Please Help With New Computer Specs
Sep 15, 2005 | 12:05 am
#46
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Great Plains USA
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Posts: 77
Originally Posted by ShuttleBug
I'm in the position of needing to purchase a new laptop that must meet the following minimum specs: (1) 512 MB RAM; (2) 56K v 90K modem; (3) 802.11 b/g compliant wireless card; (4) 10/100/1000 Etherneet PC Card; (6) 40+ GB HD; (7) PC card slot; (8) 1 GB MHz processor speed.
While I'm finding that looking for a new laptop is a very educational experience, I'm also a little overwhelmed by the huge number variety of choices available. Would you all help out by guiding me with answers/advice about the following:
1) How important is it to choose a system with IEEE 1394 (FireWire) interface? What exactly is it and how does it work?
-Not important at all unless you have something that is Firewire ONLY, and I doubt you do. Not a show stopper.
2) Is it absolutely necessary to have a digital media reader? 4-in-1 or 6-in-1? What do laptops w/o readers use?
-Not unless you need to plug in the memory/flash card from a camera to upload pictures, and besides that, you can add on an external USB digital media reader (plug it into the USB port) when you need it, you can find them for $20 if you look around. Not a show stopper.
3) What would be the smallest number of 2.0 USB ports
reasonable? Since I know that I will need at least one for (a) parallel port toUSB printer connection) and another for occasional use with (b) external 3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive, should I assume that a system with a total of 3 ports would be adequate?
-Again, you can add on a 1-into-4 USB splitter if you need it for like $20 bucks, you want at least 2 USB ports otherwise. Floppies are being replaced by USB flash drives.
4) I note that on some laptops video memory is shared DDR (128 MB or 64 MB). Is this good?
-if you don't do graphics-intensive applications like some high-end shoot-em-up or car chase games, for solitaire it's fine. What you need to watch out for in memory is the ABILITY to add more (later), some laptops the memory is soldered in, some have only 1 slot, you want a laptop with 2 slots and the ability to remove the memory that comes with it and upgrade (later). I suggest buying memory from a place such as 'memory4less.com' and saving a ton of money. They have 1 gig of laptop memory for $120-140,
512mb for around $60. You want no less than 512, so if it comes with 256mb, add 256 ($35-40) or add a 512 to bring it to 768mb.
5) I also see that the network card in most systems in my price range (+/- $1K) is integrated 10/100. Should I be able to get along with this? It appears that systems with 10/100/1000 are in laptops with faster processors and llarger hard drives; this kicks prices out of my price range.
-you probably won't use 1000 for awhile, if ever, to be honest, and you probably will get a 40 gig to 80 gig HD and only use 8-10 gig of it.
-OH - BE SURE YOUR LAPTOP YOU BUY COMES WITH A BATTERY - SOME DON'T - THEY ADD IT AS AN OPTION FOR $120+.
Any info, advice, and recommendations would be greatly appreciated. TIA
While I'm finding that looking for a new laptop is a very educational experience, I'm also a little overwhelmed by the huge number variety of choices available. Would you all help out by guiding me with answers/advice about the following:
1) How important is it to choose a system with IEEE 1394 (FireWire) interface? What exactly is it and how does it work?
-Not important at all unless you have something that is Firewire ONLY, and I doubt you do. Not a show stopper.
2) Is it absolutely necessary to have a digital media reader? 4-in-1 or 6-in-1? What do laptops w/o readers use?
-Not unless you need to plug in the memory/flash card from a camera to upload pictures, and besides that, you can add on an external USB digital media reader (plug it into the USB port) when you need it, you can find them for $20 if you look around. Not a show stopper.
3) What would be the smallest number of 2.0 USB ports
reasonable? Since I know that I will need at least one for (a) parallel port toUSB printer connection) and another for occasional use with (b) external 3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive, should I assume that a system with a total of 3 ports would be adequate?
-Again, you can add on a 1-into-4 USB splitter if you need it for like $20 bucks, you want at least 2 USB ports otherwise. Floppies are being replaced by USB flash drives.
4) I note that on some laptops video memory is shared DDR (128 MB or 64 MB). Is this good?
-if you don't do graphics-intensive applications like some high-end shoot-em-up or car chase games, for solitaire it's fine. What you need to watch out for in memory is the ABILITY to add more (later), some laptops the memory is soldered in, some have only 1 slot, you want a laptop with 2 slots and the ability to remove the memory that comes with it and upgrade (later). I suggest buying memory from a place such as 'memory4less.com' and saving a ton of money. They have 1 gig of laptop memory for $120-140,
512mb for around $60. You want no less than 512, so if it comes with 256mb, add 256 ($35-40) or add a 512 to bring it to 768mb.
5) I also see that the network card in most systems in my price range (+/- $1K) is integrated 10/100. Should I be able to get along with this? It appears that systems with 10/100/1000 are in laptops with faster processors and llarger hard drives; this kicks prices out of my price range.
-you probably won't use 1000 for awhile, if ever, to be honest, and you probably will get a 40 gig to 80 gig HD and only use 8-10 gig of it.
-OH - BE SURE YOUR LAPTOP YOU BUY COMES WITH A BATTERY - SOME DON'T - THEY ADD IT AS AN OPTION FOR $120+.
Any info, advice, and recommendations would be greatly appreciated. TIA
Thinkpad.com has a good IBM Thinkpad R50e for $849 but for what they want for extra memory is a total rip-off - for 1 gig they want $720 but you can buy it elsewhere for $155 or so, Best Buy has a good Sony Vaio for $899, Dell has several models for between $500 and $1,000, as does Toshiba.
Last edited by fredman; Sep 15, 2005 at 12:13 am
Sep 17, 2005 | 11:05 am
#47
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 38,543
Originally Posted by ShuttleBug
In the case of the two Toshiba models I am looking at--the only real differences that I see in the specs are for the chipsets.
Both laptops have Intel Celeron M 1.5GHz w/processor #370; 400MHz FSB. But one chipset is ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M IGP, while the other chipset is Intel 910 GML.
Can anyone tell me what is the difference, if any, between the two, and, in the long run, how will it matter?
Both laptops have Intel Celeron M 1.5GHz w/processor #370; 400MHz FSB. But one chipset is ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M IGP, while the other chipset is Intel 910 GML.
Can anyone tell me what is the difference, if any, between the two, and, in the long run, how will it matter?
Oct 2, 2005 | 12:23 pm
#48
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: PVD/NYC/BOS/DCA (currently exiled in the wilds of Northern Rhode Island and as far away from Quahog, RI as it is physically possible to be and still be considered in the same state... :eek: )
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Posts: 179
Originally Posted by fredman
There are several really good laptops out there for under $1,000, if you are in the USA see www.salescircular.com for a compilation of sunday newspaper ads in all 50 states.
And Loren, regarding the chipsets, you are right about the graphics. This was explained to me by a really nice salesperson at J&R Music World (NYC). In the long run it will not make any difference to me unless I suddenly turn into a heavy graphics user (i.e., video editing or video games etc.)
So, now that (1) I'm armed and ready for the 21st century in computing, I now have a second project which is (2) to get my "baby laptop" into the 20th century.
My thought is to continue to use it for word processing (typing the diss) because I am very used to the keyboard and the first part of my diss (MA thesis) is already in hand and formated in this WP program; and my hobby (word games, ie. tangleword, scrabble, boggle etc ). Also can continue to use for dial-up internet. Currently, this laptop has 32MB RAM (max 96MB) and 4GB HD (max~8GB) rotation speed 4,009 rpm; processor is 266MHz Pentium (R) w/MMX technology; 64 bit video card w/2MB EDO DRAM.
What I have in mind @:-) is to attempt to update from WIN95 to WIN98 so that I can use a jump/flash drive in the USB port to back up the diss. (cannot use USB port now as WIN95 has no code...first used with WIN98)
Yes, I know she is a dinosaur...but this little baby got me through college, grad school, law school and a few other miscellaneous programs, and now I hope that she will be with me through the final stretch!!
Oct 2, 2005 | 5:04 pm
#49
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Join Date: Nov 1999
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I'm rather late to this thread. Good discussion so far.
As with earlier posters, I also agree that gigabit Ethernet shouldn't be that big a concern, as it's not that widely available on noteboook computers. That said, I think IBM's got this as an option on many models.
I would advise going for 1 GB of memory. Adding more memory is one of the most cost effective ways to boost performance.
FireWire is a different type of bus, similar in some respects to USB as both let you connect external devices to your PC. Some differences like USB uses a root/hub/branch type topology, whereas FireWire does daisy chaining to connect multiple devices. Performance comparable between FireWire 400 and USB 2.0; one or the other might be slightly faster depending on the device. DV-type camcorders use the FireWire interface to transfer data to the computer. Some external hard drives come with both FireWire and USB interfaces, though you can only use one at a time, of course.
Digital media readers are convenient for travel with a digital camera where you need to dump the files onto your computer as the memory card fills up. My notebook doesn't have a built-in memory card reader (save for the Sony Memory Stick), so I bought a SanDisk 6-in-1 PC Card adapter so that I can read my SD cards. The mini external USB card readers suggested by others are another viable option.
I would say two as the bare minimum, 3 or 4 would be better.
Shared means the video frame buffer is using up part of the main memory, so you'd have to take your 512 MB and subtract off 64 or 128 MB. This would be another good reason to consider 1 GB of main memory.
FewMiles..
Originally Posted by ShuttleBug
(1) 512 MB RAM; (2) 56K v 90K modem; (3) 802.11 b/g compliant wireless card; (4) 10/100/1000 Etherneet PC Card; (6) 40+ GB HD; (7) PC card slot; (8) 1 GB MHz processor speed.
I would advise going for 1 GB of memory. Adding more memory is one of the most cost effective ways to boost performance.
1) How important is it to choose a system with IEEE 1394 (FireWire) interface? What exactly is it and how does it work?
2) Is it absolutely necessary to have a digital media reader? 4-in-1 or 6-in-1? What do laptops w/o readers use?
3) What would be the smallest number of 2.0 USB ports
reasonable? Since I know that I will need at least one for (a) parallel port toUSB printer connection) and another for occasional use with (b) external 3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive, should I assume that a system with a total of 3 ports would be adequate?
reasonable? Since I know that I will need at least one for (a) parallel port toUSB printer connection) and another for occasional use with (b) external 3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive, should I assume that a system with a total of 3 ports would be adequate?
4) I note that on some laptops video memory is shared DDR (128 MB or 64 MB). Is this good?
FewMiles..
Feb 7, 2006 | 1:12 am
#50
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: PVD/NYC/BOS/DCA (currently exiled in the wilds of Northern Rhode Island and as far away from Quahog, RI as it is physically possible to be and still be considered in the same state... :eek: )
Programs: UA 1P; DL FO; MR Silver
Posts: 179
Hmmm....a few months later....
I really love my HP DV1420, but am having serious separation issues with my old Compaq Armada 1598DMT
My current thought is that since my HP does not have a 1.44 floppy drive, I should network the two using an ethernet (RJ45 to RJ45) wire via the Compaq's (WIN 95) existing ethernet 10/100 cc adaptor to transfer data from the 10 billion+ 1.44 floppies I have
. I figger it'll be a trifle slow, but eventually will get me where I'm going without having to shell out more $ for a USB floppy drive.
I presume one system should be host and the other guest? Which should be which? Is it better to have system running XP designated host? Is there a "networking for dummies" with a step by step instruction booklet???
Thoughts? Ideas? Any comments and/or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!
I really love my HP DV1420, but am having serious separation issues with my old Compaq Armada 1598DMT
My current thought is that since my HP does not have a 1.44 floppy drive, I should network the two using an ethernet (RJ45 to RJ45) wire via the Compaq's (WIN 95) existing ethernet 10/100 cc adaptor to transfer data from the 10 billion+ 1.44 floppies I have
. I figger it'll be a trifle slow, but eventually will get me where I'm going without having to shell out more $ for a USB floppy drive. I presume one system should be host and the other guest? Which should be which? Is it better to have system running XP designated host? Is there a "networking for dummies" with a step by step instruction booklet???
Thoughts? Ideas? Any comments and/or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!