My current laptop is on the verge of death, so I've begun looking for a replacement. Because there are so many different brands and variations I would like to gather others opinions and experiences with which ones are good and which ones to avoid. I'm hoping to keep my price under $2000, but I still consider really good deals or laptops in higher price ranges. After some searching I found these three laptops, though I need a some help clarifying their specifications. Asus G1S-B1 For the Asus, it comes with 2GB of RAM with 1GB of Intel Turbo memory. Since the specifications say that it will support up to 4GB of memory, when I add more RAM, is the 1GB Intel Turbo memory included in the maximum amount of RAM allowed (i.e. 3GB of RAM + 1GB Intel Turbo memory)? Toshiba Satellite P200-1MN02E For the Toshibas, since it only comes with 1GB/2GB of RAM, is it possible to upgrade and if so what is the maximum possible with these models? TOSHIBA Satellite X205-S9800 For X205, same memory question as the other Toshiba, but also its processor is only a Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 1.83G, as compared to the Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 2.4G of the other two. How much of a difference will a slower processor make (i.e. will I notice it when using non-graphical intensive programs?) and (forgive my laziness) what does Intel® Virtualization Technology do for me? Thank you for your help, Parker
Viiv essentially does nothing, so don't worry about that (avoid the marketing hype, it doesn't actually do anything). Also avoid Intel turbomemory, really do. As for the Toshiba ones, you'll have to check the detailed specs as it varies per model. If you'll want 4GB of RAM, you may as well get it to start with, but beware, only a 64-bit operating system can make good use of 4GBs, and typically 4GB is more than you will probably need (4GB will run a torrent application, several web pages and two up-to-date games at once). Latops with 2GB of memory are usually pretty commonplace. If you're doing something graphically intensive with the laptop (e.g. games) you'll want a decent graphics card. That means no intel integrated, no Turbocache, no hypermemory. It needs to be a proper graphics card, for example a Geforce Go8600.
My budget is ~$2000, though if there is really good deal or performance/quality increase I would be willing to spend up to $2500. Thanks for you help.
I wish those were in my price bracket. The starting price for the M1700 series is $2832. Right now I'm looking to find a laptop like the Toshiba Satellite X205 with a faster processor and better screen. Thanks for your help.
Hmm, my bad, didn't realise they were that much, they're cheaper in the UK in that case! As for the screen, what sort are you looking for?
If I get a 17" screen a resolution of 1680x1050 would be nice, though having a laptop that size almost defeats the purpose of a notebook (in my opinion). 17" - 1680x1050 + 720p 15-15.4" - min. of 1440x900 + 720p, though 1680x1050 would be nice. The Asus laptops seem to be good deals, though all of them (that I can find) come with Intel Turbo Memory. I know you said to avoid it, but is it really that bad? It might not do any good, but I don't see how it can have a negative influence on performance (though I didn't do any detailed research either). I have an Asus motherboard in my desktop and I am quite pleased with its performance, though I am not familiar with the quality of their laptops. Thank you. Thank
are macbook pros out of the question? they start at 2K and you can run windows and mac at the same time I have the macbook and am very happy with it.
The TOSHIBA Qosmio G35-AV660 is a bit on the pricey side, though it is nice. The 90 day warranty isn't encouraging, but if it wasn't recertified it would be even farther outside of my price range. The macbook and macbookpros were originally what I was thinking of getting, but I've never used one with windows and am unsure about how well I will be able to transfer data between my computers (I use NTFS on my external HDD and desktop). Do you have any advice on that topic? Thank you for your help. edit: I should note that the most basic macbookpro is sadly more than a should spend.
You can't use NTFS with a Mac, only the Mac system or FAT32, which means files larger than 4GB are out (limitation of the FAT32 system) - unless you really need a Mac, don't buy one.
That is the main reason I'm not going to get a mac, though in my search I found out that macs are "supposedly" more NTFS friendly then you might think. The two ways found were MacFUSE/ntfs-3g and NTFS for Mac OS X 6.0 from Paragon. Here's a link with more information in your interested Aside from the mixed reviews and Intel Turbo memory, any comments on the Asus V1S-B1? Asus V1S-B1 Thank you.
In my experience it's always better to have software natively support it than to have to be sneaky with hidden settings etc, it's just a far more pleasant experience. I'm going to steer away from the Asus laptop on the basis of newegg's reviews. Granted, yours may not exhibit any of the issues mentioned, but if it does, Asus' tech support is known to be terrible, so you're taking a big risk with that one. I'd stick to a Toshiba, Dell or HP system if I were you.
I had no idea that Asus tech support was bad, thanks for the advice. I guess I'll keep looking. Thanks for the help. Parker
you can try ibuypower.com laptops. some fall in the less than 2000 range, and they are configurable also. not as configurable as the pc's, but still good. try to see if there are any you like. i was going to get a pc there, but i decided to build one, saving like 200 USD.
