Tech Support Forum - View Single Post - buying new laptop: vostro, latitude, inspiron or maybe not a dell?

ciao · 12-23-2007, 12:32 AM

Hi,

Would be really grateful to get some advice on buying a new laptop.

I recently 'electrocuted' my refurbised Dell D600 latitude from Ebay (when plugging in the power cord I touched one of the serial ports by mistake, suddenly I saw a spark, smoke and that was it...) and am now looking to buy a new laptop.

My needs are as follows:
will start a business and the laptop will be my only pc (i.e. needs to be sturdy, mobile and with long battery life (!)but still have a big enough screen and should be well-rounded like a desktop replacement etc.), not using it for games or advanced media, speed is important as is being able to use multiple applications, wireless connections etc. as my last laptops either crashed, were stolen or "electrocuted' I am also looking to get a reliable and strong machine with good warranty and insurance.

I am so far looking at 2.0 ghz, 2 gb RAM, 14 inch, 60+ GB (have extra external hard drive), DVD/CD burner, 9 cell battery,

but i still have a few questions:

intel core 2 duo or AMD athlon 64? read that the intel is superior, is that correct and how much of a difference does it make? also, how much will a 2.4 ghz processor increase speed (when controlling for RAM etc.) as opposed to a 1.8 for example?

vista ultimate or XP business?
hard to find a vista fan but am concerned that much software will soon be only available on vista? any thoughts? should i get a vista ultimate and put on a xp business (have a genuine copy) if its too slow or go with xp and update later if i have to?

i have mostly looked at dell for now but given the above I have a hard time deciding between a vostro, latitude or inspiron with the above specs, would be grateful for your thoughts. also, are there any other notebooks i should consider such as lenovo, acer or HP? i would love to keep the price below $1000 but would be ready to pay up to $1400 for a good machine.

and one more side question, how much of a difference in terms of performance does it make if i upgrade from 2 to 3 gb?

thanks so much for any thoughts!!!!

12-23-2007, 12:32 AM	#1 (permalink)
ciao Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 2 OS: XP SP2	buying new laptop: vostro, latitude, inspiron or maybe not a dell? Hi, Would be really grateful to get some advice on buying a new laptop. I recently 'electrocuted' my refurbised Dell D600 latitude from Ebay (when plugging in the power cord I touched one of the serial ports by mistake, suddenly I saw a spark, smoke and that was it...) and am now looking to buy a new laptop. My needs are as follows: will start a business and the laptop will be my only pc (i.e. needs to be sturdy, mobile and with long battery life (!)but still have a big enough screen and should be well-rounded like a desktop replacement etc.), not using it for games or advanced media, speed is important as is being able to use multiple applications, wireless connections etc. as my last laptops either crashed, were stolen or "electrocuted' I am also looking to get a reliable and strong machine with good warranty and insurance. I am so far looking at 2.0 ghz, 2 gb RAM, 14 inch, 60+ GB (have extra external hard drive), DVD/CD burner, 9 cell battery, but i still have a few questions: intel core 2 duo or AMD athlon 64? read that the intel is superior, is that correct and how much of a difference does it make? also, how much will a 2.4 ghz processor increase speed (when controlling for RAM etc.) as opposed to a 1.8 for example? vista ultimate or XP business? hard to find a vista fan but am concerned that much software will soon be only available on vista? any thoughts? should i get a vista ultimate and put on a xp business (have a genuine copy) if its too slow or go with xp and update later if i have to? i have mostly looked at dell for now but given the above I have a hard time deciding between a vostro, latitude or inspiron with the above specs, would be grateful for your thoughts. also, are there any other notebooks i should consider such as lenovo, acer or HP? i would love to keep the price below $1000 but would be ready to pay up to $1400 for a good machine. and one more side question, how much of a difference in terms of performance does it make if i upgrade from 2 to 3 gb? thanks so much for any thoughts!!!!