Buying a laptop

[rains]

Hi,

I am looking my first laptop. I am a web developer and would need it to be quite fast.As I have never used laptops before I have no idea of their efficiency and how to judge them.

Can any deveopers or anyone help me what kind of processor and memory specs should I look for.
And what else should I look for in a good laptop.
Also I wouldnt want to pay more then $2000 - 2200.
Can it be possible that I can completely replace my PC with laptop in relation to my work at this price?
Does 2.0 GHz see with 1GB memory sound a good enough spec for running visual studio and developing huge projetc??

Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks a lot

 

[FghtinIrshNvrDi]

Well, for $2000, you can get a pretty nice laptop. If you're shopping around, and see 'Pentium M', go ahead and jump on it. Some are faster than others, (1.1ghz - 1.73ghz). I have a feeling they will all suit you VERY well, but the higher the better.

If you see anything that says Turion 64 Mobile, jump on it too. It is AMD's cool-running laptop chip.

Steer clear of anything that says Pentium 4. They run warm, especially in the confines of a laptop. They also burn energy faster. Expect maybe a 2 hour battery life, 90 minutes if you're workin it.

There are others out there, but find a laptop you like, and post the specs back here.

Oh, and yes, if you can afford it, try to go with a gig of ram.

Ryan

 

[Trotter]

If you're not going to game on it, check out WinBook. They don't come with a graphics card.

http://winbook.com/notebooks/notebooks.html

 

[AnthraX]

Personally I recommend IBM laptops. They are very stable and can take a beating.

 

[AnthraX]

I looked around and customized this IBM Lenovo laptop.
https://www-1.ibm.com/products/hard...ui/submitConfigSelection.wss?nc=1138122762892

Model: T43
Processor: Intel Pentium M 750 (1.86Ghz)
OS: Windows XP Pro
Memory: 1GB PC2-4200
Graphics: 64MB Mobility Radeon x300
Hard Drive: 60GB 7200RPM
Optical Drive: CD-RW/DVD-ROM
Wireless: 802.11G
Battery: 9-Cell Lithium Ion
Free Carrying Case and Cable Lock

Total Price: $1,864 (w/o shipping)

 

[Jason S]

IBM, Sony, Fujitsu and Dell...

 

[FghtinIrshNvrDi]

Yeah, I am around the computer helpdesk here on campus a lot. All I see all day long are kids with Dell laptops breaking. I know that the proportion I see isn't fair because almost everyone gets a Dell, but either way, Dell laptops are always having software issues. I would highly advise skating away from a dell laptop.

Ryan

 

[rains]

Sorry I meant the AU $2000 not USD. So that would probably be about 1500 - 1700.

AnthraX the config sounds good but the link doesnt work.How should I go about finding it.
Also I wanted to ask if it is possible to upgrade a laptops processor?

 

[rains]

How does this system look? For AUD $2200 thats about $1700 USD
Intel Pentium M Processor 750 1.86GHz, 512MB RAM, 80GB HDD, 15.4" TruBrite Widescreen, DL SuperMultui DVD burner.

Features: PROCESSOR - Intel Pentium M Processor 750 1.86GHz with Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology (533MHz FSB)
MEMORY - 512MB DDR2 (533) 1 free memory slot. Total memory expandable to 2GB
HARD DRIVE - 80GB (5400rpm) SATA
OPTICAL DRIVE - DVD SuperMulti Double⁄Dual Layer Drive
READ AND WRITE SPEED - Read: CD-ROM, DVD-ROM 8x, Write; CD-R 24x, CD-RW 4x, HS CD-RW 10x, DVD-R 8x, DVD-R DL 2x, DVD-RW 4x, DVD+R 8x, DVD+R DL 2.4x, DVD+RW 4x, DVD-RAM 5x
COLOUR DISPLAY - 15.4" TruBrite Widescreen WIDEview XGA (CSV High-brightness) Active Matrix colour display
RESOLUTION - 1280 x 800
VIDEO - ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700 SE with 128MB dedicated video memory with hyperMemory (PCI Express 16x)
TV-OUT PORT - S-Video
AUDIO - AC '97 Software Sound with Direct3DSound
LAN - 10⁄100 Base TX Ethernet, Integrated Intel Pro 2915 802.11abg wireless LAN
MODEM - International V.92 data modem + fax
SPEAKERS - Premium harman⁄kardon speakers
CARD READER - 5-in-1 card reader adapter
DISKETTE DRIVE - Not specified by Manufacturer
USB PORT - 3 x Hi-Speed USB 2.0
PARALLEL PORT - Not specified by Manufacturer
SERIAL PORT - Not specified by Manufacturer
PC CARD SLOT - One PC Card slot supports one Type II PC Card, Express Card
IEEE1394 PORT - Yes
INFRA-RED PORT - Not specified by Manufacturer
BLUE TOOTH - Toshiba Bluetooth V2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
SECURITY OPTIONS - Not specified by Manufacturer
SOFTWARE - Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2 (OEM), Toshiba Assist, Toshiba Console & Utilities, Toshiba Touch & Launch, Microsoft OneNote 2003, Record Now! Basic for TOSHIBA, DLA for Toshiba, ConfigFree, Toshiba Speech System, Intervideo WinDVD, Intervideo WinDVD Creator 2 Platinum, Norton Antivirus 2005 (90 day subscription), Adobe Acrobat Reader
ESTIMATED BATTERY LIFE - To be confirmed
WEIGHT - Approximately 2.71kg
WARRANTY - 1 year international parts and labour warranty
CONTACT NUMBER FOR WARRANTY, SERVICE & SUPPORT - 13 30 70

 

[AnthraX]

Pretty good. I don't know how good Toshiba makes laptops.

If you wanna get the same setup I made earlier just go here: http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/s...1&catalogId=-840&langId=-1&categoryId=2035724
Go to the T series and then "Let Me Build It" then upgrade to everything you want, but I think I came up with a very nice system earlier which I recommend.