New Laptop Advice Please!

chrism_scotland

chrism_scotland

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Having sold my Macbook as I need Windows for work!

I've been thinking about getting a new desktop PC and a netbook to complement it for when I'm out and about but I've just got a new job where I'm going to be living out of a hotel 3-4 days a week so I think a laptop would be the best option as I'm never going to be home!

But ideally I would like something that has a decent battery life but also is going to be ok for decent gaming, although mainly Football Manager and maybe Blu-Ray playback for videos, although a large HD would allow me to rip DVD's which would be fine.

I think 18" is going over the top in terms of size for something that I would be having to carry up and down from Edinburgh to London each work along with a work laptop!

I like the look of the Acer Aspire 3935 it seems to have everything but a dedicated GPU, although I guess an integrated GPU would be able to run older stuff, I'm not looking to play anything that recent, and in fact FM2009/2010 is likely to be the bulk of my gaming.

I reckon a 16" screen might be a nice mid range in terms of size for travelling, but its more for use in the hotel than on a plane or anything.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas on a decent laptop!
 
It seems you should have kept your macbook ;)! Could always have had dual boot... or Virtual box... I can't go back to windows now! Just had a quick look at the acer... it's about 750, you could get a nice refurb macbook pro from the macshop for that and just do the dual boot! That would be my choice.
 
IMHO you can't go wrong with dell. If you take out support with them you can deal with them online if anything ever goes wrong and you can't be bothered speaking to someone on the phone.

I just had a call out for a customers precision and they replaced the motherboard and gfx no problems. It was the 1st hardware issue in 1 week short of 3 years.

If I was you, I would either get a business machine with XP downgrade, or ensure that the Vista one can be upgraded free(postage charge) to Windows 7 when its available as this runs so much better than Vista.

I'm recommending it to all my customers.
 
i have a second hand Dell Latitude D830, cracking machine. Also, as they are the business ones you can do alsorts to them. I've already upgraded the CPU etc
 
Gaz81 said:
i have a second hand Dell Latitude D830, cracking machine. Also, as they are the business ones you can do alsorts to them. I've already upgraded the CPU etc
Click to expand...

the D8xx and D6xx series is a fantastic bit of kit. ive been using a D820 for the last year or so and had no issues what so ever (apart from it having to go back to dell under insurance after an unfortunate incident with an entire cup of coffee).

ive just had it swapped out for a new E6500... :naughty:
 
Yip, Dells warranty allows you to upgrade without causing it to be invalid.
 
I've also got a coffee story with a Latitude D820, after my wife knocked a full mug in to the one I donated her a couple of months ago. I was shocked as she picked it up and coffee poured out the vents. Shocked is an understatement.

Amazingly enough I dried it out for a few hours in front of a fan, and a brief stint in the oven at very, very low temperature and its been right as rain ever since. The only casualty was the left mousebutton for the nipple pointer (the other mouse buttons still work) and the volume up on the top of the keyboard

Needless to say, I won't be giving her another laptop. Fantastic machine though, even better with 64bit Core2Duo in it too!
 
Whats your budget. The Acer Aspire 6920g is a good machine. 16" screen, and comes with dedicated graphics. Not sure what the best card is it comes with anything is better than intels integrated offerings if you want to game!!!!
 
kwiksand said:
I've also got a coffee story with a Latitude D820, after my wife knocked a full mug in to the one I donated her a couple of months ago. I was shocked as she picked it up and coffee poured out the vents. Shocked is an understatement.

Amazingly enough I dried it out for a few hours in front of a fan, and a brief stint in the oven at very, very low temperature and its been right as rain ever since. The only casualty was the left mousebutton for the nipple pointer (the other mouse buttons still work) and the volume up on the top of the keyboard

Needless to say, I won't be giving her another laptop. Fantastic machine though, even better with 64bit Core2Duo in it too!
Click to expand...

lol, my entire mug disapearred into mine. it was surprisingly absorbant.. luckily we have dell accidental cover and they replaced everything bar the screen, processor and memory lol
 
The Dell Studio XPS 16 is meant to have one of the best laptop screens around for watching movies etc. Although you have to make sure you select the RGBLED option.
 
kwiksand said:
I've also got a coffee story with a Latitude D820, after my wife knocked a full mug in to the one I donated her a couple of months ago. I was shocked as she picked it up and coffee poured out the vents. Shocked is an understatement.

Amazingly enough I dried it out for a few hours in front of a fan, and a brief stint in the oven at very, very low temperature and its been right as rain ever since. The only casualty was the left mousebutton for the nipple pointer (the other mouse buttons still work) and the volume up on the top of the keyboard

Needless to say, I won't be giving her another laptop. Fantastic machine though, even better with 64bit Core2Duo in it too!
Click to expand...

Try keeping her off the coffee!

I had a coffee incident with a laptop too. It led to massive hassles. I sent it back to Acer for a repair, and they said it just needed a new keyboard. Fine! Not too expensive!

Trouble is , they wiped the entire hard disc as well.

I'd taken the precaution of asking a local computer shop to do a complete backup for me before I sent it, but unfortunately they didn't do it all. Several days worth of work re-entering my business accounts later, I was back to speed!

Putting yours in the oven, though? :eek:
 
I'll second the Studio XPS 16, got a couple here at the office, very nice looking machines. I can't help but thing think they feel a bit cheap (build quality) compared to the old aluminium topped XPS 1530's though.

Lovely machine.

As for the laptop in the oven, I've used this technique a few times now, 30-40 degrees (as in just on) with the fan going seems to make short work of any moisture. I've used this technique on phones, laptops and a few others.

Never quite as good as getting the parts replaced, or taken apart and dried cleaned properly (in the case that there is no damage).

I still can't believe the D820 is still going though, I almost burst a blood vessel when she dropped the coffee on/in it, but low and behold, its a trooper.
 
jerry12953 said:
Chrism,

Looks like the best advice this thread can offer you is -

"don't spill coffee on your laptop" (when you get it)
Click to expand...

I'm fortunate enough not to have spilt any liquids myself, but i do have an awful habit of beating my daily use laptop(s) far too much and they seldom last longer than a year or 18 months. This work laptop (XPS 1530) is literally falling apart on every corner. Still going strong though!
 
Thanks folks, I had considered the Dell XPS 16 but from what I've read it runs very hot if its being used intensively, it also seems to be quite a bit more expensive than comparable laptops from other brands.
I have noticed the Acer 6920 and 6930 ranges which seem nicely specced and priced, that said I played with a 6930 in carphone warehouse and it felt very cheap and breakable!
I think I am actually going to plump for a Hewlett Packard model, they seem well built, specced and I get discount via my work, the DV6 or DV7 range seems excellent!
 
I was looking at laptops since I will be getting one soon, and the Asus range is really good. The 15" range is good value for money and will cover everything you said. What is your budget?
 
I would suggest this one then.


Windows 7 is coming out soon (Oct 22nd), if it is to long to wait then you might want to check what OS upgrade options will be availible if you buy now. Thats if you even want 7.
 
Im going for Acer 5810T from timeline range.
1inch thick...2kg weight..ideal if you need laptop on the move ;D
I would opt for 4810T but this model is not in UK at the moment ..strange heh...
 
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