so I wanna buy a laptop & I got about ?600 or 700 to spend on it, but I never owned one before, so I don't know shit bout good or bad brands or what I need to look out for.

here's what I basically need it for

-mail & surfing
-ripping a movie every now & then
-take it to work when I work late to watch a movie
-I only play old games through emulators, so it doesn't need to have superpowers

here's what I want from it

-17" screen
-vga output (to hook it up with an lcd/plasma tv)
-full keyboard
-a decent hd, but it doesn't have to be all that big, coz I got plenty of externals here
-3 or more usb ports
-both wireless capabilities & an ethernet port for a cable
-ps2 port (optional, but would be nice)
-able to run xp (optional, but I hate vista)

you should have plenty of options with those low expectations

sure, thats the problem; I've seen about a dozen machines for that price, but dunno which ones are good or bad ones

Well get one that costs the least It's not like you're gonna replace parts of the laptop in a while, so why not get the cheapest thats available now? I had a Cybermaxx laptop a few years backs and except for the battery life it was a pretty good thing. Dunno much about whats available now I only have been checking out those mini notebooks.

For watching movies on a plasma, wouldn't HDMI be more appropriate?



Don't look at the brand, but look at the output.

hdmi for movies, yes; but I also want to use an lcd tv as a monitor, hence the vga port (I'm not sure that you can use the lcd tv as a monitor through the hdmi port)

btw, the laptop will be my main pc, coz I'm getting rid of my old desktop (3 year old amd am2 3200+, which I build myself)

Most of them can run XP, but sometimes it's not so easy to find the drivers for XP if it's made for Vista

Other requirements are quite common, but I wouldn't go for 17" cause it will significantly reduce battery operational time, which is something you get used to quite easy I guess you already have a big LCD monitor from your old desktop PC, so if I were you I would hook it up to my laptop when I want to do something that requires monitor space (your subsyncing or something).

Concerning the brand, it all comes down to luck really. I bought an Acer cheapass laptop last summer against all recommendations and it works like a charm so far (I didn't even reinstall the OS since initial installation of LastXP).

I think the main difference is that bigger price usually means more marketing and better product quality control, the latter improves your chances to get a good machine, but doesn't guarantee it. Basically, laptops became so cheap that I don't consider it a capital investment, but something that I will throw away without thinking twice if it brakes down after it's warranty expires

IMHO laptops are fads and shit, those netbooks are genius though, what a way to tap into a market.

OK, I would get a mid range desktop system, not a gaming rig, just enough so that it could be upgraded easily and cheaply as your tastes change, that will cost half the price of the laptop, be twice as fast and you wont need to charge the gay thing every hour...

Also, with the money your saving, get a bad arse monitor.

I have all that, but I'm getting rid of my desktop in favour of a laptop, coz I don't want to have that big noisy thing (including desk & chair) in the living room of my new appartment, it just takes up too much space. I AM keeping my 22" lcd monitor though

Also I don't give a damn bout having to charge it every now & then, I just want something thats compact & doesn't take space in my house

mac mini's do look good, now with nvidia graphics!!, awesome!!, i might get one!

so far I've let my eye fall on this , I can get it in a shop here for ?599

what do you guys think?

i'd prefer a nvidia gfx card, better drivers..

The missus has a similar model and it's been great. It was tricky to downgrade from Vista to XP, but after a few days of google I was able to find hacked drivers for everything. And Compaq/HP's customer service is pretty decent down here.

sounds great elguaxo, you wouldn't happen to have a guide to downgrade to xp and/or the links the the drivers?

Nah, I just googled and tried maybe half a dozen of drivers. If you install one of those customized XPs that comes with drivers, then most of the stuff including Wi-Fi and video will work immediately. gnollie mentioned LastXP, I prefer Tiny or MicroXP (search TPB, the nick of the guy who releases them is eXPer1ence).

Then you'll have to google for the audio, webcam and modem and maybe keyboard if you want to use all the custom compaq keys. The hardest part was the audio. It has a built-in mic and plug for an external mic, both are different devices and then it was hard to tweak the volume of the built-in mic. Google is your friend, just take your time

Price seems right as well

Here's some specs
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docu ... ct=3892445

It indeed seems like its made for Scabby (looking at the specs and his requirements)

ok, so I got an hp compac cq70-105eb & just to keep the missus sweet I got her one of those packard bell dot netbooks; she was totally in love with it & forgot about the big thing I bought for myself

Ok so those where the ones you bought, never mind my question in the other thread then

that vista shit isn't as bad as I feared, (once I made some adjustments & stripped it of its visuals ), maybe I CAN get usd to it after all