Opinions from the computer people

[sb1227]

Ok, I've got to replace the desktop. It's really getting to be a pain, and instead of wasting money on doing all I would need to get it back up to snuff I have decided to replace it. I have always had my computers built, because I was a little particular about what I wanted on them and I did a good amount of gaming.
In order to get a system suitable for gaming now I might as well plan on spending as much as I would for a new car.
So I'm going to confine the major gaming to the PS2, ect. consoles and use the computer for other stuff. I've decided to go with a 17" UXGA widescreen notebook. I'm not as familiar with the new processors, especially for notebooks. What do you think of this, maybe an Intel Duo Core Processor T2250 (1.73GHz/533MHz/2 X 1MB L2 Cache) along with 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz ?

I could go up to the next one, the T2400 Duo Processor (1.83GHz/667MHz/2 X 1MB L2 Cache) with the 667MHz memory, but I do want to add an ATI Radeon mobility (256MB) video card and it's gonna jump the cost too high. The only option with this one would be limiting to 1GB of memory.

It's mainly going to be regular use with maybe some light media editing.

Ideas? Opinions?

[snoopdog]

Wait till the core 2 drop a little more, they are going to be the badass processor for the next two years. And also you CANNOT use a gaming console to replace all your gaming, they get "old" too quick and not upgradeable on the spur of the moment, it is not like you can pull the video card out. I personallly have never saw the point of a console, the graphics get dated way too quick, you spend way too much for games on those things.

I will also say that a laptop is that, a portable computer, not too be used for a desktop replacement. They are great for trips, etc but the keyboards are too small and they will always be slower to the desktop equivalent. The bus speed, memory speed, hard drive speed, etc are always a few tick behind the equivalent configured computer. Not to mention that typing on one is never as enjoyable as the desktop.

Repair cost on the laptop is also always higher. I also noticed I ran out of space fast on my laptops, I had 3 new ones at one point last year. At the time the largest hard drive was around 80 gig and the desktops were at around 200-250 gig a major difference but of course the price of the drive were equivalent for both laptop and desktop.

I encourage having both a laptop and desktop, just remember the laptop has it's on place.

[Brian]

I agree with snoop. A laptop has it's place and it is more for someone that travels or needs it at work. If you have yourmind set on one I would recomeend getting a docking station with it. That way you can hook up a seperate mouse and keyboard so it is a little more comfortable to work with. From my experience you can not go wrong with the new Intel processors. They have seemed to be good. Keep AMD in mind also. Both are comparable. It is all a matter of opinion. One may benchmark a little better in certain areas but that determines whose benchmark test also. If gaming then it will definetely need to be pluggedin also because the batteries do not seem to last long when running games and other intensive applications. Maybe someone else can chime in on this. This is just my two cents.

[Brandon]

Personally wouldn't want to ever have to use a notebook for video editing unless it were something like a sager w/ a raid setup, but you will pay out the nose for it and wait forever for it to arrive.

Like Brian & Snoop said also.. Laptops have their place, but imho they aren't ideal for a main everyday use computer... not if you value speed and reliability. We have had to send every single notbook at work back at least once for problems. They are all Dells, Toshibas, and Sagers.

If you just want something you can tote around the house and play a quick game and browse the web a bit, get a cheap laptop & a good desktop instead of putting all your eggs into the laptop.

Just my opinion.

Oh.. for desktop, I'd recommend checking out the Dell refurb section, they are available with the same warranty as a new one. They all look brand new and you will not be able to tell the diff, only you will pay 1/2 the costs. I have bought quiet a few of these for work, some with workstation graphics cards in them for the office and have not had a problem with any of them at all. The one I got for me has a Nvidia Quadro 4500 (Around 2000 for the card), 1gb memory, and 3.2ghz processor and the whole thing was less than $1000.

Dell Outlet (You have to watch the inventory, morning seems to have the best selections)
http://www.dell.com/content/products/ca ... l=en&s=dfh

[snoopdog]

For performance in a laptop I doubt you can beat a Sager, which Sager makes Alienware laptops. If you want to go straight to the manufacturer then Clevo makes Sager. So I guess in turn Clevo makes Alienware. Beware though they are powerfull and expensive.

I second the Dell refurbs, have heard good things recently about them.

[sb1227]

I've been back and forth with the Laptop/desktop issue. Common sense says I can get a much better setup if I go desktop, I was looking into the XPS400 with the Pentium D 930. Alienware is my dream setup, but no way can I get anything really decent that would be within my budget. I will look into the Dell refurbished site.

The reason I was thinking laptop was I'm kind of sick of tearing the computer down every time we have to evacuate. I have one laptop, a dell, and have been pretty impressed with it.

I used to fool around and build those "if I had unlimited funds" gaming computers with the AMD 64FX, it had just come out then and they were getting pretty good with the liquid cooling systems. It's been a while since I've done that. My desktop has an AMD processor, I believe it was the 3200 that came out just before the 64 series. For some reason there was a conflict with the motherboard (they figured it out after a year or so) and I never could use USB ports. Heat was a big issue as well, I think I went thru about 4 Power supplies in 5 years. I think I would be more concerned about having a good cooling system if I got another AMD.

[Guardfather]

I'm an authorized system builder here in Mobile. I can sell parts for less than you can buy them retail. I can't beat some internet pricing, but I have a year warranty on all my parts. I also can get most laptops if that's the way you wanna go. PM for my phone number if you wanna talk about it.

[snoopdog]

Prices will be very unstable now with Intel's new release. AMD prices will be dropping at least 50% soon.

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl ... 8&from=rss


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[sb1227]

Interesting. That might be an option. If the price drops that much I'd really consider the FX, I just want smething that will be doable for 5 years or so. That's pushing it, but so far I've been able to go that long (barely) before everything is so outdated.
Have any of you looked into the smaller liquid cooling setups like Thermaltake has? That also might be something to consider. Or am I the only one who has big heat issues? I had a hard drive fan and front fan pulling air in, and a fan blowing out the back, with 2 fans on the 550W. power supply and still had the cpu running about 110 degrees.

Guardfather, thanks, that's definately something worth looking into....I'll send you a PM shortly.

[snoopdog]

I never have heat problems. BTW water and computers do not mix no matter what people think. Those hoses always seem to rot and leak over time. Think of it this way, how much does a liquid cooling system add to the price of the computer ? Ok so you liquid cool to be able to overclock your computer a percentage, why not dump that money into the next processor speed and still save money ?