crimson5pheonix: Eggo and I were starting to talk about notebooks on a different thread and I can already see an argument brewing and I didn't want to hijack the thread (for once), so here we can all share in the pain.
For those who don't know, a netbook is a small underpowered notebook with outstanding battery life and portability.
Holy hijackers, Batman! Crim isn't stealing a thread? Anyways, I would say it depends on what you're doing. If you're taking notes in class, then I would recommend Netbook. If you're doing more processor-intensive stuff, notebook is the obvious choice.
I was waiting for you to come along. This was bound to happen.
Yep. And now this thread will never be the same. It seems like any time I post in the same thread as you, it goes completely off track. Although, does it count as derailment if it's your own thread?
Mr.Pandah: Haha I knew it! Bastard =P I knew I was too gullible to meddle amongst the ranks of youz guyz.
Don't worry. Crim screws with people all the time.
There really isn't any derailment in this thread, even saying this isn't derailment.
And I don't screw with people ALL the time, only when I'm bored.
So this thread can't be derailed? Is that what you're saying? Even if it derails to be a thread about us derailing threads?
crimson5pheonix: Eggo and I were starting to talk about notebooks on a different thread and I can already see an argument brewing and I didn't want to hijack the thread (for once), so here we can all share in the pain.
For those who don't know, a netbook is a small underpowered notebook with outstanding battery life and portability.
Holy hijackers, Batman! Crim isn't stealing a thread? Anyways, I would say it depends on what you're doing. If you're taking notes in class, then I would recommend Netbook. If you're doing more processor-intensive stuff, notebook is the obvious choice.
I was waiting for you to come along. This was bound to happen.
Yep. And now this thread will never be the same. It seems like any time I post in the same thread as you, it goes completely off track. Although, does it count as derailment if it's your own thread?
Mr.Pandah: Haha I knew it! Bastard =P I knew I was too gullible to meddle amongst the ranks of youz guyz.
Don't worry. Crim screws with people all the time.
There really isn't any derailment in this thread, even saying this isn't derailment.
And I don't screw with people ALL the time, only when I'm bored.
So this thread can't be derailed? Is that what you're saying? Even if it derails to be a thread about us derailing threads?
crimson5pheonix: Eggo and I were starting to talk about notebooks on a different thread and I can already see an argument brewing and I didn't want to hijack the thread (for once), so here we can all share in the pain.
For those who don't know, a netbook is a small underpowered notebook with outstanding battery life and portability.
Holy hijackers, Batman! Crim isn't stealing a thread? Anyways, I would say it depends on what you're doing. If you're taking notes in class, then I would recommend Netbook. If you're doing more processor-intensive stuff, notebook is the obvious choice.
I was waiting for you to come along. This was bound to happen.
Yep. And now this thread will never be the same. It seems like any time I post in the same thread as you, it goes completely off track. Although, does it count as derailment if it's your own thread?
Mr.Pandah: Haha I knew it! Bastard =P I knew I was too gullible to meddle amongst the ranks of youz guyz.
Don't worry. Crim screws with people all the time.
There really isn't any derailment in this thread, even saying this isn't derailment.
And I don't screw with people ALL the time, only when I'm bored.
So this thread can't be derailed? Is that what you're saying? Even if it derails to be a thread about us derailing threads?
crimson5pheonix: Eggo and I were starting to talk about notebooks on a different thread and I can already see an argument brewing and I didn't want to hijack the thread (for once), so here we can all share in the pain.
For those who don't know, a netbook is a small underpowered notebook with outstanding battery life and portability.
Holy hijackers, Batman! Crim isn't stealing a thread? Anyways, I would say it depends on what you're doing. If you're taking notes in class, then I would recommend Netbook. If you're doing more processor-intensive stuff, notebook is the obvious choice.
I was waiting for you to come along. This was bound to happen.
Yep. And now this thread will never be the same. It seems like any time I post in the same thread as you, it goes completely off track. Although, does it count as derailment if it's your own thread?
Mr.Pandah: Haha I knew it! Bastard =P I knew I was too gullible to meddle amongst the ranks of youz guyz.
Don't worry. Crim screws with people all the time.
There really isn't any derailment in this thread, even saying this isn't derailment.
And I don't screw with people ALL the time, only when I'm bored.
So this thread can't be derailed? Is that what you're saying? Even if it derails to be a thread about us derailing threads?
Yes. This thread is inderailable.
Well then, I suppose it's perfect for you.
Of course :D It also means I can make up new words and get away with it.
crimson5pheonix: Eggo and I were starting to talk about notebooks on a different thread and I can already see an argument brewing and I didn't want to hijack the thread (for once), so here we can all share in the pain.
For those who don't know, a netbook is a small underpowered notebook with outstanding battery life and portability.
Holy hijackers, Batman! Crim isn't stealing a thread? Anyways, I would say it depends on what you're doing. If you're taking notes in class, then I would recommend Netbook. If you're doing more processor-intensive stuff, notebook is the obvious choice.
I was waiting for you to come along. This was bound to happen.
Yep. And now this thread will never be the same. It seems like any time I post in the same thread as you, it goes completely off track. Although, does it count as derailment if it's your own thread?
Mr.Pandah: Haha I knew it! Bastard =P I knew I was too gullible to meddle amongst the ranks of youz guyz.
Don't worry. Crim screws with people all the time.
There really isn't any derailment in this thread, even saying this isn't derailment.
And I don't screw with people ALL the time, only when I'm bored.
So this thread can't be derailed? Is that what you're saying? Even if it derails to be a thread about us derailing threads?
Yes. This thread is inderailable.
Well then, I suppose it's perfect for you.
Of course :D It also means I can make up new words and get away with it.
crimson5pheonix: Eggo and I were starting to talk about notebooks on a different thread and I can already see an argument brewing and I didn't want to hijack the thread (for once), so here we can all share in the pain.
For those who don't know, a netbook is a small underpowered notebook with outstanding battery life and portability.
Holy hijackers, Batman! Crim isn't stealing a thread? Anyways, I would say it depends on what you're doing. If you're taking notes in class, then I would recommend Netbook. If you're doing more processor-intensive stuff, notebook is the obvious choice.
I was waiting for you to come along. This was bound to happen.
Yep. And now this thread will never be the same. It seems like any time I post in the same thread as you, it goes completely off track. Although, does it count as derailment if it's your own thread?
Mr.Pandah: Haha I knew it! Bastard =P I knew I was too gullible to meddle amongst the ranks of youz guyz.
Don't worry. Crim screws with people all the time.
There really isn't any derailment in this thread, even saying this isn't derailment.
And I don't screw with people ALL the time, only when I'm bored.
So this thread can't be derailed? Is that what you're saying? Even if it derails to be a thread about us derailing threads?
Yes. This thread is inderailable.
Well then, I suppose it's perfect for you.
Of course :D It also means I can make up new words and get away with it.
crimson5pheonix: Eggo and I were starting to talk about notebooks on a different thread and I can already see an argument brewing and I didn't want to hijack the thread (for once), so here we can all share in the pain.
For those who don't know, a netbook is a small underpowered notebook with outstanding battery life and portability.
Holy hijackers, Batman! Crim isn't stealing a thread? Anyways, I would say it depends on what you're doing. If you're taking notes in class, then I would recommend Netbook. If you're doing more processor-intensive stuff, notebook is the obvious choice.
I was waiting for you to come along. This was bound to happen.
Yep. And now this thread will never be the same. It seems like any time I post in the same thread as you, it goes completely off track. Although, does it count as derailment if it's your own thread?
Mr.Pandah: Haha I knew it! Bastard =P I knew I was too gullible to meddle amongst the ranks of youz guyz.
Don't worry. Crim screws with people all the time.
There really isn't any derailment in this thread, even saying this isn't derailment.
And I don't screw with people ALL the time, only when I'm bored.
So this thread can't be derailed? Is that what you're saying? Even if it derails to be a thread about us derailing threads?
Yes. This thread is inderailable.
Well then, I suppose it's perfect for you.
Of course :D It also means I can make up new words and get away with it.
crimson5pheonix: Eggo and I were starting to talk about notebooks on a different thread and I can already see an argument brewing and I didn't want to hijack the thread (for once), so here we can all share in the pain.
For those who don't know, a netbook is a small underpowered notebook with outstanding battery life and portability.
Holy hijackers, Batman! Crim isn't stealing a thread? Anyways, I would say it depends on what you're doing. If you're taking notes in class, then I would recommend Netbook. If you're doing more processor-intensive stuff, notebook is the obvious choice.
I was waiting for you to come along. This was bound to happen.
Yep. And now this thread will never be the same. It seems like any time I post in the same thread as you, it goes completely off track. Although, does it count as derailment if it's your own thread?
Mr.Pandah: Haha I knew it! Bastard =P I knew I was too gullible to meddle amongst the ranks of youz guyz.
Don't worry. Crim screws with people all the time.
There really isn't any derailment in this thread, even saying this isn't derailment.
And I don't screw with people ALL the time, only when I'm bored.
So this thread can't be derailed? Is that what you're saying? Even if it derails to be a thread about us derailing threads?
Yes. This thread is inderailable.
Well then, I suppose it's perfect for you.
Of course :D It also means I can make up new words and get away with it.
Alright folks, you heard Crim. This thread (his thread I may point out) is now unofficialy about derailment, until such point as someone returns us back to the original topic.
...WIll someone bring a tech question? I can't talk about derailment for long... I'm going ot go insane unless someone brings something up... Please... I'm desperate...
bet seriously the only thing a netbook is good for is word processing and maybe spread sheets and u have 2 be incredibly dull to only do that on a computer. besides notebooks are compact enough and can fit in a briefcase or backpack and far more powerful so just go with a notebook
Enh, all I really need in a travelin' computer is a terminal and a full-featured web browser. (A music player and an IM client are nice, too, but the browser can do both of those.)
I'm okay with not playing video games for a week if I can still have free and easy web access in a convenient package.
I'd much rather have a very convenient package rather than a somewhat convenient package. Especially if the very convenient package is also way cheaper.
Lets see here..... Im looking to spend around $1800NZD ($1000 or so USD) on a Notebook for school next year. I already have a fair idea what i am gonna get (Asus: Duel core 2.66GHz, 4GB RAM, 1GB Graphics, 2x 320GB HDD) but i feel like getting your advice. So advice please! There, good.... un-derailment question?
ameatypie: Lets see here..... Im looking to spend around $1800NZD ($1000 or so USD) on a Notebook for school next year. I already have a fair idea what i am gonna get (Asus: Duel core 2.66GHz, 4GB RAM, 1GB Graphics, 2x 320GB HDD) but i feel like getting your advice. So advice please! There, good.... un-derailment question?
NZ prices are probably much higher than the US, so I can't say whether the notebook is a bargain or not. I live in Asia myself. Do you have a link for that notebook? It seems alright (It's probably overkill on the hard drives, though. Two hard drives for a notebook? That's double the juice you need to power two notebooks right there, which will definitely impact battery performance.) apart from the lack of a graphics card. I would opt to get a model with a single hard drive (320GB is ample and you can use an external drive or usb stick in the future) and use that money on a model with graphics card.
Even the CPU, which is 2.66GHz, is probably more than you really need. Most of today's visually demanding games are more GPU-bound anyhow so the only thing you lose with less CPU speed is a few seconds here and there for game loading times. Your average browsing activities and office application use will be unaffected. If you are going to use the notebook mainly on battery, keep in mind your CPU will normally be throttled down (underclocked) so that battery life is kept at a maximum which means you will rarely fully utilize all that extra clock speed you paid extra money for.
For your reference, last month I bought my wife a 2GHz Core Duo notebook with 250GB HDD, 2GB 667MHz RAM, 1280x720 display, DVD burner, Wifi, Bluetooth, built-in webcam, Vista Basic and an ATI Radeon HD3470 for USD720 (plus as a bonus not one, but two backup utilities). It's no speed demon but it's responsive and snappy for web browsing and office productivity - just what the old lady needed - and I don't have any problems playing Source engine-based games on this notebook when she's not using it.
I've got an Eee 701. A netbook, I believe. I love it, even with my largish hands.
I would also point out it is absolutely brilliant for old DOS games (DarkSun! Colonization! How I've missed you!) and playing those backups of console games which you legally own.
Eggo: While a notebook is just a little less underpowered, but is substantially less portable and useful :p
If you can only have one computer, then I think a $1500-$2000 notebook would be the best choice for most people.
But if you can have two, I would pick a $500 netbook and a $1000-$1500 self-built desktop computer. That way, you can have the best of both worlds.
It depends on what you're using it for.
The laptop I'm getting (XPS m1530 by Dell) is essentially a gaming laptop, which is what I'll be using it for, but I'm also going to uni next year, so I'll be using it for that too. If you want a laptop suited for you, custom make one. None of this Netbook nonsense.
As a bit of consumer advice, i'd not buy any laptop for 'gaming'. That 8600 in the top of the range M1530 isn't the same as a desktop chip. It won't be close in performance, closer to 8300/8400. You might be able to play some older games, but certainly not much new.
We got a guy at work a M1330 for office work though, he needed a replacement quickly.
To be honest, i'd rather bring a tower PC to a LAN. It's not like a few years ago, where people were lugging 20"+ CRTs. I'm tempted to get a 26" Monitor, even that is easy. Face flat against a seat, stick a pillow over the back and tie in with the seat belt, and tower wedged in a footwell. Without even using the boot.
crimson5pheonix: ...WIll someone bring a tech question? I can't talk about derailment for long... I'm going ot go insane unless someone brings something up... Please... I'm desperate...
Well there you go Crim. Problem solved. See what happens if you ask nicely?
Eggo: While a notebook is just a little less underpowered, but is substantially less portable and useful :p
If you can only have one computer, then I think a $1500-$2000 notebook would be the best choice for most people.
But if you can have two, I would pick a $500 netbook and a $1000-$1500 self-built desktop computer. That way, you can have the best of both worlds.
It depends on what you're using it for.
The laptop I'm getting (XPS m1530 by Dell) is essentially a gaming laptop, which is what I'll be using it for, but I'm also going to uni next year, so I'll be using it for that too. If you want a laptop suited for you, custom make one. None of this Netbook nonsense.
As a bit of consumer advice, i'd not buy any laptop for 'gaming'. That 8600 in the top of the range M1530 isn't the same as a desktop chip. It won't be close in performance, closer to 8300/8400. You might be able to play some older games, but certainly not much new.
We got a guy at work a M1330 for office work though, he needed a replacement quickly.
To be honest, i'd rather bring a tower PC to a LAN. It's not like a few years ago, where people were lugging 20"+ CRTs. I'm tempted to get a 26" Monitor, even that is easy. Face flat against a seat, stick a pillow over the back and tie in with the seat belt, and tower wedged in a footwell. Without even using the boot.
Even then, the problem is that the shock that hitting bumps causes on your computer can damage your computer. The parts in a computer were not intended to jostle around. My brother used his tower for LAN parties, and in a couple of months his graphics card literally shattered.
Hmm. I've always had enthusiast level equipment. Talking huge graphics cards, massive heatsinks. In a car with suspension that has... little give (great handling though)
As a precaution i've taken a heatsink off as i thought it might decide to work itself free, and it weighed over a kilo. And i've had one drive decide to lose its file system but that's it. But i have a very sturdy case with little flex so there is no way anything is coming free.
Few pre journey checks, everything should be fine in my experience. Then make sure everything is still plugged in at the other end.
My laptop, an old Toshiba notebook, hardly plays any games at all. But then, it was never intended to. It costs less than most contemporary netbooks, has more hard drive space and as much RAM as these netbooks, but has a larger screen.
I own a €250 Toshiba Tecra M1, with a 1.6GHz Pentium M processor, 256MB of RAM, 40GB of hard drive space, a 14" 4:3 screen, all running on Debian Linux 5.0 (Lenny). It can't even play Quake II, thanks to the obscure graphics processor, but it was meant entirely for internet surfing, word processing, SSH terminal work, programming in C/C++ and being able to claim that I'm not just one of those sheep who takes the operating system that came with my PC, complete with bloatware from the hardware manufacturers.
I didn't waste my time buying €900+ laptops from Dell or HP with dual-core processors, loads of RAM and rather poor versions of Windows Vista - which I've never liked anyway. I'd consider a €3,000 laptop, like that which is owned by the OP, a gross waste, and extremely underpowered for any games that I'd rely on my desktop for. That thing isn't going to max out Crysis, it isn't going to do much good at anything newer than that, and I spent three times less getting my desktop to work, with better specs than that.
What's more, I actually have devices which can do a lot of the tasks which I described above which fit into the palm of my hand. My Nokia E71 has an SSH client, word processor, a decent browser and more, while even my rather outdated Palm T|X has VNC and SSH capabilities, along with word processing, thanks to open-source programmers.
But the question was about whether notebooks or netbooks were better. Now, I like the idea of a netbook. Small, able to be carried about easily - I can't see why university students would want anything else for actual college work. I've tried lugging about my laptop through college - it's a gargantua compared to an ASUS Eee PC, not helped by the fact that I haven't been able to hack in a wireless connection to Trinity College's network. However, I'd rather have that larger screen and slightly lesser cost compared to a netbook, and so I chose notebook, less because I'd ever want it for games, and more because an old one can be picked up quite cheaply.
RAKtheUndead: But the question was about whether notebooks or netbooks were better. Now, I like the idea of a netbook. Small, able to be carried about easily - I can't see why university students would want anything else for actual college work. I've tried lugging about my laptop through college - it's a gargantua compared to an ASUS Eee PC, not helped by the fact that I haven't been able to hack in a wireless connection to Trinity College's network. However, I'd rather have that larger screen and slightly lesser cost compared to a netbook, and so I chose notebook, less because I'd ever want it for games, and more because an old one can be picked up quite cheaply.
Again, I can speak from both sides here. 2.5 of my 5 years total at uni, I carried with me a fairly large Acer Travelmate, and while I loved it dearly (and still do! Desk-bound though it now may be) it was a pain to lug, and required an investment in a whole new backpack complete with laptop area.
Not so the Eee. That thing I could practically carry on its own, or just chucked into a small backpack with its own carry-case around it for protection. It ran all the presentations my lecturers had, and while it wouldn't run all the software we needed to run, that's what uni lab computers are for.
The only failure of the Eee was that QUT's wireless network at the time was in the transition between exclusively VPN and exclusively PEAP-authenticated, with the VPN to be phased out very rapidly - and the VPN being the only method offered for Eee users to connect. And despite my efforts, I could never get wpa_supplicant to play nicely :(
RAKtheUndead: But the question was about whether notebooks or netbooks were better. Now, I like the idea of a netbook. Small, able to be carried about easily - I can't see why university students would want anything else for actual college work. I've tried lugging about my laptop through college - it's a gargantua compared to an ASUS Eee PC, not helped by the fact that I haven't been able to hack in a wireless connection to Trinity College's network. However, I'd rather have that larger screen and slightly lesser cost compared to a netbook, and so I chose notebook, less because I'd ever want it for games, and more because an old one can be picked up quite cheaply.
Again, I can speak from both sides here. 2.5 of my 5 years total at uni, I carried with me a fairly large Acer Travelmate, and while I loved it dearly (and still do! Desk-bound though it now may be) it was a pain to lug, and required an investment in a whole new backpack complete with laptop area.
Not so the Eee. That thing I could practically carry on its own, or just chucked into a small backpack with its own carry-case around it for protection. It ran all the presentations my lecturers had, and while it wouldn't run all the software we needed to run, that's what uni lab computers are for.
The only failure of the Eee was that QUT's wireless network at the time was in the transition between exclusively VPN and exclusively PEAP-authenticated, with the VPN to be phased out very rapidly - and the VPN being the only method offered for Eee users to connect. And despite my efforts, I could never get wpa_supplicant to play nicely :(
Portability was never a problem with mine. I already had a backpack left over from high school that had a laptop area-thing and weight means nothing to me. My backpack in high school after the first month, never went below 50lbs and I had to carry the thing down 2 flights of stairs in the morning and up 2 flights of stairs in the afternoon because it was the only way to get to my room.
RAKtheUndead: But the question was about whether notebooks or netbooks were better. Now, I like the idea of a netbook. Small, able to be carried about easily - I can't see why university students would want anything else for actual college work. I've tried lugging about my laptop through college - it's a gargantua compared to an ASUS Eee PC, not helped by the fact that I haven't been able to hack in a wireless connection to Trinity College's network. However, I'd rather have that larger screen and slightly lesser cost compared to a netbook, and so I chose notebook, less because I'd ever want it for games, and more because an old one can be picked up quite cheaply.
Again, I can speak from both sides here. 2.5 of my 5 years total at uni, I carried with me a fairly large Acer Travelmate, and while I loved it dearly (and still do! Desk-bound though it now may be) it was a pain to lug, and required an investment in a whole new backpack complete with laptop area.
Not so the Eee. That thing I could practically carry on its own, or just chucked into a small backpack with its own carry-case around it for protection. It ran all the presentations my lecturers had, and while it wouldn't run all the software we needed to run, that's what uni lab computers are for.
The only failure of the Eee was that QUT's wireless network at the time was in the transition between exclusively VPN and exclusively PEAP-authenticated, with the VPN to be phased out very rapidly - and the VPN being the only method offered for Eee users to connect. And despite my efforts, I could never get wpa_supplicant to play nicely :(
Portability was never a problem with mine. I already had a backpack left over from high school that had a laptop area-thing and weight means nothing to me. My backpack in high school after the first month, never went below 50lbs and I had to carry the thing down 2 flights of stairs in the morning and up 2 flights of stairs in the afternoon because it was the only way to get to my room.
Edit 50lbs=22.6796kg
Oh, I remember the problems I had with my bag at secondary school myself, my bag being a more reasonable 20lbs which I could run with, sometimes even at sprint pace. My bag's still heavy enough though, closer to 10-15lbs at the moment, and my problem is more related to size and awkwardness than sheer weight problems, because that addition of a laptop makes it somewhat difficult to do the things that I do, like running up stairs two at a time, jumping the last few stairs of a staircase, et cetera. It restricts my shoulder movement, which makes all the difference, sometimes.
Also, wpa_supplicant: Horrible. So many problems with it myself, which has led to me giving in and downloading a Debian wireless manager for KDE. I'll try again with my laptop soon, because I'm sick of having a laptop that I can't use at college, despite the facilities being available.
RAKtheUndead: But the question was about whether notebooks or netbooks were better. Now, I like the idea of a netbook. Small, able to be carried about easily - I can't see why university students would want anything else for actual college work. I've tried lugging about my laptop through college - it's a gargantua compared to an ASUS Eee PC, not helped by the fact that I haven't been able to hack in a wireless connection to Trinity College's network. However, I'd rather have that larger screen and slightly lesser cost compared to a netbook, and so I chose notebook, less because I'd ever want it for games, and more because an old one can be picked up quite cheaply.
Again, I can speak from both sides here. 2.5 of my 5 years total at uni, I carried with me a fairly large Acer Travelmate, and while I loved it dearly (and still do! Desk-bound though it now may be) it was a pain to lug, and required an investment in a whole new backpack complete with laptop area.
Not so the Eee. That thing I could practically carry on its own, or just chucked into a small backpack with its own carry-case around it for protection. It ran all the presentations my lecturers had, and while it wouldn't run all the software we needed to run, that's what uni lab computers are for.
The only failure of the Eee was that QUT's wireless network at the time was in the transition between exclusively VPN and exclusively PEAP-authenticated, with the VPN to be phased out very rapidly - and the VPN being the only method offered for Eee users to connect. And despite my efforts, I could never get wpa_supplicant to play nicely :(
Portability was never a problem with mine. I already had a backpack left over from high school that had a laptop area-thing and weight means nothing to me. My backpack in high school after the first month, never went below 50lbs and I had to carry the thing down 2 flights of stairs in the morning and up 2 flights of stairs in the afternoon because it was the only way to get to my room.
Edit 50lbs=22.6796kg
Oh, I remember the problems I had with my bag at secondary school myself, my bag being a more reasonable 20lbs which I could run with, sometimes even at sprint pace. My bag's still heavy enough though, closer to 10-15lbs at the moment, and my problem is more related to size and awkwardness than sheer weight problems, because that addition of a laptop makes it somewhat difficult to do the things that I do, like running up stairs two at a time, jumping the last few stairs of a staircase, et cetera. It restricts my shoulder movement, which makes all the difference, sometimes.
Also, wpa_supplicant: Horrible. So many problems with it myself, which has led to me giving in and downloading a Debian wireless manager for KDE. I'll try again with my laptop soon, because I'm sick of having a laptop that I can't use at college, despite the facilities being available.
Well that sucks. Because I don't have those kind of problems. I can climb stairs 3 at a time with my high school backpack on, I'm used to it. I could run at nearly full speed with it on. It doesn't affect me at all except I have to lean forward a little bit to keep my center of gravity right.
ameatypie: Lets see here..... Im looking to spend around $1800NZD ($1000 or so USD) on a Notebook for school next year. I already have a fair idea what i am gonna get (Asus: Duel core 2.66GHz, 4GB RAM, 1GB Graphics, 2x 320GB HDD) but i feel like getting your advice. So advice please! There, good.... un-derailment question?
Seems a bit overpowered for a school laptop. Are you going to be using this laptop for resource intensive applications like AutoCAD? If not then drop the graphics card. 4GB is excessive, but don't worry too much about that, it can be if you want it to be. Drop one of the hard drives. If you really need that much porn, you can get an external HDD and keep it in your room. Doing that will improve your battery life drastically.
NZ prices are probably much higher than the US, so I can't say whether the notebook is a bargain or not. I live in Asia myself. Do you have a link for that notebook? It seems alright (It's probably overkill on the hard drives, though. Two hard drives for a notebook? That's double the juice you need to power two notebooks right there, which will definitely impact battery performance.) apart from the lack of a graphics card. I would opt to get a model with a single hard drive (320GB is ample and you can use an external drive or usb stick in the future) and use that money on a model with graphics card.
It does have a graphics card - a beefy 1GB as well. I was very surprised when i saw that. But anyway - so go for a cheaper model with a single hard drive to save on the juice? Sounds like a good idea actually...
Even the CPU, which is 2.66GHz, is probably more than you really need. Most of today's visually demanding games are more GPU-bound anyhow so the only thing you lose with less CPU speed is a few seconds here and there for game loading times. Your average browsing activities and office application use will be unaffected. If you are going to use the notebook mainly on battery, keep in mind your CPU will normally be throttled down (underclocked) so that battery life is kept at a maximum which means you will rarely fully utilize all that extra clock speed you paid extra money for.
I plan to keep my CPU at its intended clock speed - battery life is important, but sacrificing 5 or even 10% of it for a slightly swifter laptop is worth it i think.
For your reference, last month I bought my wife a 2GHz Core Duo notebook with 250GB HDD, 2GB 667MHz RAM, 1280x720 display, DVD burner, Wifi, Bluetooth, built-in webcam, Vista Basic and an ATI Radeon HD3470 for USD720 (plus as a bonus not one, but two backup utilities). It's no speed demon but it's responsive and snappy for web browsing and office productivity - just what the old lady needed - and I don't have any problems playing Source engine-based games on this notebook when she's not using it.
Thats not too bad a laptop - although i think i would personally going for 4GB of ram in something like that. I find laptops with 2GB of RAM to still be a little sluggish.
ameatypie: Lets see here..... Im looking to spend around $1800NZD ($1000 or so USD) on a Notebook for school next year. I already have a fair idea what i am gonna get (Asus: Duel core 2.66GHz, 4GB RAM, 1GB Graphics, 2x 320GB HDD) but i feel like getting your advice. So advice please! There, good.... un-derailment question?
Seems a bit overpowered for a school laptop. Are you going to be using this laptop for resource intensive applications like AutoCAD? If not then drop the graphics card. 4GB is excessive, but don't worry too much about that, it can be if you want it to be. Drop one of the hard drives. If you really need that much porn, you can get an external HDD and keep it in your room. Doing that will improve your battery life drastically.
yep lol is a little overkill i guess - but i do plan to use it for gaming as well some. School is its primary application (I am 14 (not 24 as it says on my profile) and am going to a private boarding school next year. Will be away from home for up to 3 weeks at a time) But gaming is also a want. oh and btw - it's not for porn :D
ameatypie: Lets see here..... Im looking to spend around $1800NZD ($1000 or so USD) on a Notebook for school next year. I already have a fair idea what i am gonna get (Asus: Duel core 2.66GHz, 4GB RAM, 1GB Graphics, 2x 320GB HDD) but i feel like getting your advice. So advice please! There, good.... un-derailment question?
Seems a bit overpowered for a school laptop. Are you going to be using this laptop for resource intensive applications like AutoCAD? If not then drop the graphics card. 4GB is excessive, but don't worry too much about that, it can be if you want it to be. Drop one of the hard drives. If you really need that much porn, you can get an external HDD and keep it in your room. Doing that will improve your battery life drastically.
yep lol is a little overkill i guess - but i do plan to use it for gaming as well some. School is its primary application (I am 14 (not 24 as it says on my profile) and am going to a private boarding school next year. Will be away from home for up to 3 weeks at a time) But gaming is also a want. oh and btw - it's not for porn :D
well, not ALL of it anyway.......
Well, still keep a small HDD on your laptop for the OS and a second HDD for all your data. If you can spring for it, get an Alienware (and here me out people), you can press a button and turn off the graphics card and underclock the parts to increase battery life, then you can increase all the parts when you get back to a power outlet. Also you can have the keyboard change colors :D
Well, still keep a small HDD on your laptop for the OS and a second HDD for all your data. If you can spring for it, get an Alienware (and here me out people), you can press a button and turn off the graphics card and underclock the parts to increase battery life, then you can increase all the parts when you get back to a power outlet. Also you can have the keyboard change colors :D
Alienware? Your kidding..... i dont have an additional 1800 to spend on my already exsisting 1800 to get the same thing with a colourful keyboard. lol :D I guess i could do what you suggested - but no matter what the HDD, it usually sucks a very similar amount of power right??
Well, still keep a small HDD on your laptop for the OS and a second HDD for all your data. If you can spring for it, get an Alienware (and here me out people), you can press a button and turn off the graphics card and underclock the parts to increase battery life, then you can increase all the parts when you get back to a power outlet. Also you can have the keyboard change colors :D
Alienware? Your kidding..... i dont have an additional 1800 to spend on my already exsisting 1800 to get the same thing with a colourful keyboard. lol :D I guess i could do what you suggested - but no matter what the HDD, it usually sucks a very similar amount of power right??
Unless your getting SSDs, it's going to draw tons of power. HDD involve moving parts and getting parts to move will kill your batteries quick.
honestly while aienware makes fine computers the rather large extra price tag for the "name" and a a few admittedly neat but not necessary features coupled with the pretty lousy customer service compared to Dell or Toshiba its not really worth it in my mind. I can't tell you how much of a fight my roommate has to put up with them sometimes.
So this thread can't be derailed? Is that what you're saying? Even if it derails to be a thread about us derailing threads?