# A laptop buying Do's and Don't guide.



## rohitsz (May 2, 2005)

Greetings to all,

i am planning to buy a laptop.

it would be used for lots of compiling(j2ee,struts,weblogic).. and the routine jobs like music,movies, google-ing.

i have a budget of around 35K.
i prefer to know what i am buying so i am on a lookout of a do's and don't guide for buying a laptop.

i have been on a desktop for aroung 5 years. so i am novice with laptops!
i have been doing little work on my purchase. i got these hints:

1) repairing a laptop cost a lot! so stay away, buy another desktop.

2) acer is cheap, its not good.

3) laptops cost too mcuh!

also i have been seeing advt of IBM laptops about them being dropped etc.. they are quite impressive.


kindly help.

regards,

-rohit


----------



## anubhav_har (May 2, 2005)

Hey man how about a Compaq.. A M2002AL costs around        34K and you can that one.. Its preloaded wotth Linux but u can load Windows XP


----------



## rohitsz (May 2, 2005)

*found a lot more notebook options!*

Greeting there,
i checked out the compaq M2002AL, its nice.. but upon further google-ing, i came across *www.notebookreview.com and put in my query like this:

make:any
processor:any
hdd:*60-80 G*
weight:any
screen:any
os:any
price: *under 1000 US$*

$1.00 == Rs 43.48
i got under 10 results which belonged to either eMachines or Compaq-HP.


Q1:so anyone experienced with eMachines notebook in India?

Q2:what do the different series number from Compaq-HP mean?

Q3: what is diff in buying a pentium mobile and pentium 4 processor?

Q4: how does AMD fare in the notebooks?

Q5: there are upgradation issues in desktops... are there any such issues  
      in notebooks?

also when i ran a search for ANY notebook under 1000 US$, i got 400+ results ranging from acer,IBM,apple(wow!),toshiba,sharp,HP,Compaq,eMachines,sony
among the top 100(in no specefic order).
there were a number of brands within touching limits of 1000 US$.

so i am a little more informed but still confused!

also any developer in here kindly shed some light upon a configuration that suits the job best!(compiling,music,movies,google-ing).

thanks & regards,
-rohit.


----------



## futuristically_ancient (May 2, 2005)

*Re: found a lot more notebook options!*



			
				rohitsz said:
			
		

> so i am a little more informed but still confused!



even im confused


----------



## qarch (May 2, 2005)

*Re: found a lot more notebook options!*

A2: Compaq was bought by HP so all Compaq laptops are now HP-Compaq. As far as the numbers are concerned I think they are just a series of numbers instead of names.

A3: Pentium Mobile (P-M)is an energy saving version of pentium. Otherwise there is no other difference, except for higher cost. P-M goes up to 2.4 GHz only whereas normal pentium P4 is made upto 3.3+GHz. P-M will give say about 2-4 hrs of battery life before recharging. Normal P4 will last less and will require recharging after 1-2 hrs of usage. For the same money you will be able to buy higher speed P4 laptop, but requiring more frequent recharges.

Laptops are priced very high in India. For the same value make your search for under US $750 to get a correct picture.

Music, movies, google-ing are not CPU intensive, compiling is-a bit more.


----------



## a_medico (May 3, 2005)

Preferably get one from US .. if any of ur friend is coming, well and good....or else u have to buy it from india vonly..

in india... with 35k budget, u have just 2 options..

acer and compaq

i personally wud go for acer.

for 38k i think theres one decent acer model...forgot the model no.

preferably buy :-

intel centrino (not possib in 35k)
pentium m (more likely in ur case)
some AMDprocessor in acer 32k version

In general :-

Best laptops are Sony Vaio

Next best - Dell/ IBM/ Toshiba

lastly - other brands


i have heard some bad reviews regarding compaq and HP laptops tho i think both have merged now.

more info - notebookreview.com and notebookforum.com

best luck...if possib, please let me know which one u buy nad for how much....even i plan to get one in couple of mons or so for around same price range..

a_medico

ps- check for appropriate ports according to ur need


----------



## Nemesis (May 3, 2005)

a_medico said:
			
		

> preferably buy :-
> 
> intel centrino (not possib in 35k)
> pentium m (more likely in ur case)
> some AMDprocessor in acer 32k version



Errrrr.....Pentium M and Centrino are the same processor.

Now the main issue here is your budget dude. All you will get is HP, Acer, and Zenith. I wouldn't recommend Zenith as they don't really stack up to the others. HP is an okay brand but Acer does make some good laptops. Also make sure you get all the details about the service and support on whichever manufacturer you choose. Leave eMachines out-I don't think they even sell their laptops in India.

AMD is decent when it comes to laptops although Intel is the leader here. The Centrino is the best possible mobile processor. It performs well even at lower clock speeds and gives a lot of battery life. The mobile version of the P4 sucks a lot of power and drains the battery pretty quickly. But if you will be using the laptop on AC power most of the time, then battery life should not be a concern. AMD Semprons are cheap though.

Most laptops cannot be upgraded. At most you will be able to upgrade the memory and that's about it. In some of the more expensive models, you can get new graphics cards and stuff-but those are very expensive. You could also get an HDD upgrade. But laptop upgrades are a messy and expensive business. Laptop repairs are expensive but as long as you have a warranty, they should be fine.

IBM is pretty good but very expensive in India so stay away. Dell is another good choice but I doubt if they have any models around 35K. And when searching online on foreign sites, remember that the same stuff will cost you more in India than it does out there. Something that costs $1000 in the US will easily cost 55-60K in India.


----------



## Maverick340 (Jun 11, 2005)

I ewanted to Buy a Laptop frm abroad ..my budget is less than $1200....Please suggest me some good brands ..
I heard HP is a good choice as it  offers after sale services in india...
My configuration requirements are
In tel M 1.5 GHz
512 MB Ram
Wi-Fi enabled
:
:
:


----------



## Nemesis (Jun 11, 2005)

Try Dell. Which country are you going to buy the laptop from? Dell has a few models under $1200 in the US at least; not sure about other markets.


----------



## Maverick340 (Jun 11, 2005)

Washigton...I think HP looks like the Best...
can sum1 plz review "Hewlett Packard Compaq Presario 2210US (PM043UAR) PC Notebook"


----------



## Maverick340 (Jun 11, 2005)

Also tell me which model of Dell is good...


----------



## rohitsz (Jun 26, 2005)

*developer's laptop at/under 45K*

Greetings there,
sorry got busy with semester exams,
so could't keep track of the thread.

ok so now am gonna buy a laptop within a week.
with increased budget.
have't kept myself updated with the latest happening's in the laptop world(say under 45K!)

so i am back to where i started...

lesson's learnt..
1.gonna search for laptops in india only because of price difference..
2.should go fo intel-M processors for power/battery issues.

well looking forward for directions.

>need a laptop for development purpose.
>512M ram
>screen is not a issue. but should't make me start wearing glasses within a couple of months!
>upgradation is an issue atleast ram/hdd


also who, in india spec delhi, among all laptop companies provide good EMI option? so a 5k here and there would be possible!

some Q's
q1:how do Dell/HP-Compaq compare??
q2:diff b/w XP-home and XP-professional?(including cost)
q3:can a laptop be custom built?

thanks,
rohit.


----------



## ~Phenom~ (Jun 26, 2005)

go for DELL , its simply the best


----------



## vishal_bhatia87 (Jun 26, 2005)

Go for compaq as Iam using it and Iam very happy with it. For more visit hp.com/in


----------



## babumuchhala (Jun 26, 2005)

i dont think a laptop can be custom built.

Go to the nearest HP shop and eat his head out getting all tiny details u need. I did this for time pass last year after 12th. They will be glad to answer ur questions.

Plus never give them ur telephone no.


----------



## rohitsz (Jun 26, 2005)

Greetings there..
@vishal: hey what model are you using? for what purpose dev/gaming or just like that?

@raj & @babu:well i have been seeing both hp-compaq and dell.
have registered at both sites ie given a request oto HP and signed up for DELL's regular updates indicating that the purchase will be  made in a week.

so just hoping that i get the best performing laptop with the given budget.

also how do zenith fare? my brother is insisting to go for it,maybe coz of its cost, as i am not aware of this brand,as i got to know that its not good. nothing much i know.

also does Acer figure in anyone''s mind??

regards,
rohit.


----------



## rohitsz (Jul 2, 2005)

*which one to choose? with a few technicalities.*

Greeitings there.

today i happen to see a few laptops.(Acer-TravelMate 4150, Acer-TravelMate 2355,Compaq M2015AP,Lenovo 2887 LQ3,Lenovo 1834 LQ3)

i like's them all.

here's a few Q's i like to have answers..
1. Difference between
     a) limited hardware warranty(Lenovo)
     b) customer carry in limited hardware global warranty(Lenovo)
     c) onsite warranty(Lenovo)

2. why is so that a USB FDD is priced differently aby different brands? say acer's cost 1000/- Compaq's is 1800/- and Lenovo's cost 2700/-

3. Same is with a DDR RAM. 

4. Is the HDD rpm difference visible?

5. what ports/network connectivity should one go for? there are a number of them being offered.. say 6-in-1 reader/bluetooth/wi-fi/parallel/serial/USB(how many are worth?) So what combination fits in for say 3-4 years(being too optimistic)

6. What to go for intel/AMD?

Also what would you choose from Lenovo/Compaq/Acer. Among the ones a saw, the price difference is not much except the Acer-2355(30K), the rest are around 48K(~3K).

thanks,
rohit.


----------



## rohitsz (Jul 6, 2005)

Greetings there,

help needed in making the final decision to buy.
Please respond and give opinions.
am really confused what to choose?
Acer/Lenovo.
Acer has features..
Lenovo has a strong brand name.but lacks features of an Acer 30K machine.

eagerly waiting for response..

thanks,
rohit.


----------

