Re: TOT laptops
- From: "Java Jive" <java@xxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 11:45:34 GMT
See below ...
"Bill Wright" <mybusinessname@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:dlmcu4$gnc$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
FWIW, my two current lead (desktop) PCs are:
> Processor: dunno
Mine are both 3GHz P4s, but I'm not sure where laptops are at these days.
> HDD: 60GB maybe?
One of mine is huge, the other smaller. For one thing, (but this is more
difficult on a laptop, although you could use partitions instead) I like to
keep the operating system (OS) on a seperate disk from my data, so I always
have at least 2: a relatively small one for the OS, say 20Gb, and the data
depends on what you're doing with the PC. Currently 60Gb should be enough
for most things though.
> Memory: 512MB. Is this enough to write video to DVD?
Mine are currently 2Gb & 1Gb, I can write video comfortably with that, and
have done with 512Mb, but wouldn't recommend smaller than 1Gb, with at least
a 2Gb swap file as well. Some programs like TMPG DVD Author start failing
in an unpredictable way if you have much less.
> Optical media: DVD RW. Gotta write/read CDs and DVDs.
> Floppy drive: no
You may need one for system recovery, even if it's only a USB one (if the
laptop is to be second-hand, be sure it can boot from a USB floppy - most
recent ones will)
> Screen size: small
How small? I still use 1024 x 768 - even though my system is capable of
better, these days my eyes can't read the smaller print on larger
resolutions. I wouldn't recommend smaller than that for any
visual/graphical work, maybe larger.
> Extras: mouse, carrycase, good warranty.
If one is going to type at a desk for long periods, an external keyboard is
nice.
> OK, well that list has no doubt betrayed my ignorance.
Not at all, most of your choices are entirely reasonable.
> So please help reduce
> it to managable proportions. Is this a reasonable spec?
Yes, as above.
> Where should I buy?
Can't comment on that - all my experience with laptops has been through
work. FWIW, we used IBM Thinkpads, and Compaq Evos.
> What's good in the world of student laptops?
Sorry, can't help there either.
I append some general notes about choosing specs. They're written from the
viewpoint of someone who tends to upgrade his systems piecemeal, but as I
usually replace the motherboard, CPU, and memory together as a unit, they
still have relevance in choosing shop bought systems ...
There are two possible extremes of viewpoint ...
One is to go for the beefiest spec one can afford at the time of purchase:
the fastest CPU, the most memory, the largest HD. The reasoning goes that
you are future-proofing yourself for the longest time against having to
upgrade as OSs and software become more and more bloated and demand more and
more of the hardware, and the extra money spent early on will seem more and
more worthwhile as time goes on. The disadvantages of this approach are
that you spend a lot of money on capacity which may be for the most part
under used, and you may get so used to the blistering specs that you end up
upgrading as often as everyone else anyway, as you perceive your system
slowing down encountering the unstoppable advance of bloatware.
The other extreme is to buy the minimum spec for your current requirements,
planning to upgrade as and when you need to. This has the advantage of
cheapness, but can leave you with difficult upgrade decisions - eg: you
have had you current system for a year, but now it needs more memory, and
processor types and specs are just changing (example: PIII to P4), so any
money spent on more memory for an old system could be viewed as throwing
good money after bad, as it won't be transferable to a later new system. It
might be better to upgrade the entire system anyway, but it can be a time
consuming process transferring hardware, reinstalling software, and
transferring data to a new system.
I used to favour the former approach - I was earning a good salary, money
was not really an issue, and it saved having to research and think at a time
when I had precious little free time to do either! Now in semi-retirement,
things are different - I favour an in-between approach. For future
proofing, I still try and get the newest standards, but for economy not
necessarily the beefiest version of them. Eg: if starting from scratch now
(or at least, as of a few months ago) ...
I would choose an LGA775 rather than a socket 478 motherboard & CPU, and get
PCI Express rather than AGP graphics, because socket 478 and AGP are on the
way out (so if you get a partial hardware failure at some point in the
future it's might be more difficult to replace an individual component) and
if anything the price advantage is now with the newer standards of LGA775
and PCI Express.
But, above my minimum requirements, I now look closely at GHz per £, Mb per
£,and Gb per £ and the step increments between them to choose CPU speed, RAM
size, and HD size respectively. For example, at my local supplier, the
increment between a 2.8GHz CPU @ £128 and a 3.0 @ £135 was a 7% increase in
power for a 5% increase in price, a no-brainer. But the next one between
3.0 and 3.2 is still about a 7% (though rounded up rather than down, so a
smaller 7%) increase in power for a 25% increase in price, a no-brainer the
other way! Also, as one would expect from the above arithmetic, just
looking at GHz/£, the 3.0GHz CPU was the cheapest at £45. Repeating this
thinking with memory and hard disk size helps reach sensible compromise
decisions.
.
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