Computer guys....need your input!

[99vengeur]

It says the processor speed is 2.5...what's the difference between processor speed and bus speed?

 

[mjesenovec]

It says the processor speed is 2.5...what's the difference between processor speed and bus speed?

CPU speed is like your brain. It is the main processing center for the computer, it does all of the work. The bus is equivalent to your nervous system in your body. The system bus is the system that transfers the signals between the motherboard and everything connected to it. The CPU is just one of many parts that are connected to the motherboard, and are all connected by the system bus.

 

[yellowfz]

Hmmm.....my wife just said she likes this one....http://i.walmart.com/i/rb/0088611169838.pdf

AMD is a good processor , me personally I don't care as long as it is fast and works , the Radeon graphics use to give us Linux users a headache , but now that AMD bought ATI I think they are better and more Open Source friendly (haven't used a ATI product for 8 years now) , but I still stick with Nvidia because of their continued Linux support .

 

[dart1963]

Hmmm.....my wife just said she likes this one....http://i.walmart.com/i/rb/0088611169838.pdf

hmm, you can probably find steals on HP, since they are getting out of the pc market... ... I missed the dump of one of their lines of touchpads ($99 it was a steal)

and yes, while most pc manufactures do not make all the components, they do design them...

the Acer issues had to do with the cables and the way they were routed...

the Dell I mentioned was specific to the hinge design and used only on that studio 15 model (I did buy another cover and fixed it before the lcd broke, but it's the same hinge so it will fail again, just a matter of time. like I said a fluke of Dell, but they won't admit it... read all about it: Studio 15 Hinge/Power button problem - Laptop General Hardware Forum - Laptop - Dell Community )

So while the sub-assemblies may be shared, the little things that connect them and overall layout are really different... and yes, you don't know until you have a model if it's going to last... just the way it is, but you can follow trends... Dell, Lenevo, Toshiba have been reliable... Acer is notorious for being cheap and unreliable

Best & Worst Laptop Brands 2011

 

[yellowfz]

CPU speed is like your brain. It is the main processing center for the computer, it does all of the work. The bus is equivalent to your nervous system in your body. The system bus is the system that transfers the signals between the motherboard and everything connected to it. The CPU is just one of many parts that are connected to the motherboard, and are all connected by the system bus.

North Bridge (cpu, ram ,graphics), South Bridge (pci,ide,isa,usb,bios).
Bios use to let you tweak the North Bridge voltage and bus speed , RAM voltage , FSB speed as well as cpu voltage and FSB (front side bus) speed , use to overclock a lot .
AMD use to be faster for games and Intel for Office software .

 

[RACreative]

I advise Mac... trouble free.. worth the extra cost... Plus you can find some good refurbished deals at usedmac.com I have purchased quite a few computers from them... their customer service is good. However I know the rest of the world is on PC so it makes software costs a bit more expensive to stay compatible...

 

[rjohnson5481]

toshiba makes some lasting laptops, i'm on a qosmio, it's big and clunky but it's at least 5 years old and runs windows 7 like a champ.

 

[karl213]

Well don't upgrade your old one just not worth it and for under 400$ it doesn't really matter. I have had acer, hp, toshiba and lenovo, and they all have issues eventually. Just get her whatever one she thinks looks nice.

 

[MiltonDorkenhoff]

amd is old news

Why do you think that? Keep in mind the conversation was about a laptop for $400, not "What is the fastest freaking thing I can buy, if I was going to spend thousands of dollars"

 

[raybob]

Suggest you clean the dust out of the old laptop and put Ubuntu on it. It's free and will run just fine. You won't be playing Rage or Doom 4 on it anyway.

If the heat is still a problem, go into the BIOS and turn the processor or memory bus speed down (underclock it, to hunt for a metaphor, it would be like putting a 30 tooth rear sprocket on your bike).

Bob
(on his no-name $46 Regor)

 

[bmw675]

I'm on my second gateway (this one from bestbuy). I haven't had any trouble with it really. Oh, and it is an AMD turion X2.

 

[Dunkirk]

Get her to try out the keyboard. I like my Acer laptop I bought 2 years ago and it's still running fine. I even like the extended use battery. I dislike the keyboard, though. The non-click type (I bought it without playing with it) drives me nuts.

 

[ChasingSquid]

I do IT for many large companies, and have found Lenovo laptops (used to be IBM) to be by FAR the most rugged and long lasting of laptops. Everyone who I have get one, loves it. They usually have good deals going on for the T-series laptops, which are the enterprise level machines, they work GREAT and I will continue to buy them for a long time.

 

[Sparkxx1]

Stay away from HP even from fixing your old HP. If it gets really hot then its only a matter of time ebfore the video chip gives out and you have to replace the motherboard. They're a real PITA. I've done 3 motherboard replacements on the ones at home. They have inadequate cooling...Their designs fail in the laptop business and that's why they're backing out.

I'm not sure if this is what you chose, buut for the 300-400$ price range:
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 this seems like a good deal. It has good ratings too and newegg has an excellent return policy if needed.

If you don't want to go Acer, so with Asus, I get all my motherboards from then and they're a quality company. In the 3-4 hundo range: Newegg.com - ASUS A53 Series A53E-XN1 Notebook Intel Pentium B940(2.00GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1333 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi Intel HD Graphics that.

I advise Mac... trouble free.. worth the extra cost... Plus you can find some good refurbished deals at usedmac.com I have purchased quite a few computers from them... their customer service is good. However I know the rest of the world is on PC so it makes software costs a bit more expensive to stay compatible...

Meh don't want to start a war but Macs are overpriced. You're paying for the customer service you're going to need every time it breaks.

 

[Taz]

It's about 6:50am in east coast and I see a $399 lenavo quad core laptop. I would jump on this if I needed one. It will be gone faaast
FRYS.com*|*Lenovo

Manufacturer # Z575 )

THE LENOVO IDEAPAD® Z575 (129925U) NOTEBOOK - MANY DIMENSIONS OF MOBILE MULTIMEDIA

This notebook is all about style, performance and a range of multimedia features at a very decent price. The 15.6" widescreen IdeaPad® Z575 notebooks are more affordable than others might think. They make multimedia more realistic with features like OneKey® Theater II for optimized audio-visual settings, SRS® Premium Surround Sound™ audio enhancement technology, and specialized stereo speakers for extra bass. Plus, you can complete everyday tasks faster, with the all new AMD A6 processor with integrated AMD HD graphics technology. Best of all, it’s from Lenovo, makers of the award-winning ThinkPad® business notebook.

KEY SPECIFICATIONS AMD A6-3400M quad-core processor Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64 15.6" HD LED backlit display (1366x768), 16:9 widescreen AMD Radeon™ HD 6520M graphics 6GB DDR3 memory, 750GB HDD storage Integrated high-speed 802.11n WiFi HD graphics support and HDMI output Integrated DVD reader/writer USB 2.0, eSATA connectors and 5-in-1 card reader Integrated 0.3 webcam

INSPIRE CREATIVITY AccuType keyboard with individual rounded keys for comfortable and accurate typing Gun metal gray finish for a classy look and touch Multitouch touchpad for easy scrolling and zoom functions

SIMPLIFY Energy Management – protects the long-term durability of the battery and uses advanced energy-saving technology to increase time spent between charges OneKey® Rescue System makes data backup and recovery simple Lenovo ReadyComm – advanced networking and internet connection management

CAPTIVATE AND ENTERTAIN DirectShare – easily synchronize your files with another notebook without connecting to the Internet SRS® Premium Surround Sound™ audio enhancement and stereo speakers HD graphics support and HDMI output OneKey Theater II – one-touch audio-visual optimization for clearer, brighter images and richer audio VeriFace® facial recognition technology

Specifications: Operating System: Genuine Windows ® 7 Home Premium 64-bit Processor: AMD® A6-3400M Quad-Core Processor Graphics: AMD Mobility Radeon™ HD 6520M Graphics Memory: 6GB DDR3 SDRAM Memory Storage Drive: 750GB Hard Drive Optical Drive: Integrated DVD reader/ writer Display: 15.6" LED Backlit Display, 1366 x 768 resolution Webcam: Integrated 0.3MP webcam Communications: 802.11b/g/n WiFi, 10/100M LAN Expandability: 5-in-1 card reader supporting SD, MMC, MS, MS pro & XD memory cards Ports: 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x eSATA/USB combo port, RJ-45, VGA, microphone, headphone, HDMI Battery: Standard Lithium-Ion battery pack

Software: McAfee® VirusScan 2009 Trial Version, OneKey Rescue System, OneKey Theater, Lenovo Readycomm, ooVoo, Adobe Reader, Windows Live Toolbar, YouCam, Microsoft Office 2010 Starter Edition, Veriface, Lenovo Energy Management software, Cyberlink Power2Go (dvd +/- rw), Lenovo DirectShare, DDNI 2

Warranty: 1 Year Limited warranty

 

[speedracer51]

I just bought an IMB Lenovo ThinkPad a week ago. Friggen BAD AZZZZ. I love it.

 

[AngryAnt]

I've worked on PC's since I was 14 years old, did IT through college, and did repair work to help get me through my computer science degree.

From experience I can tell you that everybody's going to have a different opinion on which brands. Personally? I've worked on more crappy Dell's, Gateways, and HP's that I can shake a stick at, and I almost always buy Acer or Toshiba. That's not helpful, because there's just as many people on here that's going to say the opposite.


Primarily, I would suggest finding out how much battery life is important. If you guy for a really super nice fast computer with all the bells and whistles, chances are the battery life is going to be horrible. You might want to scale it back to a Core i5 or even i3 if you want multiple hours out of your battery. A quad core i7 or something like that will produce lots of heat and eat your battery quickly. I'd make sure to get at least 6GB's of RAM and something with a strong rated battery life. Nothing is useless than an awesome laptop with a 45 hour battery life, unless you just like to sit near outlets all the time.

 

[mas4489]

I would suggest a Dell or HP. (I work with IBM products and would not recommend to anyone) I would also think about putting a little more money into it, you get what you pay for.
You want something that's gonna be good for a few years down the road with somewhat current hardware, not something that's gonna break down cause of cheap parts.
Dell and HP offer discounts through employee purchase programs, some are about 7 to 10%.

HP Pavilion dv6 and dv6t series | HP® Official Store

Intel smokes AMD

 

[AngryAnt]

I would suggest a Dell or HP. (I work with IBM products and would not recommend to anyone) I would also think about putting a little more money into it, you get what you pay for.
You want something that's gonna be good for a few years down the road with somewhat current hardware, not something that's gonna break down cause of cheap parts.
Dell and HP offer discounts through employee purchase programs, some are about 7 to 10%.

HP Pavilion dv6 and dv6t series | HP® Official Store

Intel smokes AMD

While everyone is going to disagree on a brand name, I do highly agree that for laptops, Intel CPU's typically run cooler, have better performance (actual and battery life). AMD has some nice desktop CPU's, but never really seem to stay caught up in the mobile market.

 

[ChasingSquid]

From my experience, Dell's manufacturing seems to be pretty shoddy...I had a bunch of inspiron 1500 laptops and they were ok at the beginning but completely fell apart under a normal workload about 8 months in. Also, everyone that is ever brought to me for service is all junked up and breaking. I had a first gen Adamo, which was excellent, but they no longer make that line.

HP is alright if you like plasticy buttons and glossy covers with geometric prints, with a color called Espresso. Or if you just like paying extra for "beats by dre" integration, and extra batteries.

Id jump on that 400 dollar lenovo, solid deal - if you can afford to spend a bit more, here is a machine id buy any day of the week...

Lenovo T420 Laptop: Intel Core i5-2410M (2.3GHz), 14" HD+ (1600x900) LED Backlit, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, 6-Cell Battery, Win 7 Home Prem $686
Lenovo T420 Laptop: Intel Core i5-2410M (2.3GHz), 14" HD+ (1600x900) LED Backlit, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, 6-Cell, Win 7 Home Prem $686 + Free Shipping - Lenovo.com Deals, Coupons and Promos