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Laptop Recommendation - Help?!

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in General Chat
Hello everyone,

Hope you're all well and can help me out! I've become extremely busy and reliant on my laptop - an Acer Aspire 5630. It's been fine for the 3 years I've had it but increasingly seems to be mucking up and I feel like I need a decent laptop to get me through my teacher training. The Acer is falling apart - the harddrive crashed forcing me to lose everything and having to buy a new one. Now the cable won't stay in the back and the battery life is down to 10 minutes (!).

So I've been looking at Dell laptops because they've had a lot of sales on recently but I don't know what I'm looking at in terms of graphics cards/processors.

My minimum based on my laptop and what it's lacking is gonna be;

3 GB RAM + though if I'm able to add more ram, I might steal from my current laptop for one with lesser RAM.

2.0Ghz processor

Vista

17" screen

I've been looking at Macbooks but I worry about their compatibility with the places I'm working so I'm hoping normal.

Budget - £399 - £599. I'm doing via credit card and am able to afford more but if I can get a good machine within that range than I'll be happy. I just want one that is gonna slow down.I like running music/movies etc... off it.

If someone can explain video cards and what I should be look out in terms of processors I would be awfully pleased! :) Thanks in advance!

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well first off no point going for 3plus gig of ram unless you run a 64bit operating system as 32bit OS's cant make use of more than 3gig.

    depending on your budget, Dell is always a good shout, pricey but you can make your own laptop on their website.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks for that; I looked up the Dell spec I've been sorta using to guage what I might be looking at and their 4GB ram laptops coming with vista 64 bit. I just don't understand the different processor types such as Intel celeron/pentium/core/dual-core/duo processor T4300/P7450...all that stuff doesn't mean a lot to me!

    My current one is Pentium core2 CPU T5500 @ 1.66gz. I'm guessing I want to move up from there!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The "T####" processors are OEM only. You can't buy them retail, as in from other online stores. Ideally you'll want to get a Dual-core. All that means is you have 1 processor, but the power of 2. Quad-core is 4. etc. In terms of other processors, you can take a look at AMD, there is more than just Intel. It just depends entirely on what you need compared to want and getting the most for your buck. (Also don't get a Macbook.)

    To give an idea, what programs will you be running often, and at the same time? How pushed is your current laptop (Processor always maxed? RAM?) What is the main use going to be? Work, home, school, gaming?

    And the graphics in laptops are usually shit for a good reason, it's a laptop. They can only have chips, not physical cards. If you want one for gaming, don't get a laptop unless it's like an Alienware or something. Desktops are always the better choice.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    europc.co.uk really cheap cos their taking dell/hp/acer's surplus units at a discount and reselling them to keep dell/hp/acer's sales figures up. and also being awesome doing it :) nearly all the units have extended warranty for no extra cost.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    HAve a look at their business line, the Vostro. You get a years on-site warranty as standard. Think I paid ~£320 for the 1700, 17" WUXGA 1920x1200 screen, 1gb, and a 2ghz Celeron CPU 18 months ago. And I got ~£60 back for handing Windows back to them...

    I notice no difference in everyday use between that CPU and my 3.6ghz dual-core, but more memory would make a difference.

    For everyday stuff, Intel graphics cards are fine. For playing games, you'd want something else...
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Actually, scratch that. They don't have the on-site warranty as standard any more, and don't seem like nearly as good value.

    Mine was £374 delivered, with an on-site warranty for the first year. 2ghz Celeron(can swap to anything socket P), 1gb, 120gb, DVD writer, Intel WiFi, and the 1920x1200 WUXGA "TrueLife" screen. I also received £60 cashback when I returned Windows and Works, £16 cashback through Quidco. Effectively paid £300 for it, delivered...
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    This website might be of some use. I haven't looked though. This is where my dad got our pc from.

    PC Specialist/
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