New Laptop

not at all, I have 3, No..actually 5 if you count the half working HP and the netbook, take the plunge, get the Asus
 
juro said:
Damn, it's hard buying a laptop!
Click to expand...

Haha.. indeed it is really. If you are on a budget... and you will be using it daily for your bread and butter the choice then becomes even more difficult.

I would advise that unless you need one right away... wait, read up on models you have your eye on, see what other owners of these are saying on laptop forums and review sites. Browse Notebookcheck and such sites. See what the people who own them and use them are saying. You will get some idea of what the sales blurbs are not telling you.

Rather save a little more cash by waiting and researching than jumping in and experiencing buyers regret! There will always be a better deal right after you have just paid for the one you purchased... there will always be a better spec, better priced model released a few weeks after you finally have bought one. There is no going back. As soon as you have paid for it, it loses a whole whack of its resale value.

You will most probably also fall into the "if only I had spent that extra 3 grand and got this one instead" category.

So, do not rush into it. Look at your options.

Look at what you will be doing on it daily.
Find a laptop that meets these needs.
Now look at the next best model and see the price difference.
It may be worth the extra to take the plunge.

You will be owning it and it will be used for at least the duration of the warranty, unless you are me and plan use them for 5 years!

Look at the warranty. Laptops are expensive to repair out of warranty. Some come with 3 years, others 2 years and most 1year. Batteries often have very little or no warranties.

So, I agree, buying one on a budget is difficult. Only, a little easier these days as most notebooks available will perform OK and survive!
 
Thank you for the tips - all sound advice.

No matter how long I wait, there always will be something better, faster and cheaper. I don't like to buy the top range, as the cost-performance ratio isn't really great. Also, I am happy with adding a bit of Ram, changing the harddrive, etc. Just as long as the onboard components (especially the main board) are sound - that is also the biggest problem I have with the ASUS, high temperature does not bode well for longevity.
 
Na, I'll give that a pass, thank you. Who knows what YOU did with (or to) it :D
 
Synaesthesia said:
It's your own fault for not wanting a Mac! (joke)

Wanna buy my XPS M1530? It's in excellent condition.
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Does your's also hover above the table in graphics intensive apps because the fan goes ape sh*t? We have two in the office... both had mobo's packup from overheating. Dell released a BIOS update which basically makes the fan spin faster most of the time to compensate. In graphics intensive apps you need to strap it down.
 
shogun said:
Does your's also hover above the table in graphics intensive apps because the fan goes ape sh*t? We have two in the office... both had mobo's packup from overheating. Dell released a BIOS update which basically makes the fan spin faster most of the time to compensate. In graphics intensive apps you need to strap it down.
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Yikes... Perhaps a reason to sell. :)
 
kilobitsperyear said:
Yikes... Perhaps a reason to sell. :)
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Not really. After the mobo's were replaced, and the bios was updated, they run perfectly. I reckon with the updated bios u'd never see a problem (only hear the fan if you knew about it). They're fantastic machines and run almost the whole day without a recharge.

I'd trade my inspiron in for one in a heartbeat.

EDIT: I was over exaggerating a little with strapping it down:P
 
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Ok, back to topic. Here is a preliminary list of the laptops I am looking for (development, large format image editing, casual gaming - Starcraft 2):

ASUS Republic of Gamers G51JX-X3 (R 10000 at Cybertrack)
DELL Vostro 3700 Silver (R 11700 @ Laptopdirect)
dell studio 1749 (R 12000 at Incredible)
Lenovo Y560P Notebook (R 10481 @ Laptopdirect)

Any comments?
 
Lifespan of a laptop is around 2-3 years, not sure how you pulled 5 years off your old Acer, so get the best laptop you need for the least amount of money.
Your current laptop must be a bit out of date and if its still (almost) doing what you need it to do, then any of the ones you mentioned above should be more than fine.
2005 :what specs you got there? 60gb hdd, 1gb memory, 1.6 pentium m, maybe 128mb shared graphics, surely even a hi-fi corp R5999 machine is better?
 
za1 said:
Lifespan of a laptop is around 2-3 years, not sure how you pulled 5 years off your old Acer, so get the best laptop you need for the least amount of money.
Your current laptop must be a bit out of date and if its still (almost) doing what you need it to do, then any of the ones you mentioned above should be more than fine.
2005 :what specs you got there? 60gb hdd, 1gb memory, 1.6 pentium m, maybe 128mb shared graphics, surely even a hi-fi corp R5999 machine is better?
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za1... you have just brought some down-to-earth sanity to this thread!

Indeed. It is very easy to get lost in specs and price etc... and what you have said is very true.

With a little care my laptops have also lasted 5 or more years - and they have been used daily for at least 12 hours a day... with mine it was the hard drives that failed... and then 5 years later the motherboards... so it is possible.

:}
 
Hey juro...

From that list I would take the Asus ROG from Cybertreck.... best bang for buck...

BUT... if I were buying now, my 1st choice would be...

HP WD918EA 8540p Elitebook Notebook, Intel Core i5-520M Dual Core 2.4Ghz 3MB cache 1066Mhz FSB, 2048MB DDR3-1333 SO-Dimm memory (1x2048), 250GB SATA 7200rpm Hard Drive, DVD+-RW SuperMulti Double Layer Lightscibe writer, 15.6" WXGA HD+ LED (1600x900 resolution) TFT LCD Display, intergrated camera, NVIDIA NVS 5100 with 1GB dedicated graphics, Intel 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN, 56k modem, 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Bluetooth, Fingerprint reader, Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 32, Windows XP CD's included, 3-3-0 (3-year standard parts and labour warranty)
Click to expand...
Basic system: ? R 13286
+ DOA Insurance: R 90
R 13376

http://www.laptopdirect.co.za/laptop_specifications.php?laptop=37884



juro said:
Ok, back to topic. Here is a preliminary list of the laptops I am looking for (development, large format image editing, casual gaming - Starcraft 2):

ASUS Republic of Gamers G51JX-X3 (R 10000 at Cybertrack)
DELL Vostro 3700 Silver (R 11700 @ Laptopdirect)
dell studio 1749 (R 12000 at Incredible)
Lenovo Y560P Notebook (R 10481 @ Laptopdirect)

Any comments?
Click to expand...
 
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I recently bought this Sony Vaio EB17 for my daughter for R12k from Incredible Connection. Full HD (1920x1080). 500GB HD, 4GB Mem, i3, Win7 HP 64, Radeon HD 5650 (1GB), with Blue Ray Drive in white.

Bearing in mind that looks are everything with my daughter and I would have preferred to have spent R4k less, it is not a bad spec for the price. My only reservation is that the CPU, while capable, could have been meatier.
 
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