rhyds Posted September 23, 2008 Posted September 23, 2008 I'm thinking of buying a laptop for personal use at home, but I'm not sure of who to go for. I've narrowed it down to either lenovo or acer, but i'm not convinced that acer build their laptops as well as lenovo do (on a related point are all thinkpads pretty solid?), also is the intel GMA X3100 GPU any good? or should I pay extra for ATI/Nvidia?
User3204 Posted September 23, 2008 Posted September 23, 2008 We've got the Lenovo 3000 c200 and n200 for the staff, and they've been built well, dunno what they're like for games and that. These aren't the old IBM Thinkpad style, no nipple..
kmount Posted September 23, 2008 Posted September 23, 2008 We've had a lot of Acer problems of late. Was annoyed that Lenovo charge for a Vista -> XP regrade kit at around £50!!! Bit the machines are certainly better.
mac_shinobi Posted September 23, 2008 Posted September 23, 2008 call me biased but ive been converted to the dark side aka apple mac So I would say mac book or mac book pro If you are keen on just getting a normal windows type laptop then I would say Dell, HP or samsung and would be an idea to get the what laptop magazine as they cover all the nitty gritty with regards to the latest GPU's cpu's etc and which ones are better and why etc and for a few quid its well worth it
jamin100 Posted September 24, 2008 Posted September 24, 2008 call me biased but ive been converted to the dark side aka apple mac So I would say mac book or mac book pro Me too. I just brought a macbook 2 nights ago from eBay and having never used a mac before in my life its really straight forward... Selling my philips 12NB5800 ultraportable if your interested
rhyds Posted September 24, 2008 Author Posted September 24, 2008 We have Lenovo 3000 N100s here and while they're good, i'd rather a thinkpad with its "throw it through a window" rollcage etc (bit on the clumsy side). I've plumped for a thinkpad R61 with 2ghz but can't decide between a pentium dual core or a core2 duo, the dual core comes with a nice handy XP downgrade...
rhyds Posted September 24, 2008 Author Posted September 24, 2008 Me too. I just brought a macbook 2 nights ago from eBay and having never used a mac before in my life its really straight forward... Selling my philips 12NB5800 ultraportable if your interested Sorry, not a mac person. When I'm at home all I want is straightforward, simple computing.
rush_tech Posted September 24, 2008 Posted September 24, 2008 We have Lenovo 3000 N100s here and while they're good, i'd rather a thinkpad with its "throw it through a window" rollcage etc (bit on the clumsy side). I've plumped for a thinkpad R61 with 2ghz but can't decide between a pentium dual core or a core2 duo, the dual core comes with a nice handy XP downgrade... C2D all the way:)
tmcd35 Posted September 24, 2008 Posted September 24, 2008 Sorry, not a mac person. When I'm at home all I want is straightforward, simple computing. Erm, you've just discribed Mac computing! Very few freezes, crashes, reboots, slow downs and no virus compared to Windows.... ....But to answer your question (with a question), What are you looking to do with it (games/video editing/just internet) and how much do you want to spend. For gaming Laptops £6/700+ on a Dell or Sony will get you something special. I like the Sony's at this price point. For internet only use, £350-£400 on a HP, Lenovo or Toshiba can get you something nice.
jamin100 Posted September 24, 2008 Posted September 24, 2008 If its just for the net and some word docs then what about one of the ultra portable pc's AA1 or eee 1000?
rhyds Posted September 24, 2008 Author Posted September 24, 2008 It'll prolly be for general home use rather than gaming and around the £400 mark. My parents will prolly want to use it, so it rules out a mac or linux-based eee (i don't have the patience to walk them through either OS), and I want to be able to use various apps e.g ECU fault code readers that are windows specific. What are toshiba's lower end products like? I know their old business kit was amazing, ditto HP/Compaq, but i haven't had a go on the newer kit from either.
powdarrmonkey Posted September 24, 2008 Posted September 24, 2008 I'd go with the Thinkpad out of your original options, but personally I have an HP 6715b from Insight that I'm overjoyed with.
rhyds Posted September 24, 2008 Author Posted September 24, 2008 Just seen an asus with a good spec for the same price, but TBH i think it's going to have to be a thinkpad simply because it'll withstand being rattled about a bit.
martynbez Posted September 24, 2008 Posted September 24, 2008 Sony if you have the cash! i have had mine for over 5 years and still going strong! very good build!
rhyds Posted September 25, 2008 Author Posted September 25, 2008 It seems a small stumbling block has been found. The 2.1 ghz thinkpad I wanted is NLA, I now have a choice between a dual core 2ghz, or a 1.8ghz core2. Is a core2 worth the extra £90?
rush_tech Posted September 25, 2008 Posted September 25, 2008 It seems a small stumbling block has been found. The 2.1 ghz thinkpad I wanted is NLA, I now have a choice between a dual core 2ghz, or a 1.8ghz core2. Is a core2 worth the extra £90? Compare them here I would say get the C2D
rhyds Posted September 25, 2008 Author Posted September 25, 2008 Unfortunately they don't list mobile CPUs there. The laptops are identical other than the CPU (same ram, hdd etc), so it's a case of is a core2 1.8Ghz comparable to a dual core 2.0Ghz
localzuk Posted September 25, 2008 Posted September 25, 2008 6715b - excellent laptop We've got a load of these and the 6720s model too, both are superb.
rhyds Posted September 25, 2008 Author Posted September 25, 2008 I've finally decided on the core2 1.8 thinkpad. Now to see how strong it is by repeatedly throwing it at someone I don't like...
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