[Setekh]

So, I'm sitting here looking at the marks for my Higher School Certificate (high school graduation exams), and they're pretty decent by my standards. My parents promised me about a year ago that they'd help me buy a laptop if I got good marks in the HSC, but I forgot about it for a while... and didn't think much of it because I quivered at the sacrifice in speed and the premium I would pay for the portability.

But now, hearing my PC's many fans quiver in pre-mortal anticipation and watching my system resources being digested into nothinginess in a web of spyware, the upgrade to a laptop seems pretty enticing. With the year ahead at university, I'm going to be on the move a lot, so that's a pro. So far, here's what I've got for pros and cons:

+ Mobility
+ Space saving
+ Noise reduction
- Expense/sacrifice speed (pay more for same speed, less speed for same price)
- Likely to break down?
- Discomfort during usage

Here's the system I'm looking at getting. I'm a bit concerned because the graphics card it comes with is kinda pants. Convert the currency to figure out how much AUD$2500 is in your money, if you're curious. My price range is in the AUD$2000s.

So, whaddya guys think? Should I go for the laptop, or should I stick with the trusty desktop?

[Liberator]

Well, thats 1,478.60 in US dollars.

What you run into with laptops is they are not the greatest gaming machines.  This is changing but pay top dollar for it.

These are examples of High-End notebooks that would perform about on equal with a desktop.

Interestingly , the Dell Inspiron 8600 is just inside your given price range and has a 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro as a customization option.

Remember, if you plan to do a lot of computing away from a power source all teh ubar-1337 g00dies will eat your batteries faster than J'onn J'onz and a box of Chocos.

I'd go for the Dell, before Christmas is over and the price goes back up.

[mikhael]

Steak, if you get a laptop, avoid Dell like the plague. In fact, I recommend going the IBM route. They've got the most reliable product for the price out there. That's just my opinion though.

Whatever you do, unless you're going to spend money like it was cool, you're not going to get a machine that's good for gaming AND for work. If gaming is important to you, you will be far better off with a desktop you can upgrade incrementally.

[IceFire]

Give Toshiba a look at.  About 90% of the laptops we sell are Toshibas at work and my work is conviently located inside the middle of a Canadan university so the vibe on university computer usage is in my backyard.

Dells seem ok, Sony stay clear flat away from, and question many of the other ones.  Toshiba we've had excellent luck with...the thing is, mots of the laptops we sell if there is a problem we hear back from those people (they work on campus year after year).  So far most of the ones we have back are software issues and not hardware issues.

Don't want to convince you that its a super product all around but they seem decently priced and in my somewhat limited perspective they seem to have a decent amount of quality and quality control.

[Odyssey]

[color=cc9900]I've got a ~5 year old (warranty expired 5 years ago, presumably a 1-year warranty) Toshiba Satellite 110CT, and it's still going strong. Runs like the day it was bought, and looks like the day it was bought, except for the fact that the grey on the coating has gone a strange shade of green in parts due to being in direct sunlight for a good few years. I don't know about Toshiba's current range of laptops, but if past performance is anything to go by they seem a pretty solid choice.
Then again, I prefer IBM thinkpads. Just as rugged, and they give you a choice between nipple mouse or trackpad. They've even got a tiny little thinkpad, one of the T-thirtysomethings, that's perfect for anything but gaming.[/color]

[Sandwich]

If you're going to be travelling and lugging it around, stop and think for a moment: lightweight is your prime concern, and I don't care if you're Hulk Hogan.

Also, my general outtake on these things is that laptops are great for work, desktops are great for games. Yeah, you can get laptops that work well for games, but what's the point? You have so many upgrade limitations with laptops (upgrades being the #1 thing keeping so many gaming rigs current) that it's simply a waste of money.

For work, however, don't be afraid to get a less powerful laptop than you might otherwise - all systems sold today can handle pretty much anything non-gaming and non-3D animation thrown at them, with power to spare. Heck, my P3-600 can even handle 3D animations and rendering, it's just not extremely fast at it. So especaially for writing papers, researching stuff online, etc - go for portability over speed all the way.

And you can upgrade a desktop for around $600 USD to get a pretty good gaming rig, no problem.

[Styxx]

Originally posted by Setekh
Considering buying laptop. Should I shoot myself?

Yes. Quickly, before it spreads.

[Triple Ace]

Laptops are too damn expensive.

[Windrunner]

well i got a laptop from my college, and sofar it has worked without any complications, but as you know laptops are fragile as hell, you have to be carful where you put or not to have anything liquid near it.

and i have actually played freelancer on it without any problems.

[Fineus]

I'm sure laptops are ok as long as you realise:

They're not really games machines...
You can't upgrade them at a whim...
They're limited compared to a full desktop PC...

[vyper]

In terms of brands, I'd recommend Toshiba. I used a Toshiba laptop during my contract work at Glasgow Caledonian University, and it was reasonably weighted, good performer, and indestructable. The battery would last weekends on standby (thanks to me forgetting to shut down due to running around the campus).

[Odyssey]

Originally posted by Windrunner
you have to be carful where you put or not to have anything liquid near it.

[color=cc9900]Amen to that. However, my old Toshiba has suffered pint-glasses of liquid three times in a row, been propped up to dry, and ran fine after a few hours every time.[/color]

[Impurial]

steakman, assuming you'll be using your computer primarily for Uni and, of course, HLP... MO:

The only significant advantage of laptops is 'transportable use' without having to use external storage.  Considering though, that the 'transportable use' would mostly be Uni work... and the Uni comps are fine for research... and laptops sell for a lot ... and lecturers talk too fast anyway... pens and paper weigh less... and more stuff... I don't know if the laptop will really serve its purpose without causing more trouble than its saving.

Ultimately though, it is your computer, if you have your heart set on it, get it.  If you do decide for a laptop, get a nice mouse.  Laptop mouses!

Originally posted by Setekh
So, I'm sitting here looking at the marks... and they're pretty decent by my standards.

steakman, don't be shy... you 0wn7 teh HSC.

[Kosh]

I've got a Dell Inspiron 5100 and it works well for me. Though the fan is very loud when I'm playing games or something like that. It has a Radeon 7500 in it (mobile of course) which can play most games just fine. It plays vanilla FS2 pretty well with the details turned up, and that's all that should count. :grin:

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Triple Ace
Laptops are too damn expensive.

Get a post-lease refurb unit from Tiger Direct. You can get a decent Thinkpad for under $700.

[Setekh]

Originally posted by Impurial
steakman, assuming you'll be using your computer primarily for Uni and, of course, HLP... MO:

The only significant advantage of laptops is 'transportable use' without having to use external storage.  Considering though, that the 'transportable use' would mostly be Uni work... and the Uni comps are fine for research... and laptops sell for a lot ... and lecturers talk too fast anyway... pens and paper weigh less... and more stuff... I don't know if the laptop will really serve its purpose without causing more trouble than its saving.

Ultimately though, it is your computer, if you have your heart set on it, get it.  If you do decide for a laptop, get a nice mouse.  Laptop mouses!


steakman, don't be shy... you 0wn7 teh HSC.

Steakfan, true dat. (Hope you like your new title, btw.) You know, I think I'm gonna give up the dream - I'll go for the desktop. The price/performance is just far too... it's just 0wnage. Not to mention the games, which I've thought about it, and decided I can't live without. And yeah, laptops = very vulnerable.

Heh, yeah... wish my parents would agree.