Tech heads (need some opinions)...

[Goten]

All right, cheers for the help Sunburn and Dmitry (and the others previously). I really don't want to make the switch to Vista for a number of reasons, so if XP Pro works alright then I'll be looking to get that Latitude notebook (or atleast a variation of that if I can't afford the one above).

Will let you know if I have any more questions before I buy it

[Dmitry M. (Lazer)]

Originally Posted by Mr. SunburnMan

when I was in uni, I got a laptop with a bitchin' CPU and good ram for compiling purposes. It was great then, except for portability, which I ended up regretting. Even if you're in CS and you'll do CPU intensive stuff, if you do end up going for a laptop, favor portability. Cause if you don't you'll leave it at home.

Sunny is absolutely correct. I would look into something with a 14.1" Wide screen, no smaller; and 15.4" Wide screen if you must. Look for something under 5lbs which is highly recommended and nothing over 6lbs.

If i were to buy a Dell Latitude i would get this one:

Dell Latitude D630
-14.1" widescreen display
-Starting at 4.37 lbs

If you really want the 15.4" widescreen display then this is the one i would chose:

Dell Latitude D830
-15.4" widescreen display
-Starting at 5.97 lbs

My notebook currently weighs about 6lbs and it's an older notebook, about 3.5 years old and it wasn't considered heavy. It's not that heavy especially for me but i would still want the one under 5lbs only because you carry accessories with your notebook and it adds on the weight along with the leather case i have.

[Dmitry M. (Lazer)]

Originally Posted by Goten

All right, cheers for the help Sunburn and Dmitry (and the others previously). I really don't want to make the switch to Vista for a number of reasons, so if XP Pro works alright then I'll be looking to get that Latitude notebook (or atleast a variation of that if I can't afford the one above).

Will let you know if I have any more questions before I buy it

Oh i wouldn't recommend Windows Vista to anyone. Stick with Windows XP Pro, it's the best. I've been using it since XP came out.

[Goten]

The specs I posted were for the D830 But thats a good point about at accessories, hadn't thought about it that way to be honest. I may have to get a D630 anyway because they generally seem to be cheaper, with no huge difference in what you get with them, except screen size, which I'm not really too bothered about.

As for Vista, I had a play with it on my grandparents new laptop (why they decided to buy one is beyond me, neither of them can use it) and didn't like it at all. They've had all sorts of trouble with it, although could just be because they don't really have a clue what they're doing

[Bunny's Girl]

I work for a multinational IT outsourcing company and all the laptops given to staff at the moment are the D610 (or D620 if you have been upgraded within the last year or so).
I have a D610 and run a pretty hefty and complex database from my laptop amongst other things and it copes fine and I also use it at home to surf the net, watch films etc so my lappy has put in many hours for me!

In the next year or so I may well be studying for a computer related degree through work (not entirely sure which route to go down yet) but I know that other colleagues who do it use their work laptops and haven't found it lacking.

BG x

[hawkster]

Originally Posted by Bunny's Girl

I work for a multinational IT outsourcing company and all the laptops given to staff at the moment are the D610 (or D620 if you have been upgraded within the last year or so).
I have a D610 and run a pretty hefty and complex database from my laptop amongst other things and it copes fine and I also use it at home to surf the net, watch films etc so my lappy has put in many hours for me!

In the next year or so I may well be studying for a computer related degree through work (not entirely sure which route to go down yet) but I know that other colleagues who do it use their work laptops and haven't found it lacking.

BG x

Which one would that be BG as I do to and we use the same

[Bunny's Girl]

Ooh Hawkster, send me a private message and let me know!!