Thinking of crossing

[kom526]

to the dark side and getting a PC laptop. We are in dire need of another computer in the house and my hopes of getting a MacBook Pro have to stay on hold for a bit longer. Besides, who says I can't have a PC and a MacBook at the same time?

Windows 7 Premium or Windows 64 bit? What's the diff? I'll need to run MS Office and Photoshop along with my camera software.

I'm looking at the Toshiba satellites 15.6" 4GB/500GB but trying to decide between the Pentium vs the Core i3 processor. The Lenovo ThinkPad may also fall into consideration.

Discuss.

 

[desertrat]

to the dark side and getting a PC laptop. We are in dire need of another computer in the house and my hopes of getting a MacBook Pro have to stay on hold for a bit longer. Besides, who says I can't have a PC and a MacBook at the same time?

Windows 7 Premium or Windows 64 bit? What's the diff? I'll need to run MS Office and Photoshop along with my camera software.

I'm looking at the Toshiba satellites 15.6" 4GB/500GB but trying to decide between the Pentium vs the Core i3 processor. The Lenovo ThinkPad may also fall into consideration.

Discuss.

I hate lap tops.

 

[dustin]

if you just need something to cruise the internet i saw an asus netbook at bj's yesterday for $220.

 

[aps45819]

Gateway NV59C70u LX.WRJ02.007 Notebook PC - Intel Core i5-480M 2.66GHz, 4GB DDR3, 640GB HDD, DVDRW, 15.6 Display, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, Mocha at TigerDirect.com

 

[aps45819]

Windows 7 Premium or Windows 64 bit? What's the diff? .

To use more then 4gig of memory, a PC needs to be running a 64 bit OS

 

[Mongo53]

Definitely look into Asus, I've had problems with HP and Toshiba, I've been buying Asus exclusively because I never have a problem with their products, especially their laptops.

Most computers are coming with 64bit version of Windows 7 Premium.

Windows 7 is very good, a huge improvement over Vista.

Win7 64bit is very compatible, I have NOT run into a problem yet. Sure its NOT compatible with 8bit apps, but unless you have a fetish for 15 year old freeware, that won't be a problem.

64bit really isn't going to be much of an improvement until you get 64bit apps, NOT many right now. So its more for the future, but the fact 64bit is being loaded OEM, shows there is no real benefit of sticking with 32bit.

64bit will handle more than 4 gigs of TOTAL memory, NOT RAM, ALL THE MEMORY in the computer. Bu if you go 32bit Windows, it will need to use some of that 4 Gig limit for video memory and BIOS shadowing, etc, so you'll only be able to use 3-3.5 Gigs of your RAM. Get 64bit and sky's the limit for memory, I think its in the terabytes if NOT higher.

 

[itsbob]

2^32=4,294,967,296 or 4 gigabyte

2^64=1.84467441 x 10^19 or 18 pentillion (move the decimal point 19 places to the right) 18,446,744,100,000,000,000

A terabyte is 1024 gigabytes or 2^40= 1.099 x 10^12 =1,099,511,627,776

64 bit is MUCH more than a terabyte

 

[aps45819]

2^32=4,294,967,296 or 4 gig

2^64=1.84467441 x 10^19 or 1.8 pentillion (move the decimal point 19 places to the right)

A terabyte is 1024 gigs 4.2 x 10^12 so 64 bit is MUCH more than a terabyte

Thanks for clearing that up

 

[itsbob]

2^32=4,294,967,296 or 4 gigabyte

2^64=1.84467441 x 10^19 or 18 pentillion (move the decimal point 19 places to the right) 18,446,744,100,000,000,000

A terabyte is 1024 gigabytes or 2^40= 1.099 x 10^12 =1,099,511,627,776

64 bit is MUCH more than a terabyte

Thanks for clearing that up

it's much clearer now

 

[nachomama]

Toshiba laptops suck. I have a Sony Viao and love it. My daughter also has a Sony Viao. Have never had any problems with either of them; my daughters is 2 years old; mine is almost a year old. My son has an HP ProBook 6540 and we haven't had any problems with that either.

 

[Mongo53]

2^32=4,294,967,296 or 4 gigabyte

2^64=1.84467441 x 10^19 or 18 pentillion (move the decimal point 19 places to the right) 18,446,744,100,000,000,000

A terabyte is 1024 gigabytes or 2^40= 1.099 x 10^12 =1,099,511,627,776

64 bit is MUCH more than a terabyte

Yea, I "think" its 16 "Exa"bytes, but, I don't know if there is a software limit in there somewhere where the OS will actually hit a limit before it hits the theoretical limit? I've could have sworn that I've seen a memory max for 64bit windows, and it was a lot less than exabytes.

Point is, with 64bit, you have the ability to use more memory then you can ever practically buy and put into a machine. Most machines won't be able to install more than 16Gigs at best, at least today. Again in the future, it will go up, I won't be surprised if someone posts a machine on sale today that does more than the 16Gigs I said.

Yes, Bill Gates said the same thing about 640k base/1mb extended memory years ago, that was laughably wrong, and this may turn out to be the same. But its safe to say for the life of the next computer you buy, you won't be able to exceed any memory limit of 64bit windows. While 32bit, in most cases you will hit a limit with most new computers. You still have some time before having to worry about it with 64bit.

I avoid Sony because of past experiences, NOT laptops, and a lot of their company policies for things other than laptops turn me off. I've never heard anything bad, actually a lot of good about Sony.

HP, I had a bad experience, others do NOT, if you google some of their models you'll see lots of people complaining of problems with the same thing for that model. e.g. bad power connectors in the laptop, NOT power supply, making it expensive to repair, failing motherboards which cost 75%-90% the new price of the laptop to replace, etc.. I think its fair to say that HP has some good models and some more unreliable models, which I haven't run into with Asus, so I stick with Asus.

 

[EmptyTimCup]

I run Win 7 64 bit on my desktop 6 Gb Ram ... never have any issues, unless I am trying to run some old 16 bit game ...


then Dos Box handles the chores just fine ....


Civ 1 anybody ?


netbooks are cheap if you need web and email

the one I got has dedicated video chip set (Not Intel built in) but Ati w/256 mb of video ran

has no issues playing movies in 1080i on my TV

cost 329 bucks from newegg ... plus shipping

 

[kom526]

I run Win 7 64 bit on my desktop 6 Gb Ram ... never have any issues, unless I am trying to run some old 16 bit game ...


then Dos Box handles the chores just fine ....


Civ 1 anybody ?


netbooks are cheap if you need web and email

the one I got has dedicated video chip set (Not Intel built in) but Ati w/256 mb of video ran

has no issues playing movies in 1080i on my TV

cost 329 bucks from newegg ... plus shipping

I need something a bit more robust than a netbook, but I was actually thinking of getting one for my oldest as a bday present. I have a website that I occasionally manage and I do a fair amount of photo stuff and I don't think a netbook is up to the task. To be honest, most of this stuff is just gibberish to me and if it wasn't for the website host (NOT Mac nor user friendly) and cost, I wouldn't even be considering a PC laptop.

 

[kom526]

Definitely look into Asus, I've had problems with HP and Toshiba, I've been buying Asus exclusively because I never have a problem with their products, especially their laptops.

Most computers are coming with 64bit version of Windows 7 Premium.

Windows 7 is very good, a huge improvement over Vista.

Consumer Reports is quite fond of ASUS as well.

Then there's this: Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS5552G-7641 Notebook AMD Phenom II Quad-Core N970(2.2GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi AMD Radeon HD 6650M

 

[Mongo53]

Consumer Reports is quite fond of ASUS as well.

Well don't hold that against ASUS, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
I don't like Consumer Reports because they have proven themselves near idiots in their auto ratings. I have no idea their rep for PC's and electronics.

Have you compared that Acer to this?
Newegg.com - ASUS A53 Series A53E-XE2 Notebook Intel Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory DDR3 1333 640GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi Intel HD Graphics 3000

Looks the same price with even more features, NOT sure how the Intel HD 3000 graphics compare to the Radeon HD 6650 and if you need that much graphics power.

[EDIT]
A quick search says the Radeon HD 6650 is a mid-level gaming card for laptops, while the Intel HD 3000 is a little over entry level. The Acer has 25% higher 3D Marks. The Intel card is NO slouch, but if your gaming the Radeon would probably be better. Just standard business, email, web, goofing around, the Intel is more than strong enough.

 

[Mongo53]

2^32=4,294,967,296 or 4 gigabyte

2^64=1.84467441 x 10^19 or 18 pentillion (move the decimal point 19 places to the right) 18,446,744,100,000,000,000

A terabyte is 1024 gigabytes or 2^40= 1.099 x 10^12 =1,099,511,627,776

64 bit is MUCH more than a terabyte

Yea, I "think" its 16 "Exa"bytes, but, I don't know if there is a software limit in there somewhere where the OS will actually hit a limit before it hits the theoretical limit? I've could have sworn that I've seen a memory max for 64bit windows, and it was a lot less than exabytes.

Memory Limits for Windows Releases (Windows)

Version Limit on X86 Limit on X64
Windows 7 Ultimate 4 GB 192 GB

Windows 7 Enterprise 4 GB 192 GB

Windows 7 Professional 4 GB 192 GB

Windows 7 Home Premium4 GB 16 GB

Windows 7 Home Basic 4 GB 8 GB

Windows 7 Starter 2 GB 2 GB

 

[EmptyTimCup]

Memory Limits for Windows Releases (Windows)

finding a x64 bit desktop PC you can put in 192 Gb of ram is the trick


I see 4gb modules are common now ......... a 24 gb hexachannel kit is only 320 bucks ... damn my 6 gb of DDR3 cost more than that 2 yrs ago

sure you could slide a dell server under your desk and call it a work station


I am looking at a Dell Server that can take 2 Tb of memory

Processors
Up to four, eight-core Intel® Xeon® processors 7500 series
Up to four, ten-core Intel® Xeon® processors E7-2800, E7-4800 and E7-8800 product family Chipset Intel® E7510

Memory
Up to 1TB1 (64 DIMM Slots): 1GB/2GB/4GB/8GB/16GB DDR3
or
up to 2TB1 (64 DIMM slots): 2GB/4GB/8GB/16GB/32GB DDR3L


I am thinking you are going to need Windows 2008 Data Center to address all that

can you imagine all the VM's you could run on this beast

 

[Dakota]

Consumer Reports is quite fond of ASUS as well.

Then there's this: Newegg.com - Acer Aspire AS5552G-7641 Notebook AMD Phenom II Quad-Core N970(2.2GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi AMD Radeon HD 6650M

I 2nd Mongo's recommendation for the ASUS... I'm very happy with mine. As for Toshiba, like nacho said, they suck. I have a busted up one in my closet now.

 

[Mongo53]

I 2nd Mongo's recommendation for the ASUS... I'm very happy with mine. As for Toshiba, like nacho said, they suck. I have a busted up one in my closet now.

I mentioned earlier, I've also had problems with Toshiba, my Toshiba still works, although noisy and unreliably, the HP is dead, and there ain't no way I'm paying 90% of the new price for a 3 year old laptop, I replaced with a new Asus that was a little more than fixing the old HP, but new, way more powerful and so much nicer!

 

[kom526]

Have you compared that Acer to this?
Newegg.com - ASUS A53 Series A53E-XE2 Notebook Intel Core i5 2410M(2.30GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory DDR3 1333 640GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi Intel HD Graphics 3000

Looks the same price with even more features, NOT sure how the Intel HD 3000 graphics compare to the Radeon HD 6650 and if you need that much graphics power.

The Acer trades off decent speakers for the dedicated graphics card it seems. Only 1 left channel speaker on what seems like a pretty capable machine. I'll look harder into the ASUS machines. I'm not a gamer so the Intel card should be enough for me to do what I need, besides, I'm thinking a dedicated card would burn more battery than an integrated one. I know that Alienware's 11" machine will shut down its graphics card to optimize battery life.