Hey guys!

My dad has said that he really wants to get me an awesome christmas present, and so a laptop seems like the best idea to me. :P (Especially since this computer is blacking out more than me lol).

However, i aint too knowledgable on this sort of thing, and i know lots of you guys are. So what i'm asking for is some advice or suggestions for laptops, if you can help.

I remember hearing somewhere that Vista was worse than XP, any more info on that?

Also i like windows :/ but i won't ignore maccy suggestions.

Uh, i think that's it. Thanks!

~

PS. Unfortunately i am restricted in price, not sure how much but...


Edited by Larwick - 13 December 2007 at 6:42am

Whatever you do: DON'T GET A DELL! Dell PCs are ok, but the laptops aren't worth it.

Those things catch on fire, I'm not kidding.



Dell has been cutting corners and being cheapskates when it comes to their laptops. And that's the result.

As for Vista or not, I don't have one, but everyone I know that does says it gives them a few problems now and then. Mainly compatibility issues with running games or other programs.

- I got a 13-inch white macbook a few weeks ago, and although it's great (and leopard is by far the best version of Mac OS X yet) I find that the screen strains my eyes a lot. If you're planning on doing pixel art on it, I suggest you consider that.

- Built-in cam can always be fun, and can be used for references if like me, you don't have a real camera.

- Yep, Leopard alone would be enough a reason for me to buy a new mac. ABSOlutely wonderful interface: reflective dock, beautiful icons, Spaces, iMovie, Garageband, iPhoto, iWeb come with it, along with a 30-day trial of iWork.

- Macs can run windows with as much ease as the real thing, so if you bought a mac you would have access to whichever version you want (XP, Vista) provided you have an installation cd and key.

- New keyboards are terrific, fast to type with, keys never get stuck and have good response (nice click sounds when you tap keys). Computer supports WACOM tablets perfectly.

Well that's all I have to say. Might sound like a Mac ad, but that's just me :)

I don't see any reason why you should pick Vista over XP (unless you really have no choice). From what I've seen, it's not really worse than its predecessor, but it's not better either. Right now, XP has the best performance, stability and compatibility, so I'd say go with that.

Indeed you may have a stallion of a machine but vista will turn it into a trotting gelding. Vista uses resources HORRIBLY. Any good selling points of your new laptop will be overshadowed by Vista's flagrant use of RAM and ROM.

Laptop computers are not really knows for high end graphics and media. You would probably need to put more money into a laptop computer to get comparable  media ability. There are good laptops for games and multimedia but you are going to pay more in most cases. Portability is the main selling point of laptops and they ding you for the higher end features. There are good sales though keep an eye out and strike while the iron is hot.

Thanks jal! But that horrid playstation 2 really ruins the whole thing.

I doubt i'll be gaming with anything more than a GBA emulator on it, so i shouldn't worry about that sort of thing. I'll mostly be just browsing the web, pixelling and drawing on it (with a tablet) ... would vista slow it down so much that drawing with a tablet is effected? In my price range (£500-£800) you can get laptops with around 2GB of RAM, which is about 4 times as much as this desktop pc i have now.

Thanks for all the help guys, i'll look around a bit.

I just use a logitech marble mouse with mine. Just get a cheap USB mouse for precision work.

i have vista and love it more than xp.

test stuff out, lar, find what you like. 

A service pack fixes BUGS, not FEATURES.

Choose the Laptop you feel comfortable with. See what Laptops any of your friends or family got and pick what you like. Some people say that Vista is bad, but that's just an opinion. You might like Vista, so try out some Laptops and see which one fits you best. Don't just take other people's word for it. Some people like Macs, but I don't. I prefer Windows, and Vista's good for what you say you're doing. It's all a matter of preference.

So if it were me, I'd choose Vista.