[Karmillo]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

Dell is overpriced and they got lesser quality guts inside so I'd feel a little ripped off by that. Alienware is way overhyped and pricey, mostly marketed for hardcore gamers who depend too much on bragging rights.

I havent found a game that my alienware couldnt run, people hype them for a reason

[Intrepid Homoludens]

And some people can't afford them for a reason.

[Melanie68]

Trep, I don't think they make the Compaq R4000 anymore.

I know I looked for it when I was laptop shopping and it wasn't on their website. I'll go look again to double check.

No they don't.

[tabacco]

Erm... I know Chris went through a support hell with Alienware that I wouldn't wish on anyone. After hearing about that, I doubt I'd buy one, even if I had the money.

[Dobee]

thanks all.

Of course I know laptops always can't compare to desktops especially I'm not requiring something mobile. Like I've said, it's for leisure use (because I don't have to work at home and I dont' have home assignment to do), e.g. gaming, media playing, etc. but my flat can't afford another desktop...and i'm not so sure about upgrading my 4-yr old HP desktop.....so I 'm inclined to get a laptop...

Yup, heard many said dell isn't good...but for HP, i have doubt because this Desktop i'm using, i remember it crashes in the 1st few weeks and I only found out the Win XP seems not genuine, because it says it's the "Whistler version" (the beta version of XP ?!) (otherwise, I'm satisfied with the HP Laptop I've been considering with)

Going back to my original question, do you think Dual Core is worthwhile to go for at this stage? does it make a difference with the Pentium M or what?

For Macbook...is it much pricey than win-based laptop?? i haven't considered for a MAc thing though.....in what ways a MACbook is better than win-based laptops?

[Dobee]

Voodoo seems like luxury toys to me ...guess I wouldn't afford that....

Originally Posted by Karmillo

Well for general use you could check out Dell

For gaming theres Alienware or VooDoo


All of these let you customise everything before you buy, so you can decide what graphics card you want or what you want to come with it etc..

[Marek]

Get an Apple laptop. OS X is safe, doesn't have viruses (like, at all*), crashes less and is very user friendly. On top of that all of Apple's productivity and multimedia apps are insanely fun and easy to use. Also you can still run MS Office on it and other apps you might already be familiar with.

I have a desktop PC but bought a Powerbook and haven't looked back. Macs are a bit more expensive than PC laptops (as many PC fiends will point out) but they come with some of the most awesome software pre-installed, including pretty much everything you'll need for leisure and home use. The extra money is easily earned back by all the time you won't have to make your system secure, or figure out your drivers, or generally bump your head against the wall.

Also the screens are great and the battery life is good. The only downside is like needing about a week to adjust to working with a new system, but it's well worth it.

http://www.apple.com/switch/

* Okay, there's actually one, but it's pretty much irrelevant.

[Dobee]

marek, the latest one is macbook pro right? and there is ibook (cheaper)...please tell me some quick difference between the two?

[SCRUGAtes13]

can you get windows on an apple laptop?

[kuze]

The current iBook still uses the outdated G4. The new Macbook Pro has the Core Duo, which is currently the best mobile CPU you can get for money. And not too much of it, too. Generally, iBook is the cheaper version of the Powerbook (former Macbook), and its white. EDIT: Oh, and you CAN'T get Windows on it. Its based on PowerPC, not intel's x86. Not a gaming monster, but small, silent and energy-saving.

Definitely go for a laptop with Core Due. It has all of the advantages of Pentium M like low power consumption (resulting in less heat and a more quiet notebook) but is more powerful . And not too pricey. Sorry Marek if I stole your response.

And yes, you can install Windows XP on a Macbook (and only on a Macbook), the necessary software has been developed by Apple itself.

[Dobee]

kuze, so does it maen macbook pro can run on 2 different os system, mac osx and win xp ??
so all my win based application software can be installed to the macbk pro ??

[kuze]

Dobee: Thats right. BootCamp allows you to install Windows XP and decide every time at startup what to boot, Mac OS or WinXP. All the drivers you need will be bundeled with BootCamp. Yes, you will be able to run any app or game just like on a Dell notebook.

Now, just so that it has been said: BootCamp is still beta, so Apple can't guarantee you that you won't loose any data. This danger only occurs when installing Windows XP for the first time (resizing partitions without reformatting is dangerous on any system. After that it shouldn't be an issue.

[Dobee]

but winxp doesn't come with it right? (i.e. i gotta install win xp myself?)

[kuze]

Originally Posted by Dobee

but winxp doesn't come with it right? (i.e. i gotta install win xp myself?)

I have heard rumors about some shops offering MacBooks with preinstalled WinXP. If you buy it at the Apple's store however, you will be getting a MacBook with preinstalled Tiger (which is the superior OS anyway).
You will have to install a copy of WinXP yourself, which is said to be a fairly easy thing to do.

[copycat]

Originally Posted by Dobee

but winxp doesn't come with it right? (i.e. i gotta install win xp myself?)

Yep, Apple doesn't support Windows (for good reasons), but if you've already got a XP SP2 copy, just use it, it's working perfectly well. You can also grab XP Home pretty cheap in a lot of stores.

My recommendation would be to use Windows for games only. Everything else works so much better on Mac OS X. If you get used to things like Exposé, Mac Drag 'n' Drop, the iLife applications or the spotlight search, you'll never want to go back.

[Dobee]

read an article on the MAC supports Windows issue somewhere else.

It says it takes another 32GB HD for installing Wins XP....so the attractiveness for a PC user (like me) to get macbookpro is actually low at this stage...

it also claims the fact of mac using windows is a good news for mac users rather than for pc users

[tabacco]

32gb is ridiculous. I have a running xp system on my mini in a 12gb partition, and that includes a bunch of software and work-related code. Windows takes 2-3gb max.

The point of getting a Mac and installing windows on it is not to have a Windows machine, it's to have a Mac that you can also play games on.

[Aj_]

My Windows partition with lots of developement, media, office, related software is about 7.1GB. I install games on another HDD, and so far the 6 games I have installed take up 14.5GB. So if you're going to use Windows on a Mac for games(although right now I wouldn't recommend a laptop for games, and definitely not a Mac with BootCamp(yet)), then you're going to need to make that partition pretty large.

[SCRUGAtes13]

Originally Posted by kuze

The current iBook still uses the outdated G4. The new Macbook Pro has the Core Duo, which is currently the best mobile CPU you can get for money. And not too much of it, too. Generally, iBook is the cheaper version of the Powerbook (former Macbook), and its white. EDIT: Oh, and you CAN'T get Windows on it. Its based on PowerPC, not intel's x86. Not a gaming monster, but small, silent and energy-saving.

Definitely go for a laptop with Core Due. It has all of the advantages of Pentium M like low power consumption (resulting in less heat and a more quiet notebook) but is more powerful . And not too pricey. Sorry Marek if I stole your response.

And yes, you can install Windows XP on a Macbook (and only on a Macbook), the necessary software has been developed by Apple itself.

thanks a lot man, i think i'll get this one

[Dobee]

hey everyone, i've bought my 1st laptop today (in a rush...because I can't stand the feeling of thinking about which to choose every night sleepless )

it's a toshiba M100 with dual core one (forgot the long model no.) ... i've another question about wireless broadband now: what's the difference between WEP and WPA security settings? of course i;d; like a higher security setting...