staff picks - Page 3

**Joefireline** · 08-10-2006, 06:28 AM

Umm... loving that, umm, thing.

minster9 · 08-11-2006, 01:22 AM

Hi all,don't you wish you had in todays' dollars what those old laptops cost new? A person couldn't possibly imagine how many orders of magnitude speed & memory have become commenplace now. I used to read years ago about R&D in computers in general & never would have imagined how far along they've come. To be honest,I was skeptical of what they thought they could achieve. Now we have talk of optical,nano,magnetic,superstring[just kidding] processes. Brian Twigley,I'm gonna keep my old CF-45 Toughbook w/233mh & 128ram! It's like new to be 9 yrs old,except I'm gonna try try to cram a 40gb hd into it. The OEM 2gb just ain't enough. Great site,TSF!

Zazula · 08-20-2006, 02:20 AM

Well, what I've come to understand is that users are extremely idiosyncratic when it comes to portable computers. They tend to select a specific brand for some esoteric reason and then the following things happen:
a. When they upgrade to a newer portable, they are far more inclined to buy from the same brand.
b. They will always justify whatever negative experience they're getting from their portable.
c. They will always scorn other brands for the things they detest on them.

The above don't happen only if a user becomes subjest to a disastrous experience during the very first stage of his virgin purchase. In this case, he/she blames everything on that laptop's brand, and starts looking for a different one. However, if this initial stage concludes smoothly, then he/she becomes hooked for ever. The user can only lay his/her hands on this specific keyboard, operate only this specific trackpad, plug usb devices only when the ports are on the "right" place, and so on. (Do all these sound to you like a cult? Yes, they do...)

We could discuss many laptop-selection-related issues here, yet we'd be still be missing the main point: People buy things motivated by their feelings, not their logic. Give someone the most logical arguments - they won't agree. Tell them "but ya don't wanna be called stupid, do ya?", thus triggering their emotions rather their logic, and presto - they're on your side! I repeat what marketeers learn in their very first lesson: People buy only for sentimental reasons - period! So, let us present ideas here, but not become tempted in exchanging them; we can't force-feed anyone... Just try to remember why you bought your cell phone or why you like the food you like... you may be able to cite some reasonably-sounding (at least to you!) arguments, yet the underlying truth is that this is what you simply like!...

WHAT I'VE SEEN SO FAR
1. Alienware are best to be avoided.
2. Sony are overpriced and too proprietary.
3. Acer support site is totally unacceptable.
4. Hp/Compaq support site is pathetic.
5. Dell support site is acceptable.

BEST PRACTICES I RECOMMEND
1. Choose a built-to-order, easily expandable laptop.
2. Buy a full Windows installation disc (oem).
3. Check out their support site before buying.

WHAT I PERSONALLY LIKE (in case anyone cares)

Fujitsu-Siemens Celsius H series

Specs:

1. Windows® Vista, XP Professional and Linux (certified for RedHat and Novell Linux)
2. Intel® 945PM Express motherboard, Intel® Core™ Duo Processors T2300, T2400, T2500, T2600, 667 MHz System Bus, 2MB Second-level cache, Memory max. 4 GByte, dual-channel DDR2-667 SDRAM.
3. Floppy disk drive (USB) is optional.
4. Optical drives DVD-ROM, CD RW/DVD combo, DVD+-R / +-RW DL.
5. Hard disks you can have totally two SATA up to 100GB @ 7200 rpm or 120GB @ 5400 rpm.
6. Slots: 1 x PC-Card type II, 1 x Express Card, 1 x SmartCard, 1 x SD/MMC.
7. Interface: 1 x IrDa V1.1, 4 x USB 2.0, 1 x IEEE 1394, 1 x microphone in, 1 x combined headphone / S/PDIF out, 1 x modem, 1 x LAN, 1 x TV-out, 1 x docking connector for PortReplicator, 1 x VGA.
8. Display / Resolution 15.4 inch TFT WUXGA, 1920 x 1200
9. Graphic: ATI Mobility FireGL V5200, PCI-Express
10. Video RAM: 256MB, GDDR3
11. Audio: ALC262, HDA
12. Modem: Built-in V.90 international modem
13. LAN: Broadcom BCM 5751M, Built-in 10/100/1000 Mbit/s Ethernet (WLAN optional)
14. Weight: approx. 3.2 kg
15. Battery: 1st Li-Ion, 8 cells, 14.4V, 5200mAh - 2nd Li-Ion, 6 cells, 10.8V, 3800mAh
16. Options: 2nd HDD, optical drives, 2nd battery, BlueTooth, WLAN.

Careful, though! If you look it up in Fujitsu-Siemens' e-shop, you WON'T find it under laptops; it's listed under Workstations (for obvious reasons

). Actually, F-S calls this beauty a Desktop (!!!) Corporate PC. A very-decent-spec one is at £ 1,255.89 ex VAT (£ 1,475.67 inc VAT) and this price includes WinXP Pro. See it here.

WHY? (RATIONALIZATION FOLLOWS)
It's an exceptionally superb computer that moreover happens to be a not-so-heavy laptop! It is truly a series of business-spec models and NOT consumer-type ones. Thus the level of built-quality, dependability, stability, overall system integration and customer service for a Celcius is in another galaxy, compared to a typical Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo or whatever other laptop, targeted to the consumer market. Plus I never play Games so I never bother to have the "games playability" in my priority list - when dependability is numero uno! I can have 3-D apps running when making a presentation to a customer. Plus, it simply seriously kicks you know what...

Zazula · 08-20-2006, 02:49 AM

What I mean with my previous post is nicely shown through this:

Yesterday I was looking at a new laptop from the biggest BTO OEM in Greece.

Specs: AMD TURION MT-37 2,0AGhz 1Mb / 2 x 512Mb RAM SO-DIMM DDR PC3200 / TOSHIBA HDD 100 GB 5.400 RPM / 19'' Wide Glare Type Screen 1680x1050 / Dual nVidia GO 7800 GTX / 2 x 256 GDDR III / DVD±RW Double layer / AZALIA 5.1 DIGITAL AC3 / Virtual surround 2.1 speakers / IEEE 1394, Lan, IrDA, Modem 56k / TV-out x 1, Microphone x 1, S-video x 1, USB x 4, PCMCIA x 1, Headphones x 1, Card Reader 5 in 1, Camera / Li-Ion 8 cell, 2 hrs autonomy / 3.10 kgr
Price: 2,799 euros (incl. VAT and Windows XP Home)

As soon as I saw AMD+nVidia I said "forget 'bout it"... Plus to me it had "gamer" written all over it and I simply turned my back. Is this reasonable? Of course not. Still, it's what's happening with all users...

**Fox** · 08-20-2006, 08:10 AM

Plus, that price is outrageous. My acer's pretty close to those specs, and better in some areas, and is only a third of the price. Of course, there are other factors to take into account, but I would write that one off instantly just because of the price.

Zazula · 08-20-2006, 10:12 AM

Fox, are you sure about that? The notebook on my second post has a 19" screen (like Aspire 9800), yet it has Dual nVidia GO 7800 GTX / 2 x 256 GDDR III... I mean, I know people who would kill to get this, and just used it as an example that I still prefer my original pick (Celcius H).

**Joefireline** · 08-20-2006, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zazula

Well, what I've come to understand is that users are extremely idiosyncratic when it comes to portable computers. They tend to select a specific brand for some esoteric reason and then the following things happen:
a. When they upgrade to a newer portable, they are far more inclined to buy from the same brand.
b. They will always justify whatever negative experience they're getting from their portable.
c. They will always scorn other brands for the things they detest on them.

The above don't happen only if a user becomes subjest to a disastrous experience during the very first stage of his virgin purchase. In this case, he/she blames everything on that laptop's brand, and starts looking for a different one. However, if this initial stage concludes smoothly, then he/she becomes hooked for ever. The user can only lay his/her hands on this specific keyboard, operate only this specific trackpad, plug usb devices only when the ports are on the "right" place, and so on. (Do all these sound to you like a cult? Yes, they do...)

We could discuss many laptop-selection-related issues here, yet we'd be still be missing the main point: People buy things motivated by their feelings, not their logic. Give someone the most logical arguments - they won't agree. Tell them "but ya don't wanna be called stupid, do ya?", thus triggering their emotions rather their logic, and presto - they're on your side! I repeat what marketeers learn in their very first lesson: People buy only for sentimental reasons - period! So, let us present ideas here, but not become tempted in exchanging them; we can't force-feed anyone... Just try to remember why you bought your cell phone or why you like the food you like... you may be able to cite some reasonably-sounding (at least to you!) arguments, yet the underlying truth is that this is what you simply like!...

I disagree with you about the brand thing. I went for an Acer, because: They had great review; it was a great spec, for the price; it was perfect for my needs; I did my homework, and found they were the most reliable systems, with the least returns. I wouldn't have been able to get that with a HP, Dell, F-S, Toshiba ect.

I love what I got, and I would go for one in the future years, as they suit my needs perfectly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zazula

Fox, are you sure about that? The notebook on my second post has a 19" screen (like Aspire 9800), yet it has Dual nVidia GO 7800 GTX / 2 x 256 GDDR III... I mean, I know people who would kill to get this, and just used it as an example that I still prefer my original pick (Celcius H).

Dude! Fox's graphics card is SWEET! If you need more than that, then you are a gready b**t**d.

**Fox** · 08-20-2006, 02:51 PM

Haha Joe, thanks.

I suppose it has good video, but only a gig of ram and only a 5400RPM 100GB hard drive, and XP Home? Please. When you're spending three and a half grand on a machine, those are some pretty serious compromises.

**crazijoe** · 08-21-2006, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joefireline

I disagree with you about the brand thing. I went for an Acer, because: They had great review; it was a great spec, for the price; it was perfect for my needs; I did my homework, and found they were the most reliable systems, with the least returns. I wouldn't have been able to get that with a HP, Dell, F-S, Toshiba ect.

I love what I got, and I would go for one in the future years, as they suit my needs perfectly.

Sooo... you would buy from the same brand again??

**Joefireline** · 08-21-2006, 06:30 AM

Well, I am sure next time I buy, Acer will suit my needs perfectly again... I would probably be doing the same sort of things, just with a bit more power, so yeah.

evo_y2k · 09-02-2006, 08:20 AM

My laptop is a dell inspiron 1300, when i first got it i noticed a rattlling in/around the dvd drive, i asked dell to come ond collect it coz it pissed me off something crazy, i told them i work nights and to come on the date i stated. and of course theu didnt, they missed me on 5 ocations, and now the warranty has run out.:(
never mind, the laptop is brill thou:)

**laboye** · 09-04-2006, 09:50 AM

I have what I need for a laptop. It was free (as are all my laptops), so I'm satisfied. It's a Toshiba Satellite 1400-S151 at 1.2GHz with 768 MB of RAM. CD-RW/DVD-ROM, WiFi. RAMs expandable to 1GB. The only weakness is the 16MB of VRAM on a Trident adapter. But I'm not touching gaming on this thing, gaming's reserved for my rig

This is my 777th post. Woot!

**TheMatt** · 09-04-2006, 07:38 PM

When I picked out my laptop I had a choice between my current setup and a toshiba with a celeron. I logicly went for this. Note that when I bought this, it had only 512 MB of some generic RAM, but it was better than the alternitive. I am in high school, so I am on a budget.

Flaxon · 09-12-2006, 04:08 PM

Well, I haven't had much experience with laptops, nearly none, in fact, but I recently bought an Acer Aspire 5000.

For $500, you get :

• AMD Turion 64 ML-32 1.8
• 15.4" WXGA display
• 512MB of DDR memory • 80GB hard drive
• Double-layer DVD drive
• Three USB 2.0 ports

It also has built-in WiFi 802.11 g/b, and a DVD±RW drive.

The primary downside I've encountered so far: the video card, which is a SiS integrated card. Obviously, I'm going to have to upgrade the memory, since the video and the CPU are sharing. Not only that, as far as I can tell, it doesn't support 64 bit graphics. So far, it's great for running Mechwarrior4: Mercenaries and Counter-Strike 1.6, but I wasn't able to get Far-Cry or even Splinter Cell: Pandora Tommorow to run on it.

Not a bad deal, for the $500 I paid for it. Circuit city is selling it for $650, and had a $150 rebate going, but I'm thinking that rebate is over with. Overall, though, I got a pretty good laptop that can do everything I really wanted to do with it: Play music, video, and quickly load PDF's of my D&D3.5 books.

08-10-2006, 06:28 AM	#41 (permalink)
Joefireline Enthusiastic TSFer~Joseph Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Portishead (Bristol) England Posts: 5,314 OS: XP Pro SP2(Desktop) / XP Home SP2(laptop) My System	Umm... loving that, umm, thing. __________________ - Joseph LAPTOP: Acer Aspire 5512WMLi (Specification) OPTIMIZE XP BEFORE POSTING HJT LOG - POST HJT LOG >>HERE<< If TSF has helped you, please help TSF: Please DONATE

08-20-2006, 02:20 AM	#43 (permalink)
Zazula Manager Emeritus, I'm blond, James Blond Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 7,644 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	Well, what I've come to understand is that users are extremely idiosyncratic when it comes to portable computers. They tend to select a specific brand for some esoteric reason and then the following things happen: a. When they upgrade to a newer portable, they are far more inclined to buy from the same brand. b. They will always justify whatever negative experience they're getting from their portable. c. They will always scorn other brands for the things they detest on them. The above don't happen only if a user becomes subjest to a disastrous experience during the very first stage of his virgin purchase. In this case, he/she blames everything on that laptop's brand, and starts looking for a different one. However, if this initial stage concludes smoothly, then he/she becomes hooked for ever. The user can only lay his/her hands on this specific keyboard, operate only this specific trackpad, plug usb devices only when the ports are on the "right" place, and so on. (Do all these sound to you like a cult? Yes, they do...) We could discuss many laptop-selection-related issues here, yet we'd be still be missing the main point: People buy things motivated by their feelings, not their logic. Give someone the most logical arguments - they won't agree. Tell them "but ya don't wanna be called stupid, do ya?", thus triggering their emotions rather their logic, and presto - they're on your side! I repeat what marketeers learn in their very first lesson: People buy only for sentimental reasons - period! So, let us present ideas here, but not become tempted in exchanging them; we can't force-feed anyone... Just try to remember why you bought your cell phone or why you like the food you like... you may be able to cite some reasonably-sounding (at least to you!) arguments, yet the underlying truth is that this is what you simply like!... WHAT I'VE SEEN SO FAR 1. Alienware are best to be avoided. 2. Sony are overpriced and too proprietary. 3. Acer support site is totally unacceptable. 4. Hp/Compaq support site is pathetic. 5. Dell support site is acceptable. BEST PRACTICES I RECOMMEND 1. Choose a built-to-order, easily expandable laptop. 2. Buy a full Windows installation disc (oem). 3. Check out their support site before buying. WHAT I PERSONALLY LIKE (in case anyone cares) Fujitsu-Siemens Celsius H series Specs: 1. Windows® Vista, XP Professional and Linux (certified for RedHat and Novell Linux) 2. Intel® 945PM Express motherboard, Intel® Core™ Duo Processors T2300, T2400, T2500, T2600, 667 MHz System Bus, 2MB Second-level cache, Memory max. 4 GByte, dual-channel DDR2-667 SDRAM. 3. Floppy disk drive (USB) is optional. 4. Optical drives DVD-ROM, CD RW/DVD combo, DVD+-R / +-RW DL. 5. Hard disks you can have totally two SATA up to 100GB @ 7200 rpm or 120GB @ 5400 rpm. 6. Slots: 1 x PC-Card type II, 1 x Express Card, 1 x SmartCard, 1 x SD/MMC. 7. Interface: 1 x IrDa V1.1, 4 x USB 2.0, 1 x IEEE 1394, 1 x microphone in, 1 x combined headphone / S/PDIF out, 1 x modem, 1 x LAN, 1 x TV-out, 1 x docking connector for PortReplicator, 1 x VGA. 8. Display / Resolution 15.4 inch TFT WUXGA, 1920 x 1200 9. Graphic: ATI Mobility FireGL V5200, PCI-Express 10. Video RAM: 256MB, GDDR3 11. Audio: ALC262, HDA 12. Modem: Built-in V.90 international modem 13. LAN: Broadcom BCM 5751M, Built-in 10/100/1000 Mbit/s Ethernet (WLAN optional) 14. Weight: approx. 3.2 kg 15. Battery: 1st Li-Ion, 8 cells, 14.4V, 5200mAh - 2nd Li-Ion, 6 cells, 10.8V, 3800mAh 16. Options: 2nd HDD, optical drives, 2nd battery, BlueTooth, WLAN. Careful, though! If you look it up in Fujitsu-Siemens' e-shop, you WON'T find it under laptops; it's listed under Workstations (for obvious reasons ). Actually, F-S calls this beauty a Desktop (!!!) Corporate PC. A very-decent-spec one is at £ 1,255.89 ex VAT (£ 1,475.67 inc VAT) and this price includes WinXP Pro. See it here. WHY? (RATIONALIZATION FOLLOWS) It's an exceptionally superb computer that moreover happens to be a not-so-heavy laptop! It is truly a series of business-spec models and NOT consumer-type ones. Thus the level of built-quality, dependability, stability, overall system integration and customer service for a Celcius is in another galaxy, compared to a typical Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo or whatever other laptop, targeted to the consumer market. Plus I never play Games so I never bother to have the "games playability" in my priority list - when dependability is numero uno! I can have 3-D apps running when making a presentation to a customer. Plus, it simply seriously kicks you know what... __________________ "Time is the wisest because it discovers everything" Thales of Miletus (ca.624BC-ca.546BC) "Everything flows, nothing stands still." Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca.535BC-475BC) "One thing I know, that I know nothing" Socrates of Athens (ca.470BC–399BC)

08-20-2006, 02:49 AM	#44 (permalink)
Zazula Manager Emeritus, I'm blond, James Blond Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 7,644 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	What I mean... What I mean with my previous post is nicely shown through this: Yesterday I was looking at a new laptop from the biggest BTO OEM in Greece. Specs: AMD TURION MT-37 2,0AGhz 1Mb / 2 x 512Mb RAM SO-DIMM DDR PC3200 / TOSHIBA HDD 100 GB 5.400 RPM / 19'' Wide Glare Type Screen 1680x1050 / Dual nVidia GO 7800 GTX / 2 x 256 GDDR III / DVD±RW Double layer / AZALIA 5.1 DIGITAL AC3 / Virtual surround 2.1 speakers / IEEE 1394, Lan, IrDA, Modem 56k / TV-out x 1, Microphone x 1, S-video x 1, USB x 4, PCMCIA x 1, Headphones x 1, Card Reader 5 in 1, Camera / Li-Ion 8 cell, 2 hrs autonomy / 3.10 kgr Price: 2,799 euros (incl. VAT and Windows XP Home) As soon as I saw AMD+nVidia I said "forget 'bout it"... Plus to me it had "gamer" written all over it and I simply turned my back. Is this reasonable? Of course not. Still, it's what's happening with all users... __________________ "Time is the wisest because it discovers everything" Thales of Miletus (ca.624BC-ca.546BC) "Everything flows, nothing stands still." Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca.535BC-475BC) "One thing I know, that I know nothing" Socrates of Athens (ca.470BC–399BC)

08-20-2006, 08:10 AM	#45 (permalink)
Fox Moderator, Microsoft Support Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NJ Posts: 7,617 OS: XP Pro, CentOS My System	Plus, that price is outrageous. My acer's pretty close to those specs, and better in some areas, and is only a third of the price. Of course, there are other factors to take into account, but I would write that one off instantly just because of the price. __________________ Antec Neo Power 500W- $35, ABIT IP35-E- $65, Intel E2180@2.66Ghz- $83, Corsair XMS2 2x1GB DDR2-800- $25, PNY 8800GT $160-25, 320GB Seagate- $65, Total: $419 * lazy college student alert *- If I've inadvertently ignored a thread, please Let me know about it Have I helped you solve your problem? Donate to Techsupportforums Klart Skepp!

08-20-2006, 10:12 AM	#46 (permalink)
Zazula Manager Emeritus, I'm blond, James Blond Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 7,644 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	Fox, are you sure about that? The notebook on my second post has a 19" screen (like Aspire 9800), yet it has Dual nVidia GO 7800 GTX / 2 x 256 GDDR III... I mean, I know people who would kill to get this, and just used it as an example that I still prefer my original pick (Celcius H). __________________ "Time is the wisest because it discovers everything" Thales of Miletus (ca.624BC-ca.546BC) "Everything flows, nothing stands still." Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca.535BC-475BC) "One thing I know, that I know nothing" Socrates of Athens (ca.470BC–399BC)

08-11-2006, 01:22 AM	#42 (permalink)
minster9 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 168 OS: windows 2000	Hi all,don't you wish you had in todays' dollars what those old laptops cost new? A person couldn't possibly imagine how many orders of magnitude speed & memory have become commenplace now. I used to read years ago about R&D in computers in general & never would have imagined how far along they've come. To be honest,I was skeptical of what they thought they could achieve. Now we have talk of optical,nano,magnetic,superstring[just kidding] processes. Brian Twigley,I'm gonna keep my old CF-45 Toughbook w/233mh & 128ram! It's like new to be 9 yrs old,except I'm gonna try try to cram a 40gb hd into it. The OEM 2gb just ain't enough. Great site,TSF!

08-20-2006, 02:51 PM	#48 (permalink)
Fox Moderator, Microsoft Support Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NJ Posts: 7,617 OS: XP Pro, CentOS My System	Haha Joe, thanks. I suppose it has good video, but only a gig of ram and only a 5400RPM 100GB hard drive, and XP Home? Please. When you're spending three and a half grand on a machine, those are some pretty serious compromises. __________________ Antec Neo Power 500W- $35, ABIT IP35-E- $65, Intel E2180@2.66Ghz- $83, Corsair XMS2 2x1GB DDR2-800- $25, PNY 8800GT $160-25, 320GB Seagate- $65, Total: $419 * lazy college student alert *- If I've inadvertently ignored a thread, please Let me know about it Have I helped you solve your problem? Donate to Techsupportforums Klart Skepp!

08-21-2006, 06:30 AM	#50 (permalink)
Joefireline Enthusiastic TSFer~Joseph Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Portishead (Bristol) England Posts: 5,314 OS: XP Pro SP2(Desktop) / XP Home SP2(laptop) My System	Well, I am sure next time I buy, Acer will suit my needs perfectly again... I would probably be doing the same sort of things, just with a bit more power, so yeah. __________________ - Joseph LAPTOP: Acer Aspire 5512WMLi (Specification) OPTIMIZE XP BEFORE POSTING HJT LOG - POST HJT LOG >>HERE<< If TSF has helped you, please help TSF: Please DONATE

09-02-2006, 08:20 AM	#51 (permalink)
evo_y2k Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Doncaster, uk Posts: 20 OS: XP, Vista My System	My laptop is a dell inspiron 1300, when i first got it i noticed a rattlling in/around the dvd drive, i asked dell to come ond collect it coz it pissed me off something crazy, i told them i work nights and to come on the date i stated. and of course theu didnt, they missed me on 5 ocations, and now the warranty has run out.:( never mind, the laptop is brill thou:)

09-04-2006, 09:50 AM	#52 (permalink)
laboye TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Hollywood, FL Posts: 1,246 OS: Windows xp Pro/Vista Beta 2/Ubuntu 6.06 LTS My System	I have what I need for a laptop. It was free (as are all my laptops), so I'm satisfied. It's a Toshiba Satellite 1400-S151 at 1.2GHz with 768 MB of RAM. CD-RW/DVD-ROM, WiFi. RAMs expandable to 1GB. The only weakness is the 16MB of VRAM on a Trident adapter. But I'm not touching gaming on this thing, gaming's reserved for my rig This is my 777th post. Woot! __________________ Repair Windows XP Guide --- Resolutions Crazy Computer that I'm saving up for::Antec P180 Case;PC Pwr&Cooling 1kW Quad SLI PSU;Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe;Intel Core2 XE X6800;Corsair TWIN2XP2048 2GB PC2-6400 DDR2 RAM;2xAsus GeForce 7950 GX2;BFG PhysX Accel.;IBM DVD-RAM/Plextor DVD±RW;Seagate 750GB HD 7200RPM;WDX 150GB 10000RPM;Vigor Monsoon TEC Cooler Last edited by laboye : 09-04-2006 at 09:55 AM.

09-04-2006, 07:38 PM	#53 (permalink)
TheMatt Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,615 OS: Windows 3.1, 98, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	When I picked out my laptop I had a choice between my current setup and a toshiba with a celeron. I logicly went for this. Note that when I bought this, it had only 512 MB of some generic RAM, but it was better than the alternitive. I am in high school, so I am on a budget. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

09-12-2006, 04:08 PM	#54 (permalink)
Flaxon Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Pacific NW Posts: 36 OS: Windows XP SP2	Well, I haven't had much experience with laptops, nearly none, in fact, but I recently bought an Acer Aspire 5000. For $500, you get : • AMD Turion 64 ML-32 1.8 • 15.4" WXGA display • 512MB of DDR memory • 80GB hard drive • Double-layer DVD drive • Three USB 2.0 ports It also has built-in WiFi 802.11 g/b, and a DVD±RW drive. The primary downside I've encountered so far: the video card, which is a SiS integrated card. Obviously, I'm going to have to upgrade the memory, since the video and the CPU are sharing. Not only that, as far as I can tell, it doesn't support 64 bit graphics. So far, it's great for running Mechwarrior4: Mercenaries and Counter-Strike 1.6, but I wasn't able to get Far-Cry or even Splinter Cell: Pandora Tommorow to run on it. Not a bad deal, for the $500 I paid for it. Circuit city is selling it for $650, and had a $150 rebate going, but I'm thinking that rebate is over with. Overall, though, I got a pretty good laptop that can do everything I really wanted to do with it: Play music, video, and quickly load PDF's of my D&D3.5 books. Last edited by Flaxon : 09-12-2006 at 04:09 PM.

09-12-2006, 05:56 PM	#55 (permalink)
ebackhus Asst. Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 12,378 OS: WinXP Pro SP2b My System Blog Entries: 16