blunomore
Honorary Master
Budget between 6k and 10k (absolute maximum), need a good brand, what would you recommend?
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Laptop
- Thread starter blunomore
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foozball3000
Executive Member
ACER sells their laptops with Ubuntu on, that saves you a few grand.
(If you have an issue with Linux, uninstall it when you get the thing)
So, the effect is that you should be able to get a better pc for your budget (Hardware wise)
blunomore
Honorary Master
cerebus
Honorary Master
What do you want to do with it, screen size etc? What is important to you?
Ockie
Resident Lead Bender
What about the HP Compaq CQ60-320EI? Saw it at incredible and it seems pretty nice for about R5600.00 i think it was. I am planning on getting one of those. Comes with Vista though....urrgg. Gonna see how my Ubuntu LIVECD runs ons it and if all is well get rid of Vista 
COMPAQ PRESARIO CQ60-320EI
AMD® Sempron SI-42 processor 2.1 GHz
1024MB RAM
160GB HDD
LightScribe super multi DVD writer
5-in-1 memory card reader
Integrated webcam & 802.11b/g WLAN
15.6" Brightview display
MS Works
MS Windows Vista Home Basic
1 Year warranty
COMPAQ PRESARIO CQ60-320EI
AMD® Sempron SI-42 processor 2.1 GHz
1024MB RAM
160GB HDD
LightScribe super multi DVD writer
5-in-1 memory card reader
Integrated webcam & 802.11b/g WLAN
15.6" Brightview display
MS Works
MS Windows Vista Home Basic
1 Year warranty
Last edited:
foozball3000
Executive Member
It's a guess... I haven't looked into the details yet.
You'll have to be more specific on what you want as in a laptop you'll always have serious trade-offs.
On a budget, a Gaming laptop won't have other toys (eSata, big HDD...ect)
You also pay for screen size (Not a problem if you have your own 22" wide at home)
So, it's not really a matter of "The Best" but more a matter of something that fits your need.
A few brands, in order of my own preference:
Dell... Don't go for Inspiron, rather have a look at the Dell Studio 1537.
HP... Great machines, but generally a bit pricey for what you get. The new Pavillions are great (they've fixed a lot of the issues they had with the previous models, and believe me, there were a lot). Their business models are also second to none.
Lenovo... Great solid machines, especially the Thinkpads. Too bad they are the ugliest things on the market.
Sony Vaio... Great looks, decent performance, too expensive unless you're all about the looks.
Apple Macbook... Great all-round machines. Bit pricey for what you get, though. I don't like the new unibody models. The sharp edges cut my wrists. But quiet, great battery life, solid performance and great looks all the same.
Acer... Nice all-rounders. Kind of budget, but still good machines. You can get some amazing deals on these.
But at the end of the day, it comes down to what you want it for. If for business use, entry-level Core 2 Duo @ 1.8GHz - 2.0GHz with 2GB RAM (4GB recommended, especially if you're going to be running Vista), Intel integrated graphics and a hard drive and decent screen of your preference, should be plenty to keep you going for ages.
If it's more for a home/multimedia/work/etc notebook, have a look at the lifestyle ranges from the various manufacturers. HP has their Pavillion, Dell has the Studio, Acer has the Aspire, etc. These are great because they have decent performance and lots of expansion and connection capability. You'll be able to connect to an external monitor, to your TV (via some high-definition port), have decent sound, have great looks, etc. Generally you'll also get a glossy screen.
In my opinion,
http://www.laptopdirect.co.za/laptop_specifications.php?laptop=24705
is the best buy at the moment for most people. It comes in various colours, which is great for those who are picky about such things.
I have one. It's really solid, really ergo and performs great (with awesome battery life). If you're interested, it also has an LED backlit screen, which improves brightness and clarity (supposedly). But mostly, it helps to provide that awesome battery life I mentioned. In addition, you get a 3 year next-business-day warranty; something very important these days.
The specs in mine differ a little bit from that machine, though. The RAM can be (cheaply) upgraded, and the CPU is great. It also has quite a lot of expansion capability; eSATA (for external drives), HDMI (for connecting to an HD TV or monitor), VGA (for connecting to a regular computer monitor). It also has a webcam, bluetooth, memory-card reader, PC card slot, FireWire.
Oh, and it has a slot-load optical drive. The kind that you get in front-loading car radios. It's great. I love it. It looks amazing and works really well. The down-side is that you can't use those half-size discs (the kind that you sometimes get in promo's. But fewer external moving parts is a great thing for increasing MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure).
Dell... Don't go for Inspiron, rather have a look at the Dell Studio 1537.
HP... Great machines, but generally a bit pricey for what you get. The new Pavillions are great (they've fixed a lot of the issues they had with the previous models, and believe me, there were a lot). Their business models are also second to none.
Lenovo... Great solid machines, especially the Thinkpads. Too bad they are the ugliest things on the market.
Sony Vaio... Great looks, decent performance, too expensive unless you're all about the looks.
Apple Macbook... Great all-round machines. Bit pricey for what you get, though. I don't like the new unibody models. The sharp edges cut my wrists. But quiet, great battery life, solid performance and great looks all the same.
Acer... Nice all-rounders. Kind of budget, but still good machines. You can get some amazing deals on these.
But at the end of the day, it comes down to what you want it for. If for business use, entry-level Core 2 Duo @ 1.8GHz - 2.0GHz with 2GB RAM (4GB recommended, especially if you're going to be running Vista), Intel integrated graphics and a hard drive and decent screen of your preference, should be plenty to keep you going for ages.
If it's more for a home/multimedia/work/etc notebook, have a look at the lifestyle ranges from the various manufacturers. HP has their Pavillion, Dell has the Studio, Acer has the Aspire, etc. These are great because they have decent performance and lots of expansion and connection capability. You'll be able to connect to an external monitor, to your TV (via some high-definition port), have decent sound, have great looks, etc. Generally you'll also get a glossy screen.
In my opinion,
http://www.laptopdirect.co.za/laptop_specifications.php?laptop=24705
is the best buy at the moment for most people. It comes in various colours, which is great for those who are picky about such things.
I have one. It's really solid, really ergo and performs great (with awesome battery life). If you're interested, it also has an LED backlit screen, which improves brightness and clarity (supposedly). But mostly, it helps to provide that awesome battery life I mentioned. In addition, you get a 3 year next-business-day warranty; something very important these days.
The specs in mine differ a little bit from that machine, though. The RAM can be (cheaply) upgraded, and the CPU is great. It also has quite a lot of expansion capability; eSATA (for external drives), HDMI (for connecting to an HD TV or monitor), VGA (for connecting to a regular computer monitor). It also has a webcam, bluetooth, memory-card reader, PC card slot, FireWire.
Oh, and it has a slot-load optical drive. The kind that you get in front-loading car radios. It's great. I love it. It looks amazing and works really well. The down-side is that you can't use those half-size discs (the kind that you sometimes get in promo's. But fewer external moving parts is a great thing for increasing MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure).
blunomore
Honorary Master
What I want to do with it? It's for my mom 
So no special needs, she just wanna access e-mail and internet and maybe use a bit of MS Office here and there.
But she needs a decent brand that will not give (too much) trouble.
So no special needs, she just wanna access e-mail and internet and maybe use a bit of MS Office here and there.
But she needs a decent brand that will not give (too much) trouble.
cerebus
Honorary Master
Sackboy
Executive Member
The Toshiba's that are being advertised all seem to have a low-spec CPU. They aren't promoting their best IMHO. Service is good in CPT though.
Have a look a the HP550. It starts at around R5000, depending on the version, PM if you want a price. Very good notebook for the "basic needs" market
Sackboy
Executive Member
The lower price ones are just OLD AFAIK. I would get a Centrino II Core 2 Duo Intel (not AMD).Have a look a the HP550. It starts at around R5000, depending on the version, PM if you want a price. Very good notebook for the "basic needs" market
The Celeron one is around R5k....
HP 550 Celeron P550 2.0GHz 15.4 WXGA BRIGHTVIEW 1024MB DDR RAM 160GB HDD DVD+/-RW 56K Modem 802.11b/g BLUETOOTH 6 Cell Battery VISTA HOME BASIC 32 OFFICE 2007 READY 1-1-0
HP 550 Intel Core2 Duo T5670 1.80 GHz 15.4 WXGA BRIGHTVIEW 2048MB DDR RAM 250GB HDD DVD+/-RW 56K Modem 802.11a/b/g BLUETOOTH 6 Cell Battery VISTA HOME BASIC 32 OFFICE 2007 READY 1-1-0
HP 550 Intel Core2 Duo T5270 1.4GHz 15.4 WXGA BRIGHTVIEW 2048MB DDR RAM 160GB HDD DVD+/-RW 56K Modem 802.11a/b/g 6 Cell Battery VISTA BUSINESS 32 OFFICE 2007 Ready 1-1-0
Sackboy
Executive Member
Celeron=old=avoid, not so?
Not old, just slow. Made the mistake once buying a celeron laptop, never again.
Sackboy
Executive Member
There's a tendency nowadays to have a huge range of processors that are really long in the technology tooth. Having a price to suit all pockets is one thing, but selling something that isn't capable is irresponsible IMO.
I agree, one should never sell something that is not suited to the desired purpose. However, the desired purpose part is always debatable....
My own laptop, is a Celeron. I use it for email, web browsing, documents etc; and it works just fine. The next step up, to a 1.8 C2D, is almost R1300, or 30% more expensive. I did not think that the extra cost was required. Rather give the buyer the facts, and let them decide if the extra cost is worth it....
marine1
Honorary Master
For 10k I got a good one for you