Nearly new laptop time

[Fat Bob]

Thinking of buying a new laptop soon, so looking for what might be good.

Want a full feature laptop, so not one of the minis. Needs a DVD player, needs to be less than 2kg (I take it on dive trips), which means it's either 12" or 13".

Currently have a Dell Inspiron 710m, very happy with it, it's 12.1" and have no problem with the screen size. Not happy with the prices of their replacement, the Studio XPS1330though, it's up at $2200+, and above 2kg before the extra battery goes on. The older model, the XPS1330 at $1500 is a maybe, and does start at less than 2kg, but not sure about the older technology.

Have seen the Compaq Presario CQ20 series which hits the right buttons. The latest versions seem to be available and it's not badly priced at $1500. I may also have a cheap way into this as well. However, I'm unsure of the difference between HP and Compaq brand and whether one is better than the other and if it's a good buy. Have heard via the net it's available at Harvey Norman with a 2-year extended warranty free of charge....I may have to have a look at the nearest. Bugger, where is it?!?!

Any other brands I should be looking at? I woudn't go for Acer after some previous bad experiences, and I know JJ had some serious issues with Dell australian customer service. Anone had experiences in Singapore on this side? This can sometimes make or break the sale.

Not really interested in moving away from Windows, so no thanks to Macs. Looked at them, the cost to upgrade is too much (would have to redo all my software, and no, not interested in running cheapo stuff on it like Open Office).

Ta for your advice.

[baloo]

I have a Lenovo T400. I like it. Might be more than you're willing to pay.

BTW, I still have the 3 licence Office Home & Student pack waiting for you.

[JJ]

Part of the bad experiences with Dell were due to the (lack of any decent) service. Its run out of a service hub in Malaysia so singapore might be run out of the same - you may want to check it. Once the service guys in australia got the call they were quite responsive (probably because they are not Dell but an outsourced service company), although they could only go with what they had been told by the KL guys and there again the whole thing was a nightmare.

[Possum]

I just brought a new Del (inspiron 1525). Its pink and I'm loving it. Picked up a pink mouse yesterday and loving it as well.

[Satellite]

me too..esp. since company paying for it!!! . looking to buy a toshiba satellite laptop because the last two I have were excellent. Mr Sate has a Dell and I don't like .... if not plugged in, the monitor is very dim! My work laptop is a Fujitsu - the battery runs out pretty fast and the wireless switch is not that great.

[Fat Bob]

Mr Sate has a Dell and I don't like .... if not plugged in, the monitor is very dim!

If that's the only reason then it's to do with the settings. Not sure where you change it but you can when running on battery power.

But good news about the Toshiba. Will look at them. Also Lenovo, but was put off them because of an old work one.

[Tack]

I love my green Dell. Inspiron 1525. I thought pink was for girls pah

Battery life isn't great (one hour ish of net browsing) and that is with the dim power saver setting on. Yes S you can make it brighter.

[Pinklepurr]

Well I haven't had any good experiences with HP/Compaq. Both desktop and laptop needed (still need) attention way too regularly for my liking, and they have never fixed my desktop black screen problems and freeze up problems despite new hard drive etc etc - I didn't regret getting the additional warranty I tell you, if it wasn't for the fact that it was all covered I would have thrown it at them I think.

We are in the market for a new laptop as well, have to admit it is a toss up for me between the Toshiba and the Fujitsu, must check out that battery life etc then since you mention it Sate. Anyone got any good recommendations for places to buy? I have considered the Dell, but so many conflicting stories about them seem to be everywhere.

[Fat Bob]

Went down to the Funan today and had a good look around. There's plenty of 12-13" laptops availbe, all under 2kg. My main needs on top of that are built-in DVD-RW and Wireless N. I don't want to have to spend extra on top of that.

The Compaq CQ20 seems to have several variants out there, one shop was selling it with a 7350 chip whilst the rest had 6400 chips.

There's two Dell options, the XPS1330 and the Studio XPS13. Seems the XPS1330 is on the way out, hence it's lowered cost compared to 6 months ago (from ~$2k down to $1500).

Toshiba, NEC, Lenovo and Fujitsu are also available out there to. All had options in various price brackets, $1400 upto $2500. So it's now how much I'm prepared to spend!

[Bender]

The XPS M1330 is soon to be superceded, by the XPS M1340 I think. I've had a 1330 for 18 months and apart from a stuck pixel (which is annoying but can happen to any computer) it's been a very solid, quick computer. It's used every day and has stood up well to being carted all over the place.

Standout features: Bright and sharp LED backlit screen which I've set to go dim when running on battery, excellent wireless range and general look and feel. And it's fast! The keyboard and touchpad are great. Mine came with 4GB RAM, the midrange processor and 4 and 6 cell batteries. Oh, and a little remote which fits into the expresscard slot which is great when you want to watch DVDs in your hotel room.

Downsides: It came with lots of unneeded software preinstalled which was easy enough to remove, the ethernet on mine isn't gigabit and there was a bit of a fuss at one stage about dodgy Nvidia graphics chips (mine seems fine).

XPS buyers get a better level of support than commoners, with a separate helpline/support team. You generally hear about bad customer experiences and not the good. I think I read something somewhere once (pre-internet) that said that a person who is unhappy with something will tell 14 others about it, but only 2-3 others about a good experience. My experiences with Dell, sales and support, have been fine.

Upshot: If it was lost/stolen/trashed and my insurance bought me another one the same I'd happily accept it. Would I buy another one with my own money? I don't see any reason not to, although I'd shop around because things always change and 18 months is a long time in computing.

[Morrolan]

my Dell Singapore service experience was great, but I circumvented the Malaysian call centre and went in direct to the local service guys via the sales desk in Sing (they have a way).

i don't think there's an issue with "older technology" on the XPS, FB, it's generally more a matter of the packaging around the hardware that may become obsolete once a model is upgraded; the XPS processors and other hardware are usually close to or at cutting edge (depending on the price you choose to pay).

[Burbage]

I agree with M. Unless you're playing games, then an older cpu and gpu will be fine, and they tend tobe the most expensive items. If I wanted to buy a PC with the specs you have suggested, I'd be going for an older chipset and upgrading all the peripherals (wireless, drives, etc).

[baloo]

More importanly FB, which model comes branded as a really fast italian sports car ?

[Morrolan]

More importanly FB, which model comes branded as a really fast italian sports car ?

this one...

[baloo]

yeah, FB had one of those

[Morrolan]

ah, maybe he should move to this one, then:

[baloo]

Gees, there are a few..

Hummer Laptop - might be good for viewing porn with a name like that.
Bentley laptop - for when you can't afford a rolls royce
Nissan X-Trail laptop

[Fat Bob]

I had the Ferrari one, thank you very much. Put me off the Acer brand completely. And won't bother getting one of those again.

OK, so looking like the choice is either the Dell XPS M1330 ($1500 or $1800 depending on CPU and graphics) or Compaq CQ20 ($1500 or cheaper). I've got enough positives about Dell.

Anyone else got positive/negatives about Compaq? PP didn't seem to like them, and must say, I find their software a complete pain in the arse for their printers (I've now found I can print direct from Picasa, will also update Photoshop Elements and this should sort me out all the way!)

[SunshineAfterRain]

I tried Acer and I will never going to try it again, even if it is a free gift!

At workplace now, I am using a HP notebook. It is okay, nothing fantastic......LOL. Compaq is slightly cheaper than HP but notebooks functionalities are almost similar.Of course, HP ones looks a little more stylish. As for technical support, I believe HP and Compaq are sharing the same hotline.

Lenovo - I second it. It is lightweight and very durable and a trustworthy brand. Almost 85% of the employees at work uses this laptop.

I owned a Dell XPS since last April. I am very happy with its speed and no regrets having it. Dell has a delegated 24/7 technical support hotline for all proud owners of XPSes. I have called the number once and I get very responsive guy to answer my inquires. FB, if you want to get a Dell, go for XPS.

[daffodil]

My 2 cents worth on Dell....

Got the M1330 in June and apart from an initial setup problem, it's been fine.

Until now that is. Screen going completely blue, then red, yellow and finally blank. Been speaking with the very polite XPS support guys in US (Have a nice day, now) and after various tests, looks like I'll be doing the engineer home visit experience in the next day or so. Well, at least that's what's been promised.

So, fingers crossed for a stress free experience. Please.

[Satellite]

I thought I would post this useful website:

http://www.notebookreview.com/reviews/D ... Page=&cmd=

[daffodil]

Think I may be heading into my own version of DellHell, various calls between myself, Dell XPS hotline and Unisys (their local engineer service co) and still no idea when I might actually get a technicial out.

It seems they are "really busy" right now....not sure if that's a sign of the quality of the hardware!!

[Satellite]

Has anyone used a Tablet PC before? How would you rate it? I'm seriously considering getting one from Toshiba!

[daffodil]

Think I may be heading into my own version of DellHell, various calls between myself, Dell XPS hotline and Unisys (their local engineer service co) and still no idea when I might actually get a technicial out.

It seems they are "really busy" right now....not sure if that's a sign of the quality of the hardware!!

Ok, just to set the record straight, I'd have to say I am pretty pleased with the service overall. After establishing with dell that I can't wait at home all day, they booked an after hours call-out and hey presto, at 8pm last night problem was fixed, 4 days after first reporting it.

The problem (for those thinking of buying Dell) was the graphics card was buggered. According to the engineer, this is a common problem with the M1330.

[Fat Bob]

Seems the problem is pretty common, it happened to the reviewer at the NotebookReview and two of his mates. Wonder if they've fixed/got rid of the problem chips yet?

That may make the decision go against them.....

Daff, do you know which GPU you have in it? Only place I can think you'd be able to tell is on hte original receipt, I can't seem to find it anywhere else myself.