New Laptop Suggestions ?

[duncan]

Hi All,
Been away for a while but going shopping later this week for a lappy.
Anyone got any suggestions in the $1100-$1300 range?
Any help greatly appreciated
Cheers,
Duncan

[BTS (Brent)]

Hi Duncan, if you want it to last, go for Toshiba.
I've never heard anything bad about them and I own 1 myself (thinking of getting another for field work).
Depends on what you want it for but for fieldwork look for something with some real grunt with heaps of ram, nothing too large and bulky (ie. 17"), make sure it has XP installed (kind of hard these days with brand new laptops). At least look at ebay just to see whats out there.
Good luck!

[MrB (Simon)]

Can vouch for Toshiba, my old PentiumII has never missed a beat and is still used for less demanding apps.
Just for interest sake, my old Compaq 486 has also never missed a beat in 15 years, and is still in use almost daily for CNC, but Compaq is now HP and probably different build quality.
I keep them because they have both serial and parallel ports(handy for CNC)

Acer 1.6GHz has had no major issues except for a CMOS battery replacement that took 2 months to get returned. ($2 battery and 30min job that I would have done myself if it weren't under warranty (Harvey Norman))

For slightly more modern machines(! ) Dell seem to have a very strong following in these forums.

[duncan]

Hi All,
Thanks for the replies. Went shopping after ringing around. Makes it a lot harder job when you live in the country. Ended up buying local just in case of warranty issues.
What i got.
Asus/F3SG
Duo core T8100 processor
2gb ram (DDR2 667 1gbx2)
250gb 5400R Sata + TPM
Wo/Turbo memory
Wlan 802.11AGN_M1_AP/US+BT
LCD+ID-Colour 15.4 WXGA(GL)
ODD-8X S-M DL LS/1.3M/FP
Mouse
Carry Bag
$1449.00
Only dissapointment is OS is Vista. Everyone i spoke to couldn't give me XP.
I guess i'll just have to learn to live with it,LOL.
Now all i've got to do is go and modify the webcam.(Just to get it ready for next time i'm home as it is bloody raining again for a week).
Cheers,
Duncan

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Originally Posted by duncan

Only dissapointment is OS is Vista. Everyone i spoke to couldn't give me XP.
I guess i'll just have to learn to live with it,LOL.

Here: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=33091

[duncan]

Thanks for that Chris. For the time being i'll have a go with Vista and see what happens.As i'm only new to it all anyway. So long as i can run Registax and a few others it shouldn't really be a problem,(i hope).
It's all about learning the ropes i guess,LOL.
Cheers,
Duncan

[aura (Annette)]

Hi Forum members, this is my first posting. I too am looking to replace 8 year old toshiba satellite not because its stoped working though - i want some thing with a wider screen so its easier to do the web design thing.
My question is to do with the amount of power needed to run a newer brighter wider screen. I only have 12 volt power at my house and am a bit wary about the increase power draw from a newer model. Can any one tell me how many amps thge newer laptops draw. aura

[acropolite (Phil)]

Only dissapointment is OS is Vista. Everyone i spoke to couldn't give me XP

The others were right on the money recommending Toshiba, I just picked one up for work at Harvey Norman. They have several Toshiba models with cash back offers. The big advantage is that they come with BOTH Vista Business and XP pro, I'm just in the process of removing the Vista (ever get the impression that no one likes Vista) and installing XP.

[MrB (Simon)]

Originally Posted by duncan

..... Everyone i spoke to couldn't give me XP.......

No doubt that demand is outstripping supply these days, you might have luck getting a copy(a legit one!) on EBay? Dunno what the price would be like though....

I wonder if MS will ever cave-in and start pressing new XP CD's?
Lookout for XP'09!! ROFL

[Ian Robinson]

Originally Posted by MrB

No doubt that demand is outstripping supply these days, you might have luck getting a copy(a legit one!) on EBay? Dunno what the price would be like though....

I wonder if MS will ever cave-in and start pressing new XP CD's?
Lookout for XP'09!! ROFL

If you are running an older PC or laptop with XP , and was supplied with the XP install disk , you can use that , it is a licence to install on a PC .

[duncan]

Hi All,
Many thanks for all your replies and suggestions. I only get a week off every month or so and it's half gone already. I do have a friend in the puter business so should be able to source a disk.
Other than that i have modded a cheap logitech webcam to try.
Put it in the scope this arvo and focused on a distant tree and it worked fine. Now if only the clouds and drizzle would bugger off (just for an hour or two) FAT CHANCE!!!!!
Oh well, next time i'm home.
Cheers,
Duncan

[Karlsson]

Originally Posted by aura

My question is to do with the amount of power needed to run a newer brighter wider screen. I only have 12 volt power at my house and am a bit wary about the increase power draw from a newer model. Can any one tell me how many amps thge newer laptops draw. aura

Hi Aura - welcome to IIS !

Most modern lappies come with a 90W power supply.

[gman (Grant)]

Today I bought a Toshiba Satellite M300
2.1ghz Centrino duo with 2gb of ram.

It has Vista Business and supposedley Win XP installed also partioned off
Still playing with Vista.
Not sure if I like it or not
Hate all the pop ups asking about installing this or authorisation for that.
Can anyone give me the quick version of turning these off?

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Originally Posted by gman

Hate all the pop ups asking about installing this or authorisation for that.
Can anyone give me the quick version of turning these off?

It's not hard - just needs a few people to as and then everyone will know...

Control Panel (classic view): User Accounts: Turn User Account Control on or off