Search results matching tag 'laptop'

Mac or PC laptop for programming?

hobo531 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:12:31 GMT

I'm a first year Computer Science and Engineering major and will be needing to program in various languages throughout the following years. I already have a great desktop setup at home: EVGA x58, i7-920, 3gb DDR3, gtx 260.

The point is that I need something mobile which I can use while on campus and will be powerful and versatile enough to write in various languages. So what kind of features should I be looking for in a laptop if it's primary usage will be programming?

And will a PC or MAC be best for handling these tasks? Please give me some insight on how one will be better than the other as opposed to being biased by saying that one is better that the other for no apparent reason. Thanks!

Re: Brand new laptop problem (Gateway)

JLantz — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:54:35 GMT

I got the same laptop as you did (MC7833u) and it lasted about two days before it was locking up. The keyboard and mouse stop working, intermittantly and required restart. It looked like it was locked cold because you couldn't do ALT-CTL-DEL, but the quick keys along side the keyboard would still bring up webpages etc... Basically the keyboard and mouse would quit working. Calling Gateway was worthless. They had me reinstall all the orginal software via the hard drive, which I had already done once from DVD disk. Even without letting it do any windows updates at all, it would still lock up. Gateway wanted me to send it to them. I decided to try NewEgg because I just got it...(maybe a mistake)

I hope you have better luck with NewNegg than I have had. They have had my laptop 10 days and no word yet. They just say "Received". In the past, Newegg was great. I have bought tons of stuff from them. Honestly, I am worried they have changed thier core operations. I just bought my wife's laptop from Tiger Direct because they offer a 30 day money back or exchange and seems much more customer friendly. Funny enough hers worked fine and I am still waiting on NewEgg with mine. Have you had better luck with them with your laptop exchange? I read the policy before buying but still bought from the due to my prior experiences with them. Now, I wonder if that wasn’t a mistake. At this point I don’t think I would recommend anyone to by a PC or Laptop from Newegg, but they may prove me wrong. Please tell me they will resolve this soon without me waiting until Christmas to get my laptop back.

Quick Quandry related to a video upgrade

Azraell — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:31:47 GMT

A friend of mine recently received a Dell Vostro 1520 laptop with the standard Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X4500MHD (for suck).

Knowing that the NVIDIA GeForce 9300M is also available for this model, is there some means of upgrading the graphics card to this or another, aftermarket, without breakin the bank or the computer?

Looking at a laptop for the first time in 8 years

Lunytic — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:25:44 GMT

So the last laptop I bought was in 2001 and ended up not using it much. But now I'm starting to travel more and I don't like constantly having to rely on company laptops (read no game installation on long, boring trips). Because this will be primarily for travel, weight is a key requirement for me. But I also like big monitors, I cannot lie. The problem I've had when looking online is the weight is often not listed.

I've searched for good review sights but haven't found much that fits what I'm thinking of (and certainly nothing as straight forward as gpureview was when I was looking for GPUs for my desktop). Any nudges in the right direction would be appriciated.

In terms of specifics of what I'm looking for, it probably goes in this order:

Dedicated graphics card (WoW, this or Rome:Total War would be as intensive as personal use gets)
Lightweight
Large screen size (given #2)
Able to crunch Access databases (not huge ones, this would be as intensive as work use gets)
DVD clarity (for all those wonderful cross-country flights)

Any nudges, suggestions, or recommendations would be appriciated. All I really know at this point is an Alienware machine would be awesome, but is far more than I need, I would go Office-Space-gangsta-printer-beatdown on a netbook, and am feeling a little overwhelmed looking at all the space inbetween.

Thanks!

Full System Over Upgrade?

Nickum32 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:40:52 GMT

Hey, I have just got my copy of the Windows 7 Upgrade disc. I'm upgrading from XP 32-bit, and every time I attempt to upgrade I get an 0xC0000005 error, as I have previously posted on the Windows 7 forums. I didn't get anything that helped me, and I was wondering if it was worth it to sell it and get the entire Windows 7, or format my HDD and reinstall XP and then 7 over it. All help is appreciated, Thanks!

Help Choosing Netbook - Unique Circumstances

Xebek — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:54:53 GMT

I'm looking to get a netbook, but am having a little trouble. I already have a desktop gaming computer, and actually already have an ordinary laptop. However I'm looking to get something much more portable, so I want a netbook to supplement those two. Since I don't really need it to fulfill the roles that the others do, I mainly want to take it to class for notes and surf a couple of sites. However, again I already have a laptop so I can always watch videos in a separate room on that, or play games on the many portable game consoles I have, or on desktop. I'm not sure where to turn, as a lot of these seem to be aimed at people who don't have any laptops.

I keep reading how several new netbooks are coming out soon, so I'm also wondering if I should wait. I can wait a little bit, but I don't want to wait too long because I would like this for class. The current laptop is just far too heavy and bulky to easily take to class like I would want. Also, with Windows 7 coming out/has come out I'm unsure of what netbooks will fully support it, if I should wait for those that are officially shipped with it, or what have you. I don't want to spend too much, I would like for it to be around 350, though getting up there near 420 would be tolerable. I simply don't know what to choose. It seems that they are evolving so fast, should I go with a standard 10 inch, wait for a good 11 inch with a bigger resolution, or go with a 12 inch with that HD resolution. Again, I already have a laptop to use around home, so I don't need the netbook to do everything, but with recent changes, what should I pick?

The only ones I'm going back and forth between right now are the Asus EEE PC 1005ha for a 10 inch (but again, that lower res) or a 12 inch Samsung NC20 (However I already have a bigger laptop, so I may not need 12 inch) But I'm up for anything really, not just those two. I don't know what to do.

Thanks for the help

Any advise on wireless routers and PS3?

graciegrrl — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:26:31 GMT

Hello, I am trying to figure out what router would be best for me. Basically I will just need to access with my laptop, but my comp and DSL box are both in basement and I want to be able to bring my netbook outside, so I can work from home and have as much flexibility as possible. Also, we have a PS3 currently in basement family room/ office that we would like to be able to play on-line. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Hard Drive Replacement question

Akragia — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:42:59 GMT

I'm replacing a laptop HDD for a friend which will no longer boot. The drive may well be bad, or going bad, but I would like to recover the data off of the drive if at all possible. Trouble is, when I tried to plug it into my desktop, the cable does not seem to fit. The laptop drive is a Samsung MP0804H which has an Ultra-ATA 100 interface. From everything I have read, that should be compatible (physically, at least) with a regular IDE/PATA cable, right? So, am I crazy or do I need to buy a different cable? It looks like the same amount of pins, but perhaps it has too much plastic on the strain relief to fit? Also, if I get a smaller cable, will it be stable in my desktop mobo? Any help is appreciated.

Two Alienware M17 Laptops Benchmarked

7angofragger — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:27:53 GMT

Hey all, I just figured i would post up a benchamark concerning both of my Alienware M17's... I have the results for Alienware #1 right now, and the results for Alienware #2 will be posted up tomorrow... So here we go!

Test Setup:
Both computers were benchmarked with all available windows updates for Windows Vista Home Premium x64 (as of 8-12-09), along with the newest drivers from ATI (as of 8-12-09). CCleaner was ran first, then done a complete defrag via Defraggler, and the power options in control panel were set to performance.

Alienware M17 #1 System Information:

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P8400 @ 2.26GHz
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870x2
3GB DDR3 1066 Dual Channel
Seagate Hard Drive ST9160411ASG ATA Device

3DMARK Vantage
Full benchmark ran, Presets: Performance (default)
3DMARK Score: P5761
GPU Score: 6458
CPU Score: 4351

3DMARK 2006
Full benchmark ran, Default Settings
10548 3DMarks
SM2.0 Score: 4527
HDR/SM3.0 Score:5897
CPU Score: 2029

3DMARK05
Full benchmark ran, Default Settings
14919 3DMarks

The laptop was set upon a 17" Rosewell Laptop Cooler. The cpu hit 64 degrees Celsius during all the tests. The video cards hit 83 Celsius during all the tests.

I will post the results of the Alienware M17 #2 tomorrow.

Alienware M17 #2 System Information:

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9000 @ 2.00 GHz
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4850x2
4GB DDR3 1066 Dual Channel
Seagate Hard Drive ST9160411ASG ATA Device

Asus Netbook Comparisons and Questions :)

ComputerGirl — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:21:47 GMT

Hello All!

I will keep this short and simple, I am going off to college next year, and have decided to go with a netbook.

I have chosen the Asus Eee PC 1005HA (which I guess is a relatively new product)

Anyways my questions are as follows :)

What in the heck is the difference (besides color and price) between these two products from newegg?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220554

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220551

One of them is $349.99 and the other $384.99, but they seem to be almost the same product...

Also my other question is one I am sure you all have heard, "What programs will I be able to run?" But I will be a little bit more specific.

All I really want to be able to run is; Internet, Media Player, iTunes / Zune software, Adobe Reader, and most Microsoft Office programs.

I am not a gamer really, I only really play small tower defense flash based games so games aren't a big deal for me.

ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!