What Laptop?

[Toon³]

I'm considering buy a laptop for University.

I'm not after anything fancy, just something to access the internet and use Microsoft Office or similar.

I'm quite tempted by the Apple iBook since it's the cheapest and looks good. But the processor isn't that fast and it doesn't have a Centrino Processor.

But since there are just so many different makes and models out there I was wondering if people had any recommendations or websites that might help.

I'm looking to try and spend under £1200 or $2060.

Thanks in advance.

[URwormfood]

I'm considering buy a laptop for University.

I'm not after anything fancy, just something to access the internet and use Microsoft Office or similar.

I'm quite tempted by the Apple iBook since it's the cheapest and looks good. But the processor isn't that fast and it doesn't have a Centrino Processor.

But since there are just so many different makes and models out there I was wondering if people had any recommendations or websites that might help.

I'm looking to try and spend under £1200 or $2060.

Thanks in advance.

What will you use the laptop for?

For that budget you could get a top of line one.

~worm~

[Toon³]

I'm not after anything fancy, just something to access the internet and use Microsoft Office or similar.

^^^

[URwormfood]

^^^

http://www.systemshootouts.org (http://www.systemshootouts.org/shootouts/laptop/2005/1022_lt2000.html)

Try that link above..If you like the I-book...then go for it.

~worm~

[Toon³]

I actually prefer the iBook to the Powerbook, it's smaller and much cheaper and does everything I need doing.

[Kryptonite]

I'm quite tempted by the Apple iBook since it's the cheapest and looks good. But the processor isn't that fast and it doesn't have a Centrino Processor.

If you're tempted by the iBook, www.apple.com/ibook claims a 1.42GHz PowerPC G4 processor (roughly 2.84 Ghz PC) which should be fast enough to view any website, or play a DVD/CD without stalling.

[snigacookie]

i wouldnt go with an ibook. the hardware it has is outdated. look for a laptop with a pentium m processor. try the dell 700m series, should be pretty good and its a small laptop as well. if ure used to using windows, stay with windows. if ure used to using apple, stay with apple.

[Toon³]

Has apple got any plans to launch a new laptop any time soon or are they only making iPods now?

I'm not sure about dell, I know 3 people with them and they've all had problems.

[Achtung]

Well, you can't directly compare speed numbers of an Apple computer to an Intel one since the GHz numbers don't really match up. But yeah Apple's hardware on their laptops is a bit outdated, unless you wait until the summer when the Intel-based Macs come out.

If you don't want Dell (and admittedly their quality has slipped) you could look at something like the Sony VAIO, either the A series or the FS series. Toshiba and HP come highly recommended too.

The best review site for you would probably be cnet.co.uk

[prk166]

I'm a little confused. To me if you're just using it for using ms word and accessing the internet, processing power and ram isn't that important. But it seems to be for you.

Where will you be using it? Will it be plugged in all the time? Around where I am all the coffee shops have extra power supplies. So I skipped the centrino crap and went with a straigh up p4 last year. You sacrifice some juice but I bought an extra battery ($80?) to compensate for that for the few times I do happen to go to used it where power is an issue. And during those times I don't play movies and turn the screen down so it's less of an issue. No use worrying about battery life + sacrificing power if most of the time you're plugged into a wall socket.

Either way on that one, get a widescreen with at least a DVD read capabilities. You'll find it comes in handy when you make a trip to grandma's and the family is busy watching forest gump and you can go off and watch your own lil' movie.

[Pibe#10]

If I had themoney I would buy this baby:

Satellite M45-S359: http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=333386&pfp=srch1

but that's just me :)

I too bought a p4, its great, performance wise, but you have to be plugged in all the time, battery time at most is 2.00 hours, and to carry around campus a centrino would be nice, ligther (centrino about 5 pounds, p4 about 8). My friend has mine with centrino on it, somewhat less powerful (processor) but he gets throught a 2hr 50min lecture class no problem without being plugged in. So why did I get a p4?, well graphics and games, I do a lot of graphics editing, like Photoshop, AutoCAD and the such, but I'm thinking that at 2Ghz this centrino is a good 'puter. On my friends centrino, it has trouble running games that I have no problem with on mine.

[Toon³]

I'm a little confused. To me if you're just using it for using ms word and accessing the internet, processing power and ram isn't that important. But it seems to be for you.

Where will you be using it? Will it be plugged in all the time? Around where I am all the coffee shops have extra power supplies. So I skipped the centrino crap and went with a straigh up p4 last year. You sacrifice some juice but I bought an extra battery ($80?) to compensate for that for the few times I do happen to go to used it where power is an issue. And during those times I don't play movies and turn the screen down so it's less of an issue. No use worrying about battery life + sacrificing power if most of the time you're plugged into a wall socket.

Either way on that one, get a widescreen with at least a DVD read capabilities. You'll find it comes in handy when you make a trip to grandma's and the family is busy watching forest gump and you can go off and watch your own lil' movie.


The only processor related thing I'm concerned about is the Centrino thing.

It will only be used at university and on a building site. I won't be spending that long away from a mains supply, but it being light and able to be wireless is important since I don't want to be carrying a 10kg laptop and cables around a building site. And that the main office computers are all wirelessly linked to a main server that I could just hook into.

The Toshiba one above does look very very nice and has everything I want and more for a couple of hundred less than an iBook

Game playing and alike a problem since I've just upgraded my home PC, oh it's wonderful *drools*

[royalstilton]

a bit over yer budget but this might work:

http://www.mangolaptops.com/product_info.php/cPath/112_115/products_id/1857

[dirtskier]

I'm looking into the Powerbook since my Sager Notebook hard drive died on me a couple weeks ago (other than that, nice machine). However, from everything I've heard about the new 15 inch powerbook, there are problems galore, especially with the wireless reception and the display, so I'll probably hold out til the intel release if I can (otherwise I'll probably go back to Sager).

Apple is set to make a big product announcement jan 10. However, no idea what type of announcement it's going to be. Most people have pretty much guaranteed that a mac mini will be released, and it's likely at that least one new intel laptop will come on the market ( no word yet if it'll be the iBook, or more powerful powerbook)