Which laptop should my friend get?
May 2, 2010 12:42 PM Subscribe
Is this the right laptop for my friend to buy?
I'm asking for a friend here. He currently has a Samsung R610 laptop, the specifications of which are as follows:
Screen size: 16.0 in - 1920 x 1080
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 - 2.0 GHz
RAM: 3 GB
Hard Drive: 250 GB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32 Bit
Optical Drive: BD-ROM
Graphics: NVIDIA 9200M GS/512MB
He is considering replacing it with a Samsung R780, and the specifications of that laptop are:
Screen size: 17.3 in - 1600 x 900
Processor: Intel Core i5 I5-430M - 2.26 GHz
RAM: 4 GB
Hard Drive: 500 GB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32 Bit
Optical Drive: BD-ROM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
The new laptop — the R780 — is around £700 or so in price at most retailers. My question then, is this: is this a good computer for the money, or is there a better computer for the same money/a much better computer to be had for not too much more money? I'm a Mac user myself, so obviously it's a bit easier to tell the difference between computers, whereas with Windows laptops there are so many brands and makes it can get a bit baffling. The most important things are a large screen (16" or so) and a Blu-Ray optical drive. A zippy processor would be nice too, obviously!
Thanks for any help or guidance you can give.
I'm asking for a friend here. He currently has a Samsung R610 laptop, the specifications of which are as follows:
Screen size: 16.0 in - 1920 x 1080
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 - 2.0 GHz
RAM: 3 GB
Hard Drive: 250 GB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32 Bit
Optical Drive: BD-ROM
Graphics: NVIDIA 9200M GS/512MB
He is considering replacing it with a Samsung R780, and the specifications of that laptop are:
Screen size: 17.3 in - 1600 x 900
Processor: Intel Core i5 I5-430M - 2.26 GHz
RAM: 4 GB
Hard Drive: 500 GB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32 Bit
Optical Drive: BD-ROM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
The new laptop — the R780 — is around £700 or so in price at most retailers. My question then, is this: is this a good computer for the money, or is there a better computer for the same money/a much better computer to be had for not too much more money? I'm a Mac user myself, so obviously it's a bit easier to tell the difference between computers, whereas with Windows laptops there are so many brands and makes it can get a bit baffling. The most important things are a large screen (16" or so) and a Blu-Ray optical drive. A zippy processor would be nice too, obviously!
Thanks for any help or guidance you can give.
Also remember that, to fully use 4+ GB of RAM you'll need the 64-bit edition of Windows. You should be able to specify this on ordering, and there really aren't any downsides.
posted by truex at 1:04 PM on May 2, 2010
posted by truex at 1:04 PM on May 2, 2010
Best answer: It looks like he specs of the new computer aren't that noticeably higher than the old ones; in fact, the display seems a step backward (lower resolution at larger diagonal = lower dot pitch). Windows Vista -> Windows 7 might bring improvements, but that could also be done by re-installing a new OS on the old hardware.
Otherwise it very much depends on what you want to with the computer: transcoding videos takes a lot of processing power. Dealing with large RAW images takes a lot of RAM and lots of hard disk space. Playing the latest games with all settings to the max can tax a laptop to its extremes, regardless of how much money you spend.
If you just want a computer to check mails, use the web and do word processing all of the specs above are overkill.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 1:13 PM on May 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
Otherwise it very much depends on what you want to with the computer: transcoding videos takes a lot of processing power. Dealing with large RAW images takes a lot of RAM and lots of hard disk space. Playing the latest games with all settings to the max can tax a laptop to its extremes, regardless of how much money you spend.
If you just want a computer to check mails, use the web and do word processing all of the specs above are overkill.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 1:13 PM on May 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the reminder about the RAM. Most come with 4GB now, and 64-bit Windows 7 will be going on it one way or the other. Any advice for specific models with the specs I've mentioned (big screen and blu-ray)? Thanks :)
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 1:13 PM on May 2, 2010
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 1:13 PM on May 2, 2010
Response by poster: Oh, and the old laptop was upgraded to Windows 7 a few months ago. That spec list is just referencing what was originally on the machine. Sorry for any confusion!
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 1:14 PM on May 2, 2010
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 1:14 PM on May 2, 2010
depending on the i5 chip, I'm not familiar with that one, it may have four cores. If it does, it can feel perceptibly more responsive than the core 2 duo machine.
posted by TimeDoctor at 4:37 PM on May 2, 2010
posted by TimeDoctor at 4:37 PM on May 2, 2010
Best answer: Your friend already has a pretty decent computer. Unless there is a dire need to upgrade I'd await until USB 3.0 is more common (should happen within the year or so).
posted by sockpup at 4:42 PM on May 2, 2010
posted by sockpup at 4:42 PM on May 2, 2010
Best answer: Huh... I'm not seeing any advantage. Put some new RAM in the old machine, get an SSD if you really want to see a performance increase. Upgrade to 64 bit windows 7. I'm not sure what his intentions are with the laptop though. The lower resolution is a big negative in my book too. Is he a hardcore gamer and needs more FPS for his FPS*?
*frames / sec for his first person shooter? Couldn't resist...
posted by defcom1 at 4:56 PM on May 2, 2010
*frames / sec for his first person shooter? Couldn't resist...
posted by defcom1 at 4:56 PM on May 2, 2010
depending on the i5 chip, I'm not familiar with that one, it may have four cores. If it does, it can feel perceptibly more responsive than the core 2 duo machine.
-TimeDoctor
Unfortunately it's a dual core chip
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=43537
posted by defcom1 at 5:01 PM on May 2, 2010
-TimeDoctor
Unfortunately it's a dual core chip
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=43537
posted by defcom1 at 5:01 PM on May 2, 2010
Best answer: The i5 is "feelistically" better than the core2duo. Sure, x64 uses >3 Gb of RAM but it really depends on the applications your friend uses. HUGE photoshop files? Totally.
Can your friend get the computer kitted out with a (small?) SSD drive to install the OS and programs on, and have a secondary (traditional magnetic media) harddrive installed? That is today's winning combination in laptops.
It really depends on your use: light use - there's small difference between Core2Duo and i5. Heavy use, and the i5 wins. Heavy duty use... it's actually a pretty tight fight between the i5 and (a budget) i7, but it depends (on a lot of stuff).
Coworker got an S-series Lenovo with an i5, smallish SSD for OS and programs, 6GB RAM, and a 5400rpm harddrive in the "optical media" slot. Less than $1600 CDN. Grrrrreat setup. Solid solid solid. I'm waiting until the Fall school-season/Christmas-season and getting something along the same vein - especially if a mobile i7 becomes available.
posted by porpoise at 10:27 PM on May 2, 2010
Can your friend get the computer kitted out with a (small?) SSD drive to install the OS and programs on, and have a secondary (traditional magnetic media) harddrive installed? That is today's winning combination in laptops.
It really depends on your use: light use - there's small difference between Core2Duo and i5. Heavy use, and the i5 wins. Heavy duty use... it's actually a pretty tight fight between the i5 and (a budget) i7, but it depends (on a lot of stuff).
Coworker got an S-series Lenovo with an i5, smallish SSD for OS and programs, 6GB RAM, and a 5400rpm harddrive in the "optical media" slot. Less than $1600 CDN. Grrrrreat setup. Solid solid solid. I'm waiting until the Fall school-season/Christmas-season and getting something along the same vein - especially if a mobile i7 becomes available.
posted by porpoise at 10:27 PM on May 2, 2010
Best answer: Oh, and larger screen at lower resolution? Garbage. Don't do it. "Feelistically" a step backward even if everything empirically runs/works faster.
posted by porpoise at 10:29 PM on May 2, 2010
posted by porpoise at 10:29 PM on May 2, 2010
Response by poster: A late reply, but thankyou for all your responses.
My friend has wisely elected to take your advice. He's keeping his current laptop, and is instead replacing the hard drive with a new, faster one, installing the 64-bit version of Windows 7 and bumping it up to a full 4GB of RAM. Much cheaper! :)
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 10:39 AM on May 30, 2010
My friend has wisely elected to take your advice. He's keeping his current laptop, and is instead replacing the hard drive with a new, faster one, installing the 64-bit version of Windows 7 and bumping it up to a full 4GB of RAM. Much cheaper! :)
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 10:39 AM on May 30, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jardinier at 12:50 PM on May 2, 2010