger screen may have a full keyboard (with a number pad) which may be useful.

Processor speed - you will never know the difference between the two machines. To put it in heavy equipment terms, you are using a dozer to spread mulch in your flowerbed! Happy computing

 

[kanewolf]

Will you be moving it around a lot? A 17 inch laptop can be inconvenient to lug around. As dirtdobber said, keyboard size on the 17 incher might be better. Can you actually touch the two choices, or are you just ordering on-line? If you can touch them, keyboard feel can be a great discriminator. The A6 processor has slightly higher clock speed and a slightly better graphics engine built in. If you aren't going to rely on batteries as your primary power source and don't plan on packing it everywhere, go with the bigger screen.

Windows 8 is a different matter. You might be happier if you can still find a Win 7 laptop. Windows 8 has changed the user interface DRAMATICALLY. Play with a Windows 8 laptop in a store to help decide if you like it. Get a 64 bit operating system. If you ever want or need more than 4GB of RAM you have to have a 64 bit O/S to take advantage of it. Thirty-two bit programs, "regular" programs run just fine on 64 bit O/S machines, most of the time there is no compatibility problems.

 

[Huntoon]

you should check out the netbooks from google.

barring that, if you want quality, I would recommend a thinkpad from Lenovo.

 

[Steve Frazier]

Thanks for the replies! Pete, that is a lot more machine than I need, thanks though. The machine I'm looking at does burn CDs, has a built in wireless card and 3 USB ports. I'm looking at the machines on line, I'm not sure I can find them nearby, but I'll take a look. I just watched a couple Windows 8 demos on you tube and I'm not sure I like it. The 15.6 screen machine is available with Windows 7 Pro, the 17 inch screen is only available with Windows 8. I don't travel much with my laptop, I use it to multi-task while surfing, I have a PC set up in my office for heavier work. I guess I'm going to have to have someone show me Windows 8 hands on to get a feel for it.

 

[willie59]

I agree with multiple USB ports. If you do use a laptop, get one of those "fan" cooling pads that's powered by a USB port, makes a big difference with a laptop.

 

[CRAFT]

Well Steve here's what I just went thru ! .......... I LOVED my Laptop . (period) .... until the beginning of July this year ! ......

Not that anyone noticed that I haven't been around here (@HEF) since that time .... but in short my Laptop melted ..... well actually the frigg'n Nvidea chip (which controls or runs all video on the lcd screen on the laptop or a remote monitor), attached to the mother board un-soldered its self due the heat build up internally, a major flaw that cost Nvidea Millions of $$$ in a N.America wide law suit from HP, Dell and I think Mac was in on it too. .... they were releasing these boards knowing that they were defective or it had a major flaw that caused exactly what happened to mine ......but for the last couple of years I was having issues like the comp was acting REALLY slow... every geek/nerd told me it was the Vista operating system, but guess what, it wasn't .... I googled the Nvidea issue and up popped every Damn issue that I was experiencing, the poor comp was frustrated fighting the chip trying to boot its self up and as a result it acted super slow ....... as your self Steve I just used mine to surf, participate here at HEF, do online banking, etc. , etc.
I was not a gamer or someone that was using the comp 12 or more hrs a day.
Sooo it took until this past July to come around and FAIL ! .... #^%&*)(+$#@!!! :Banghead.... of coarse just after all my extended warranties expired ..... Now I was S.O.L. ....every comp repair joint tried to sell me a refurb unit that I did not want, I just wanted mine fixed ...... I did not have the extra coin to go out and buy a new Laptop or comp that I wanted.

I did a lot of research into what I thought I wanted to get .... as you said Windows 7 or Windows 8 ?????????? .......???????......I was all set to get an All-in-One HP from Costco, seemed like the best bang for the buck including the warranty ......... everyone warned me about the ongoing issues with a PC that never seems to end, virus protection,paying $50 year protection (that never saved my butt once), malware, trojans, etc etc etc, ........ then I started to listen to the few and not the many! ....I was told that most all of the crap I've put up with since my first PC in '95 virtually does NOT exist in Mac comps, so I started to look into the iMacs and found that they were not as cost different as they used to be , infact they were only about a couple or three hundred bucks more than a good not entry level PC ....... I Made up my mind ..... 2 Weeks ago I bought a Brand New "iMac" with a 21.5" screen and am I ever Pleased that I did !!!!! ...... Its a bit of a new learning curve, BUT its not any different than every time I had to learn a new operating system of windows .... I bought a new iPhone in May, it too is probably the best cell phone that i've ever owned since the first suitcase model back in '90 that I had .... because these guys are related (Mac&Mac) they do things together for me that makes things way simpler for a guy like me that just expects the stupid things to work.

So I'm back, and looking forward to catching up on all the great reading/participating that HEF has to offer


Disclaimer : I did not reply to this Post to put a plug in for Mac, but more so to slam the PC's for all the grief that they caused me and many others ! (shame on them)......... but what do I know i'm just a dumb equipment owner/operator .......LOL

 

[grandpa]

Got to agree with you again Willie on the cooling fan for the laptop,,, good comment.

 

[Nige]

Ive got one of these,
http://youtu.be/VZGSvwSuF2E
http://youtu.be/QxCV0bZGE00

If you are interested, pm me.
I can hook you up with a Toughbook for a fraction of their original price.
Satisfaction Guaranteed for as long as you own the thing.
pm me.....and we'll talk.

Panasonic Toughbooks are nowhere near as "tough" as they claim to be in my experience. The Panasonic salesman tried to convince us how good it was by dropping one off the deck of a 793 on to the ground - it didn't work afterwards...!!
Unless you could get a Toughbook at less than 25% of the list price I'd personally buy an IBM Thinkpad.

 

[AusDave]

Get a Mac

Go for a Mac, laptop, (MacBook Pro), or desktop, (iMac). Been using them for about 25 years with no problems.

The grief you hear about viruses, malware, components crapping out, overheating etc is virtually non existent with Apple Macs. The small amount extra they cost is just is what you pay for higher quality, better integrated componentry and an attention to detail, design and relative simplicity.

Sure they may be a little different to the Windows machines you've owned in the past, but I have never met a Mac owner who came from Windows computers that would ever go back to Windows after having a Mac!

I must disclose I also sell Apple Mac computers in my neck of the woods. The biggest downside to the Mac side of my business is that they are so reliable now that I rarely get any calls for repairs, maintenance or even upgrades. My Apple clients, who number in the many hundreds, are happy and just get on with using their machines without the worry of any impending issues. However after 5 to 10 years of troublefree use they usually do come back for a new Mac and pass the old one down to kids or relatives.

Let me know if you have any further questions, AusDave

 

[bill onthehill]

I don't own a Mac but know a fella who has one. His wife dumped a glass of water on it and shorted it out. He called Apple and they sent him a return box and turned it around in 2 days time. Plus all his stuff on that computer was backed up on Apple's cloud so he only lost the time it took to ship it both ways.

 

[CM1995]

I don't own a Mac but know a fella who has one. His wife dumped a glass of water on it and shorted it out. He called Apple and they sent him a return box and turned it around in 2 days time. Plus all his stuff on that computer was backed up on Apple's cloud so he only lost the time it took to ship it both ways.

They must have been within the warranty period or had an extended warranty. The wife's laptop inadvertently had a malted beverage spilled on said keyboard, not good if you are me - the perpetrator. Off to the Apple store, flat rate $750 to repair any water damage. Now they repaired/replaced every component that was affected and she retained everything on her hard drive and the laptop was returned within 1 week. However my "accident" was not forgotten so quickly...:cool2

I really like my MacBook Pro and Iphone. Soon to get an Ipad 4 for my Christmas present, gotta love being able to write off what you want. That being said they aren't for everyone and more expensive to boot but I wouldn't go back to a Windows based computer, just my opinion.

 

[Steve Frazier]

I've pretty much made a decision of a Toshiba with a 17.2" screen, unit A above. The computer tech I use recommended either Lenovo or Toshiba as being the most reliable. The laptop that crapped out on me is a Lenovo I bought about 6 years ago. My daughter has a Mac I've used a few times and I just can't get used to the differences, I've known nothing but Microsoft since I've been using computers. Plus, the Mac is about 3 times the cost.

I have a question about software. I'm looking at Microsoft Office Home & Student which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Outlook is available for an additional $80. Is that the email program? Would you pick it up?

 

[dirtdobber1]

Steve,

Outlook is an email software, along with time management features such as a calendar and alerts that can be programmed and a contacts directory.

If your email is through a web based domain service, such as yahoo, gmail, etc, and you typically access your email through a web based interface, AND if you are a casual emailer (no mass mailing, group mailing, etc.) you should have no need for Outlook. If you find otherwise, you can add it later

 

[willie59]

My laptop came with the Microsoft Office package, I'm just too cheap to purchase it, I use Open Office for those programs. For email I downloaded Windows Live Mail, works very similar to Outlook and it was free.

 

[Steve Frazier]

Thanks guys! I'm going to wait now until Monday and see if they offer any cyber deals on them.

 

[Danny Steel]

Make sure you really like that Windows 8 or make sure you can bring it back if you dont like it.
I gave it a try, and it really makes no sence to me at all...IMO windows 7 Is they way to go.

If you want a good laptop well made and one that works very well for the money...Look at the Sonys.

 

[wosama931b]

To me its all about price, and Intel and the windows, also skype is a good thing to do with your kids. sam.