Anyone got thoughts on Laptops at the moment?

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Anyone got thoughts on Laptops at the moment?

spacecake799

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#20980 11-Apr-2008 16:49

Hi,

A friend of mine just asked me that question "which is the best laptop to buy"
A shop has just told them to buy some hefty priced IBM - but I'm not so sure.........
I have told them to budget 1200 dollars ish then get specs from everywhere to see what that gets them.
Does anyone have any thoughts or has anyone bought anything recently for around this budget?

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#122894 11-Apr-2008 17:00

One would need at least a 2GB RAM to run vista+ office 2007 these days, that's my only advise at the moment without having to go shopping myself.

freitasm

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#122897 11-Apr-2008 17:03

On a $1200 budget you should get some good laptop for home use - don't expect it to be too flashy though - I wouldn't expect it to be ideal for gaming, etc.

A good desktop replacement laptop will cost upwards to $4000 and be a tad heavy to be considered "portable" but still could be easily moved around the house and of course taken on a trip (providing you don't carry it all the time).

DSE will have some good laptops in the $1200 range - but as I said not desktop replacement stuff.

chakkaradeep

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#122903 11-Apr-2008 17:42

spacecake799: Hi,

A friend of mine just asked me that question "which is the best laptop to buy"
A shop has just told them to buy some hefty priced IBM - but I'm not so sure.........
I have told them to budget 1200 dollars ish then get specs from everywhere to see what that gets them.
Does anyone have any thoughts or has anyone bought anything recently for around this budget?

******If you can increase your budget******
Look no further than Macbook
******If you can increase your budget******

******For your budget******
Look no further than Dell
******For your budget******

Regards,
Chaks

Desktop : Intel Quad Core Q9400 2.66GHz - 8GB RAM - 500 GB + 500 GB HDD - NVidia GeForce 9800GT - LG246WH Flatron Display - Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise with Hyper-V
Virtual Machine : Powered by Hyper-V and VMWare Workstation
Laptop: HP dv7-3004TX Entertainment Notebook PC | HP Touchsmart tx2 1119au - Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Mac: iMac 21.5" Snow Leopard
Mobile : iPhone 3GS

tonyhughes

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#122925 11-Apr-2008 19:15

Current Dells are the most hideous creations to grace this planet.

Macbook for $2000 budget, $1100 Compaq + upgrade to 2GB RAM for your $1200 budget.

Neither will be much chop for gaming.

alasta

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#122939 11-Apr-2008 20:16

tonyhughes: Current Dells are the most hideous creations to grace this planet.

I reckon my Inspiron 1520 looks okay. It's a bit heavy and bulky but it's nicely finished and looks cool in red.

Still, if I were buying today I'd probably go for a Sony Vaio because they look uber cool.

heavenlywild

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#122941 11-Apr-2008 20:26

I guess this still is related to the topic: has anyone bought anything from NFC technology based in Auckland? Their notebook prices are fairly good (up to 15% cheaper than other online shops in NZ). I wonder if the lower prices mean poor service.

muppet

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#122944 11-Apr-2008 20:37

Totally biased advice, but I recently bought a XPS M1330 (Dell) and I love it. It's not huge, it's quite light and it has great performance.

Audiophiles are such twits! They buy such pointless stuff: Gold plated cables, $2000 power cords. Idiots.

OOOHHHH HYPERFIBRE!

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andysh

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#122948 11-Apr-2008 20:59

I got a dell XPS M1210 (the old model) I know it not the best looker around, but I think you getting pretty good performance for your dollar, and I have have experience with their customer service team and I thnik its great.

Referrals:

Tesla: https://ts.la/andrew897313

Sharesies: https://sharesies.com/r/XRGS77

Batman

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#122952 11-Apr-2008 21:34

someone is selling the acer aspect for $1100. i think it's noel leeming or something

has everything you'd need - home premium, 2gb ram, tonnes of hdd, intel core duo, even has built in webcam ... but i have no experience with acer so - what do you guys think? all i can say is unless you buy the cheapest dell on special, stay away from other models - not worth your money.

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#122957 11-Apr-2008 21:51

woops just on telly just now - $1100 acer;s at bond bond till sunday

Simonm

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#122965 11-Apr-2008 22:21

There are a few around in that price range, my bet would be on a:

Presario V3744AU AMD Turion TL-58 14" BV 2GB 160GB DVDRW 802.11b/g 5 in 1 Card Reader Webcam Vista Premium Notebook

which is around 1200inc

Im typing this on my new HP 8710P, very very cool although getting used to the high res will take some time (17" 1650x1050)

mortonman

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#122976 11-Apr-2008 23:15

I picked up an acer aspire 5920G for 1300 at christmas after their 99 dollar cashback. Bond and bond had 20% off and i got Noell Leeming to price match so i got the fly buys. I have seen it on special occasionally at both of these shops since.

The chip is only core 2 duo 1.66GHz but it comes with 15.4" screen 2Gb memory and a 256Mb graphics card, it has great sound (currently watching the new season os spooks on it without the need for any external speakers) .

It also has draft n wireless if you want it.

Pretty good value. My last laptop was an acer as well. I have had a few issues but these are more software rather than hardware. If you can pick one up for 1400 at the shops go online and cliam the additional 99 dollars cash back. I found it had the same specs as the equivalent dell but i saved about 300 dollars over the dell.

I also see some places are selling a bluray drive version (Noel leeming)

I your mate can hang on one of the main retailers seems to have a 15-20% off sale every other week

spacecake799

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#126113 24-Apr-2008 13:10

Hi,

Thanks for everyone's input on my post, good to know what is about/going on.

Take It Easy

Matt.

pando

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Master Geek

#126141 24-Apr-2008 14:49

I do the shopping for my friends, one wanted the best so got him a:
Asus G2SG
T9500 Intel Penryn C2D 2.6
17.1 Screen
4GB RAM
8700M GT (512)
320 HDD
$3,500

Second for another just for business, thought this was good price:
Toshiba Tecra A9
T7700 Intel C2D2.4
2GB RAM
160GB SATA
15.4" ws
$1900

Cheapest decent one i've seen in 15.4" is:
Toshiba Sat Pro A200
C2D T5450 1.66GHz
2GB RAM
160 HDD
15.4" ws
$1190

heavenlywild

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#126150 24-Apr-2008 15:06

MrPink: I do the shopping for my friends, one wanted the best so got him a:
Asus G2SG
T9500 Intel Penryn C2D 2.6
17.1 Screen
4GB RAM
8700M GT (512)
320 HDD
$3,500

I wanted this one but when I saw the actual laptop at the shop, I decided against it. Great specs but very ugly design, in my opinion. Why a 17.1 inch screen? Not a widescreen at all.

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