Need a compact portable laptop about 12-13' & upto/around $2000

fatjoez

153 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

#27123 15-Oct-2008 10:44

Hiya
need some advice.
Looking for a decent laptop for windows vista(don't care if it comes with xp, ill install vista myself), microsoft office, web surfing

I want something around 12-13" Wide as I'd like it to be compact/portable,and am looking to spend up to / around $2000, less is always great...
HP business series as far as I've been told is pretty solid and I was looking at this model

HP 2510p Core 2 Duo U7600 1GB 80 DVDRW 12.1" XPPro
Intel Core 2 Duo U7600 1.2GHz 12.1" Wide WXGA 1280
x800 1GB 80GB 4200rpm DVDRW SM DL Intel 802.11abgn
XPPro Notebook

Can anyone suggest some other good options for me

Viddy

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#171241 15-Oct-2008 11:10

I had much the same requirements a few months ago, and ended up with a 13.3" MacBook, and am reasonably happy with it.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Mac fanboy - I don't use OSX, except to update the firmware. My OS of choice is Ubuntu so ymmv, significantly :)

Its nice and small, doesn't have stupid bright blue LED's that distract me, and the keys are nice and not wiggly. The onboard sound doesn't have interference when the harddrive is seeking/writing, like my old Compac Evo did. Sound is also nice and crisp.
Battery life is usually a bit over than 3 hours.

Down side is that getting the whole triple boot thing going is a bit of a pain in the ass, but dual boot is reasonably well documented. Expect to loose an evening or two getting the other operating system(s) installed.

I've got a work provided copy of vista business running on it, and it comes up with a 3.5 score on the GUI measureing thing, and does the pretty vista aero thing.

Laptop goes in this http://store.apple.com/nz/product/TR243Z/A?n=13_inch_macbook&fnode=MTY1NDA2Ng&mco=MzEzOTM&s=topSellers bag, which goes in my work backpack. Works well, and protects the laptop really well.

There are new Macbooks out today, so there may be good deals on the old ones, and the new ones have some new pretty features :)

Wise

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fatjoez

153 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

#171249 15-Oct-2008 11:39

Oh right fair enough
Yeah i do like the styling of macs and actually own an ipod, but I just don't really wanna go through the process of installing vista etc on a mac and all that and would rather get a normal laptop
Another laptop I've found which I'm probably gonna get now is the HP Pavillion DV3110TX

2.0 GHz Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor
320GB 5400RPM
2GB DDR2 (2 Dimm)
13.3" WXGA High Definition BrightView
Super Multi 8X DVD±RW with Double Layer
Windows® Vista Home Premium
NVIDIA® GeForce 8400M GS with 256MB dedicated video memory
Intel® PRO/Wireless 802.11a/g/n; Bluetooth; Integrated 10/100 EthernetLAN
ExpressCard/54 slot

Looks like the one for me.

ashtonaut

614 posts

Ultimate Geek

#171396 16-Oct-2008 01:03

I have (and thoroughly reccommend) the 13.3" Dell Vostro 1310. Cheap, comes with Vista/XP, customisable configuration, good balance between portability and performance.

fatjoez

153 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

#171637 16-Oct-2008 19:46

Sigh.. I wish my laptop had a slot load drive
So i bought that HP Pavilion and it turns out the DVD Drive / lid is a bit loose.As in, when closed. it doesn't line up fully with the corner of the laptop and sticks out a little bit
I can sort of wiggle it a little to put it one way

Just wondering... is this grounds for a return?