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umm... a little help, please?

post #1 of 8
8/15/06 at 4:41pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I am not at all computer savvy, and really not afraid to admit it.

I would like a laptop, preferably one which does not break down/ catch fire spontaneously, predominantly for using the internet, creating Word documents and downloading music as well as watching dvds.

First of all, I was going to get an intel centrino by toshiba. Then my family decided 'no no, an intel centrino duo is the way forward'... so an Acer computer was suggested. Then they said that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a celeron and a centrino (true!!), so it really made no difference. And ARGGHHHHH, now I am back to square one, and if I don't pick one soon, I'll have to go back to using my crappy no-memory-left 5GB laptop (I kid you not. It's got about... 70MB left on it).

My brother (the annoying one who has contributed to this whole 'let's get this... no, let's get this one...' has finally suggested:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en...&lang=en&cc=uk

Can anyone tell me if it is any good, because I have tried googling it, and there don't seem to be many reviews.

Is it a problem if the processor cache is only 1MB? (whatever that means )

Does AMD Turion work just as well as centrino?

Can anyone see any bad points in the computer? Is it worth the price?

Thank you thank you thank you to whomever can help me. You'll have saved me from my uber slow-full-up laptop!


x
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post #2 of 8
8/15/06 at 5:53pm
http://www.notebookforums.com/showth...42#post2351542
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post #3 of 8
8/16/06 at 7:41am
Pretty much any laptop should do just fine for your needs. It sounds like you're not doing any 3D modeling or gaming, so that laptop should be fine for surfing the internet, downloading music, writing Word documents, and watching dvds. If you were to do any 3D graphics design or gaming, you would probably want a better video adapter, but it sounds like you just want a basic computer.

I recommend that you pick an amount of money you want to spend, and then ask about the best laptop for that price. It's a lot easier to configure a laptop to get the most for a certain amount of money, than it is to configure a laptop based solely on needs, especially with your basic needs. Oh, and have you tried configuring a dv5000t to the same specifications of the dv5244eu? I think customized laptops are cheaper, so you might want to try that - you might be surprised to find that it is cheaper for the exact same parts and style. (This is part of the dv5xxxt series. The 5000 is the customize-to-order model, and then other models that start with 5 are just pre-configured so that they can be sold retail, and they are usually marked up in price.)
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post #4 of 8
8/16/06 at 12:52pm
Go to www.Costco.com

They have the best prices, best return policy (180-days, vs only 21-days thru HP)

You can buy a pre-built, or CTO it (Custom To Order)

Order it CTO and get it direct from the HP factory in China in about a week.

http://www.costco.com/CTO/HPLanding....topnav=&browse=


BTW: When configuring ANY computer system, DON'T max out the ram as it's usually cheaper to buy the ram from someplace like www.newegg.com 2 gig of ram going for like $160- $180.

Ram takes all of about a minute to install (a five year old can do it)... and by doing it that way you get to keep the base installed ram... very useful later on if you think you have a ram problem. (Swap the chips out to test for bad ram)
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post #5 of 8
8/16/06 at 4:53pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

Thanks for the link; i just checked Costco, and the equivalent would be less than £500!!! Soooo good. But, unfortunately, they don't deliver outside the US, and seeing as I live in the UK, it isn't much help!

I looked on Comet today, and the Turion x2 is £669 but for a 14.1inch screen. Upgrade that to £749 and you get the whole 15.4in screen.

Hmmmm...

I guess the price my dad is willing to pay is £600. Anything above, and I shall fork out out of my impoverished student pockets. Really, I just want a good-value machine, which hopefully i'll be able to use for mannnyyy years to come and avoid this hassle of choosing a new fangled machine.

For reasons known only to myself, I don't really want to buy a dell computer.

Thanks so much. Any other opinions welcome!
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post #6 of 8
8/16/06 at 8:49pm
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post #7 of 8
8/16/06 at 9:40pm
Don't forget to mention that a better graphics card will increase the speed of your computer, but at the same time a slower integrated chip will increase battery life. You have to find a happy medium between the two...
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post #8 of 8
8/16/06 at 10:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ricky28269
Don't forget to mention that a better graphics card will increase the speed of your computer, but at the same time a slower integrated chip will increase battery life. You have to find a happy medium between the two...
Yep, that and the faster the card, the more heat it puts off. (A by-product of using more "juice, as you pointed out) Regardless, I think the info contained would help someone sort thru the "bull" when confronted with a pushy, or stupid salesman that is trying to sell you a el-crap-ola machine, the salesman saying the machine will do anything, and everything. Another point on the intergrated card is "if" it goes bad you have to replace the entire motherboard.... Which if you're paying can get expensive... Seperate GPU being seperate is just that.. "seperate".... Which can save you some $$$ later on if it or the motherboard goes bad.... Or as in the case with the DELL's being able to upgrade the video card (GPU) at a later date somewhat. Peoples needs change and with an intergrated gpu you're pretty much stuck... NO upgrade path...
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