Looking to buy a laptop!

Grunner · 11th December 2006, 9:01 AM

Hi all,

I'm looking at getting a new laptop and I have about $5K to blow on this new toy. What should I get? Should I be looking for any special features? Is there any brands which have good warranty (3yrs nbd) and really stands out from the rest?

Thanks in advance!

Grunner.

bioxeed · 11th December 2006, 9:23 AM

warranty wise dell have varying levels of cover from pretty basic rtb type cover to nbd onsite with international support and theft coverage. of course the more complete warranties cost a bit more. But for 5k you could get a screamer of a laptop and the best warranty to go with it.

HSV GTS · 11th December 2006, 10:16 AM

$5G hmm depending on what you need. Spend $3G or so, chuck the other $2G into shares or a high interest account and in a few years sell your old laptop and buy a new one with the spare cash plus the money from selling the old laptop.

What are you using it for, do you travel with it etc etc?

Fatty laptop goodness with a 17" screen go a Dell 9400 with top graphics card for gaming and watching DVDs etc.

Grab a lightweight 12" or 13" Asus/IBM/HP/Dell laptop for business and travelling.

Depends on what you want and really spending $5G on a laptop, you would hope its a damn good laptop. I know the 9400 Dells specced up are under $4K anyways.

FatBob · 11th December 2006, 10:21 AM

Dell XPS M1710 is what you want. Core 2 Duo, 7950GTX, 2 Gigs of ram and you can pretty much run anything on it!

Cheers

ShammY · 11th December 2006, 4:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FatBob

Dell XPS M1710 is what you want. Core 2 Duo, 7950GTX, 2 Gigs of ram and you can pretty much run anything on it!

Cheers

I am in the same boat as you Grunner I want a lappy that I can play a few games on etc.
I just went to the Dell site and priced a XPS M1710 with the 7950GTX the 7200 C2D 2GhZ processor and 1 GB of RAM and it comes to $4,187.70, does this sound about right? Also I'm not too worried about GST as I am going to buy with salary sacrifice so work will pay the GST on it. So it should only cost me about $3,807.00 I am going to hit them up for a free carry bag cause I have shopped with them before.

Edit ~ What is the battery life on these lappys? I'm guessing that the LED's all over it will drain it quite a bit.

Kharn · 11th December 2006, 11:58 PM

You definately have to check out the Macbook Pros, they are the best designed laptops on the market, can run Windows & OSX and are lite and thin while still being powerful. You can opt for AppleCare which includes 3 years of warranty.

cyrax83 · 12th December 2006, 12:01 AM

why would you even bother to get a laptop if your getting something so big and untransportable. might as well spend half the price and get an equivalent desktop.

Grunner · 12th December 2006, 5:55 AM

Ideally I would be looking at nothing larger than a 15.4" screen as I think 17" is just ridiculuous. It's purpose will be not for games but general use but I want to buy the latest technology so that the laptop is still usable in 3 years time with whatever applications come out.

bioxeed · 12th December 2006, 7:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyrax83

why would you even bother to get a laptop if your getting something so big and untransportable. might as well spend half the price and get an equivalent desktop.

a 17" laptop is still more transportable than even shuttles. not having to have separate monitor, keyboard etc makes a MASSIVE difference. I know because I've tried both and "desktop replacement" laptops are still WAY ahead. Those 21" laptops are getting stupid though.

stroggos2k · 12th December 2006, 7:28 AM

Get a top end 15.4" Macbook Pro imo.

bAbY_RoG3R · 12th December 2006, 8:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grunner

Ideally I would be looking at nothing larger than a 15.4" screen as I think 17" is just ridiculuous. It's purpose will be not for games but general use but I want to buy the latest technology so that the laptop is still usable in 3 years time with whatever applications come out.

technology is constantly changing and your laptop will probably phase out within a year or 2 even if you have the latest technology now

since you wont be gaming, why dont you just get something for half the price, and get a new laptop in 3 years time??? Any Core 2 Duo will probably handle general use.

If you're looking for portability, i would recommend you to get something abit smaller than the 15.4" , and consider the 14.1" range. ASUS make very impressive laptops, check them out... alternatively you can get yourself a DELL, which is better value for money BUT IMO bloody ugly

when you say stand out from the rest, trust me dont bother.

Scratch2k · 12th December 2006, 8:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShammY

salary sacrifice

I'm no expert on how sal sac works but to everybody suggesting he buy a desktop rather than a laptop, you can't sal sac desktops (in most cases), only laptops or PDA's. By Salary Sacrificing he pays for the laptop out of pre-tax earnings, so a $5k laptop will potentially only cost him about 3k out of his post-tax earnings. (and then he gets to depreciate it and claim that too).

So while buying a desktop over a laptop makes sense if the money if coming out of your pocket, doing so when the government is contributing a large chunk only if you buy a laptop is just silly.

ShammY · 12th December 2006, 8:34 AM

I don't need a desktop, my current system is more than adequate. As in sig.

11th December 2006, 9:01 AM	#1
Grunner Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ringwood, VIC Posts: 89	Looking to buy a laptop! Hi all, I'm looking at getting a new laptop and I have about $5K to blow on this new toy. What should I get? Should I be looking for any special features? Is there any brands which have good warranty (3yrs nbd) and really stands out from the rest? Thanks in advance! Grunner.

11th December 2006, 9:23 AM	#2
bioxeed Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Acid Lab Posts: 3,155	warranty wise dell have varying levels of cover from pretty basic rtb type cover to nbd onsite with international support and theft coverage. of course the more complete warranties cost a bit more. But for 5k you could get a screamer of a laptop and the best warranty to go with it. __________________ http://bioxeed.org - hard techno and such Dystopia - Jack In. Kick Arse. Ouches - "I don't care if the headphones look like 2 cane toads stapled to my head as long as they do the business"

11th December 2006, 10:16 AM	#3
HSV GTS Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Sydney Posts: 1,062	$5G hmm depending on what you need. Spend $3G or so, chuck the other $2G into shares or a high interest account and in a few years sell your old laptop and buy a new one with the spare cash plus the money from selling the old laptop. What are you using it for, do you travel with it etc etc? Fatty laptop goodness with a 17" screen go a Dell 9400 with top graphics card for gaming and watching DVDs etc. Grab a lightweight 12" or 13" Asus/IBM/HP/Dell laptop for business and travelling. Depends on what you want and really spending $5G on a laptop, you would hope its a damn good laptop. I know the 9400 Dells specced up are under $4K anyways. __________________ When all your wishes have been granted many of your dreams will be destroyed People i have traded with successfully: Chuna, God, Ongsta, jinxhavoc, packratbob1982, murder1, gbh, kooliez, pinguino, Anarki, koni, Tommy2toes X 3, Xont, morrij, Captain Caveman, REX, punti X 2, CQGLHyperion, dav, kangfu, deviation

12th December 2006, 7:28 AM	#10
stroggos2k Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Rozelle, Sydney NSW Posts: 6,155	Get a top end 15.4" Macbook Pro imo. __________________ Tune in to my radio show "Adam & The Stooges" from 8-10pm every Friday night on Sydney's 2RRR 88.5FM for obscure/classic/awesome rock, game, movie & tv reviews and random fun.

12th December 2006, 8:34 AM	#13
ShammY Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Perth W.A Posts: 197	I don't need a desktop, my current system is more than adequate. As in sig. __________________ \|Nvidia 7950GX2 Club Member #24\| System: A8N Sli Premium Motherboard \| SKT939 64 AMD 4800+ X2 \| 74GB Raptor \| 4 x 200GB WD HDD \| 3 x 500GB WD HD \| 2 x 320GB External HDD \|Sli ASUS 7950GX2 \| 4 x 512mb "el Crappo" DDR400 \| G15 KB \| Logitech G7 Laser Cordless Mouse \| Logitech Z5500 \| Tt Shark Case \| Tt 750W PSU \| Dell 2407WFP LCD \|

11th December 2006, 10:21 AM	#4
FatBob (Banned or Deleted) Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Sydney 2150 Posts: 139	Dell XPS M1710 is what you want. Core 2 Duo, 7950GTX, 2 Gigs of ram and you can pretty much run anything on it! Cheers

11th December 2006, 11:58 PM	#6
Kharn Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: See the world they said. So i bought a mac. Posts: 1,781	You definately have to check out the Macbook Pros, they are the best designed laptops on the market, can run Windows & OSX and are lite and thin while still being powerful. You can opt for AppleCare which includes 3 years of warranty.

12th December 2006, 5:55 AM	#8
Grunner Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ringwood, VIC Posts: 89	Ideally I would be looking at nothing larger than a 15.4" screen as I think 17" is just ridiculuous. It's purpose will be not for games but general use but I want to buy the latest technology so that the laptop is still usable in 3 years time with whatever applications come out.