Advise on buying new laptop

[funfer_fahrer]

My laptop is due for replacement. I notice it can't handle photo editing very well. It was a 2004 Compaq presario model running on AMD athlon. The main purpose now is for photo editing and surfing. I am not much of an online gamer. I like MacBook but I don't like its operating system. I'd prefer windows. Some guys tell me to avoid Acer even though it is well specced. Shall I wait for i7 processor or Intel Core 2 Duo is suffice? Thanks.

 

[mizhan]

they gave me a new Dell at work last week.. 4GB memory 250GB hardisk. been a while since i could have multiple applications running at once and don't feel it.

 

[XXX]

The Acer Ferrari looks good ......

 

[t2ribena]

i think the first thing is to decide the budget u have to spend...

 

[funfer_fahrer]

The Acer Ferrari looks good ......

Looks only...but inside got AMD la. My laptop currently runs on AMD. Very hot woo..but not as fast.

 

[BlackCat]

My laptop is due for replacement. I notice it can't handle photo editing very well. It was a 2004 Compaq presario model running on AMD athlon. The main purpose now is for photo editing and surfing. I am not much of an online gamer. I like MacBook but I don't like its operating system. I'd prefer windows. Some guys tell me to avoid Acer even though it is well specced. Shall I wait for i7 processor or Intel Core 2 Duo is suffice? Thanks.

Bro, from an IT perspective... this is how we normally do this kinda stuff:

• list the applications [operating system: WIN Vista/2007 etc; Adobe suite for audio/video editing, CAD, MS Office suite etc etc], and other uses [running videos/movies, listening to music, web surfing etc etc] you plan for this equipment.
• From the above list, take notes of the minimum specs requirements of each eg. RAM, processor/s [you may want to opt for dedicated graphic processors etc] and processing speeds, hard drive capacity and speed, display refresh rates [since you are planning for photo editing] and so on.
  [*]The other thing that most people forget is connectivity speed between peripherals, ie between your CPU to the external HD. A firewire is def better than a USB, and so on
  [*]Add about 20% to the minimum specs [or more if you feel justified to do so]. This is normally done for contingency and/or future needs requirements planning.
  [*]When you have that done, look at your new minimum requirements. Adjust where you feel necessary.
  [*]From the adjusted min requirements, you are now able to go thru your recommended HW listing and begin to shortlist for the potential candidates
  [*]research for independent reviews on the net to further minimise the list
  [*]at this stage, you may already have one to three candidates
  [*]compare all three [lets say] and look at the differences ie price, weight [since this gonna be a laptop], after sales, warranty etc etc etc
  [*]by now you would have a strong feel of what you need as oppose to what you want
  

I hope the above helps although its a lengthy process, but a tried and tested one nonetheless. Good luck hunting


BlackCat

 

[funfer_fahrer]

i think the first thing is to decide the budget u have to spend...

I spent RM4400 for my current laptop. Anything around this price (but faster) should be OK.

 

[funfer_fahrer]

they gave me a new Dell at work last week.. 4GB memory 250GB hardisk. been a while since i could have multiple applications running at once and don't feel it.

4G DDR3 plus 500GB hardisk is the industry standard nowadays la bro.

 

[BlackCat]

I spent RM4400 for my current laptop. Anything around this price (but faster) should be OK.

Bro, you may want to look at the MacBook here [ http://store.apple.com/my/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook?mco=MTAyNTQzMzg ] and since you prefer running on WIN you can have WIN running in a Mac using VirtualBox. You would have the best of both worlds: dual OS on a single machine, well below your budget, awesome NVIDIA graphic card...

HINT: Don't forget, Apple Online Store Malaysia offers cheaper price if you are buying online for 'Education'. Look for the green link at the bottom left of your screen.


BlackCat

 

[astroboy]

I think budget is not that critical.. u don't want to carry around a 17" notebook with super duper video and sound quality targeted for gamer, it will be super duper heavy as well!

A business class notebook ranging from RM2,999 to RM4,999 while those with big 15" screen and beyond built for gamer can go as high as RM7k. Below RM2,999 are all those Taiwanese ACER, ASUS, BenQ, Chinese Lenovo etc preloaded with Home edition OS.

Dell is cheap but heard after 2 years, things start to fall apart and fail. My preference is still Fujitsu and Toshiba, CBU japan.. :wink: I heard Samsung notebook is doing very well in Singapore for their awesome after sales service, better than Dell!

The fastest notebook I have seen last month is 2.53GHz, the faster the speed, the higher the energy consumption, battery cannot last. Don't forget to fill up those memory slots, yes, 4GB is pretty decent today. When I load up Cafe World, blardy 300MB of my 512MB is gone and I'm down to crawl on my 7 years old P4 Fujitsu. Its running on 1.8Ghz CPU speed, which is still faster than today's 7"~10" netbook which are on 1.6 GHz.. :24:

Yeah, I'm looking for a change as well.. many notebook clear stock now for their old 2009 model. I'm waiting for 2010 model.. :wink:

 

[funfer_fahrer]

Bro, you may want to look at the MacBook here [ http://store.apple.com/my/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook?mco=MTAyNTQzMzg ] and since you prefer running on WIN you can have WIN running in a Mac using VirtualBox. You would have the best of both worlds: dual OS on a single machine, well below your budget, awesome NVIDIA graphic card...

HINT: Don't forget, Apple Online Store Malaysia offers cheaper price if you are buying online for 'Education'. Look for the green link at the bottom left of your screen.


BlackCat

Macbook running on windows OS? Ada ka? First time I hear this man.

 

[funfer_fahrer]

I think budget is not that critical.. u don't want to carry around a 17" notebook with super duper video and sound quality targeted for gamer, it will be super duper heavy as well!

A business class notebook ranging from RM2,999 to RM4,999 while those with big 15" screen and beyond built for gamer can go as high as RM7k. Below RM2,999 are all those Taiwanese ACER, ASUS, BenQ, Chinese Lenovo etc preloaded with Home edition OS.

Dell is cheap but heard after 2 years, things start to fall apart and fail. My preference is still Fujitsu and Toshiba, CBU japan.. :wink: I heard Samsung notebook is doing very well in Singapore for their awesome after sales service, better than Dell!

The fastest notebook I have seen last month is 2.53GHz, the faster the speed, the higher the energy consumption, battery cannot last. Don't forget to fill up those memory slots, yes, 4GB is pretty decent today. When I load up Cafe World, blardy 300MB of my 512MB is gone and I'm down to crawl on my 7 years old P4 Fujitsu. Its running on 1.8Ghz CPU speed, which is still faster than today's 7"~10" netbook which are on 1.6 GHz.. :24:

Yeah, I'm looking for a change as well.. many notebook clear stock now for their old 2009 model. I'm waiting for 2010 model.. :wink:

Yeah bro, those netbook running on Atoms are pretty crappy. Not on my list bro. I am just looking for something fast that can handle RAW files with ease. Weight, battery life, looks are not an issue coz I treat my laptop just like a desktop. It stays on my desk forever. The reason why I am not into a desktop is because they collect dust very easily, especially areas behind the CPU. Acer and Compaq don't score very highly in the customer's satisfaction list. Asus is doing very well. I like MSI and Alienware too.

 

[astroboy]

Macbook running on windows OS? Ada ka? First time I hear this man.

I believe emulation tech. U boot up MAC OS and get the MAC OS to disguise as Windows but I doubt its 100% compatible.

Imagine running Windows with no Intel chipset on board, how to be 100% compatible?! Fairy tales!

For home use okay la..

 

[berserkdroid]

I believe emulation tech. U boot up MAC OS and get the MAC OS to disguise as Windows but I doubt its 100% compatible.

Imagine running Windows with no Intel chipset on board, how to be 100% compatible?! Fairy tales!

For home use okay la..

You can boot the mac directly into windows. No need to use an emulator.

For those who wish to use the emulator, VMware Fusion is pretty good. I use it to run Windows 2000, Xp and the new win 7 as well as Ubuntu linux, sometimes all at the same time with no issues. (for development work, you see)

Cheers.

 

[king82]

how bout HP? HP seems good...

 

[BlackCat]

Macbook running on windows OS? Ada ka? First time I hear this man.

Its been some years now that you can run the Windows OS directly from Mac hw.

I believe emulation tech. U boot up MAC OS and get the MAC OS to disguise as Windows but I doubt its 100% compatible.

Imagine running Windows with no Intel chipset on board, how to be 100% compatible?! Fairy tales!

For home use okay la..

Current Macs ARE using Intel chips!!! With additional graphic processors for that visualization ooomph... And in my case [having TWO graphic processors :wink:], I have a option to run one as std or both simulatneously!!! :top:

Therefore, you have the full option of running Windows on a Mac natively as you would running Windows on a PC!!!

And that... is NO fairy tale!!!

"For home use OK la..." = I then wonder why most publishers run Macs for their businesses!!!!

You can boot the mac directly into windows. No need to use an emulator.

For those who wish to use the emulator, VMware Fusion is pretty good. I use it to run Windows 2000, Xp and the new win 7 as well as Ubuntu linux, sometimes all at the same time with no issues. (for development work, you see)

Cheers.

More info for all the above: http://mashable.com/2009/10/05/vmware-fusion-3/

Read and experience a whole new universe of computing...


BlackCat has embraced the iSide and have since never looked back...

 

[ALBundy]

Yeah bro, those netbook running on Atoms are pretty crappy. Not on my list bro. I am just looking for something fast that can handle RAW files with ease. Weight, battery life, looks are not an issue coz I treat my laptop just like a desktop. It stays on my desk forever. The reason why I am not into a desktop is because they collect dust very easily, especially areas behind the CPU. Acer and Compaq don't score very highly in the customer's satisfaction list. Asus is doing very well. I like MSI and Alienware too.

Bro,

I have switch to the iSide as well, and primarily used it for photo editing, and net surfing.

The speed of my CaptureNX is noticably faster on the Mac, compared to when it is loaded under Windows. Both my laptop are upgraded to 4GB Ram, but for photo editing the Mac wins hands down. And the screen is better too, more contrast with back lit LEDS, plus built in color customisation! One word...NGAM!

 

[pussy]

the apple mac book is the way to go these days... no regrets...

 

[astroboy]

...

BlackCat has embraced the iSide and have since never looked back...

So how much is a reasonable MAC.. hehe..

Our ERP in the office is running on UNIX box and clients are Windows 98 and above with IE6 components used for the interface. Would MAC fail in such environment?

We also have Sybase and MS SQL server that we need to access. MAC can ka? ODBC how? Use Windows one?

For media, advertising, publishing industry, photo or even movie editing, MAC win hands down, no need to look else where!

 

[BlackCat]

...
For media, advertising, publishing industry, photo or even movie editing, MAC win hands down, no need to look else where!

Bingo... you just answered the thread owner's question