chargirlgenius (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chargirlgenius) wrote2009-06-25 04:02 pm
chargirlgenius) wrote2009-06-25 04:02 pm
Entry tags:
Laptop help.
I’m in the market for a new laptop, for work and for play. It’ll be my personal laptop (purchased by me), but it has to perform well enough to handle being a work laptop twice a week as well. I get a bit of a deal on Dell systems from work, so I’ve been looking in that directions. Don’t know exactly what kind of discount yet.
All of the cheaper, home-use Dells have glossy screens, and after using the glossy on the Vaio, I’ve realized that I hate it. I’d like to be able to work outside or at the kitchen table, and glare is a big problem there.
We don’t do a lot of heavy gaming, really, Jeff just plays a lot of Mafia Wars and the like, but that’s about it. I don’t game at all. I know myself and don’t want to get addicted. :-D
Some video editing capabilities would be nice, but it doesn’t have to be high end. We’re talking home movies stuff.
I tend to have lots of windows open at once. Our current laptop acts like a dinosaur in that regard, though it’s only a couple of years old. I’m thinking I want 4GB of RAM. What kind of performance difference am I going to see between, say, 2.26GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB, and 2.53GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB? If I’m not gaming, does that matter more, or memory matter more?
Can you tell I’m a computer moron?
Integrated mobile wireless with Verizon is a nice-to-have, but not necessary. If it’s not included, I’ll probably just tether my crackberry to it.
I won’t be carrying it back and forth to work, but I don’t want a brick either. Can’t afford a Macbook Air. :-D I want a decent sized screen, though I’ll eventually get a second monitor and dock it. Needs to be able to dock. Can all laptops dock?
So, recommendations? I'm open to Mac, but price is a consideration. I’ve been leaning towards a Dell Latitude E6500, with XP instead of Vista, upgraded to 4GB RAM, and the Verizon built-in Mobile Broadband (they have a rebate so it’s free).
ETA: For that matter, is Vista really that bad?
All of the cheaper, home-use Dells have glossy screens, and after using the glossy on the Vaio, I’ve realized that I hate it. I’d like to be able to work outside or at the kitchen table, and glare is a big problem there.
We don’t do a lot of heavy gaming, really, Jeff just plays a lot of Mafia Wars and the like, but that’s about it. I don’t game at all. I know myself and don’t want to get addicted. :-D
Some video editing capabilities would be nice, but it doesn’t have to be high end. We’re talking home movies stuff.
I tend to have lots of windows open at once. Our current laptop acts like a dinosaur in that regard, though it’s only a couple of years old. I’m thinking I want 4GB of RAM. What kind of performance difference am I going to see between, say, 2.26GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB, and 2.53GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB? If I’m not gaming, does that matter more, or memory matter more?
Can you tell I’m a computer moron?
Integrated mobile wireless with Verizon is a nice-to-have, but not necessary. If it’s not included, I’ll probably just tether my crackberry to it.
I won’t be carrying it back and forth to work, but I don’t want a brick either. Can’t afford a Macbook Air. :-D I want a decent sized screen, though I’ll eventually get a second monitor and dock it. Needs to be able to dock. Can all laptops dock?
So, recommendations? I'm open to Mac, but price is a consideration. I’ve been leaning towards a Dell Latitude E6500, with XP instead of Vista, upgraded to 4GB RAM, and the Verizon built-in Mobile Broadband (they have a rebate so it’s free).
ETA: For that matter, is Vista really that bad?
no subject
I'd think about how you're going to use it, really. My work laptop is a straight up laptop with a slightly wider than standard screen and for most non-docked work, it's fine, but trying to pull a full day working on it out of dock (and therefore without my keyboard, mouse and monitor) drives me a little batty. My personal laptop is an HP entertainment something or other and it's a full size keyboard with keypad and wide screen. It's about 7.5 pounds, but *much* easier to work with as a stand-alone machine for long periods of time. It's not a laptop that is easy to travel with, though - in addition to being heavy, it's just plain big.
I'd also verify that you'll be using your own computer as a work computer when you work from home. If all I need to do is check email, I can work from my personal laptop, but if I need to log into the VPN, I have to do that from a work computer - they won't install the software on a personal computer because they can't control what else will be on the system that might compromise things. If you're doing anything that requires any sort of security or transmission of data, I'd be *very* surprised if they didn't issue you a machine with which to work from home.
no subject