New laptop advice - possibly windows 8 (or maybe android)

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › New laptop advice - possibly windows 8 (or maybe android)

beastman

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#111261 29-Oct-2012 01:48

I am in the UK but my brother lives in ChCh and hes needs some new kit. Hes no a power user/geek, just needs something good for web browsing and preferably media playback. I haven't a clue about product availability and prices/value in NZ so I was wondering if there are any good value laptops available (or likely to be available soon) over there so I can offer some decent recommendations for my bro. I guess with Windows 8 coming out theres a few people on here looking at buying something new now. If theres are cheap/discounted Windows 7 laptops that might be good option. Also he has an old desktop he is getting by with so he could opt for Android based machine instead if theres a compelling option.

thanks

gzt

17149 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#708973 30-Oct-2012 09:56

Getting anything with 2GB ram is pointless and will lead to early frustration and replacement.

4GB is a practical minimum for Windows 7/8 for good performance and usability with common applications and internet use. If you have to buy a 2GB machine - get the vendor to install another 2GB before shipping.

Some low end Intel processors support only 2GB of RAM maximum!! Really strange but true - it is a hardware requirement to get a cheap operating system license from Microsoft to hit the lower price points. Avoid.

beastman

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#709003 30-Oct-2012 10:30

gzt: Getting anything with 2GB ram is pointless and will lead to early frustration and replacement.

4GB is a practical minimum for Windows 7/8 for good performance and usability with common applications and internet use. If you have to buy a 2GB machine - get the vendor to install another 2GB before shipping.

Some low end Intel processors support only 2GB of RAM maximum!! Really strange but true - it is a hardware requirement to get a cheap operating system license from Microsoft to hit the lower price points. Avoid.

thanks man but thats kind of elementary advice re specs. RAM is do cheap nowadays (well it is in the UK) that anything less than 4GB is taking the piss. I was after specific recommended machines that my bro can buy in the shops that represent good value.

gzt

17149 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#709045 30-Oct-2012 11:26

That's good - Personally I didn't know about the limitation on some Intel atom procs until it came up on geekzone a couple of weeks ago.

sidefx

3712 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#709055 30-Oct-2012 11:35

Not too sure how reliable the rank is on pricespy in reality, but I tend to use it as a starting point to narrow down choices like this before looking at proper reviews to make the final decision. Here it is for laptops in NZ:

http://pricespy.co.nz/category.php?k=353

Similar thing on geekzone shopping:

https://price.geekzone.co.nz/Catalog.aspx?cid=7

EDIT: Actually you could also just do the reverse, which I more often do: Find good product\reviews on international sites (anandtech, etc) or locally in the UK there, then just check the NZ pricing and avialablity through something like pricespy or GZ shopping.

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

beastman

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#709095 30-Oct-2012 12:48

gzt: That's good - Personally I didn't know about the limitation on some Intel atom procs until it came up on geekzone a couple of weeks ago.

To be honest neither did I! I did know though that getting 2GB RAM on a windows laptop would be a mighty bad move.

dman

953 posts

Ultimate Geek

#709966 31-Oct-2012 17:03

He sounds like a perfect candidate for a Chromebook.

See what I wrote about it in the other thread:
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=37&topicid=111342&page_no=1#709956#709956

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding

beastman

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#710024 31-Oct-2012 19:03

dman: He sounds like a perfect candidate for a Chromebook.

See what I wrote about it in the other thread:
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=37&topicid=111342&page_no=1#709956#709956

I looked at this when the first ones came out and I know the newer ones are higher specced they are still lackimng somewhat regarding local storage. Nice idea though but a laptop with 500gb or more storage for media playback is more viable I think for him, having to avoid plugging in external drives alot ( I am assunming here that Chromebook can playback HD films ok).
Having said that if the NZ prices were similar to the USA prices it coould be a tempting proposition as long as media playback is smooth.