Ok i've posted this to a gaming website and thought it wouldnt hurt to ask the question here to see if i get some nice suggestions with links etc. So here goes...
1. What type of laptop are you looking for? Replacement for my now old and creaky Dell Inspiron 8600.
2. What will be your uses for the laptop? Music creation using software like Albeton Live/Reason. I have a USB soundcard that i can use for live so the internal sound card isnt a big problem. I also like to play games so a good graphic card would be ideal. I dont play many games but the fact is i DO
3. What is your total budget? (including VAT?) Probably 800 including VAT
4. How portable does the laptop need to be? (how often will it be moved around, where it will be taken) . Size isnt an issue, in fact i like big widescreens. Inspiron 8600 is not light and it doesnt bother me. The size of the screen and what the laptop can do is the most important
5. What type of screen do you want? (widescreen, glossy, size) . Widescreen and big. not sure about the glossy side of things.
6. How much battery life is required? Couple of hours is probably what i require. Many an option to buy a larger cell if need be.
7. What type of processor/ram/hard drive/optical drives do you want? Not bothered about blue ray, dvdrw dual layer would be nice but not essential. as long as i can write dvds i will be happy. Intel cpu, 3/4 gig (although...i know the limitations of 32 bit vista). fast hard drive with plenty of disk space.
8. If you want to play games, what type? (titles would be useful). At the moment i play lord of the rings online, pro evo soccer range and spore. i do like fps stuff like cod4 as well but i tend to stick that on my desktop.
9. Are there any specific things needed (e.g. ports) . I have a GPRS pcmcia card which makes me want at least one pcmcia slot but if it has built in sim reader then i dont think i have any need for a slot like that. a few usbs are naturally essential. not much else i dont think.
10. Which things are you willing to comprimise? (e.g. gaming laptops do not have long battery lives). Good question. Not sure but no doubt i will find out what i may have to lose to have a certain laptop
11. What laptops have you considered? (post links) Are there any brands you like/dislike? . My friend brought in a sony vaio and i ran some games on that. worked really well. I believe it was this one .
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/5809785/Sony-Vaio-AR71-M-Core-2-Duo-T8100-2-1GHz-4GB-300GB-17-Blu-ray-Vista-Home-Premium-Laptop-Notebook/Product.html
12. What operating system(s) do you want to run? (Windows, Mac, Linux) Windows
13. Do you want a new laptop, or would you mind a refurbished or used? New laptop 100 percent
14. Do you need/wish to purchase from a particular store? Not really.
15. Timescale for purchasing (if you are buying in advance, it's best to wait until you really need it because of the fast pace at which technology advances) . I'm looking asap really.
Thanks for reading
Cheers
1. What type of laptop are you looking for? Replacement for my now old and creaky Dell Inspiron 8600.
2. What will be your uses for the laptop? Music creation using software like Albeton Live/Reason. I have a USB soundcard that i can use for live so the internal sound card isnt a big problem. I also like to play games so a good graphic card would be ideal. I dont play many games but the fact is i DO
3. What is your total budget? (including VAT?) Probably 800 including VAT
4. How portable does the laptop need to be? (how often will it be moved around, where it will be taken) . Size isnt an issue, in fact i like big widescreens. Inspiron 8600 is not light and it doesnt bother me. The size of the screen and what the laptop can do is the most important
5. What type of screen do you want? (widescreen, glossy, size) . Widescreen and big. not sure about the glossy side of things.
6. How much battery life is required? Couple of hours is probably what i require. Many an option to buy a larger cell if need be.
7. What type of processor/ram/hard drive/optical drives do you want? Not bothered about blue ray, dvdrw dual layer would be nice but not essential. as long as i can write dvds i will be happy. Intel cpu, 3/4 gig (although...i know the limitations of 32 bit vista). fast hard drive with plenty of disk space.
8. If you want to play games, what type? (titles would be useful). At the moment i play lord of the rings online, pro evo soccer range and spore. i do like fps stuff like cod4 as well but i tend to stick that on my desktop.
9. Are there any specific things needed (e.g. ports) . I have a GPRS pcmcia card which makes me want at least one pcmcia slot but if it has built in sim reader then i dont think i have any need for a slot like that. a few usbs are naturally essential. not much else i dont think.
10. Which things are you willing to comprimise? (e.g. gaming laptops do not have long battery lives). Good question. Not sure but no doubt i will find out what i may have to lose to have a certain laptop
11. What laptops have you considered? (post links) Are there any brands you like/dislike? . My friend brought in a sony vaio and i ran some games on that. worked really well. I believe it was this one .
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/5809785/Sony-Vaio-AR71-M-Core-2-Duo-T8100-2-1GHz-4GB-300GB-17-Blu-ray-Vista-Home-Premium-Laptop-Notebook/Product.html
12. What operating system(s) do you want to run? (Windows, Mac, Linux) Windows
13. Do you want a new laptop, or would you mind a refurbished or used? New laptop 100 percent
14. Do you need/wish to purchase from a particular store? Not really.
15. Timescale for purchasing (if you are buying in advance, it's best to wait until you really need it because of the fast pace at which technology advances) . I'm looking asap really.
Thanks for reading
Cheers