Hi Everybody,
Would somebody point me to a website that sells cheap labtop computer. I need it to run Norm's excellent CVbj & CVdata. Thank-you
Hi Everybody,
Would somebody point me to a website that sells cheap labtop computer. I need it to run Norm's excellent CVbj & CVdata. Thank-you
> Hi Everybody,
> Would somebody point me to a website that
> sells cheap labtop computer. I need it to
> run Norm's excellent CVbj & CVdata.
> Thank-you
Personally, I prefer to buy my laptops from a local dealer, so that I have some recourse if I have problems. If you live near a city of any size, there should be some computer dealers in your area that carry used laptops.
If not, consider Ebay. Just do your homework - look for a seller who has been around a while, preferably a business rather than an individual, with lots of positive feedback.
I'm extremely partial to Toshiba or Dell laptops. They seem to stand up to my brand of abuse better than other brands.
If you are buying a laptop to actually take on the road with you, rather than simply to save real estate on your desk, then ruggedness and reliability become the most important factors, far more so than features, size, battery life, etc.
One of the many nice things about the CV products is that they are not excessively demanding on hardware. Any P3-class or better system will run them just fine, and used laptops in this range are inexpensive and widely available.
Certainly a P3 and a modest amt. of memory, i.e., 256MB will run the apps. However, to fully use the features that make these apps the best, and I do mean the best....get the most powerful laptop you can buy. And don't be fooled by this Intel marketing campaign - Centrino - and think that this cpu is the cat's meow. It's not.
You need a P4 with hyperthreading, with a lot of RAM. (min. of 512MB, and memory prices are climbing as I type)
The mistake people make when buying laptops is that they buy too small( in other words, not enough, and end up going too cheap - don't do it). You can get away with a desktop (which unless you absolutely need the flexibility and mobility the best choice is a desktop), as it's easy and affordable to upgrade. Not so with laptops. Buy the absolute most that your budget can afford, and not 1 penny less.
Dell's are made by Compal and Chicony. Toshiba is made by Toshiba. Gateway is also a good choice (also made by Compal as I recall) for many people. I'd stay away from Compaq (now HP), yet some IBM's are ok. Asus is now producing their own models, and they're the premier motherboard company in the world, so that may be another option. Watch out for warranties. Read them.
I agree with Parker about a local dealer, and again, disagree about used laptops.
Don't forget to buy an extra battery.
cheers
bfb
> Certainly a P3 and a modest amt. of memory,
> i.e., 256MB will run the apps. However, to
> fully use the features that make these apps
> the best, and I do mean the best....get the
> most powerful laptop you can buy. And don't
> be fooled by this Intel marketing campaign -
> Centrino - and think that this cpu is the
> cat's meow. It's not.
> You need a P4 with hyperthreading, with a
> lot of RAM. (min. of 512MB, and memory
> prices are climbing as I type)
> The mistake people make when buying laptops
> is that they buy too small( in other words,
> not enough, and end up going too cheap -
> don't do it). You can get away with a
> desktop (which unless you absolutely need
> the flexibility and mobility the best choice
> is a desktop), as it's easy and affordable
> to upgrade. Not so with laptops. Buy the
> absolute most that your budget can afford,
> and not 1 penny less.
I just can't go along with that. I buy a laptop because I need a computer when I'm on the road, whether it is due to my "day job" or a blackjack trip (or combination thereof). I use it to check e-mail, moderate this website, check other websites, run spreadsheets, and run Norm's software.
I admit that I am rough ont these things, although I really try hard not to be. They get stuffed in overheads or under seats in airplanes, bounced around in cars, and occasionally dropped. The aforementioned Toshibas and Dells seem to tolerate this sort of abuse fairly well.
Nonetheless, the "life expectancy" of my typical laptop is around two years. I would feel really sick subjecting a "cutting edge" laptop that I paid $3K or so to this sort of treatment.
My present primary laptop is a Toshiba Satellite Pro 4300 with a P3-650 and 256 MB RAM. It has an upgraded 40GB 5400 RPM HD, with Windows 2K on one partition and SuSE Linux on the other (guess which partition I use the most :-)). I paid $700 for it almost two years ago.
My main home box is built around an AMD Althon XP2600 with a Gig of RAM. Naturally, running a sim with CVCX or CVData is a lot faster on this system than the laptop. But to be honest, other than that I cannot see a whole lot of difference in how the CV Products run. On the laptop, with the speed settings cranked up, Casino Verite runs a lot faster than I can count. Looking at data from an already-run sim with CVCX, the figures pop up instantaneously on either system.
Naturally, the programs boot up more quickly on the home system, but who cares?
> Dell's are made by Compal and Chicony.
> Toshiba is made by Toshiba. Gateway is also
> a good choice (also made by Compal as I
> recall) for many people. I'd stay away from
> Compaq (now HP), yet some IBM's are ok. Asus
> is now producing their own models, and
> they're the premier motherboard company in
> the world, so that may be another option.
> Watch out for warranties. Read them.
I've managed to destroy Compaq's and HP's in fairly short order. IBM's may be okay, but I've always avoided them because they are so butt-ugly. :-) Never used a Gateway, despite the fact that they're locally based.
> I agree with Parker about a local dealer,
> and again, disagree about used laptops.
> Don't forget to buy an extra battery.
We can agree on that. :-)
A good quality, well-padded case is also a must.
I would also suggest buying locally if buying used.
I am on my second, soon to be third, Toshiba in about 5.5 years. They don't wear out, the company I work for replaces stuff every two years or so.
So far, they have behaved flawlessly and I pound on mine every day. It sets right on my desk, I've even ditched a stand alone monitor.
Plug it in in the AM .. unplug it in the PM .. and take it home.
I just can't go along with that. I buy a laptop because I need a computer when I'm on
the road, whether it is due to my "day job" or a blackjack trip (or combination thereof). I use it to check e-mail, moderate this website, check other websites, run spreadsheets, and run Norm's
software.
I thought about putting a qualifier - for geeks only - and then one for everyone else in my comments, then decided against it, as this was for someone other than a Parker, or myself for all intensive purposes. That said, a geek (me, and probably you) can certainly live with a "less than optimal" laptop, or even a desktop as far as that goes. However, for everyone else, my advice still stands. Although your advice is just as appropriate, in fact, for geeks, it is probably the better advice. However, I'd still take my advice as it relates to running sims on a laptop....get the P4!
Now, getting back to laptops, the cost of really powerful systems aren't anywhere near 3K today. Last year yes, today, no. But then again, you can pay close to that if you're unaware, kinda like playing 6:5 BJ. Which is why I decided to weigh in here. BTW, SuSE is an excellent choice for laptops. Mandrake is also a good choice.
I admit that I am rough ont these things, although I really try hard not to be. They get stuffed in overheads or under seats in airplanes, bounced around in cars, and occasionally dropped. The aforementioned Toshibas and Dells seem to tolerate this sort of abuse fairly well.
Yes, and if money is no object Dell has a warranty that can't be beat, even when you "beat" the damn thing.
Nonetheless, the "life expectancy"of my typical laptop is around two years. I would feel really sick subjecting a "cutting edge" laptop that I paid $3K or so to this sort of treatment.
See above comments.
My present primary laptop is a Toshiba Satellite Pro 4300 with a P3-650 and 256 MB RAM. It has an upgraded 40GB 5400 RPM HD, with Windows 2K on one partition and SuSE Linux on the other (guess which partition I use the most :-)). I paid $700 for it almost two years ago.
Yes, but if you weren't "you", and was someone who just thought they needed a laptop, would you in good conscience recommend a used system, and then upgrade a hard drive etc.... to them? Can you picture someone (not real computer literate) dissembling the keyboard, and removing a plate or two, to then unscrew the HD case, sliding out the drive, replacing it etc...Geeks, yes. Non-geeks? I don't think so.
My main home box is built around an AMD Althon XP2600 with a Gig of RAM. Naturally, running a sim with CVCX or CVData is a lot faster on this system than the laptop.
Not as fast as on a P4 with hyperthreading. Not even close. And I'm a big AMD fan. Have a few AMD 2500/2600/3000+ systems.
But to be honest, other than that I cannot see a whole lot of difference in how the CV Products run. On the laptop, with the speed settings cranked up, Casino Verite runs a lot faster than I can count. Looking at data from an already-run sim with CVCX, the figures pop up instantaneously on either system.
This we can agree on! Once the sims are run, CVCX is just about the most awesome software around, especially for people like us. Thank you Norm!
Naturally, the programs boot up more quickly
on the home system, but who cares?
Agree.
I've managed to destroy Compaq's and HP's in fairly short order. IBM's may be okay, but I've always avoided them because they are so butt-ugly. :-) Never used a Gateway, despite the fact that they're locally based.
We can agree there.
A good quality, well-padded case is also a
must.
Yes, thanks for covering my a** on this one. A great case is a must!
cheers
bfb
> Now, getting back to laptops, the cost of
> really powerful systems aren't anywhere near
> 3K today. Last year yes, today, no. But then
> again, you can pay close to that if you're
> unaware, kinda like playing 6:5 BJ. Which is
> why I decided to weigh in here. BTW, SuSE is
> an excellent choice for laptops. Mandrake is
> also a good choice.
If I were buying a new laptop today and cost were no object, it would be a Toshiba Portege R100. These go for around $2K. By the time I added more memory, bigger HD, spare battery, wireless card, car adapter, docking station, case, etc., I'd be pretty close to $3K.
Admittedly, you can get a perfectly serviceable Toshiba for about half that, and I recently received a flyer from Dell that listed a low-end model for around $800, IIRC.
But at the moment, my Satellite Pro 4300 suits my needs just fine.
If you think that's ancient, my backup laptop is a Toshiba Portege 320CT. This is a Pentium MMX 266 that is maxed out with 96 MB RAM. It's also running SuSE, but with a bare-bones window manager (Fluxbox) that doesn't hog the limited resources. The main reason I keep it is because it doesn't take up much space. I think I paid $100 for it at a computer show.
> BTW, SuSE is
> an excellent choice for laptops. Mandrake is
> also a good choice.
Fedora is a better choice!
Sincerely,
A RH fan
PS: Parker: I thought you used RH
Excellent discussion everybody! It is certainly great information for me because I am somewhere between a "geek" and a normal guy. I know just enough to get my ass in trouble
D
> Hi Everybody,
> Would somebody point me to a website that
> sells cheap labtop computer. I need it to
> run Norm's excellent CVbj & CVdata.
> Thank-you
E
> One of the many nice things about the CV
> products is that they are not excessively
> demanding on hardware. Any P3-class or
> better system will run them just fine, and
> used laptops in this range are inexpensive
> and widely available.
Ehh? Are you sure? Whenever I run CV sims, it always causes my computer to slow down for other programs. I thought it takes up a lot of CPU speed because of the ultra-fast sim/calcs.. (P4 1.9Ghz w/512megs).
> Fedora is a better choice!
> Sincerely,
> A RH fan
> PS: Parker: I thought you used RH
I used Redhat until 9.0 came out, which I thought was a step backward, and dare I say it, sort of MS-like in terms of bloat.
I tried Mandrake for a while, and it was okay, but I had a few problems. Then I tried SuSE and have been a believer ever since. YAST (Yet Another Setup Tool) is an excellent setup and package management tool. It correctly auto-detected all the hardware (including scanner and printers) in both my home systems and my laptops, greatly simplifying setup.
It even recognized my Prism Wi-fi card and required no tweaking of the configuration files.
I like the SuSE implementation of the KDE desktop better than Redhat, Mandrake, or Fedora.
I had some problems with Redhat's updating system, and I never did get Fedora to update correctly. SuSE's YOU (Yast Online Updater), OTOH, works perfectly.
> I had some problems with Redhat's updating
> system, and I never did get Fedora to update
> correctly. SuSE's YOU (Yast Online Updater),
> OTOH, works perfectly.
I as well did never get Fedora to update correctly but I suppose the CORE 2, which is about to be released, will solve that problem. The rest works perfectly. OTOH, I never had a problem updating RH9.
Cac
SUSE...Radhat? What are you guys, pansies? If you want the ultimate in portable penguin power, then Gentoo linux is the way to go!
In all seriousness, the Gentoo Portage system's ability to automatically compile and optimize packages to your specific system is very impressive. The problem for the average use is that the installation process is still incredibly archaic when you compare it to Redhat's mature installer and other distros. Kind of a shame, since one its installed Gentoo is amazingly flexible and efficient.
If you like Linux take a look at www.Gentoo.org
Penguin Love,
V
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