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| Thread ID: 79563 | 2007-05-24 08:42:00 | New Laptop Vista vs XP??? | echothreezero (6612) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 552677 | 2007-05-24 12:42:00 | the critical flaw with mac machines too. otherwise i'd buy one myself (once they allow us to upgrade like XP does, but not vista yet lol) ah vista; the best reason yet to buy a mac (especially seeing as the full price for vista ultimate offsets the costs of buying a mac in nz somewhat) |
motorbyclist (188) | ||
| 552678 | 2007-05-24 19:39:00 | (once they allow us to upgrade like XP does, but not vista yet lol) :confused: How do you figure that? |
winmacguy (3367) | ||
| 552679 | 2007-05-24 20:22:00 | I wouldn't bother upgrading the CPU - I doubt you would notice the difference. I presume the graphics is onboard and it doesn't have a seperate graphics chip. That is the reason I would upgrade the RAM. Agreed. Only $45 for an extra gig of RAM is a bargain. If you run WinXP you may not need 2 Gb of RAM but think of the future when you want to sell your laptop in 4 or 5 years: someone may want to run Vista and 2 Gb RAM is a good selling point. Upgrading the CPU would be a waste of $$ imho. As Tukapa says it is (very) doubtful you would notice any difference. Even if you put it on some sort of computer tech analyzer my guess is that it would less than 5% faster and perhaps only 1% for general use such as web browsing and text work. You asked if you can use your old XP Pro. Officially I don't think so. Isn't the MS COA only for one pc? And there is a limit on the number of times you can install XP from the disk - is it 5 times? Graphics card: find out if one can be added. Any card would be preferable to onboard shared graphics. If you do buy from a Trademe company, check their guarantee / repair policy carefully. For the price its a great buy. |
Strommer (42) | ||
| 552680 | 2007-05-24 22:37:00 | Definitely get the extra RAM. As Steve L said, for $45 the extra 1GB is a bargain. Think future-proofing. Now if the processor upgrade was from a "Core Duo" to a "Core 2 Duo" I'd say go for it. But as it isn't, as others have already mentioned you probably won't notice the difference with whatever OS you go for. You WILL be able to install your XP Pro (non-OEM - that's the important bit), after jumping through the appropriate MS hoops. If you are going the Vista route (now or in the future) buy Home Premium now. You need Premium for the full multimedia support. You will never get Vista as cheap as buying it with a new PC. I recommend this route. You can get a copy of Virtual PC 2007 for free. Install your XP Pro distribution within Virtual PC and if you have any issues with software under Vista you have a fall back environment. It works really well. |
AvonBill (11358) | ||
| 552681 | 2007-05-24 23:33:00 | Thanks - excellent advice. Probably going for a Toshiba as I remember issues with HP service I had on an old machine and swearing I'd never go there again - so many years ago I forgot. Plus the Toshis have better reviews. Just to throw a spanner in the works - what is a similar specced mac? It used to be that macs had slower CPU's for similar performance - been looking at secondhand macs. I'm a bit worried about software if I go to a mac - on a PC I can run entirely open source (Mozilla, Open Office, free photo editors etc) Can I do the same on mac? I can't afford a machine AND software. |
echothreezero (6612) | ||
| 552682 | 2007-05-25 00:09:00 | Look - my apologies right off first. I'm trying to make a new post for an Excel qu. and I can't find the button to click on to make a new post. I KNOW this is the wrong place and so I'm hoping one of the readers will tell me what I'm seeking to do. Yes, searched everywhere. I just know I've missed it........Thanks UPDATE - found it. Duh me !! |
yorkshirekid (9033) | ||
| 552683 | 2007-05-25 03:00:00 | Just to throw a spanner in the works - what is a similar specced mac? It used to be that macs had slower CPU's for similar performance - been looking at secondhand macs. I'm a bit worried about software if I go to a mac - on a PC I can run entirely open source (Mozilla, Open Office, free photo editors etc) Can I do the same on mac? I can't afford a machine AND software. Macs cost considerably more and there are very limited freebie programs so imho forget about Macs. Also of course some of your friends will have PC software... and you...:D |
Strommer (42) | ||
| 552684 | 2007-05-25 03:43:00 | Macs cost considerably more and there are very limited freebie programs so imho forget about Macs. Also of course some of your friends will have PC software... and you...:D Limited free software? A lot of open source software is avaliable on the mac. Just like there is free software on the mac that isn't avaliable for windows. Spec for spec there is little difference in prices for a mac and equivilant pc. Just don't expect to find a low speced mac. As for second hand mac's, don;t touch the PowerPC chipped mac's. Although still capable they are getting a bit long in the tooth. I still own and use one as my primary machine, but would only buy an intel one now |
plod (107) | ||
| 552685 | 2007-05-25 04:45:00 | Thanks - excellent advice. Probably going for a Toshiba as I remember issues with HP service I had on an old machine and swearing I'd never go there again - so many years ago I forgot. Plus the Toshis have better reviews. Just to throw a spanner in the works - what is a similar specced mac? It used to be that macs had slower CPU's for similar performance - been looking at secondhand macs. I'm a bit worried about software if I go to a mac - on a PC I can run entirely open source (Mozilla, Open Office, free photo editors etc) Can I do the same on mac? I can't afford a machine AND software. You can pretty much run the same Free stuff on a Mac that you are currently running on a PC-judging by the stuff you have listed. Checkout www.versiontracker.com You just need to down load the Mac version. I'm running Firefox, Thunderbird and about to load OpenOffice for Intel Mac. Speed wise- your using the same Intel Chips. I think there are suitable opensource photo editors for Mac although I am a Photoshop person myself. The only thing you won't be able to do is to run your existing PC apps natively on an Intel Mac (without using Bootcamp or Parallels) Macs were "slower" about 7-8 years ago when they were running Motorola G4 chips. |
winmacguy (3367) | ||
| 552686 | 2007-05-25 06:12:00 | Spec for spec there is little difference in prices for a mac and equivilant pc. Example: MacBook Pro * 2.16GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo * 1440 x 900 pixels * 1GB memory * 120GB hard drive1 * 6x double-layer SuperDrive * ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB SDRAM Estimated Ship: within 24 hours Free Shipping NZ$ 3,799.00 I won't bother looking up the cost for a PC notebook but guess it is $2k or less. |
Strommer (42) | ||
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