What to look for in a Labtop?

[Goober]

I am currently contemplating purchasing a labtop, and I have some questions. I am going to be mainly using it to transport information, I have a PC at home that I can store stuff on (200 Gig HD, etc.), I just want a decent labtop that has decent battery power that can do word processing, play games, like Civ, not massive 3-D games, and play movies.

1 - How Much RAM do you need, minimum for things to run well? I have seen 512 a lot, is that enough? What is the difference between DDR-SDR, DDR, and SDR Ram? Which is the best?

2 - What kinda of Processor do you need, minimum, for things to function? Which is the best for a Labtop? Personally, I have am AMD 1700+, and its been good, but I have heard taht the AMDs run hot, and consume more power the P4,'s, etc. Centrinos, are they any good? I have heard that they are the best for a Labtop. Also, what Ghz do I need? Is basically above 2 decent? One last question, what does the "-M" after the name of the processor (Example - AMD XP-M) mean?

3 - What is the minimum Video Card needed to play a movie/games decent? I have a 64 Mb in my PC, an NVidea, is that ok, or should I go to 128 Mb? I have seen most labtops have ATI Chips, how does that compare to NVidea?

4 - I probably only need 40 Gigs for my HD, but I am wondering, how hard would be it to upgrade afterwards to something higher, if I wanted? or would an external HD be the best?

Those are most of the typical questions I have, I am looking to spend under $2,000 Canadian on this, but that is able to buy what I consider somewhat decent labtops. Is it possible to get Labtops custom built, or is that too expensive? Is upgrading labtops afterwards possible, or does it depend on the type? I am currently doing research on labtops, their cost, etc., so I will post some of the better examples later.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Jeratain]

First let me just clear something up - it's laptop not labtop

1 - How Much RAM do you need, minimum for things to run well? I have seen 512 a lot, is that enough? What is the difference between DDR-SDR, DDR, and SDR Ram? Which is the best?

512 is more than enough unless you are a power user who wants to run many many programs simultaneously. You want DDR ram. There are many types of RAM and specifications for them, so if you want more info on that just do a google search. Simply, you want DDR ram.

2 - What kinda of Processor do you need, minimum, for things to function? Which is the best for a Labtop? Personally, I have am AMD 1700+, and its been good, but I have heard taht the AMDs run hot, and consume more power the P4,'s, etc. Centrinos, are they any good? I have heard that they are the best for a Labtop. Also, what Ghz do I need? Is basically above 2 decent? One last question, what does the "-M" after the name of the processor (Example - AMD XP-M) mean?

Lots of processors to choose from, but right now the absolute best is a Intel Centrino processor. Here's the deal: You see a Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz processor in one laptop and a 1.8 Ghz Centrino processor in another. The 3 Ghz sounds better, right? Well it's not. When the 3.0 Ghz laptop is not plugged in, it's actually running at 1.5 Ghz or so. This is because the processor requires a massive amount of power to run at its full potential, so you will only actually see it run at 3.0 Ghz when it is plugged into the wall. The Centrino processor on the other hand has a different way of consuming power - it consumes less. It will always run at 1.8 Ghz (or whatever speed the processor says it is) be it plugged in or on battery power. Not only that but the Centrinos also have built in wireless networking which is a must in present day laptops. AMD isn't really a prime choice right now for the laptop market yet. And the "M" you see stand for "Mobile" in most cases.

3 - What is the minimum Video Card needed to play a movie/games decent? I have a 64 Mb in my PC, an NVidea, is that ok, or should I go to 128 Mb? I have seen most labtops have ATI Chips, how does that compare to NVidea?

If you're just going to play a game like Civ 3 and so on, a 64 MB card will suffice. But to be on the safe side you should probably opt for a 128 MB card if you can find a good deal on one. Something like the ATI Mobility 9700.

4 - I probably only need 40 Gigs for my HD, but I am wondering, how hard would be it to upgrade afterwards to something higher, if I wanted? or would an external HD be the best?

Um, this really depends on the laptop manufacturer. Some laptops come with built in hard drives which aren't easy to take out, while others come with hard drives that you can remove easily. You should probably get a 60-80 GB hard drive. External drives work fine as well.

Is it possible to get Labtops custom built, or is that too expensive? Is upgrading labtops afterwards possible, or does it depend on the type? I am currently doing research on labtops, their cost, etc., so I will post some of the better examples later.

You can't build a laptop yourself, but you can customize certain models. For instace, Sager, Dell, or Gateway all allow you to specify the certain hardware components you would like on a model of their laptops (ie: 1024 mb ram instead of the base 512; 80 gb hard drive instead of the base 40; windows XP pro instead of the base home edition, etc).

Check this thread out for more information.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=89269

 

[jeannie]

4 - I probably only need 40 Gigs for my HD, but I am wondering, how hard would be it to upgrade afterwards to something higher, if I wanted? or would an external HD be the best?

Any input would be appreciated.

I have a laptop I bought a couple of years ago with 30 Gig hard drive, but I also have an external 120 Gig hard drive that I use for doing complete backups of both my laptop and my desktop with Norton Ghost, and use for transporting large amounts of data from one computer to the other. The external hard drive I have has both a 'firewire' (1394) connector and a USB connector. An external hard drive like this costs around $160 US these days. (I saw a firewire-only one on sale today for $119 USD today!)


If I were to buy a new laptop, I'd be more concerned that it have a firewire connector and at least 1 USB2 connector, rather than the size of the hard drive.

 

[DreadCthulhu]

1. 512 megs RAM is a good amount for game playing, and general use. Get DDR RAM; it is considerably faster than older SDRAM.

2. Right now, the worst processor for a laptop would be a Pentium 4. They run hot, and use lots of power. The best would be Centrino(sometimes called a Pentium-M) - they run cooler, and use low power, followed by an Athlon64-M then an Athlon XP-M. The M stands for mobile; these chips are modified to use less power. Also note that the Centrinos and Athlons are much faster than similarly clock Pentium 4s. AMD uses a model number, which lets you tell how fast it is compared to a similar P4; - for example, and Athlon64 3000-M(which runs at 1.8ghz) is as about as fast as a 3ghz P4. Similarly, Centrinoes also run about as fast as a P4 a ghz faster - a 1.4 ghz Centrino is as about as fast as a 2.4 ghz P4.

3. The type of video chip matters more than the amount of RAM in the card. For example, a Radeon 9600 with 64 megs of RAM will give you much better gaming performance than a Geforce 5200 with 128megs in most games.

Right now, ATI chips tend to be somewhat better than the equivelent Nvidia ones. Try to get a Radeon 9600/9700 mobile; these are the fastest chips you can get on a laptop. 64megs should suffice for most gaming, though 128 might be useful if you plan to play Doom3/Halflife2 on this machine. After that comes the GeforceGo 5600, then the GeforceGo 5200s, then the Radeon 9200 mobile, in terms of gaming speed. Also note, the Radeon 9700 mobile is NOT based on the desktop version of the chip, but is in fact just a higher clocked Radeon 9600.

4. Laptops tend to be tricky to upgrade - I would personally just go with an external Hard drive if I needed more storage space.

One machine you might want to look at is an eMachines 6805 which cost $1400 US. Despite the brand, they have been getting pretty good reviews. It comes with an Athlon64 3000M, 512MB RAM, 60GB Hard drive, and a mobility Radeon 9600 with 64 meg RAM.

 

[Goober]

Thanks for all the input guys, they have been invaluable. I have been perusing websites, and I have gathered a list of computers that seem decent to me. Please tell me what you think:

Future Shop

- AMD 2000+ Mobile XP-M
- 256 upgraded to 1024 Ram
- 12"
- 3.5 Hours Lithium Ion Battery
- 1 year parts and labour
- 40 Gig HD
- 1,299$ + more for additional RAM, Averatac
- S3 Unicrome 64MB Video Controller

- Mobile XP - M 2800+ AMD
- 40 Gig HD
- 2 hour Lithium battery
- 512 MB DDRAM
- 15"
- 1 year parts and labour
- Compaq, 1,499$, 64 Mb ATI Radeon Mobility 4X AGP

- Celeron 2.6 Ghz
- 40 Gig HD
- 256 DDR-SDRAM
- 2 hour Lithium battery
- 1 year parts, etc
- 15", Hewlart Packard, 1,299$
- 64 Mb ATI Radeon Mobility 4X AGP

- P4 2.8 Ghz
- 512 DDR-SDRAM
- 60 Gig HD
- 2 hour Lithium Battery
- 1 year parts and labour
- 15"
- 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon 900 Shared, HP, $1,899.99

RadioShack

- Mobile P4-M 2.4 Ghz
- 15", 512 DDR-SDRAM, 40 Gig HD
- ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP with 128MB shared graphics
- Compaq, 1,699$

- Mobile AMD XP-M 2400+
- 15", 256 MB DDR-SDRAM, 40 Gig, 64 Mb Shared Graphics
- 1,599$, Campaq

CompuSmart

- AMD XP-M 2800+
- 15", 512 DDR-SDRAM
- 40 Gig HD, 64MB ATI Mobility Radeon
- Compaq, 1,499$

- P4-M 2.66Ghz
- 512 DDR-SDRAM, 40 Gig HD, Intel 852GME. 64MB dynamic video memory
- 15"

Office Depot:

- AMD Athlon 64 Bit 3000+ , 15"
- 512 DDR-SDRAM, 60 Gig HD, 32 Mb DDR nVidia GeForce4 Go440
- Compaq, upgradable to 1024 RAM, 1,899$

- Compaq Celeron 2.6 Ghz, 15"
- 256 upgradable to 1024 DDR-SDRAM
- 40 Gig HD, 64 Mb ATI Mobility Radeon 4x AGP
- HP, 1,399$

Staples

* Features: Mobile AMD Athlon XP-M 2800+ processor
* 512MB DDR SDRAM
* 40GB Hard drive
* 15.0" XGA TFT screen
* CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo optical drive
* ATI Mobility Radeon AGP graphics controller, with 64MB shared video RAM
* 54G integrated 802.11b/g Wireless LAN
* 56K modem and 10/100 Ethernet NIC
* Windows XP Home Edition and More!

1-year Parts and Labour Warranty., 1,499$

* Features: Mobile AMD Athlon XP-M Processor 2500+ (1.87GHz) with PowerNow!
Technology
* 256MB DDR SDRAM at 266MHz, expandable to 1GB (2 x 512MB)
* 40GB enhanced-IDE hard disk drive (4200 RPM)
* 15.0" XGA TFT (1024 x 768) display
* CD-RW/DVD Combo Optical Drive
* 56K V.92 Modem, 10/100 NIC Combo
* ATI MOBILITY RADEON 4X AGP and 3D architecture with 64MB DDR RAM (shared)
* 2 USB 1.1 ports
* Weight: 7.3lbs
* >Microsoft Windows XP Home
* Norton Antivirus (free 60-day Live Update), Adobe Acrobat Reader, InterVideo WinDVD
SE Creator, Windows Media Player, Windows MovieMaker, MusicMatch Jukebox, Roxio Easy
CD & DVD Creator Basic.

1-year Parts and Labour Warranty., 1,297$

* Features: Intel Celeron 2.8GHz processor
* 512MB RAM
* 40GB hard drive
* 15.0" TFT screen
* DVD/CD-RW combo optical drive
* 56K V.92 modem and 10/100 NIC
* ATI Mobility Radeo 64MB video memory (shared)
* Windows XP Home Edition

1-year Parts and Labour Warranty., 1,499$

 

[FireBall]

EDIT: Stupid, delete?

 

[Jeratain]

Those all pretty much suck.

Have you even looked into a Dell system?

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_8600?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

I highly recommend getting a Centrino processor for your laptop and nothing else. Prices start at around for a Inspiron 8600 model $1214 - offers 512 mb of RAM, Nvidia processor, and so on. And you can customize the laptop to suit your need (change the video card, add more ram, get a faster processor, more software, etc). It seems to be below your basic price range (according from the models you posted).

And believe me when I say: A Centrino 1.6 Ghz processor is just as powerful as a Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz or a Athlon 2800 or whatever you want to compare it to. Don't let the clock speed throw you off.

 

[Archer 007]

I about to have to start looking for a laptop also. This thread will be a great resource!

 

[marioh]

Dell laptops aren't too bad. They did have major hard drive problems in the Latitude C8xx line. We experienced hard drive failure rates close to 25%, which is totally unacceptable. I haven't seen the same issues on the newer Latitudes...yet.
I've seen a couple of the Inspirons. The one I remember was the 5150 I believe. Big, clunky, and heavy. Didn't impress me in the slightest.

 

[WillJ]

What to look for in a Labtop?

A spell-checker.

 

[stormbind]

If I'm looking for a portable computer it's (1) good screen, and (2) maximum battery life.

Note it's resale value. Traditionally, Macintosh laptops devalue less because replacement batteries remain available well past the product life expectency.

When considering a laptop, you should note the availability of spare batteries for old models of that same brandname!

---

If I want a laptop that stays permanently stuck to a desk then I look for different features and will consider ports/processor/etc., but I'm assuming that isn't the objective

 

[FireBall]

I agree with stormblind, get a good screen. A laptop may last you years if you make it a good one, and if you have problems with your screen, then your lapp is of no use. Replacing the screen is expensive... My brother has a Dell laptop which he's head for slightly over a year now, but the screen is poorly made, and it starting to crack in places .

 

[Goober]

I about to have to start looking for a laptop also. This thread will be a great resource!

Ya, the responses are outstanding.

Currently, I am trying to get my family to get me a laptop for my Birthday/Graduation. I am getting close to that goal.

I think I am going to pretty much ignore the list above, and just go in with the following list, and see what various stores have:

- AMD XP-M/Centrino/Celeron 1.5 Ghz+
- At least 512 DDR-RAM
- 40 Gig or higher HD
- 64 Mb or better Video Card, probably some type of ATI. Any Suggestions?
- 15" or better screen
- Hopefully under $2,000 Canadian (which seems reasonable)
- 2-3 year warranty

Any comments and/or suggestions about this list?

I have discovered taht we have a Laptop case, which is kinda neat. It is amazing what you find in your basement . . .

 

[Goober]

Ok, I think my search is now over with. I have found 2 laptops, and both looks good, although one obviously better then the other.

COMPAQ PRESARIO R3055CA NOTEBOOK (ENGLISH)
Features Intel® Mobile Pentium® 4-M processor–2.4GHz with PowerNow™ technology, 15.4"
WXGA TFT (1280 x 800) display, 512MB DDR SDRAM, 40GB hard drive,
CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive, ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP with 128MB shared graphics,
54g Integrated 802.11b/g Wireless LAN, 10/100BT NIC, 56K V.90/V.92 modem, 3 @ USB 2.0,
Microsoft® Windows XP Home Edition, Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2003. 251-5572

For $1,699.99, this is the one I am seriously looking at. I mean, the Video Card is far, far better then even my desktop, the price is right, it looks perfect. I am probably going to go with a 3 year extended warranty for 3 years.

Also, I am looking at something along this line:

Toshiba Pentium 4-M 2.66Ghz, 512 DDRAM, Intel Extreme Graphics, 3 year warranty, 40 Gigs.

Apparently the Intel Extreme is good enough to run movies, and games, unless they are like FPS's, Halo, etc. What do you guys think?

I think the Compaq is definitely better.

EDIT: Both of these are before the 14.5% sales tax *grumbles at the government*

 

[Goober]

Bumpity-Bump.

I am torn between the two, I would really appreciate feedback!!!

 

[Captain Carnage]

I've had bad experiences with Compaq Presarios!
I used to have a Toshiba though, it was alright. It wasn't as good as the one you're interested in though.

 

[Goober]

I've had bad experiences with Compaq Presarios!
I used to have a Toshiba though, it was alright. It wasn't as good as the one you're interested in though.

So have my parents. They bought the Compaq over another brand, and they got a Lemon. I mean, the thing should function find, but it came with tons of pre-installed crap, and was just crappy in general.

I have heard good things about Toshibas, my only quandry with the above one is the video card, which looks pitiful as compared to the 128 Mb ATI that is in the Compaq, but the Toshiba will be lighter, be drop-proof (well, you know, a couple feet), and apparently you can spill beverages on the keyboard. Also, the company that seels the Toshibe, CompuSmart, they are more reliable, IMO, then the Toshiba, which is RadioShack. Decisions, Decisions . . . I do have a whole summer, however, no need to rush things.

 

[DreadCthulhu]

I would stay away from that Compaq - first of all, it has a Pentium 4, which are the worst type of processors to put in a Laptop - too much heat and power usuage. Secondly, that video card is an INTEGRATED Radeon 9000 - it shares the main memory with the system memory, which is quite slow; a Radeon 9200, 9600, or Geforce 420, 5200 with 64MB DEDICATED memory, would be much faster. Also, that machine is quite overpriced; I know you can get Athlon 64 or Centrino machines with a dedicated Radeon 9600 that is much faster for less than $1700.

 

[stormbind]

I have used Compaq Pressario for stationary laptop - that being a small PC with tiny footprint for use when frequently relocating, but not for use on actual travel.

It's quite heavy compared to some alternatives, and the screen isn't great, but it has lasted a very long time and still chugs along merilly. The biggest problem I had, and this applies to all laptops, was the weird design.

1. It worked great with the Compaq release of Windows 95 OSR2
2. It would not work with retail versions of Windows 95 OSR 2
3. It would not work with retail versions of Windows 98 or 98SE
4. It works great with Windows Me

The trouble was drivers. Compaq released special drivers (for the unique hardware) that shipped with their customised version of Windows 95.

Those drivers were never updated, and would not work with the standard version of Windows 95/98/SE.

Microsoft didn't release their own alternative drivers until Windows Me, and then they came bundled as standard.

Expect similar issues with any laptop, as they have cramped hardware, bits missing, and other bits merged to save space/energy. This indirectly affects software support.