~LAPTOPS~

Who's got a laptop?
What is it?
Is it good?
Is it shit?
If so, why?

Im looking to get me one before I embark on overseas travel adventure good time...
Would get a Mac if I had the dosh. Will be wanting to run Photoshop, Illustrator, Reason, Soundforge etc.
Looking to spend up to $1500 2nd hand (including up-beefing).

What should I get?

Peace

 

if you are traveling i would recommend nothing over 15in imo

ive been lugging around a 17in widescreen i couldnt even find a laptop bag big enough to hold it and had to have the largest back pack i could find altered to be able to accommodate it.

asus, 17in, 2gb ram, 100gb hd, dual 1.8ghz - no issues at all with it, but its more than double your price... i was lucky when i got it cos it went up 800+ bucks shortly after i got it!

gf has a 15in vaio which does struggle a bit, but so long as you load whatever you get up with ram you should be ok to run all those apps.

Cheers, thats some good advice re. screen size, was looking at 17"s.
Am I right in saying Asus are decent and Acer are shit? I always get them confused.
Have been told that Dells are one of the best, and also one of the worst. Same with Toshiba.
Q. Which Processor is the best for running Music production programs?
I have been told that Athalons are better as they don't heat up as much or something, but I'm not sure weather this applies to laptops.
?

Acer used to be pretty shonky but in the last few years have really pulled their fingers out.

I work for a national distributor of both Acer and Asus and both are quite reputable brands, with Acer being the 2nd or 3rd(I forget) largest manufacturer of Notebooks in the world.

if ya can handle paying roughly $26 a week for 2 years a 13" macbook could be the go. JB's will do 24 months interest free is ya buy an extended warranty, or 12 months if ya dont. i got one bout a month ago.....fukn love the thing.

If you get a Mac, you could dual boot & get the best of both worlds.

AMD chips have traditionally run much hotter than Intel CPUs.

Asus & Acer are both decent these days. Asus started out as purely component manufacturers. You'll find that many companies are actually just rebranded IDT, Metabox etc, etc Laptops.

http://p4laptops.com.au/ is a decent site to get an idea of price vs spec.

http://p4laptops.com.au/laptops%20with%20a%2015%20inch%20widescreen.htm

HP PAVILION DV6500T
SCREEN: 15.4" WXGA or WSXGA
RAM: 2GB DDR2 667
CPU: Core 2 Duo T7300
HARD DISK: 200GB 4200rpm
GRAPHICS: Nvidia 8400 256MB
CONNECTIVITY: Wifi
WINDOWS: Vista H/Premium

From $1549.00

That's a pretty fucking sick setup, as is:

METABOX FL90 WXGA
SCREEN: 15.4" WXGA or WSXGA
RAM: 512MB DDR2 667
CPU: Core 2 Duo T7500
HARD DISK: 80GB GB 5400rpm
GRAPHICS: Nvidia 8600 256MB
CONNECTIVITY: Wifi
WINDOWS: You Choose

From $1599.00

Also the Dell XPS series is worthwhile considering, pretty gutsy. Dell has decent w/wide warranty & service as well.

http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1330?c=au&cs=audhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

But yeah, I reckon it's hard to look past the $1500ish examples available from that p4laptop place...

If you can't afford an Apple I'd get an Asus or a Dell. I have sold a few Asus systems and supported many others, and overall I've seen people have less issues with Asus laptops than other brands.

If you're travelling then Dell's service is probably going to look advantageous, in particular if you have issues outside of the country you bought it from.

If your budget is $1500 I wouldn't buy second hand. That's enough money to get a decent enough system new.

The Dell XPS M1330 might be worth considering if you want something that isn't huge. Most 15" PC laptops are pretty huge - I'd go for a sub 15" if you are travelling with it...

Don't forget to consider weight! Heavy laptops suck, especially when you are travelling.

Oh yeah - I run a Macbook Pro and would suggest saving a little longer and getting a Macbook as well. I'm never buying a PC Laptop again...

For component v component benchmarks check out:

http://www.tomshardware.com/us/

Don't listen to what he says though cos he is an Intel/Nvidia nut hugger fanboi, but his benchmarks are pretty reliable to go by if you want to compare CPU v CPU, VGA v VGA etc etc.

The Nvidia 8x00 cards will let you play some kick as games as well

>

Any processor will run your music apps more than adequately, the bottle neck will probably be memory. Forget looking/comparing the sounds cards as well, you'll need a USB/Firewire breakout box if you want decent sound anyways.


ASUS A8SC

SCREEN: 14" WXGA
RAM: 2GB DDR2 667
CPU: Core 2 Duo T7250
HARD DISK: 160GB 5400rpm
GRAPHICS: Nvidia 8400m 128MB
CONNECTIVITY: Wifi, Bluetooth
WINDOWS: Vista H/Premium

From $1299.00

Is my pick.

2yr warranty

~$200 to upgrade to 4gb ram
~$100 to upgrade to 250gb hdd


PRICE INCLUDES: ASUS A8SC SANTA ROSA Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7259 (2.0GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800Mhz FSB), Nvidia® 8400M G 128MB dedicated (384Mb TurboCache™), 2 year warranty, 160GB SATA HD (5400 rpm), 2GB DDR2 667 SDRAM, 14" (WXGA) Color Shine, Bluetooth, 4-in-1 Reader, Web Camera, Vista™ Home Premium, 5 x USB, FireWire, Wireless, Fast Ethernet, Express Card slot, DL DVD+/-R/W, D/H/W = 245/34.8 - 37.3/335 mm, Weight 2.39 kg FREE CARRY BAG and MOUSE!

SPECIAL! Get a USB DIGITAL AND HD TV TUNER for only $69 when purchasing this laptop!

black macbook, you'll love it

I would get a MacBook without even contemplating anything else.

If I had to choose a PC laptop it would definitely be a Toshiba, but why bother when you can run XP/Vista as well as the mighty OSX on a MacBook anyway?

Fuck Acer off straight away! Easily one of the worst around; popularity doesn't mean quality.


Lemme guess, you work for Cellnet/Hi-Tech?

Personally if I had the money I'd go a high spec Alienware one, but it's probably a tad out of the price range. I reckon a mac/pc dual os is the way to go with laptops.

Cheers guys, some usefull information there. Macbooks are looking rather tempting. Will have a suss in jb's when I get time. If I dont get a mac, i will be using your advice Jay, those ones you picked out look pretty scherweet.

Cheers

(pls continue...)

so i will soon be looking at getting a new laptop as mine is about past its best.

i want quality and will pay for it but dont really think i need to spend heaps as i really dont need anything fancy. the only things i really need it for is internet, downloading music and movies and burning, possibly doing some graphic designing but nothing to fancy, and just general study and assignments.

any recommendations would be appreciated.

our laptop is pretty good. we have a toshiba of some sort. don't even bother with the normal computer now other than for downloading.

Mac

i'm sure macs are fabulous, i just dont want one.

nice advice! i was going to get an eee or something small like that, my other option was to get a macbook might see what i can buy dutyfree, for when i travel in dec!

nigger lover.

why do you want to Lugggg a laptop 'round the world?

the less shit you have to worry about - the better IMO....

I'm sure you have your reasons.

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaac, Mac, Mac, Mac......

Powerbook, 15in, never looked back.

if you are travelling around a lot keep it small.

i got a 17in, but i dont really move around too much. if i do head away for a week/weekend/etc i just leave the laptop at home.

ive got an asus and havent had an issue with it, although it is due for a reformat but ive had it for over a year...

i switched to mac not long ago. It was the best decision i made. Ease of use once you do get accustomed to it. stable, good looks, have never had a full crash where i had to reboot. syncs with everything seemlessly.
i got a 15inch mac book pro
i Highly recomend them to everyone, my missus even bought one.
they're freekin great.

boooooooooohhhhhh microsoft WINDOWS

Net cafes are chock full of spyware, keyloggers and viruses for one. I know people who have lost entire flash cards of photos when plugging them into a net cafe pc. Generally when you're travelling you're entering passwords for hotmail/MSN etc. which are a number one target for spammers, again I know a few people who have had accounts hacked. Internet banking is also something you may really need when you're travelling as well and you've got to be braindead if you'd ever access that on an unsecure PC. My mate was doing it when I was on holiday with him last year but he had one of those Netbank keyring deals which made it a little safer.

Really though, if you are content to use net cafe PCs and want to access these types of services there's only one way to go IMO. A flash drive loaded with www.portableapps.com. I now have this cranking as a safe alternative to using my laptop, with Keepass installed in the Portable Apps suite it securely stores my passwords which can be pasted into fields safe from keyloggers. Plus using all the browsers, burning apps, etc. off my flash drive means all my private data and information is only stored there. Fantastic stuff!

nice!! thanks for the link, i will checkit

I've got an Acer Aspire 3680 with upgraded RAM (only takes max of 2GB though) and HD. Works fine in terms of normal usage but it's honestly been a bitch of a machine the whole way. As soon as one kink is ironed out, something else fucks up. I didn't act on my warranty in time as I thought it was due to software issues, but after fucking around with both hardware and software for months I think I've just got a dud motherboard. Support is ok, but even some of their basic programs can't be downloaded from ther site I have found. At this point, I won't be buying another Acer. In saying that, I have a friend who is completely sold on them. Toshiba seems the way to go from most reports. My past Dell was fine, but picked up a problem where if you closed the lid while the computer was running the screen would simply go black until it was restarted.

MAC FTW!! 

big up apple  everything, sticking it to microsoft.
i have never sent error reports to microsoft when it has occurred and with apple i do. Another loyal customer making a great brand eeven greater

So your Mac fucks up? Nice. 






What about one of those EEEPC's for travelling? They're tiny! And they don't run windows or apple.

Wouldn't do much other than web access and word processing though I reckon.

Translation: I either like tiny screens or I have a spare $2500+ to spend on a laptop

yeah i reckon i will get one

Hijacking this thread.

I'm more than definitely getting a laptop soon, and also more than definitely getting a mac; but just for the sake of it I'm looking into Windows computers as well. Can anyone point me in the direction of a laptop that is still being released in XP version? The main thing that has pushed me towards buying a Mac is that Vista is quite obviously shit.

Live with it.

As of June 30 Hardware Vendors are no longer able to sell systems with XP pre-installed. Systems targeted at the SMB/Corporate market can be provided with Vista Business and a downgrade disk for XP Pro, but thats as close as you'll get.

With that in mind, if you actually buy a half decent PC you wont actually have any issues with Vista.

I've been running it for over a year without any problems.

DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE!

I'm assuming all laptops now come with Service Pack 1 for Vista? This is my main problem. As far as I can tell no update has been released for Protools LE 7 yet, so it will not work on SP1. Also the 64bit version of Vista is not compatible wtih Pro-Tools. Seeing as I will only be using this laptop for music, study (only using word) and photoshop, I don't see the advantage of getting Vista, as windows operating systems seem to clog up wtih shit and slow down much more than Macs. I'd consider a PC again with the release of this so called Windows 7 that is happening.

Im ot a very computer literate person. Iv had a laptop for about a yr now. Mainly got it for the internet and to record mixes and such. The damn thing  has got a inbuilt vidio camera and mic in it. Which interferes with my recordig!!!! I got a pre mic amp and have had masses of problems with fire wire and such. Finaly got that sorted out and now my mates have lost my inspire(pre mic amp) disc!! arghh. My mate just come back from Darwin and said that he had the disc in his laptop bag. So im going to grab it today. So hopefully I can load it up and start recording. Fingers crossed no problems.

By the way its a "Toshiba" 17" Black nigger 1. Duo core. Cost about 2700.  Im sure its got some other fancy computer jargan. But like I said Im a dumb arse when it comes to computers. Dont let my glasses fool you!!

So get a mac then.

I would have thought the decision would be easy if the software you want to run is not compatible with the latest version of Windows.

Sounds to me like you have already made up your mind.

I probably will. The only thing that concerns me about the mac is the lack of graphics card for rendering etc. After buying a mac I could always rebuild my desktop for this task anyway. Looks like a mac it is.

get a mac, you won't regret it

i got a question.

is it possible to hook up my laptop to my CDX via USB? so i can play choonz off my laptop instead of lugging around a massive cd bag?


also what software will i need?

Alienware are done by Dell these days.

For the exact same internal setup to a dell 17" widescreen the Alienware is about an extra $1000.
So basically $1000 extra for the name and the package/look.

I'm thinking of getting a Dell but considering a macbook

Don't know if you can hook it up via usb, but you can get a timecoded system I think. Same as the vinyl set-up but with timecoded CD's.
Would work with Deckadance the best IMO.

http://www.deckadance.com/vinylcontrol.html

All of the vinyl timecode systems supported, most of which have timecoded CD systems as well I think, unless I've read this completely wrong.

i think thats mainly for pioneer systems.

my player has USB support and you can hook it up to hard drives and computers. im just clueless on how to get it to work with software.

Ps. the software i tried was virtual DJ.. not sure if its the right program to use.

I would have thought it would still work in a similar way to how the vinyl systems work, sending a tone through the audio line, but if you already have usb there's no point buying it. Maybe check the manual or something? The USB might just be for updating firmware, but don't quote me on that. If it works with any program I'd say it should work with Deckadance though.

i think you're confusing your models...

numark also do a deck with a hard drive, the hdx or something like that, and they to a usb turntable, for ez recording of vinyl, but the cdx has no support for external storage, just does cds... i don't think they even have usb ports at all

Numark ICDX, has a usb AND a firewire in the back, i have used it with an external HD plugged in via the usb port, but gave me the shits trying to scan through hundreds of tracks on a tiny screen.

hence why i want to use a laptop..

ah i see, you didn't mention the I before

ahah yea sorry bout that

from what i can tell the scratch wheel can be used to control software such as serato, and the usb can be used for external storage devices with FAT or HFS+ (mac) file systems, but i don't think you could browse mp3s on the computer to send to the deck... if you want the audio signal to be coming from the deck and not the computer you'll have to use the lil' screen

also it says 'supported software', the only examples it gives are serato and CUE which is numarks attempt

My Macbook Pro's logic board (motherboard) died in the last week of June. Worst time possible cause I had a load of stuff to finish at the end of the financial year...

That said, I've been working with computers for years and seen dozens of hard drives fail, optical drives fail, CRT and LCD screens fail, motherboards fail, etc... If it can fail then I've probably seen it fail.

Point is even Apple stuff dies.

That said, luckily it was under warranty. I just paid $150 to NextByte for their 'top priority' service and I had it back and running in about 26 hours total - which is pretty damn good IMO! Bought Apple Care for a further two years as well so if I have any more failures I know I can get it resolved quickly. Apple covers service and hardware with this system, I just have to pay if I want my job at the top of the list!

next time hit me up before you be payin' any one-fiddy

NB service has improved drastically... they USED to be shithouse... still not cheap but you do get what you pay for

i quite like vista. haven't had an issue and find it pretty simple to use.

I remember back when record bags seemed massive. And I ain't that old.

What kind of system are you running it on? (CPU and RAM amount I'm most interested in)

i'd be interested to know the answer to that too... if you've got enough ram and a core 2 processor and a video card then i'm sure vista would run nicely, however i am fairly certain there is no way i could do the amount of shit that i can do with 3gb of ram on this macbook (with no video card) if i was running vista on the same hardware...