Seeking a new laptop

Tagaziel

Tagaziel

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I'm looking to replace a dead Acer Aspire One netbook with a proper laptop for my wife. Acer died gradually, its power adapter slowly died and before we noticed, it refused to charge. As far as the local Gottingen computer tech is concerned, replacing the integrated motherboard in an Acer is going to be as expensive as buying a new laptop.

Maria needs a work/entertainment laptop, able to process high volume text, books scanned into DjVu/PDf format and full length high resolution movies without much of a problem. At least two USB ports and a DVD drive are also a must. I'm asking y'guys (U GUISE) because I'm not the best when it comes to putting computers together.

Currently I'm looking at Saturn/MediaMarkt offers in the Gottingen area and there are two I'm interested in (I owned a Toshiba Satellite previously and it was great, a little low on the battery life side though):

http://www.saturn.de/mcs/product/TO...50-4GB-320GB-schwarz,48352,357170,270259.html

http://www.saturn.de/mcs/product/TO...B-schwarz,48352,357170,279073.html#infoTabNav

We're ready to spend between 400-450 Euro.

Note on the side: My eleven year old HP Omnibook Pro still works without a hitch, the only signs of wear are the shiny edges, slightly cracked plastic casing and very delicately scratched screen with faint impressions of keys on it ;)
 
they're both the same price, and only difference I can see is that one has a better processor and better gpu than the other. the difference between the HD 6320 and the HD 6310 seems noticable, and you will probably notice that difference in cpu speed as well.

since they're the same price, get the better one.
 
They seem identical asides from the APU, and the E-450 is superior to the E-300. Therefore, seeing as they're the same price, get the one with the E-450.
 
I don't know the prices of models and i'm lazy so i won't check but i'll give you advice because i'm a nice guy.

You should look for something with a little more processing power, 2 GHz processors should do the trick for those tasks you listed.

Add to that an SSD and you got a fast laptop and a happy wife.
 
Having jumped from a slew of notebook brands that include Acer, Dell and HP, I would likely consider the HP ones as the greater ones. I am not saying that the other brands are left behind but there is just something about them that makes them really feel great to use.

Well, I am on a MBP now but have I not jumped to Apple, I would probably be on an HP, still.
 
You can't go wrong with a Toshiba Satellite. I remember getting one in 2006. So often I wanted to hate on the old thing, for its shitty battery, ugly-ass plastic frame, overheating GPU, and unfailing tendency to suck in every piece of dust in the room through those big, horrendously ugly grills, but it served me faithfully for five whole years, and would still be my main portable machine if I hadn't replaced it with... well, something much nicer:

asus_zenbook_20.jpg


ASUS-Zenbook.jpg
 
Yeah, the Zenbook is nice, but you're paying a huge premium for that niceness, and it's not what you'd call a capable gaming machine.
 
Well if you are looking for a gaming machine then you are looking in the wrong direction. Laptops are not designed for gaming. Alienware is going in the righ direction but their laptops are suffering from those same limitations, and Razor is just trolling.
 
I think that a VAIO laptop could do the job. They're quite nice from my experience, nicer than the Asus/Acer/Toshiba/HP laptops I've had.
 
donperkan said:
Well if you are looking for a gaming machine then you are looking in the wrong direction.
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This. I came to that realization after owning three "gaming" laptops, and realizing that a gaming laptop is merely an unsatisfactory compromise between two irreconcilable ends - portability and graphical performance. At that point, I resolved to own, at all times, two machines - a gaming desktop, and an ultra-portable laptop.

That is my present situation, and I'm quite happy with it. My gaming desktop is more powerful than any laptop (expect maybe some ridiculously overpriced Alienware that weighs as much as a TV set), and due to laughably slow pace of graphical improvements (courtesy of antiquated consoles), it hardly ever needs to be upgraded. And my Zenbook... apart from some ergonomic flaws, I'd say it's the ultimate portable computer. It's so thin and lightweight I can easily hold it between my index finger and thumb, it has enough performance to run 3ds Max and Unity engine without a hitch, the 256 GB SSD actually makes it feel faster than the more powerful desktop system I use at work, and if needed, it easily becomes as comfortable to use as any desktop machine. Want to use it with an external mouse and keyboard? No problem, there are enough USB ports to accommodate. Want to connect an external HD display or projector? That's what Mini-HDMI is for, baby.

Anyway, what was my point? I suppose it was this: it's no longer necessary to get a gaming laptop if you want a high-performance portable machine. And if you want a high-performance gaming machine, then no laptop is every going to fulfill that purpose adequately.
 
Tagaziel said:
I'm looking to replace a dead Acer Aspire One netbook with a proper laptop for my wife. Acer died gradually, its power adapter slowly died and before we noticed, it refused to charge. As far as the local Gottingen computer tech is concerned, replacing the integrated motherboard in an Acer is going to be as expensive as buying a new laptop.

Maria needs a work/entertainment laptop, able to process high volume text, books scanned into DjVu/PDf format and full length high resolution movies without much of a problem. At least two USB ports and a DVD drive are also a must. I'm asking y'guys (U GUISE) because I'm not the best when it comes to putting computers together.
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Sorry guys, but had to quote. I own a decent gaming rig (2006 high end upgraded with a GT 440 last November) that allows me to run most titles at high detail. The laptop is for ze wife.

Incidentally, I'm posting this from my personal, eleven year old HP Omnibook Pro.
 
Tagaziel said:
Sorry guys, but had to quote. I own a decent gaming rig (2006 high end upgraded with a GT 440 last November) that allows me to run most titles at high detail. The laptop is for ze wife.

Incidentally, I'm posting this from my personal, eleven year old HP Omnibook Pro.
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For your wife I stand by the Satellite recommendation, though anything in that range should be fine. I would also recommend looking into a Lenovo Thinkpad, if you don't mind paying a bit more for a homely, but otherwise outstanding laptop.

I have had terrible experiences with HP notebooks. Even though that was years ago, I'd still think thrice before getting one.

<AsusSalesPitch>Of course, none of that changes the fact that the correct choice for your wife would, in fact, be an ultrabook. Did I mention that my Zenbook wakes from standby instantaneously and from hibernation in about 5 seconds? Or that battery lasts six hours, or seven days on standby? Sure, it doesn't have a DVD drive, but who really needs one in the era of Netflix and cloud-based storage? :smug: </AsusSalesPitch>
 
deadr4tz said:
<AsusSalesPitch>Of course, none of that changes the fact that the correct choice for your wife would, in fact, be an ultrabook. Did I mention that my Zenbook wakes from standby instantaneously and from hibernation in about 5 seconds? Or that battery lasts six hours, or seven days on standby? Sure, it doesn't have a DVD drive, but who really needs one in the era of Netflix and cloud-based storage? :smug: </AsusSalesPitch>
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Yeah, let me know when one of those is in the same price range as the Toshibas Tagaziel linked. It's not worth the additional grand unless you simply have that much money to burn for what amount to aesthetic differences, asides from the SSD. But you can get an SSD for any laptop, and you'll pay less to buy it yourself than what OEMs charge to include it in their product.

Yes, I'm aware that even the ULV Sandy Bridge CPUs are much better performers than the Brazos in those Toshibas, but for the uses Tag's wife has in mind, the difference will be rather negligible in relation the 1k difference in price.

Myself, I'm waiting for a good Trinity ultraportable to come out (good screen, no trashy x768 crap being the most important thing). With that, I'll even be able to do some decent gaming on it. More than is possible with a ULV HD3000 or even HD4000 anyway.

My fault bringing up the gaming laptop thing. Not even sure why I said it. But, on that note, some people need the portability of a laptop and still want to play games on it. No, it will never be as capable as a desktop rig can be, but it's a matter of different priorities. No sense making a big thing of it.

Oh, and finally: cloud-based storage can suck it. Yeah, I'm one of those backwards people who still likes to get his games in a box and install it off a DVD (though I wouldn't complain if they could make flash storage cheap enough to just put them on little thumb drives or something instead).
 
Is all that ultra-portable stuff necessary? When you slim down the size you really jack up the price. If she's not gonna be lugging it around everywhere I'd just get a fatty.
 
person said:
Is all that ultra-portable stuff necessary? When you slim down the size you really jack up the price. If she's not gonna be lugging it around everywhere I'd just get a fatty.
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Ultrabooks aren't that expensive. The whole idea behind Intel's ultrabook initiative was to come up with a PC equivalent of Macbook Air - an ultra-portable, solidly performing notebook with a reasonable pricetag. And that's exactly what they've accomplished; you can get a Zenbook for $1000 (albeit without the massive SSD), which isn't much when you compare it to previous ultra-portables like Toshiba Portege, which used to be $2000+, and were consequently owned only by wealthy snobs.

That said, I still wouldn't advise anyone to get an ultrabook as their only machine, unless they have external peripherals for home use.
 
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