What laptop to get?

[vrunknet]

Hi im looking for a laptop to make music on ive looked around and dell seems to be the cheapest by far (in the uk anyway) firstly wondering if you know anywhere else where i can get one in the UK for 500 Pounds including delivery and everything?

Anyway i produce mainly electronic music using vsti's but may record vocals now and then bt not more than 16 tracks ever.

Heres laptops i can get the vostro 1400 has a 14inch screen vostro 1700 has a 17inch. I dont really care about portability more about what it can do (and i care enough not to buy a full desktop pc)

Anyway heres my options i can afford altough some are 3gb i could upgrade that myself in the future where as i cudnt upgrade the processor so bare that in mind when giving me advice They all have 128mb gfx cards also what brand and whatever i guess doesnt matter since i wont be using it for that but they are all the same one.

Only one of them has a 7,200rpm hd thats what the 7.2 is the others are 5,400rpm
(They are all intel dual core duo 2)
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/6540/laptopsah0.jpg
(Prices include VAT and delivery)

Thanks!

by the way if you know where i could get anything cheaper feel free to tell me. please.

[fnixws]

Id take the extra 1gb ram over the 100mhz CPU increase or 7200rpm Hard disk.

I migh be abel to find you a better deal, if i do, ill get back to ya :D

Had a dam good deal goin alst week on GAAD.



Components
Tuxedo Black
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2MB cache/2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch LCD (1280x800) & 2.0 MP Camera
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
Size: 250GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition
Finger Print Reader XPS M1530

Service
2Yr In-Home Service, Parts Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
Add Accidental Damage and LoJack Theft Protection to 2Yr Warr.
10GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Year
No ISP requested

Also Includes
Windows Vista™ Premium
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
Black Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch LCD (1280x800) & 2.0 MP Camera

Unfortunatly its over :(

[sep]

Keep in mind that 32 bit operating systems only recognize the first 3gb of ram. So if you get the 4GB ram one, you're gonna have to go 64bit (or u wont be able to benefit from the extra ram)

[vrunknet]

Keep in mind that 32 bit operating systems only recognize the first 3gb of ram. So if you get the 4GB ram one, you're gonna have to go 64bit (or u wont be able to benefit from the extra ram)


What no way!?

What are the advantages/disadvantages of a 64bit operating system?

[sep]

The main concern is the fact that many softwares are not available for 64-bit operating systems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit#Pros_and_cons

Anyways, if it's newer RAM types, DDR3 or even DDR2, you should not need any more than 3GB (unless you are planning to use your laptop as somewhat of a server).

[david432111]

I would probably take 2 or 3.

[fnixws]

Special deal on today at Dell.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=eep&cs=6008&eep_orig_cs=6008&oc=AYDEHF1&link_number=84956874&dgc=CJ

[themoose]

http://www.hotukdeals.com/search?keywords=laptop&search_type=title_only&merchant_id=&merchant_search=&user_id=&user_search=&user_search_type=posts&threads_with=minimum&threads_with_number=&posts_from=6months&posts_from_option=newer&sort_results_by=Last+Posting+Date&sort_results_option=DESC&temp_min=50&temp_max=&forums%5B%5D=1&categories%5B%5D=2&categories%5B%5D=3&advanced_search=Search+Now

Should help... ;)

[iBrightDev]

save more money and buy a mac. you will be much happier

[themoose]

Wait what? Save money and get a mac? Not possible. They're Oxymorons.

[SC-Jon]

Keep in mind that 32 bit operating systems only recognize the first 3gb of ram. So if you get the 4GB ram one, you're gonna have to go 64bit (or u wont be able to benefit from the extra ram)


Actually, it reads all 4GB, if the motherboard supports, as Windows XP has a 4gb address space.

http://members.cox.net/slatteryt/RAM.html

^Read more about it here, apparenty either a gig, or 512mb goes elsewhere.

[bryonhost1]

Hi!
Make music...ie: Attach a midi keyboard? From what I've seen...I would get a desktop for that..a usb/pcmcia solution is quite expensive.

Add-in card is not too bad at all...less than 1/2..and more features.

Just thought I'd throw that it..if you *really* are making music..

Bryon

[fnixws]

Still after a laptop dude?



Mobile AMD Sempron Processor 3600+
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
1 Year Basic Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Anti-Glare Display
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 Dimm
80GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive with Cyberlink Power DVD
ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 256MB HyperMemory™ (integrated)
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Wi-Fi Internal Card
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&kc=&oc=bqcwi1s&d gc=BF&cid=7420&lid=197374

Good value at $399, but not as powerful as the others you posted.

[parker]

i wouldn't recommend Dell. i had blue screen reboots for 5 months on a new laptop before dell finally exchanged it when i demanded a refund.
I had Two technician visits changing ram and motherboard in the random hope of clearing the problem. i had a list of error codes and test results, but Dell seem to just change a component and hope it clears. Laptop cost £900

[fnixws]

Ive never had a single problem with my dell.
Nor my Toshiba.

The IBM on the other hand is a POS :P

I guess every manufacturer has a dud in the crop now and then.

[Dynash]

Nor my Toshiba.

hah, likewise :D Been running for 4 years, never had to replace anything, never had to use my insurance for damages etc. Used the RAM that came with it, never added anymore. Granted it is breaking now, but it still works good. I can still play games fine. It's just very slow when starting up.

Not bad for about £400 :P

[AdamJ]

If you want power, then it'd cost way more, I'd recommend either a Toshiba or a MacBook, for making music.. I own both, and the spec's are below:

Toshiba Qosmio G40-10S
- Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo Processor T7250
- 320 (160 + 160) GB Hard Drive
- 2,048 (1,024 + 1,024) MB DDR2 RAM (667 MHz)
- HD DVD-R drive
- Full HD Toshiba 17inch TruBrite® WUXGA TFT display
- NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
- hybrid digital (DVB-T) and analog TV tuner
- Windows Vista Home Premium
- built-in Harman Kardon® stereo speaker system with 2 x bass reflex speakers, 2 x tweeter speakers and 1 x subwoofer technology
- 8 Cell, 8 hour battery
Price: £1,699

Apple MacBook Black
- 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- 4GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x2GB
- 250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
- SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R/DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
- Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter
- Apple USB Modem
- AirPort Extreme Card & Bluetooth
- Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard
Price: £1,119


If you want something that bites, then you need to pay the price :)