Which Laptop?

[mike tilley]

In the next month or so I'm gonna be buying a new Laptop to replace my ageing Dell. Am after a desktop replacement with all the bells and whistles that can handle photo and video editing plus the usual surfing and word processing...oh and it's also got to have a good quality 17" widescreen display.

So my question is, what's the best make to go for?

[Guest 4802]

apple, but i'm biased.

... a lot of designers/musicians/photographers use and love apple ... something about the colors being more accurate. i admit, i'm ignorant, but for those concerned with aesthetics - apple is the way to go. :p

[NeilB]

For long life and reliability then it has to be Tosh, but they aren't light. If you lean more towards multimedia then you can't go wrong with a Sony, but they are expensive. IBM are good but too flexible - eventually the system board cracks and fails. Apple are good but I would guess there is less software available for it than a WinTel PC, although all the usual word processing and internet browsing is no problem.

If I could afford it I would buy the small Sony Vio and a 17inch flat screen for use when it is on my desk. This way you get the portability of a laptop and a large screen for desk use.

Neil

23 Years in IBM.....

[Hubber]

I have 3 toshiba's for home and office and i love them however i suppose its what your used to having.

[P00DLE]

http://www.alienware.co.uk/Product_Pages/notebook_all_default.aspx you realy want 1 of these

[red]

ive got a ibm thinkpad T41p :) great bit of kit

[Fettler]

This has to be one of the highest spec Laptops i have ever seen. Pity about the steep price tag.

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_xps?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs

[Saratoga]

In the next month or so I'm gonna be buying a new Laptop to replace my ageing Dell. Am after a desktop replacement with all the bells and whistles that can handle photo and video editing plus the usual surfing and word processing...oh and it's also got to have a good quality 17" widescreen display.

So my question is, what's the best make to go for?

Make a list of what you need, itemise it specifically and email the variety of companies to see what they've got. If that doesn't work I can get quotes for you on a system I'm on here :)

One option with the 17" screen is you can get a TFT or CRT monitor to plug into it.

I suppose you'd be wanting USB, PCMCIA, 40+ Gb Hdd, Serial, Parallel, VGA, FDD, CD/DVDRW, FireWire, Network Adapter, 56k Modem (You never know when you'll need it).

Software. You'll want XP of course, Pro or Home depends on your price spec. Home doesn't hook up to a domain, while Pro does....

Photoshop / Thumbsplus / Irfanview / Exif Viewer / To name a few bits of software I use. In my defence I'm still on PS4 however they've just released Photoshop CS2 (equivilant v9) for $600.

If you're going to use it for Photos you might want to have a gander over at the Digital Darkroom and ask around there. Other members here are already there :D :D http://www.digi-darkroom.com/ :D :D

Trackpad or Nipple? You'd probably want to get a mouse as extra to go in one of your USB ports.

Storage? If you want it in backpack type holder then there is a company that makes them... Targus do a nice backpack. Unfortunatly by specifying a 17" screen I couldn't see anything in there that had such a thing. You're choice!

http://www.targus.com/uk/
http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/notebooks/0,39023985,10002361,00.htm

Then you'd want all the extras. Now I have a laptop I have lots of extra cables for it. Some unnecesary, some not. For example.

USB Camera Lead, USB 54g Wireless, USB NIC (I don't have a built-in NIC), 5-1 card reader (usb), USB BT.

I've specified the serial option as you'd probably want to use the NMEA / GPS option on your, er, GPS. I do :)

Mapping Software? I use Autoroute, GPS Utility and Memory Map. There are others around.

So. If you know what you want then youre OK. I have a lot of needs for my future laptop, so It'll be a hard choice.

The final question is do you want new, second hand or fifth hand?? What's your budget? Don't go overboard and don't forget to be rational about it :) Right. I'm off to read the rest of this thread :o :o :o

[mike tilley]

Thanks for the replies chaps...much to mull over. In answer to a few points made....

apple, but i'm biased. I like Macs but it has to be a PC as all my software is PC based.

For long life and reliability then it has to be Tosh, but they aren't light. If you lean more towards multimedia then you can't go wrong with a Sony, I have Sony VGN A217M (http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/sony-vaio_vgn_a217s-laptop-1-n2.htm) on my short list...the screens are just fantastic! But they tend to be a bit pricey for what you get.

ive got a ibm thinkpad T41p great bit of kit I like IBM but I don't think they do a 17" screen...I'll have to check.

This has to be one of the highest spec Laptops i have ever seen. Pity about the steep price tag. Again the Dell Inspiron 9300 (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&id=inspn_9300&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn) is on my short list. Can be configure how I want it and cheaper than the sony but the screens not as good.

So. If you know what you want then youre OK. I have a lot of needs for my future laptop, so It'll be a hard choice.

The final question is do you want new, second hand or fifth hand?? What's your budget? Don't go overboard and don't forget to be rational about it Right. I'm off to read the rest of this thread Thanks for the lengthy post. I do kinda know what I want and I already own a Dell laptop which I'm typing this on, so I've got most of the kit and Software that I need. The problem is that this lappy is starting to make those 'I'm about to give up!!!' noises and anyway I'm about ready for an upgrade....can also claim it as a business expense of course ;)

My budget is a max of £1500, cheaper if possible. The lappy needs to have a really good screen and be as future proof and as fast as possible. It needs to be reasonably portable but it'll only move perhaps once or twice a month so it doesn't need to be too light....Good battery life would also be an advantage but is not a priority.

Cheers :)

[red]

heres mine :p http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/01/29/ibm_thinkpad_t41p/

[mike tilley]

heres mine :p http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/01/29/ibm_thinkpad_t41p/

How Much!!!!! :eek:

[red]

i know :D thats not what i paid for it mate :rolleyes:

got it off a mates dad for a good price and nearly fell of me chair when i see
how much they go for :eek:

[Saratoga]

How Much!!!!! :eek:


I know, that's good enough to drool over! Then you see the £3k price tag!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Storm]

For day to day use a decently specced machine is the Toshiba Tecra M2V, good price, and decent spec (no bells & whistles)