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Thread ID: 88637	2008-04-03 08:01:00	Notebook- please help me pick one!!!	Windmill (13579)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
655814	2008-04-03 08:01:00	Hello there. I am a 17 year old student from Christchurch. I am in my last year of high school and am looking forward to university next year! I currently have a dinky old desktop PC that, 5 years ago, was in the low end specs of its time (it cost $500 brand new) and am looking for something new in time for university. Now here are my main concerns. Portability (so weight) Ability to run photoshop 7-CS3 + microsoft word 2007 student edition + internet + maybe some music Noise (I would like no noise if at all possible. Mainly when I am just working on Microsoft office + internet at the same time- if I'm doing something like using photoshop, a bit of noise won't hurt, particularly if I can listen to music at the same time) Bluetooth Secondary concerns are the; Screen (would like it sharp) Battery (would if possible like it to be 3-4 hours on full charge without having to have too dim a screen) Any gaming capabilities would be nice, but thats just gravy. Same with an inbuilt camera. I'm guessing these days DVD/CD burners are pretty standard. My Budget is no more than $1,500 shipped (I get a student discount of 8% on all notebooks). Would much prefer to go even less than that. One laptop I am interested in is the Dell Inspiron 1525 starting at $900 (www1.ap.dell.com). What I would add to the standard combo is the best screen upgrade, bluetooth, Vista Premium, another 1 gig of RAM, the McAfee security for 15 months, a carry bag (I wouldn't buy theres but am using it for reference on price) and a 2 gig USB storage unit (once again just using as reference) The most I use is internet (like watching youtube videos) + some music + photoshop. Currently I use photoshop elements 3 but if I have the extra cash I'll upgrade and get a later version of photoshop, probably Photoshop 7. This is all at the same time. Do you think this will fit my needs well? Also: Do you think it'll be worth waiting the extra 6-9 months before upgrading? $100-200 isn't to much of an issue to be losing from upgrading sooner rather than later (but from what I'm reading the leaps from 2006 to present in notebooks is huge, does the market move that fast?). Any help much appreciated! Thanks	Windmill (13579)
655815	2008-04-03 10:10:00	Hey there. Hardware wise you seem to have a good handle on what you are doing. I have always had good experiences with Dell, though if you know what you want with regards to hardware I know there are some great deals to be had getting it custom built from smaller local companies. Just thought I'd add my two cents with regards to software. If you are coming to Canterbury next year, if you can hold out software-wise it would be well worth your while, as there is some new tertiary student mega-deal with a variety of vendors, including adobe and microsoft. With tertiary student ID you can get ENORMOUS discounts on software. For instance Office Enterprise 07 for $160. Not sure about other universities, but I would assume they all have someone supplying these products. Anyway good luck with your purchasing.	GorCh (13021)
655816	2008-04-03 10:54:00	With tertiary student ID you can get ENORMOUS discounts on software. For instance Office Enterprise 07 for $160. I thought Enterprise was only available through volume licensing agreements (ie only businesses have access to it). Personally I'd avoid Dell - their customer service is cr*p and from personal experience they're not such great quality. But that was 3-4 years ago and things may have improved since then. Go with ASUS. May be a little more expensive but most likely worth the extra $ Check out the ASUS Eee PC as well - $699 from DSE with XP Home - definitely not hot for gaming but has most other things. Maybe not for photoshop either. But is is darn cheap. Add an SD card and an external HD and you've got a reasonably decent work (not games!) machine. Also have a look at the ASUS Z53E from DSE. Runs XP Pro which IMO is way better than Vista. $1399.	jwil1 (65)
655817	2008-04-03 11:02:00	Runs XP Pro which IMO is way better than Vista. Amen! :D	password (5384)
655818	2008-04-03 11:13:00	How about one of these? they 999 after cash back, does not have BT but you can buy an adapter... www.portables.co.nz I have one of these and they run very well.... i upgraded to 2 gb of ram for vista (hmmm..) but you can afford to at that price. Password	password (5384)
655819	2008-04-03 18:47:00	Portability (so weight) Depends on what you call heavy I've got a 12.1" for uni which only weighs 1.8kg, whereas some of my mates a lugging round laptops weighing 2.5-3.5kg.	stormdragon (6013)
655820	2008-04-03 18:56:00	Stormdragon, does the extra .7kg saved really make a lot of difference? Password that seems like a good price but it doesn't look like its customisable, so what about adding in like bluetooth? Also would it be wise to get XP? I know it runs everything now but how long until its dead and buried? But I will check out the ASUS line :) And yep I can wait on the software and plan to! Thanks for the replies please keep 'em coming.	Windmill (13579)
655821	2008-04-03 19:15:00	Get XP while you can. It'll be gone at the end of June this year IIRC.	jwil1 (65)
655822	2008-04-03 19:18:00	Yup, like Jwil said, ASUS is the business IMHO - and DSE are amazingly well priced for notebooks. Harvey Norman are good to buy from sometimes, in the sense that you can hit them up for a free carry bag, and travel mouse etc if you're a cash buyer. Every freebie helps when you're a student right?? :D (leaves more money for beer!)	nofam (9009)
655823	2008-04-03 19:27:00	Stormdragon, does the extra .7kg saved really make a lot of difference? It makes a difference from when I had a 3kg laptop its a lose of approx 40% and I can definitely notice it when walking around central Auckland for extended periods. That's only the base weight of the laptop on top of that I'm carrying text books and folders so it all adds up after awhile. But then again if you're a well built character you probably wouldn't care. Basically it comes down to personal preference, how far you're intending to travel and what else your carrying with the laptop. If you are coming to Canterbury next year, if you can hold out software-wise it would be well worth your while, as there is some new tertiary student mega-deal with a variety of vendors, including adobe and microsoft. With tertiary student ID you can get ENORMOUS discounts on software. For instance Office Enterprise 07 for $160. Regardless of what Uni from Lapshop (http://www.lapshop.co.nz/) you can get Office 2007 Pro for $132 incl GST. Students get heaps of discounts at places if you look around.	stormdragon (6013)
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