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Computer guys....need your input!

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99vengeur

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Alright computer guys/gals, I need some input on two subjects regarding laptop computers.

First, my wife is looking for a laptop computer for school. We would like to stay under $400 and found this Acer Aspire on NewEgg. Please offer suggestions as to whether this is a good buy, reliable brand, etc. Alternatively, if you have recommendations for a different laptop that would be comparable or better and remain under $400, please let me know. We want a fair amount of memory because she does photography on the side and would need quite a bit of space for storing photos. Here's the link to the Acer.

Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS5750Z-4877 Notebook Intel Pentium B940(2.00GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi Intel HD Graphics

Second, I have an old laptop that runs like molasses but functions pretty well still. However, it does run really hot and the cooling fan blows hot air constantly. Would it be better to increase the memory and possibly upgrade the processor to have a better running laptop, or would I spend the same amount of money to just buy a new one? I believe the laptop I have is an HP, but I can't remember off the top of my head. In the long run, will I spend more money rebuilding the laptop I have or buying a new one?

Thanks folks!
 
stay away from Acer.... my wife's screen died 2 weeks after the warranty, and I've read/heard other horrors.... they are what they are, cheap laptops. We had one of their netbooks at work, thing just stopped working after a year.

having said that... my wife's Dell Studio 15 had issues with the hinges... and we use Dell at work with no problems, so... go figure. And that wasn't a cheap Dell, but I think that model was just a fluke...

For bang/buck, check out the Toshiba from Best buy, under $400 was my price point as well and I just got this one

Toshiba - Satellite Laptop / Intel® Pentium® Processor / 15.6" Display / 3GB Memory / 320GB Hard Drive - Black - C655-S5211

for a little more you can get:

Toshiba - Satellite Laptop / Intel® Pentium® Processor / 15.6" Display / 4GB Memory / 500GB Hard Drive - Matrix Silver - L755-S5213

which has a G more memory and much larger hard drive, but it does break your $400 cap.
 
Buy a new one. Upgrading a laptop can be just as expensive.

I would suggest at least a Intel I3 second gen processor and minimum of 3gig of ram. You can't run more ram unless it is a 64bit OS. Make sure it has wireless Internet option and a decent video set up.

My .02
 
That's what I use. A old PC! I have a MAC at home, and I'm still using my old PC at work just to check email... and hang out here. It's an old Toshiba running on Win XP. I upgrade the hard drive to as big as it can go and 1G Ram (Max). It's not the fastest bullet but it is almost as bullet proof as a PC can be. I bough myself a new PC with Vista... trade it right away to my ex for the old laptop.

Only downside is speed... The USB port are not the "high speed" so every time I plug in they ask me it can work faster on a hS 2.0..bla bla bla... lol
Personally I will be keeping my old turd alive for as long as I will be able too... lol
 
99vengeur said:
Alright computer guys/gals, I need some input on two subjects regarding laptop computers.

First, my wife is looking for a laptop computer for school. We would like to stay under $400 and found this Acer Aspire on NewEgg. Please offer suggestions as to whether this is a good buy, reliable brand, etc. Alternatively, if you have recommendations for a different laptop that would be comparable or better and remain under $400, please let me know. We want a fair amount of memory because she does photography on the side and would need quite a bit of space for storing photos. Here's the link to the Acer.

Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS5750Z-4877 Notebook Intel Pentium B940(2.00GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi Intel HD Graphics

Second, I have an old laptop that runs like molasses but functions pretty well still. However, it does run really hot and the cooling fan blows hot air constantly. Would it be better to increase the memory and possibly upgrade the processor to have a better running laptop, or would I spend the same amount of money to just buy a new one? I believe the laptop I have is an HP, but I can't remember off the top of my head. In the long run, will I spend more money rebuilding the laptop I have or buying a new one?

Thanks folks!
Click to expand...

I have personally had terrible luck with Acer(3 computers and wont do it again, 2 laptops and 1 desktop)

As for specs on a laptop in order for it to function well you need a processor in which can keep up with the memory and memory writting. The pentium B processor is a pretty not so good one. It does have good Ram, but without a good processor the RAM goes to waste.

personally for the money this is a much better option IMO

HP - Factory-Refurbished Laptop / Intel® Pentium® Processor / 15.6" Display / 4GB Memory / 500GB Hard Drive - Silver/Black - g62-228cl


otherwise if you can swing a few more extra $$ this is the best route, it has the i3 processor which is not only faster but designed for multitasking. Which most laptops have issues with, so this would work best to eliminate any mutitasking limitations with memory. Not to mention it has a 3mb l3 cache so in otherwords if you close something and go back to it the memory to remember where you were and what you were doing is recalled considerably faster.

[url]http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Factory-Refurbished+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i3+Processor+/+15.6%26%2334%3B+Display+-+Pewter/3449915.p?id=1218402861408&skuId=3449915[/URL]

both host 64 Internal Operating Systems. They can both fully function with the allocated memory cache's
 
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If you can afford it go with a Intel i5 processor , better for photos . I personally like Lenovo laptops , personal preference .
Second one , electronics don't slow down that much over time , chances are something in Winders making it seem slower , defrag , run virus scan , rootkit scan , there is some strong a$$ cookies now that are like Trojans (ever cookies) , clear cache (computer/browser) , all the usual Winders stuff .
I use a Lenovo (Y510) for my tuning software (dual boot openSuSE/WInXP) , the one I am on right now is a Alienware (older one) (dual boot openSuSE/WinXP) .
The Lenovo I stuck a stick of memory in and put a faster Intel processor in as well to kind of , tune it a little , Alienware maxed the memory out .
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think my old laptop is running the AMD athalon processor...

Could the over heating issue I'm having affect the processor speed, hence the slow operation??
 
99vengeur said:
I think my old laptop is running the AMD athalon processor...

Could the over heating issue I'm having affect the processor speed, hence the slow operation??
Click to expand...

Yes, think of a computer much like you would a person. The hotter it gets, the more sluggish and lazy it gets. So the longer it will take to do anything.

Lots of things factor in to a computer running poorly. Too many desktop icons, malware (scan using MBAM), desperate need of defrag, hard drive getting too full, not enough airflow, etc.
 
Last edited:
99vengeur said:
I think my old laptop is running the AMD athalon processor...

Could the over heating issue I'm having affect the processor speed, hence the slow operation??
Click to expand...
Have you ever cleaned the fan area with static/moisture free compressed air , if not that would help .
Don't use a air hose .:D
There is usually a access panel on back to allow cleaning .
 
Last edited by a moderator:
99vengeur said:
I think my old laptop is running the AMD athalon processor...

Could the over heating issue I'm having affect the processor speed, hence the slow operation??
Click to expand...

pincushion79 said:
Yes, think of a computer much like you would a motorcycle or person. The hotter it gets, the more sluggish and lazy it gets. So the longer it will take to do anything.
Click to expand...


remember those older laptops just ran hot... clean out the fins with a vacuum / air can, heck if you feel comfortable, open up the laptop and give it all a good scrubbing with alcohol (the fins of the fan and all the duct work). It's doing it's job though, it's getting the heat out of the laptop, that's a good thing.

If you can replace the fan, go for it (though not likely as laptops are usually one-offs on parts)....
 
its only a 1.9ghrz processor. Tell her she can put cute fluffy stickers all over one with better performance for the $$$
 
As far as quality goes, newer Acers are fine. All computer companies use/share parts with each other. Acer doesn't actually manufacture their own LCD screens. Most lcd's are made by LG, Samsung, and Sony. There are only 2 or 3 places that ALL laptops are even made...the only difference is the name slapped on the casing. Take all brand recommendations with a grain of salt. Anything from Dell, to HP, Acer, Gateway, Emachines, etc. are all built with internal parts that have the same likelihood of failure over time.

As far as your old computer goes, if the fan is actually BLOWING hot air, try to make sure all dust bunnies are blown out GENTLY with an air compressor. Most laptops you can pop the keyboard off easily to get most of the internal dust out. Also, if you have cats, your heat sinks could be getting clogged, causing more heat.

As far as processors go, I wouldn't bother upgrading that in a laptop. Look into possibly a 7200RPM Western Digital Scorpio Black hard drive ($50-ish) to speed general loading times, and try to get a couple Gigs of RAM in it. Most important thing is to address the heat issue first, but older laptops generally respond well to more RAM and a fresh OS install on a fresh (and faster) hard drive. Dropping any more money into an old machine is kinda silly, since new laptops start in the $300 range nowadays.
 
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