<p>Hey guys I'm considering buying a laptop for next year when I get to college (I'll probably buy it in June/July) I'm actually very good with computers and I've programmed and built computers since I was in 6th grade but in the last couple of years I lost track of all this new technology out there. I'm not sure what processor to look for when buying a laptop, and I'm not sure what to look for in a laptop anymore. I need advice on what's out there, what would you buy?</p>
<p>Linux or BSD support is strongly prefferred.</p>
<p>Oh and please don't suggest Apples. I have my own reasons for not wanting to buy an apple (YES I HAVE USED THEM FOR VERY LONG PERIODS OF TIME) and I still don't want one. I know their pluses and minuses, please don't turn this into a x86 vs PPC debate.</p>
<p>The AMD Athlon 64 Turion processors are coming soon (within a month), I'd go for one of those if I was you. That's AMD's answer to Intel's Centrino, and it's 64 bit - so future proof. There are already 64 bit versions of Linux available and Win XP x64 edition comes this summer.</p>
<p>Just watch out for them Turion laptops ;) Unless you want something tried and tested, in which case go for a Centrino. HDD... min. 80gb. Go for a gig of RAM if you can. 512mb is fine too. I'm an intl so can't really suggest models that are available in the US...</p>
<p>Yeah the most important question is what CPU and what clock speed I should look for, the HDD will be between 40 and 80 gigs (I haven't filled up this 20 gig yet...) a gig of RAM is a must. Wifi b/g is a must. 64 bit? I have no idea about anything in this area :-/</p>
<p>How much money do you want to spend?
(In racing, the adage is: Speed cost money, how fast do you want to go?)</p>
<p>Are you a hard core gamer/Photoshop user/digital file manipulator/ CD ripper/ code compiler kind of person?</p>
<p>Are you concerned about battery life and weight?</p>
<p>Alienware, Voodoo and even Dell have laptop gaming machines. These are desktop replacements with plenty of power and big screens: they arent meant to stray too far from an electrical outlet. And they are heavy. So if you have $2000-$3000, buy one or just max out your or your parents credit card. </p>
<p>For the rest of us who didnt hit the Mega Million or PowerBall jackpot, the questions are: what is your budget? What do you want to do with your laptop? Are you a Corvette or a Cavalier?</p>
<p>I have heard some very questionable things about Alienware's quality. I would not suggest buying a laptop to play games, anyway. Dell has good Linux support due to its huge userbase. I am in a rush, so I can't finish this post, but I am VERY interested in the topic. I'll try to return later.</p>
<p>ok all valid questions, I'm interested in staying < $1200. If anyone can recommend a specific dell model that would be great.</p>
<p>I'm into casual photography so I use Photoshop, but I do not game.
I am a coder and I am going for (maybe, not 100% sure yet) an engineering major. </p>
<p>I don't think I am concerned about weight at all, however a decent battery life would be nice (4 hours or so) and I don't mean 4 advertised hours I mean actually for the damn thing to work 4 hours...</p>
<p>PS: Any specific dells, I might be able to get a discount...</p>
<p>I also have a bad taste in my mouth after using a celeron, I'm guessing I should look for the Pentium M processors if looking at Intels? What would I look for in AMDs?</p>
<p>NO CELERONS... FOR ANY REASON!!!!! go for amd's if you're willing to push ur budget to about 1300-1500</p>
<p>get an amd 64 bit one, they'll have 16 pipe ones out soon enough and those will be amazing... that said, do load up on ram, u can sacrifice a weaker processor for more ram... and another note... don't get the dell xps... sure it looks great, but it has 1.5 hours of battery life, damn sonoma processor and ge ultra 6800 gpu... grrr</p>
<p>go for AMD if you feel like a "man" and doesn't want to use all those "wimptops" (I have a laptop bag totals 25 lb, heh), plus AMD beats INTEL perfermence wise</p>
<p>If you feel like to be a wimp, get a SONY's picturebook or 505 series, they are very small</p>
<p>Centrino or AMD64 ONLY</p>
<p>P4 and celerons are crap, even durons are better.</p>
<p>If youre looking for 4 hours of battery life, a Pentium Centrino M chip is what you need. I dont think a Celeron processor will get that kind of run time. AMD has finally released a new Mobile chipset to compete with the Centrino. It may be a month or so before this chipset will make its way to laptop manufacturers. Keep an eye out for reviews. The current AMD Mobile chipset is slower and runs hotter. Battery life isnt very good. The new Averatec 3500 Tablet PC runs hot and has at best a two hour run time. Also note that for under $1000, its pretty much all Celeron. You may have to look at Ebay or the refurbish market for a better spec machine Note: AMD 64s are great chips, but none will get you 4 hours of battery life. And if your budget is less than $1000, youre unlikely to find one unless it fell off the back of a truck.</p>
<p>Things to consider:</p>
<p>512 megs of memory or more. A lot of manufacturers (including Dell) only put in 256 meg in their desktops and laptops. They should all know better. Its more cost effective to add your own memory after the purchase. Check memory speed. I dont think manufacturers are still using slow PC2100 series ram. You should look for PC2700 or faster memory if the laptops motherboard will accept it. Check out the FSB speed if you can find the info. </p>
<p>Hard drive: cheaper laptops have small and slow hard drives. Make sure the laptop hard drive runs at 5400 rpm or better. 7200rpm units are the best, but cost more. Do your homework on this. Most ads dont mention hard drive speed. It does make a big difference.</p>
<p>The truth is that even a Celeron based laptop will run most basic tasks like web browsing, e-mail, and dvd/cd playback. More memory and a faster hard drive will make a bigger difference than sheer processor speed alone. </p>
<p>Wireless: 802b/g is best. Most schools and businesses have b though g is faster. </p>
<p>Because there are so many different laptops available, I cant make any specific recommendations. There are a lot of websites that have valuable forums that will debate the merits and demerits of practically any laptop ever made. Happy reading!</p>
<p>The Celeron M chip is completely different from the desktop Celerons. A Celeron M will only run slightly slower than a Pentium M of the same frequency, but it has inferior battery life. So if your budget is a little tight, a Celeron M can be a good option.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Hard drive: cheaper laptops have small and slow hard drives. Make sure the laptop hard drive runs at 5400 rpm or better. 7200rpm units are the best, but cost more. Do your homework on this. Most ads dont mention hard drive speed. It does make a big difference.
[/quote]
i agree with michuncle on everything but this, 5400rpm will serve you well as well with hardly a difference in performance. will consume less power. and less chance of data loss. umm, don't ask me where i get this reasoning from :p i read about it and it sounds logical enough, i'll point you to a link if you want.</p>
<p>Keep an eye out for Dell specials/coupons. I'd recommend you google for them every day. Every now and again a great deal comes out (in other words, a laptop that would cost $2000 will have a coupon online for a $700 dollar rebate). Keep an eye out and it will happen.</p>
<p>A lot of the cheaper laptops may have 4800rpm hard drives. 5400 is certainly better. And 7200rpm units are better still and uses only a little more power. I haven't heard about serious data loss for hard drives (by speed or manufacturer) in the longest time.</p>
<p>On a laptop, you have various power level options to conserve battery power. One of those options is to throttle back your hard drive speed. Depending on your settings, you may notice some slowdown in performance. Slowing down a 7200 rpm unit will not be as noticable at reduced power settings.</p>
<p>Still, at a budget under $1000 there will be compromises. The more you know, the better.</p>
<p>Dell is the best place for high performance low priced notebooks. Go to the website and customize the machines. The Inspiron 6000 is probably the best deal.</p>