Info about processors, ddr, video card, rpm, ram cache, ram memory

[soleiman89]

Dear all,

I am planning to buy a new laptop, and for ones I want to compare (processors, ddr, video card, rpm, ram cache, ram memory of different laptops before buying one. Now, I don't have much knowladge about (these aspects) of laptops, so I am turning to you guys.

Can you please help me out choosing the right laptop?

What I want to do with my laptop:

Watching HD movies (HD ready is good enough)
editing photographs (not an extreme fanatic, just for home use)
editing video (not fanatic at all)
a lot off downloading, and transporting to an extern hard drive
streaming HD to ps3
and the usual stuff.

I want to be able to watch a hd movie, play media player, work in word document and brows the internet at the same time, without my system going slowly.

Now my question is: Which named aspects (processors, ddr, video card, rpm, ram cache, ram memory) do I have to take in account before buying the laptop. And which versions/types of these aspects whould be right my purpose of use?

My budget is max. €700, so I am financialy limited, but it should be possible, right guys?

I appreciat any help,

cheers,

Soleiman (from Holland)

[wonderwrench]

Dear all,

I am planning to buy a new laptop, and for ones I want to compare (processors, ddr, video card, rpm, ram cache, ram memory of different laptops before buying one. Now, I don't have much knowladge about (these aspects) of laptops, so I am turning to you guys.

Can you please help me out choosing the right laptop?

What I want to do with my laptop:

Watching HD movies (HD ready is good enough)
editing photographs (not an extreme fanatic, just for home use)
editing video (not fanatic at all)
a lot off downloading, and transporting to an extern hard drive
streaming HD to ps3
and the usual stuff.

I want to be able to watch a hd movie, play media player, work in word document and brows the internet at the same time, without my system going slowly.

Now my question is: Which named aspects (processors, ddr, video card, rpm, ram cache, ram memory) do I have to take in account before buying the laptop. And which versions/types of these aspects whould be right my purpose of use?

My budget is max. €700, so I am financialy limited, but it should be possible, right guys?

I appreciat any help,

cheers,

Soleiman (from Holland)

Any Intel i3 or i5 based laptop with 4 gigs of ram should do fine. The integrated HD video is all you should need as long as your not a gamer. On the AMD side any Athlon II, Phenom II or Turion II based laptop with integrated HD 4250 or higher video and 4 gigs of RAM should do the trick. Generally Intel will have the upper hand in CPU power and AMD will have the upper hand in GPU power. Intel laptops generally have longer battery run times than AMD. AMD laptops generally have better pricing. For what you want a laptop for, either one should do just fine.

What I would recommend is finding out what laptop brands/models you like first. Look, feel, layout etc. and then start looking at specs. This may be a lot of leg work but you will not be happy with any laptop if it does not feel good to you. Once you know what you like get the fastest CPU and the options you need or want within your price range.

My wife needed a new laptop a few months back. First on the list was a feel of quality. Most laptops I looked at looked and felt cheap. Excessive flexing of the chassis and lid was a huge turn off. Cost was a factor as I wanted decent build quality at a decent price. I ended up getting her a MSI A6200 (CR620 out side the US) with an i3 350, 4 gigs of ram, 320 gig drive for $500 US. Nothing else I could find for $500 came close to the build quality and specs. If I figured correctly you have a little over $900 US to spend which should open up more options. I would still take a look at MSI laptops. BTW the A6200 laptop has no problem driving my 40 inch Samsung 1080p HDTV via HDMI. DVD's, streaming video all play smooth.

Once you find a few laptops you like feel free to post some links so we can assist you in the final selection.

Bill

[soleiman89]

Thanks for the quick reply..

It is impossible for me to find a i3 laptop for under €650/700, so certainly not for $500. I am a big fan of HP and Sony Vaio, but Sony Vaio is extremely expensive. Only thing I can find from SV for €700 (or $900) is pentium dual core (if I am lucky enogh). I think the price classes between Holland and US (?) differ a lot.

I have seen a HP amd athlon p320, 4 Gb, ddr3, 2.2 GHz, for €699. People around me don't recommend amd (though there are not computer experts :P).
Why HP and Sony Vaio? Great quality, and beautiful design, specialy Sony Vaio.

A few examples: (Am I allowed to post links to laptops?)
1.
http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/110122/hp-g72-b05sd.html (I favour a 15.6 inch screen)

(English translation) http://translate.google.nl/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=nl&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.l aptopshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F110122%2Fhp-g72-b05sd.html

2.
http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/110120/hp-g62-b60sd.html

http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F110120%2Fhp-g62-b60sd.html

3.
http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/110123/hp-g72-b10sd.html (This one seems very good)

http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F110123%2Fhp-g72-b10sd.html

4.
http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/111248/sony-vaio-vpc-ee3m1e.html (it is amd turion though)

http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F111248%2Fsony-vaio-vpc-ee3m1e.html

5.
http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/96321/hp-probook-4720s-wd890ea.html

http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F96321%2Fhp-probook-4720s-wd890ea.html

6.
http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/110121/hp-g62-b03sd.html

http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F110121%2Fhp-g62-b03sd.html

7.
http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/98305/hp-pavilion-dv6-3030sd.html

http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F98305%2Fhp-pavilion-dv6-3030sd.html

8.
http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/101974/category-45702-laptops/sony-vaio-vpc-eb2e1e.html

http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F101974%2Fcategory-45702-laptops%2Fsony-vaio-vpc-eb2e1e.html

9.
http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/111249/category-45702-laptops/sony-vaio-vpc-ef3e1e.html

http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F111249%2Fcategory-45702-laptops%2Fsony-vaio-vpc-ef3e1e.html

10. (Acer, is much cheaper, don't know about quality)
http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/109946/acer-aspire-5742-373g25mn.html
http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F109946%2Facer-aspire-5742-373g25mn.html

http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/101844/acer-aspire-5741g-334g64mn.html
http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F101844%2Facer-aspire-5741g-334g64mn.html

http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/109952/acer-aspire-5742g-374g50mn.html
http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F109952%2Facer-aspire-5742g-374g50mn.html


11. (Samsung)
http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/111777/category-45702-laptops/samsung-r540-ja03nl.html

http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F111777%2Fcategory-45702-laptops%2Fsamsung-r540-ja03nl.html

12. (Toshiba)
http://www.laptopshop.nl/product/112484/category-45702-laptops/toshiba-satellite-c660-108.html

http://translate.google.nl/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lap topshop.nl%2Fproduct%2F112484%2Fcategory-45702-laptops%2Ftoshiba-satellite-c660-108.html


These are internet prices, in shops its more expensive, though I prefer buying from a shop because of the service.

At the moment I am using an Asus genuine intel T1600, 1,66GHz, 1 Gb Ram. I am getting sick of this "laptop". Can't use to much programmes without getting stuck. If I stream a dvdrip to my ps3, the laptop can't be used for anything else. (bought one year ago for €450)
By streaming to playstation 3, I meen streaming through internet, wireless.

Maybe I should concider other brands beside HP and SV!? because of the high prices!? But won't I lose quality, permanence and durability?

Soleiman

[David (PassMark)]

With Sony, Toshiba and to some extent HP you are paying for the brand name. So in terms of performance per dollar, they are going to be worse value in general.

Acer has been around for a long time. Their quality is middle of the road.

I would definitely look for a i3 or i5 without a high end brand, rather than taking a pentium dual core from Sony.

[wonderwrench]

All the HP's you linked to except the pro are junk IMO. I looked at similar models in the US and the chassis are like wet noodles. I agree with passmark on all counts. Acer has decent build quality and nice prices. The only thing I do not like about most laptop brands including Acer is the amount of crap that comes preinstalled. I see you now have a Asus laptop. Other than how low powered it is how do you like it otherwise. Build quality, layout, feel etc.? Asus and MSI seem to have better build quality for the money and less crap installed than most other brands. Its too bad the laptopshop does not carry more MSI stuff.

As far as Asus goes if you want max CPU performance see here. The i5 460m runs at 2.53 Ghz is hyperthreaded and has Turbo Boost. Great multitasker.

If you want more GPU performance and willing to sacrifice some CPU performance see here. The i3 370m runs at 2.4 Ghz is hyperthreaded but does not have turbo boost. You get a slighty better GPU in the way of a dedicated HD5470.

Here is an Acer that is similar to the second Asus.

Here is a AMD Phenom quad core Acer. 2 Ghz N930 CPU and HD5470 GPU.
If you are a heavy multitasker this is a good option. Graphics power is similar to the i5 450m powered Asus.

In the low to mid range price points AMD is a very good option. You do sacrifice some battery run time but generally get better GPU performance. AMD's products are every bit as solid as Intel's so do not let people make you think otherwise.

Oh and I could not get the translated links to work so I had to read between the lines as I could not read the detailed descriptions.

Bill

[soleiman89]

Guys,

Thanks a lot!
Today I bought the msi cx623 i5-450m, nvidia geforce 310M/1 Gb DDR3,
15,6 inch HD LED 1366x768 (Glare Type), RAM: 4 GB
HDD 320 GB
RF: 802.11 b/g/n

What do you think about it?
It seems good so far

[David (PassMark)]

Spec's look OK. Wait another 12 to 24 months and then swap out the SATA HDD for a similar size SSD. Should extend the life of it for a few more years.

[wonderwrench]

Guys,

Thanks a lot!
Today I bought the msi cx623 i5-450m, nvidia geforce 310M/1 Gb DDR3,
15,6 inch HD LED 1366x768 (Glare Type), RAM: 4 GB
HDD 320 GB
RF: 802.11 b/g/n

What do you think about it?
It seems good so far

Specs look good. Where did you end up buying it as the laptopshop only had two expensive MSI laptops? I take it you found it at a local retailer and did not order it on line? What was the final cost?

Bill