Laptop Advice

[bluejays]

My sister wants to buy a laptop, and it looks like the salesperson at Best Buy talked her into a particular one. I'm pretty computer saavy, but I've been outta the loop for a couple years. I don't know what to think of the Centrino chipset. This is the computer she wants:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...gon=&langid=EN

...but I'm still set on her getting a Pentium 4 (just because I think it's the best). I think that $1200 on the laptop above is on until weeks end then it goes to regular price. So my questions would be:

1) What is the laptop speed in Centrino equal to in terms of the Pentium speed?
2) Would you say the above laptop is a good buy?
3) Would you recommend any other laptop at/around that $1200 price limit?

Thanks guys.

[STeeLy]

There have been mixed opinions about this type of technology. Looking at the Laptop being HP... it gets outdated pretty quickly since it is close to impossible to upgrade any existing HP systems, desktop or laptop.

Looking at the specs, it does not seem to be a bad buy, but not a Best Buy either. Though you get pretty good stuff it seems for what you're paying.

And here's a little blurb about Centrino from me... Centrino is actually just technology innovated so that you can connect to wireless connections without having to buy a PC Card for wireless internet. This is a Pentium processor, Pentium M 740. Centrino itself is not a processor, so speed wise, it is still equal since centrino technology doesn't really affect the speed of the processor

That laptop is not a BAD buy nor is it a Best buy, I'd say about/above average, something you could normally get for that price.

I don't know if your sister REALLY needs a 100GB harddrive but I'll give you some suggestions if she doesn't.
http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.p...ctID=7146&SID= - Upgrade the RAM on that and it would still cost less than $1200
http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.p...ctID=6624&SID= - This one is really close and it costs about $100 less
http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.p...ctID=7153&SID= - This is with a 60GB harddrive - also, not minding the 60GB harddrive, you could upgrade the RAM on that and once again, it comes to less than $1200
http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.p...ctID=7196&SID= - Same as above, different brand

Also, there is another site www.4starcomputers.com they have some pretty good deals sometimes.

Edit: Unfortunately due to your location of being in Toronto, those two stores are located right in Calgary. However, you can find the same stuff on www.canadacomputers.com these stores are in Ontraio. Here's some contact information and store address for you. http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowContact

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by STeeLy

There have been mixed opinions about this type of technology. Looking at the Laptop being HP... it gets outdated pretty quickly since it is close to impossible to upgrade any existing HP systems, desktop or laptop.

Looking at the specs, it does not seem to be a bad buy, but not a Best Buy either. Though you get pretty good stuff it seems for what you're paying.

And here's a little blurb about Centrino from me... Centrino is actually just technology innovated so that you can connect to wireless connections without having to buy a PC Card for wireless internet. This is a Pentium processor, Pentium M 740. Centrino itself is not a processor, so speed wise, it is still equal since centrino technology doesn't really affect the speed of the processor

That laptop is not a BAD buy nor is it a Best buy, I'd say about/above average, something you could normally get for that price.

I don't know if your sister REALLY needs a 100GB harddrive but I'll give you some suggestions if she doesn't.
http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.p...ctID=7146&SID= - Upgrade the RAM on that and it would still cost less than $1200
http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.p...ctID=6624&SID= - This one is really close and it costs about $100 less
http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.p...ctID=7153&SID= - This is with a 60GB harddrive - also, not minding the 60GB harddrive, you could upgrade the RAM on that and once again, it comes to less than $1200
http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.p...ctID=7196&SID= - Same as above, different brand

Also, there is another site www.4starcomputers.com they have some pretty good deals sometimes.

Edit: Unfortunately due to your location of being in Toronto, those two stores are located right in Calgary. However, you can find the same stuff on www.canadacomputers.com these stores are in Ontraio. Here's some contact information and store address for you. http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowContact

Thanks for the info. I'm interested because I think I'll split the cost and share the thing . But yeah, I know of canadacomputers because it's about a 15 minute drive from my house, and it's also where I bought the parts for my desktop. Problem with them is I've heard through the grapevine that they sometimes sell refurbished repaired systems as new ones, which really does not interest me at all. I also had a problem with my monitor which I bought from them, where it messed up 2 months in, so I walked in with the receipt and just wanted to get it repaired, but they gave a huge hassle because I never bought the box in - FN CROOKS. Lucky for me, I found out the distribution centre was 20 mins away, and got it delivered. Don't really need the huge HD, but I think a speedy, reliable cone is essential. BTW, why are the speeds on Centrino systems' HD's substantially slower. IIRC, on my desktop, the speed is 7200RPM, but on most Centrino's is 4200RPM. And why aren't any of these SATA? Oh, and is there any particular time of year where sales are down in stores, so they have more sales to make up for the down volume?

[Bertuzzied]

Unless she plays 3d shooter games just buy the Acer from Memory Express for $699.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by fleury

My sister wants to buy a laptop, and it looks like the salesperson at Best Buy talked her into a particular one. I'm pretty computer saavy, but I've been outta the loop for a couple years. I don't know what to think of the Centrino chipset. This is the computer she wants:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...gon=&langid=EN

...but I'm still set on her getting a Pentium 4 (just because I think it's the best). I think that $1200 on the laptop above is on until weeks end then it goes to regular price. So my questions would be:

1) What is the laptop speed in Centrino equal to in terms of the Pentium speed?
2) Would you say the above laptop is a good buy?
3) Would you recommend any other laptop at/around that $1200 price limit?

Thanks guys.

STeeLy has it (well except that Centrino is a combination of Intel processor, Intel Wifi, and Intel chipset. Intel will only let laptop makers call it Centrino if they use all three things (so it is a marketing ploy)).

[lazy_programmer]

1) What is the laptop speed in Centrino equal to in terms of the Pentium speed?
To get the Centrino designation, a manufacture is required to use specific Intel chipsets, wireless standard, and a Pentium M chip. To answer what I think you are asking, a Pentium M clockspeed is equivalent to a Pentium 4 clockspeed by a factor of somewhere b/w 1.5 to 2. So a Pentium M 2 Ghz, is approx equivalent to a Pentium 3.5Ghz - 4Ghz. The real gain in using a Pentium M is significantly lower power consumption, hence longer battery life.

One thing to consider, they are currently phasing in dual core processors, which in theory will be better for multitasking users. While this won't make your current laptop useless, if you like to watch movies, download, surf the web, and burn DVDs all at once, you'll notice a big increase in performance.
For me, this was a good time to get a deal on the "older" Pentium M laptop.

2) Would you say the above laptop is a good buy?
The specs are very reasonable for the price, the one bottleneck I see in performance will be the 4200 RPM harddrive. Personally that alone would be enough to deter me from buying this harddrive, but it really depends on what you are using your laptop for.

Here is a user review of a similar spec'd HP laptop to give you a idea of real world usage:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2510


3) Would you recommend any other laptop at/around that $1200 price limit?
Don't really have any reccomendations at this price point, but there's usually a sale a dell.ca and b/c of the volume the sell in, they are usually the best price for similar configured laptops vs. competitors. Who you buy with depends on your past experience and opinion of a particular manufacture, but generally you can't go wrong with any of the main manufacturers (except gateway, stay away from gateway) If you do end up going with the HP at bestbuy, buy it through visaperks.ca, pay with your visa and it'll knock a few bucks more off.

edit: I've seen this laptop on sale for that price like every other week, so I wouldn't feel pressured to make the purchase now. Take your time and make sure you are happy with your purchase.

[bluejays]

Thanks for the info so far guys. Keep 'em rolling in. That 4300RPM is the kicker to me too. I really don't know what to think of it other than to compare it to most other laptops which, from I've seen, are almost all around there too for some odd reason. Does Best Buy cut any deals with respect to bargaining for a free upgrades on this kind of thing?

[Bill Bumface]

If you care about battery life at all... even just a little... go Centrino. Even just having a pentium M will suck more battery that having a full Centrino system, but it will still be better than a P4. Only get a P4 if its going to be plugged in 99% of the time.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

If you care about battery life at all... even just a little... go Centrino. Even just having a pentium M will suck more battery that having a full Centrino system, but it will still be better than a P4. Only get a P4 if its going to be plugged in 99% of the time.

Centrino IS with Pentium M. Centrino is the marketing term for Pentium M, Intel chipset and Intel WiFi.

The key factor in power consumption is processor (Pentium M family is currently tops in consumer level devices), followed by screen (size and brightness level you set it on) and hard drive speed.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Centrino IS with Pentium M. Centrino is the marketing term for Pentium M, Intel chipset and Intel WiFi.

The key factor in power consumption is processor (Pentium M family is currently tops in consumer level devices), followed by screen (size and brightness level you set it on) and hard drive speed.

I know that.

You CAN get a system with just a pentium M though, and NOT the centrino intel chipset and wifi. These consume more power than a Centrino laptop WITH the chipset/wifi. Trust me. I've had two T series IBM laptops one with just the Pentium M, one that was full Centrino, both with the same screen size. The Centrino one has more battery life than the Pentium M one.

[greyshep]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

If you care about battery life at all... even just a little... go Centrino. Even just having a pentium M will suck more battery that having a full Centrino system, but it will still be better than a P4. Only get a P4 if its going to be plugged in 99% of the time.

Exactly! Also only get a traditional p4 if you are in the need of a space heater, or leg toaster.

I would stay as far away as possible from a traditional p4 processor in a laptop.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by greyshep

Exactly! Also only get a traditional p4 if you are in the need of a space heater, or leg toaster.

I would stay as far away as possible from a traditional p4 processor in a laptop.

Or, if you actually use it on your lap, an alternative form of birth control

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Or, if you actually use it on your lap, an alternative form of birth control

...great! Was also gonna post about a recommended doctor for a vasectomy, who knew computers advanced THIS much. Should kill 2 birds with one stone...or should I say swimmers .

[Josh]

Yep, Stay far away from a P4 laptop (I'm using one right now) they get REALLY hot. IMO, look into a pentium M.

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by Josh

Yep, Stay far away from a P4 laptop (I'm using one right now) they get REALLY hot. IMO, look into a pentium M.

Speaking of which... this happened a couple months ago.

I have a laptop of my own and it has a Pentium M 740 @1.73GHz, now sometimes, I work in my bed in this thing because I want to be comfortable (sit up in the bed, leaning against the wall) One night, I got sleepy so I pushed my laptop to where it'd be safe and not fall off the bed (too lazy to put it on a table) and put a blanket over myself and slept, the next morning, there was a small pocket of water on my knee (u know, when you put ur finger on the stove, you get those blister like things that really hurts when u pop it) What I realized whas that my knee was right at the vent, where all the heat comes out... man, was that every HOT!

[Phaneuf3]

my opinions on computers -- people often buy WAY more then they need.
if you go into future shop or best buy or wherever they might try to convince you that you need 4GB of RAM and a 3.2GHz Dual Core Processor to make word run faster so you can get your essays done in record time...
most people (teenage boys aren't really people )aren't using their computers for the latest new game or graphics rendering. i'm quite happy with a value priced computer as my main uses are internet, school and music.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

my opinions on computers -- people often buy WAY more then they need.
if you go into future shop or best buy or wherever they might try to convince you that you need 4GB of RAM and a 3.2GHz Dual Core Processor to make word run faster so you can get your essays done in record time...
most people (teenage boys aren't really people )aren't using their computers for the latest new game or graphics rendering. i'm quite happy with a value priced computer as my main uses are internet, school and music.

Certainly. At 23, though, I'm not a teenage boy anymore (aside from the immaturity). In all seriousness though, I've seen some really awful renditions of supposed "new" computers. While I have no problems taking an economy-class computer, particularly the Celeron's I've seen, are a complete POS.

You get what you pay for for the most part unless you're going the high end. I remember back in summer of 98 when I got my first "real" computer, a Compaq 350MHz. Top of the line stuff in everything. All 8GB HD and everything. When I told my friends, they were in awe saying, what do you need 8GB of space for? How much my parents paid for the computer, the basic 15" monitor, and your $150 HP printer...$4500 no lie. Today that 8GB HD won't even hold WinXP Pro. Mind you, I still have that thing, and it works fine on Win98 or 2000, but if it were a Celeron, no way it'd last even half that time.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by fleury

How much my parents paid for the computer, the basic 15" monitor, and your $150 HP printer...$4500 no lie. Today that 8GB HD won't even hold WinXP Pro. Mind you, I still have that thing, and it works fine on Win98 or 2000, but if it were a Celeron, no way it'd last even half that time.

Right. A cheaper computer wouldn't have lasted as long. However you could have bought said computer for $2000 in 1998, then in 2001 bought another $2000 computer. The 2001 PC would have been better than anything you could have bought in 1998.

I understand what you were trying to get at; however it isn't cost effective to spend twice as much on a PC to try and top out the specs.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Right. A cheaper computer wouldn't have lasted as long. However you could have bought said computer for $2000 in 1998, then in 2001 bought another $2000 computer. The 2001 PC would have been better than anything you could have bought in 1998.

I understand what you were trying to get at; however it isn't cost effective to spend twice as much on a PC to try and top out the specs.

oh...for sure. I guess my thoughts were a bit all over the place. I was trying to give an example at the same time of how much computers have come down now, on average, in price. I don't really like updating to the newest toy too often. Meaning, if I buy something like a computer today, I'd prefer holding it for 5 years or whatever, then buying a new one/upgrading after that rather than buying/upgrading every 2-3 years. Just a matter of personal preference I guess. But I do think Celeron's are crap. I don't know if you imply the purchasing of something like this by saying you could buy one this year and buy another again next year. That's almost like saying I could buy a kia today and get another kia in 3 years, rather than buying a Camry today. See what I'm saying? The technology may be better in the kia in 3 years than the Camry today, but the kia is still seen as shat.

[ken0042]

I do see exactly what you are saying, and there are some people who would rather have a new Kia every 3 years instead of a Camry for 6 years.

I guess I don't feel that strongly against Celerons, and depending on the purpose they can do the job just fine. A good example is my current laptop; although Penium it is a PIII- 1 Ghz. (750 Mhz on battery.) It has more than enough power for what I need it to do. Now let me qualify that- I only use it for when I travel; which is often on dial up as well. For somebody with my needs in a laptop who is buying new, would you say I should skip the Celeron and go with a Pentium?