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Author Topic: Buying a new laptop, need advice  (Read 5157 times)

Duane Massey

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Buying a new laptop, need advice
« on: August 01, 2007, 11:35:49 PM »

Hello, guys;

Since I am now self-employed, I am faced with the task of buying a laptop. My applications are very simple: working with DSP's such as Biamp, BSS, Shure, etc, and maybe a bit of other basic audio tasks. No video, no actual audio processing (I've got 2 PC's at home for that), and no games.

Any suggestions as far as operating system, processor, memory, etc, and what type of I/O's and peripherals.

I won't be using it in airplanes or stand-alone, so battery time is not real critical, and I'm probably looking at a 15.5" screen, AND my budget is small (very small), so no $1000+ units are feasible.

Thanks!
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Duane Massey
Houston, Texas, USA

John Birchman, CTS

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Re: Buying a new laptop, need advice
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2007, 12:34:41 AM »

How small a budget?

There are typically some Panasonic Toughbooks (several different models - CF-28 comes to mind for one around $400) always on eBay.  These are older machines, but if you are doing mainly processor settings, I would think should be fine.

The Toughbooks are built for taking the abuse of travel, magnesium alloy case,  shockmount hard drive, spill resistant keyboard, etc., and typically hold up better.  Of course new ones are several thousand dollars, but used ones routinely sell on eBay for $400-$800 depending on model, most of these were just taken out of corporate service because they were replaced with a faster newer model.

Of course a new laptop is going to come with Vista, and wont work with anything!  Rolling Eyes

Maybe not what your looking for but worth the mention.

John
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John Birchman, CTS
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JRB Technical
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Tom Young

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Re: Buying a new laptop, need advice
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2007, 07:57:47 AM »

Word from my circle of audio folks who know computers (including the SynAudCon listserv) is to not buy anything with Vista until after (at least) the first service pack.

I bought a Dell notebook for my niece 3 weeks ago and during my 2 week search the number of Dell notebooks provided with the choice of Windows XP dropped to only two models.

If I was buying a notebook PC I would go way out of my way to get Windows XP.
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Tom Young
Electroacoustic Design Services
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www.dbspl.com

Duane Massey

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Re: Buying a new laptop, need advice
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2007, 04:24:38 PM »

Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm thinking (about the Vista vs XP), although it's been suggested that I could have both systems on the same machine (???? I'll need help with this one!). Dell offers either one on the Vostro line, and I've had decent luck with the Dells I've used or owned, but I'm not savvy enough with computers to make a really educated decision.

At this point my budget is limited to $600 or so for the laptop, and then a little more for the accessories.

I'll check Ebay, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for. Thanks for your input, guys.
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Duane Massey
Houston, Texas, USA

Don Boone

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Re: Buying a new laptop, need advice
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2007, 12:29:06 PM »

Get a built in RS-232 serial port if you can. We have variety of USB to serial adapters and it's pick in choose to get one that works with a particular piece of equipment.

Don
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Geri O'Neil

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Re: Buying a new laptop, need advice
« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2007, 11:38:59 AM »

Duane, with that budget, I think you're going to be limited to looking on EBay for the machine you need, especially if you intend to run SmaartLive or audio editing or otherwise resouce-hungry apps. While we all want to stick to a particular budget, sometimes you have to pony up what the market is selling the necessary hardware for, even if it means holding off on your purchase until you have the necessary funds, as I've done more than once and with literally clenched teeth until I can buy what I need.

Having said that, I've had good luck buying a couple notebooks from EBay and usually from an individual with a good rating.

Definitely avoid Vista like the plague. Unless something drastic happens, I foresee a cottage industry for XP in the years to come, much like the industry that sells used NEVE recording consoles (Yeah, that's probably a stretch, but really, you can never tell). You're not liklely to find a recent machine with serial ports, but I would look for a PC card-to-serial port adapter instead of the usual USB-to-serial adapters and you can get multiple ports from one adapter if you need it (socketcom.com is one source). The USB-to-serial units have been a crapshoot for me, though there are good ones there. And what's good for one application may not be good for another. Believe it or not, I've had good luck with the RatShack unit.

The good thing about buying a used machine is that you can get up and running, then buy more RAM and bigger hard drives as you need it.

Lately, even though I'm a ThinkPad/Levono fan, I've found some really good deals on Gateway's refurbished site. Last April, I bought a $1400 convertible notebook/tablet for $750.00 and I swear, there wasn't a mark on it. It didn't come with a lot of software, but I usually have no use for what comes on a new notebook anyway. And it's been a great machine. I'm haunting that site for another one to replace my contrary Toshiba as we speak.

Hope this is of some help..
Geri O

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Ivan Beaver

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Re: Buying a new laptop, need advice-Just got one
« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2007, 12:51:49 PM »

I recently had to get a new laptop computer also-the old one just plain died-mother board issues.

When I gave our IT guy the spec for what I wanted they were in this order.
1: Must have serial port
2: NO VISTA
3: A full size keyboard with number pad (almost essential for building EASE models)
4: It had to fit into my old thick padded hardshell case

Beyound that I really didn't care.

He was able to order one (A Prostar)with XP (he had to special request it) and I ended up with a larger screen, faster processing 7.1 audio outputs, 4 built in speakers PLUS A "SUB" Yipee Laughing   It has many different card plug ins and after getting over the new computer blues (where is everything?) I am starting to like it.

Of course this is out of your budget, but as others have said STAY AWAY FROM VISTA!  Our project manager just got a new one for home and he HATES IT!  

You will probably have to special order XP, it can be done.
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Duane Massey

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Re: Buying a new laptop, need advice-Just got one
« Reply #7 on: August 14, 2007, 01:20:35 AM »

Thanks, guys. I'm still looking, and it certainly looks like an eBay journey. I'm really tempted by the Toughbooks, and I honestly think the 1.6g units will be fast enough for me (I won't be doing any audio analysis stuff, just DSP tweaking), but I am having a problem finding one with a serial port.

This site was suggested by a friend; any thoughts?
http://www.sagernotebook.com/product_customed.php?pid=72& ;action=customize
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Duane Massey
Houston, Texas, USA

Jon Dees

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Re: Buying a new laptop, need advice-Just got one
« Reply #8 on: August 21, 2007, 01:22:20 PM »

In general, SAGER is targeted at game-playing, but that laptop seemed to have a good price, at the expense of the video card (probably couldn't ever put Vista on it).  My roommate had a Sager and it was good for his uses (gaming).  My experiences with laptops have also led me to get warranties on any new ones.  I had the LCD die in my current one, and the cheapest ebay LCD replacement for me to install myself was over $100, that after I took it to a shop thinking it was something like the graphics card, and them charging me the standard 1-hour rate simply for telling me the display was bad.  So those are my two cents - buy 2-3 years of warranty for any new laptop.
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Duane Massey

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Re: Buying a new laptop, need advice-Just got one
« Reply #9 on: August 22, 2007, 04:59:57 PM »

Well, I finally made a decision: I bought an off-lease Toughbook for $399.00. It's got a Pentium 4 M 1.8 processor, a 30g drive, and XP Pro (with the back-up disks); it only comes with 256k RAM, but I'll increase that once it gets here. AND it's got a serial port! Oh, boy.....

I'm figuring it's going to do what I need for now, and when I finally need a bigger, faster machine, I'll buy one then. Maybe everything will run on Vista by then?....naaahhh!

Got my fingers crossed.
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Duane Massey
Houston, Texas, USA
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