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Thread ID: 33625	2003-05-21 04:40:00	Best Laptop?	Winston001 (3612)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
146181	2003-05-21 04:40:00	I want to buy a laptop and accept that I need to pay about $2500. However I find it hard to work out the obvious differences between the high priced machines and the cheaper ones. The range is about $2100 - $5000. I don't want to buy something which will frustrate me in 6 months. My use will generally be web browsing, some word processing, and perhaps the odd game. Eventually I will want to store and write digital photos but feel that an external writer is a better choice. Any advice out there would be gratefully recieved.	Winston001 (3612)
146182	2003-05-21 08:00:00	For what you wanting to do on a laptop, the ones at The PC Company for around $3000 will be ample for your needs. They have DVD ROM / CD writer combo drives, decent hard-drives and RAM, and good size screens. As well the graphics cards in then are ample for most games that you will want to play. You don’t need to break the bank but remember this: Always buy a laptop with higher specs than you think you will need. The reason is that they can be very expensive to upgrade (if at all) and as well the software that’s constantly being released is demanding more and more from your system. What may seem great this year will seem slow next year or thereafter. Also - get the extended warranty. I had to replace a laptop screen and hard-drive that had (unusual) faults after just 16 months, and they were very expensive to replace. After having a look around myself for laptops, The PC Company asks a very fair price for the systems that they offer. In comparison, a Sony laptop with the same specs will cost an average $1000 more. Here is the hyperlink link if you’re interested in having a look: www.thepccompany.co.nz CF3B645D90BB953E47B324A00EFBCD54F02AFE45E52B5566DE 30432AD57B5E8E30C82E8733270F0D60B8C3753D59604EA72B 9E1B152B07A6FF0C1ADB23C2B1D2764667871EF7E345A440A2 98CED75D51414D2C27A7C05EB777D99D8A3B923347173ADDF1 73F64C590D34A3D5BB162DDB78FDFB6754 Regards PF1 :-)	PressF1 User (1065)
146183	2003-05-21 08:09:00	For work lately I have been purchasing the Compaq Evo N1015V (using one at home now). Has Athlon 1800, 256DDr ram, 30gig drive, DVd, 14" screen, battery (missing from some laptops these days) floppy drive built in (ditto), and XP Pro. The price? $2049 plus GST, which I feel is an excellent price for a very nice laptop. We have purchased the PC Co laptops in teh past but in the end they were overpriced and had problems with a number of them. Although I didn't agree with the concept in the past, brand name laptops do seem better made. MTCW	falvrez (390)
146184	2003-05-21 08:38:00	I came across the Asus Degatto Series laptops available from here: www.nfc.co.nz One of these laptops seems to me to fit your requirements. A caution though: The price does not include an OS - Prices for XP Home and Pro are at the bottom of the page. Ian	IanJ (1454)
146185	2003-05-22 22:49:00	I'm not too sure about the PC Company ones, they are usually rebranded Intel OEM systems. Ultra use the same scheme. Assemble them to sales spec from an OEM prebuilt chassis. I know that Dell at the moment have got some real good deals!	kiwistag (2875)
146186	2003-06-04 23:42:00	Thanks for your advice everyone. I am considering a Toshiba 1130 for $2450 at the moment. My IT adviser at Online Computers gives us very good support which is important cos I work in a small town 20 miles from Invercargill where all the technology is. I could buy online but the saving is illusory if I need help with networking etc. Dean at Online says that over the years Toshiba is the only brand he sees keeping on going. Is a 15 inch screen worth the extra money?	Winston001 (3612)
146187	2003-06-04 23:54:00	> Is a 15 inch screen worth the extra money? Depends if you are going to use it. I think that a 13 - 14" is more than sufficient, especially when you consider that the size of the screen has a direct correllation to the size of the overall unit. If you intend to be fairly mobile, you are better off going for something slightly smaller. If your machine is going to be docked a lot, and you will be using it as a workstation, then my all means go for the extra size. I think that provided the resolution of the onboard graphics is sufficient, you should get a reasonable picture even out of a smaller screen, and you'll appreciate the lighter laptop bag in time. Toshiba's are a pretty good choice, though I agree with the above that the newer Compaq Evo's are pretty well priced and placed in the market. Don't forget to look and ensure that the little things are there, like a reasonable number of USB ports, a good long life on the battery, a good range of additional accessories should you need them, a practical warranty etc. Good luck :D	honeylaser (814)
146188	2003-06-05 05:04:00	Be careful when buying non-branded laptops. By that I mean any brand that is not one of the major suppliers like Acer/Toshiba/Compaq/IBM etc. Because most of them use the desktop version of the CPU's not the mobile versions and this usually means the laptop runs a lot hotter and battery runs out quicker.	CYaBro (73)
146189	2003-06-05 05:10:00	"rebranded OEM systems". :D I think there are only two or three manufacturers of laptops in the world. All the different companies which sell "their own" laptops have their design and manufacturing work restricted to the badge with their name.	Graham L (2)
146190	2003-06-05 06:37:00	Winston The Toshiba Satellite 1130 is just what I recommended to my son when he asked this same question last week. An external cdwriter and eternal floppy drive brought the price up to $26739 (incl.gst). I based my choice largely on the various postings here on Press F1. brig	brig (1359)
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