advice required/sought re

[kiwi535 538]

i have an old compaq laptop and it is as slow as a wet week......It take minutes sometimes to swap between applications or even websites..

So I am prolly go to the dell website and get/spec up a new one,so i need some advice on a good,but not killer spec.

I use it mainly for the web,and it will be the family interface to the web,which at the moment is a std xtra broadband setup

I do some emailing,a little bit of word and excel stuff,dont game online .

See above title though,cos i am starting to dabble in satellite tv.I follow motogp and i want to see if i can find some FTA coverage of the practise sessions etc.this may be via a new set up or something downloaded of the web???So i want to find out how to find coverage on the web or how to find which tv chanels have fta coverage....then to see if i can aim a satellite dish at the satellite carrying that coverage.Dont worry about the specifics of that there are forums and recourse for that.I just need a push in the right direction!

All that rave is so you can help me with anyhardware on the laptop i might need!

[cainchapman 0]

http://www.apple.com/nz/

You could also see Magnum Mac, they had a number of Macbooks that had been reconditioned for less the $700.

[Foohey 0]

noel leeming, bond n bond etc, all have good ones.

[martyyn 2]

Paul,

Are you talking about watching IPTV, or just stuff youve downloaded ? IPTV is all about your internet connection and I seriously doubt Xtra is good enough for that, but if its downloaded then you just need something capable.

Why a laptop though ? Do you want to be able to use it all around the house or is this machine to be run your tv like mine ?

Ive been speccing a new machine up to handle the HD content thats being trialled at the moment and it comes in around 1200 all up. It will handle all 1080p content with ease and you will be able to do all your timeshifting etc on it. It all depends if you want to be able to do this all around the house or not ?

We need to talk this through over a beer

[edit] forgot to say that this will do hdmi to your new LCD

Edited February 17, 2008 by Penry

[tire 10]

$1600 gets you a dell lappy with 3gb ram (current deal), 250gb hdd, core 2 cpu, 15.4" widescreen. Keeps you fairly future proof. Comes with vista but if it was me I would go for the tried and true as its less taxing on the system resources (which are scarcer in a lappy). It also comes with McAfee antivirus sh*t which is a resource pig I'd ditch it asap and go with avg free. Inspiron 1520.

Dell are pretty much the laptops to buy - cheap and good support.

Why do you want a laptop? How much is portability worth to you? Lappys are less reliable as they run hotter and the are harder + more expensive to fix. you get more bang for teh buck with a desktop. I could whip you up a desktop with the specs above for like $1000 (not incl os) and thats with a 19" screen...\

edit - Telstra cable > xtra. Since its available here in Wellington you should take advantage of it!

Edited February 17, 2008 by tire

[kiwi535 538]

i know desktops are more bang for buck but the laptop i can use anywhere in the house and take to the occasional car club thing /meeting etc.Plus its a whole lot more tidy than a desktop,just dump it under the coffee table and its gone.....Not to run the TV Martyn just to either download of the web or maybe record/decode/watch from some satellite feeds???The main TV system will be the tradional TV and dvd recorder(hdmi compatible ),albeit sky/freeview/other satellite paraphenalia attached.

[Mike 1]

I was choosing between a laptop and a desktop last year and ended up going with the laptop. Definately made the right decision, you don't realise how good the portability is until you;ve had one.

[Mike 1]

oops.

Edited February 17, 2008 by Mike

[greenday-rulz21 6]

I was choosing between a laptop and a desktop last year and ended up going with the laptop. Definately made the right decision, you don't realise how good the portability is until you;ve had one.

Totally agree, you can take it anywhere! Try taking a desktop with you on holiday.

[martyyn 2]

It all depends on what you do. Laptaps are great for portability but are beaten all ends up for what Paul wants to do by desktops.

Paul, are you wanting to hook your satellite up to the new machine to record ?

[tire 10]

Totally agree, you can take it anywhere! Try taking a desktop with you on holiday.

I have...

[kiwi535 538]

It all depends on what you do. Laptaps are great for portability but are beaten all ends up for what Paul wants to do by desktops.

Paul, are you wanting to hook your satellite up to the new machine to record ?

dont know .

There are satellite receivers that have built in PVR,and i have a dvd recorder already.So i could get one of those (perhaps) instead of a straight freeview box.

[my_e36 43]

With your intended use of computer, I would say any laptop priced around $1000 - $1500 mark will be sufficient.

However, make sure it has a MINIMUM of 1GB RAM, especially if it has Vista (any version) installed. Personally used 2x IBM (now Lenovo), 1x Acer and 1x Sony. IBMs are solid, well built and reliable. Acer gives good value for money. Sony quite stylish in my opinion but built quality not that great for their budget (sub-$2000) machines.

Also, any Mac laptop will also be good. If you are buying used Mac, try to get the later one with Intel based CPU.

My 2 cents.

[kiwi535 538]

With your intended use of computer, I would say any laptop priced around $1000 - $1500 mark will be sufficient.

However, make sure it has a MINIMUM of 1GB RAM, especially if it has Vista (any version) installed. Personally used 2x IBM (now Lenovo), 1x Acer and 1x Sony. IBMs are solid, well built and reliable. Acer gives good value for money. Sony quite stylish in my opinion but built quality not that great for their budget (sub-$2000) machines.

Also, any Mac laptop will also be good. If you are buying used Mac, try to get the later one with Intel based CPU.

My 2 cents.

appreciate that....will prlly stick with xp but will get 1 gb ram minimum....mac appeals...