James G. Sack (jim) wrote:
This question has gone around before, but everyone's needs differ
somewhat. I hope kpluggers haven't gotten tired of the subject.
..so I think I'm finally going to break down and get a laptop.
My wife, Barbara, is going on a genealogy trip next month and wishes to
take some notes on the go. She's made a suggestion that is hard to
resist. She thinks she could share one of these things with me, since
typically either of us needs the portability at different times. She
even thinks she might use this opportunity to jump into a Linux
environment -- no dual boot needed, even! Sorry for burdening you all
with my personal life, but I just had to tell someone! :-) Anyway, Karen
should get a kick out of it -- K: you out there?
I'm going to have to make a decision and actually get a laptop ready to
go by June 11.
About budget:
I'm thinking that the $400 kind would probably be rather disappointing,
and the $2000 kind seem pretty excessive. But I don't mind something in
the $1200 range, and maybe even a bit more.
Then you don't want what I have! ;)
Some general questions:
Does anyone have a wide-screen (16:9, 10:6, ..) format and regret it?
Yes. I don't regret it, and frankly never even notice anymore. Some
laptops' BIOS's will let you switch from 4:3 to 16:9.
I see resolutions like 1280x800 and 1680x1050. The latter sounds
especially nice to me -- I tend to use multiple windows and like the
real estate. Anybody have negative experiences with such res?
I run mine at its highest res of 1680x1050 and I don't have a hard time
reading it with my old eyes (yet!). I could easily live with 1280x1024
if I had to.
What do people think is a good overall screen size? What's the max that
is still convenient to carry around, and actually fit on one's lap? See
previous question re wide-screen.
Mine's at 15.4". It's about 6.something pounds. Tolerable for me, but
then I have a really good, comfortable made-just-for-laptops bag for it
(Outdoor Product's AirWay - get one online or locally at REI).
Nevertheless, I wouldn't want something bigger, although I could with
something a bit smaller if it met all my other specs.
You'll have to decide which is more important: weight or screen-size.
Probably a third or more of the weight is from the battery alone, no
matter the laptop. Glass another third.
I'm attracted to the dual core animals. If I'm not really doing
processor intensive stuff is that a total waste of money -- or just a
mild indulgence?
Mine has a 2 GHz Pentium-M (Centrino package). Fast enough for me. Not
too slow, not faster than necessary for my uses (anything that runs fast
enough to play FarCry is - well, if it does that, how much faster does
it need to be?!). I wanted the best compromise between battery life,
performance and size. I typically get around 3 hours, depending on what
I'm doing.
If I go with a dual core, which of AMD and Intel is better in the laptop
environment? That is, with respect to power consumption, bang/buck, ???
Any general advice on processor and related (eg mobo) is welcomed.
That's pretty much determined by: what it's primary use will be, your
size and weight tolerances (even a lightweight can be unwieldy if it's
too big), peripheral requirements, and budget.
For example, I decided I didn't really need to burn DVD's on the laptop.
So I got only the CD-ROM writer/DVD reader drive. I've yet to burn even
a CD on it.
I'm thinking that 2GB would be a nice RAM size. That should allow
running openoffice and several browsers and gimp all at the same time
without straining, maybe.
I cheaped out on RAM - only bought 512 MB - in trying to stay on budget.
I wish I had at least double at times, but as it is, swap is rarely used
even so. However, RAM is now cheaper than it was when I bought the
laptop, and I can add it myself anytime at less than the purchase-time
price. You can do the same for the HDD. Downside is, for this laptop and
many others, adding RAM is a PITA. In my case, the keyboard has to come
out to get to the second SODIMM slot.
Hard disk should be at least 60GB, I suppose. I even see 120's are not
too uncommon. Nobody should ever need more that that, eh?
Minimum 100 GB was my spec, mainly because I intended to dual-boot. And
I know about the "Data tends to fill all available space" rule. I'm
still way under that limit after over two years. I also opted for a 7200
RPM drive and I'm glad I did. I find waiting for the disk more annoying
than waiting for the CPU.
Oh, I don't run games or video editing apps, and think I probably don't
get much benefit from high powered video hardware.
Depends. Integrated video shares system RAM. If you don't anticipate
doing a lot of 3-D stuff then you can cut costs on video. But be aware
that there are not a lot of choices in integrated video in terms of
performance - and I've not see reliable data on measuring that
performance such that a wise choice can be made (if possible). With
video, you get what the mfr. offers.
I specifically wanted an Nvidia GPU. Which I got: Geforce Go 6600 with
128 MB.
I would prefer not to pay any Microsoft tax, of course.
You no longer have to if you're willing to shop online. I bought mine at
GamePC.com sans OS. They will pre-install one of several distros of
Linux, as well as Windows. It's an additional retail cost item whichever
OS you choose. There are comparable online shops.
Anybody want to tell me I would be happy spending $900 rather than
1200-1400, please feel free.
See above. You generally get what you pay for here. More speed, RAM,
Bigger HDD, more peripherals and features, bigger screen, etc. == more $$$
Alright. What should I consider that I can get into my hands and working
with (say) Ubuntu or Fedora in 10 days or so.
Other general advice also welcomed.
TIA & Regards,
..jim
Make sure you research what, if any, features work in Linux on the
laptop of choice. You may choose something with a good reputation for
battery time, only to find out that ACPI is poorly (or not) supported in
Linux and so CPU throttling, fan speed, suspend/resume, don't work and
the thing runs on all eight all the time. A common problem still, and
varies from brand to brand and model to model. Newer models are less
likely to be supported here, although with each iteration of the kernel
and ACPI driver, more models are more fully supported.
Remember that laptops usually come with extra buttons for e.g. backlight
brightness, sound volume, RFkill (Wifi), power management, video output
(i.e. TV, panel, ext. monitor, etc.), Bluetooth support, and such. Often
enough, one or all of these functions will not be supported in Linux.
Sometimes you need external driver modules, kernel tweaks, etc. In my
case, I need the ACPI4Asus driver, and even then I have to do some
hand-tweaking.
My recommendation: don't buy hastily without research. Or get something
someone you trust (and whose throat you have access to) recommends.
--
Best Regards,
~DJA.
--
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