Help me pick a laptop

J

Just_Ice

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I need a laptop for varsity next year, and so I will probably be buying one sometime in mid Jan. The thing is, I dont know where to start.

I do not want to spend more than R6k on the laptop, but I will go slightly over if I have to. No more than R6300 though. It must also last me +-4 years or so which is essential.

Some of the requirements I would like:

Core2Duo cpu, but is it worth the cash over a slightly older Core Duo?
2 gigs RAM, but I guess I could live with one and always add more later.
HDD - Anything 120 gigs and above should be fine.
Screen - I dont know. How is a 12" screen for eg?
Windows 7 (seeing I will have it for the next 4 years)
DVD writer would come in handy, no need for blue tooth really.

It needs to be able to run all the usual (MS Office etc), iTunes and hopefully Photoshop CS4. No need to run games since I am not a big gamer.

I have seen these offers so far

Incredible connection

PACKARD BELL EASYNOTE BG45-T-039SA R5999.95
Intel® Core 2 Duo T8100 processor 2.1 GHz
2048MB RAM
160GB HDD
12.1" WXGA DiamondView display

PACKARD BELL EASYNOTE MH45-M-020 R5999.95
Intel® Core 2 Duo T5800 processor 2.0 GHz
2048MB RAM
320GB HDD
15.4" WXGA DiamondView display

PACKARD BELL EASYNOTE MH36-U-001 R3999.95
Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T3400 processor 2.16 GHz
2048MB RAM
250GB HDD
15.4" WXGA DiamondView Display

ACER EMACHINE E720-342G16MI R5499.95
Intel® Dual Core T3400 processor 2.16 GHz
2048MB RAM
160GB HDD
15.4" WXGA ClearBright display

ACER EMACHINE E725-422G25MI R5499.95
Intel® Dual Core T4200 processor 2.0 GHz
2048MB RAM
250GB HDD
15.6" CrystalBrite display




Dion Wired

TOSHIBA DUAL CORE A300-1MT R5999.00
INTEL DUAL CORE T3200 2.0Ghz
3GB MEMORY
250GB HDD
15.4'' SCREEN



PCInt.co.za

HP COMPAQ 610 [VC271EA] R6154.00
Core2 Duo T5870 (2.0Ghz)
2048MB 800 DDR2 RAM
HDD 320G 7200RPM
15.6" HD Screen
Click to expand...

What do you guys think? Where else can I look?
And is it worth getting an extended guarantee?
 
Do not go near Incredible Connection. It will just be a rip off. PC International would be a pretty good bet - I would recommend looking for something with a 17" screen if you are big into graphic design or will be using Photoshop often. Stay away from the 12" screens if this is your main PC as it is tiny and will just frustrate you.
 
The only thing about PCint is there isnt a huge variety in the price range that I am looking for, although the one I mentioned above seems pretty decent. Out of interest, do you know what they charge for postage?

It will be my main pc, but it wont be mainly used for photoshop and that. More word and excel, browsing, etc. I only use photoshop when I take pics (which is a hobby). Im not studying anything that would involve that.
 
Just_Ice said:
Where from? Got a link or something?
Click to expand...

Eish. from my local computer shop. I like them. They install almost every software you could possibly want, before they call you to come pick it up. I trust those guys to make my decisions for me.
 
Kasyx said:
Do not go near Incredible Connection. It will just be a rip off. PC International would be a pretty good bet - I would recommend looking for something with a 17" screen if you are big into graphic design or will be using Photoshop often. Stay away from the 12" screens if this is your main PC as it is tiny and will just frustrate you.
Click to expand...

Got a 13.3" as my main computer. More than enough space. If you are going to be carrying the laptop around a lot stay away from anything >15. Even 15 inch laptops start getting irritatingly heavy!
 
PC Direct said:
Bang for buck
Click to expand...

I thought i read no more than 6300, u gonna sell that to him for 6300 ?

Edit: Been browsing PC Direct, they are quite over priced. Maybe try contact Callies (member on the forum) usually sells laptops damn cheap.
 
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Google "the notebook company". Get acer, dell or HP.

Unless you are studying engineering though I doubt that you'll _need_ a laptop. Always nice though.
 
HP 4510s or Dell Inspiron. I got my sister the Dell over the weekend. Very good so far.
 
CorneN said:
HP 4510s or Dell Inspiron. I got my sister the Dell over the weekend. Very good so far.
Click to expand...

If you get a Dell stay away from the Latitude series. The E series is such cheap build quality. They handed them out at work, and people are complaining. I have one too, and I don't like it. Plastic clips seem to let go too quickly, colour seems to fade. Dude behind me has had 2 keyboards, a hard drive and now getting a new battery. Heard about 2 or 3 other people needing to do hard drive recovery due to drives breaking. Also mines gets REALLY hot sometimes.

I have had the worst of the worst experiences with HP so I won't go back to that company. When it comes to notebooks I would have to go with Lenovo, they just seem to be a bit above the rest in my mind. (Well actually I am a mac man myself, but my next linux notebook will be a lenovo).
 
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Thanks for the replies so far. It seems there are a couple options that fit what I am looking for, but I dont intend buying till mid Jan, so that leaves me some time to still keep looking.

The one question I still have is Core Duo vs Core2 Duo. How much of a difference in performance is there? The things is I want to futureproof this as much as possible for the next 4 years.

DJNgoma said:
But there are only 3 in the list he made, so I'm a bit confused now.
Click to expand...
There are 3 Core2 Duo's in my list because most of them are used in laptops that exceed my budget. Core2 Duo is better (I think) but if there isnt much of a difference in performance I will take a Core Duo if need be.

If I get a laptop that comes with Windows vista (as many do I see) do you have to pay to upgrade to the latest which is windows 7?
 
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