[alice]

I don't know where to ask right now so I'm just gonna ask here.

I bought a laptop today, hp dv9000z for 499 AR at home depot.

I opeted no to upgrade, but there are a few I was considering and I might go back today and ask them to change my order.

I was thinking of upgrading my AMD athlon64 X2 TK-53 (1.7 ghz) to a TL-56 (1.8ghz) for 50. Not that I wolud spend 50 for 100 mhz more but I heard there were some bad things about the TK-53 at least to the point where googling gives me NO info on it which makes me a bit weary.

There was also an option to upgrade the 17 inch widescreen from 1440x900 to something even higher for 50 or 100. I don't necessarily see the point. Does anything even use resolution higher than 1440x900? Also, I'm majoring in graphic design, and I'm thinking a higher resolution might be better.

Finally, for 30, you could upgrade the 8 cell lithium ion to a 'high capacity' 8 cell lithium ion battery. No more details than that.

Any thoughts?

[Wilkes]

not really

[Toptube]

ask if the battery is physically bigger or not. if it is, then make your own judgement on whether or not you would trade size for battery life. if it isn't physically larger, then get it.

as far as the processor goes, I'd only do the upgrade if you will be doing a lot of encoding/decoding. in the long run that extra hundred mhz would save you time. if you won't be doing lots of encoding/decoding, then don't worry about it.

that resolution is pretty high, especially for a 17 inch. most 19 inch monitors use that resolution. I think it would be just fine, but its a personal judgment. a higher resolution would be pretty difficult to use on a 17 inch though, in my own oppinion.

how much ram does it come with? you'll want to have atleast 1 gig. I would put money into 2 gigs before I'd upgrade the processor. 1 gig should be fine though. 512mb of ram will not be acceptable.

[another god]

Graphics Design? You need RAM and Resolution. Definitely bump up the RAM to something like 2gigs (XP can handle 3, but that gets messy [and more expensive than your entire rig]) and take the screen upgrade. I am also a fan of multicore processors because Adobe is a fan of multicore stuff, too. I'd probably upgrade regardless, but that'd be last on my list of things to upgrade.

The battery is only going to be useful if you use your computer on the go. If it's a big laptop, you probably won't. If it's nice and tiny and small, bring it to coffee shops and have all the Mac girls glare at you.

Also: Wacom.
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interdimensional

[alice]

[Broco]

Not by much, laptop RAM is more expensive than regular RAM.

[BotageL]

[alice]

Hey, thanks for the suggestions everyone. I actually decided not to go back for any upgrades partly out of laziness. But moreso because this junk is gonna really be junk 2 years down the road. I don't mind upgrading the memory myself, and the rest, I'm pretty sure I can live without.

Once again, thanks.

[another god]

[psiga]

Would that cost be to upgrade to 1gig, or for 1gig ON TOP of what you already have? Tell us what the speed of the RAM is... Price of DDR is actually higher than DDR2.

You WILL need a gig of RAM in no time, but if it's DDR2 you're probably not gonna suffer by buying it third party.
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[Focus]

home depot sells laptops?
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[psiga]

News to me, too.
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[alice]

um, office depot. Close enough.

But ya'll are making me feel bad. I'm going back tommorow to see if I can get that upgrade on the ram and battery. I'm skipping on the monitor beacuse I can hook the lappy up to a nice 22 inch monitor that I plan on buying. Not sure if they'll let me.

But yeah, thanks for the feedback... even though it's just making me feel like shit :(.

[another god]

It's better to feel like that now then be pissed off at your computer over the next couple years.
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interdimensional

[psiga]

Dude. You didn't say what kind of RAM it is.

Look: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=90054&prodlist=pricegrabber

1 gig of Corsair DDR2 for $43, free shipping. That's with three minutes on techbargains.com and their price-searching engine; you might even be able to find something for less.

Installing RAM is stupid simple on most laptops. On my compaq, there are two screws that open a compartment specifically for RAM upgrades. Pop one 256MB stick out, pop one 1GB stick in. Done.
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[alice]

Hey psiga. Thanks. I was checking ebay prices and they weren't too favorable. My mistake, it's DDR2 ram yeah, so, I guess I'm good with ram. Might shoot for the screen upgrade and battery then :3. High resolution is downright sexy.

[Corinth]

Don't know anything about current-gen AMD mobile processors, but get 2GB of RAM and spring for the higher resolution if it's a 17 inch screen. It's unlikely that you'll regret it!

[Teflon]

Yeah it's most likely going to be a newer (nicer) type of panel, in addition to the notched-up resolution.

[Kappuru]

i think 1440x900 is fine for that res. i run that on a 19" myself.

gfxdsgn isn't always better in higher res, unless you have the real estate to match. definitely definitely get 2gb of ram because cs AI + PS use up tonnnnssss of ram, especially in windows.
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[Teflon]

Well yes, I use 1024 on my mighty 15" Acer and that's fine too. It's just that if I were buying a brand new laptop I'd be all FUCK THIS SHIT.

[nothingxs]

solution: macbook pro, bootcamp.
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select button
i've gotta let go. i've gotta get straight. why'd you have to make it so hard? let me get away.
3DSFC 1736-1476-0518

[Toptube]

ask if you can compare your current screen to a laptop with the higher resoulution. you seriously may not like that high of a resolution on a 17 inch.

protip: computer hardware is ALWAYS going to be cheaper on the internet (newegg, zipzoomfly) than factory direct. I wouldn't buy computer hardware on ebay unless the deal is significantly better than newegg's current price.

[another god]

17inch laptop screens are nearer the bigger sizes than most others, so if any laptop is going to need more resolution screen it's yours.
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interdimensional

[Toptube]

[Broco]

I am still waiting for the brave new world where everything goes through a compositor, and we will have 10000x8000 15-inch screens with font size measured in physical size rather than pixels.

[Martial Loh]

Whats the deal with Mac OSX and 4Gb Ram? Does it just work?
(im thinking of buying a macbook pro whenever the new OSX is released)

[Broco]

I don't know a lot about Mac OS X specifically, but I know that in general 32-bit applications may not be able to use all of your 4th gig of RAM (because that is close to the maximum possible address space -- 2^32 ~= 4 billion). You will only get top performance on 64-bit applications (which will only be supported starting in the upcoming Mac OS X 10.5). Existing applications will need to be converted by their developers to be 64-bit.

Unless you do things that are really RAM-intensive you are unlikely to notice much, though. 3 gig is already a lot.

[Martial Loh]

Well i do use a lot of 3d apps & post-compositing software...so the more RAM I get, the better. From your response, it looks like i'll just wait till 64bit is more the norm

[Baron Patsy]

Okay, I need some help rather urgently.

I recently ordered a Dell Latitude D520 with the following specs:

Latitude D520, Intel Core 2 Duo T5500, 1.66GHz, 667Mhz, 2ML2 Cache, Dual Core
15 inch XGA LCD for Latitude D520
2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMM for Dell Latitude Notebooks
Internal English Keyboard for Latitude D520
80GB Hard Drive 9.5MM, 7200RPMfor Dell Latitude DX20
No Floppy Drive for Latitude D-Family Notebooks
Windows XP Home, SP2 with media, for Latitude English Factory Installed
65W AC Adapter for Latitude D-Family
8X DVD+/-RW with Roxio CreatorDell Edition Digital Media andCyberlink Power DVD,for Latitude DX20
Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN (802.11g,54Mbps) Mini Card for Latitude

It has some integrated graphics card, as well.

I got this laptop for roughly $850. My order was recently delayed, and I've been thinking about my options. Now, should I stay with this laptop, or should I go to Best Buy and get a slightly worse one with a Best Buy warranty?

[Broco]

Patsy I would assume Dell already provides a 1-year warranty (as is most common) on this laptop. It's generally not worth getting a longer warranty than that, as if it breaks due to a defect, that's usually going to happen soon after you buy it, and anyway after more than a year a computer has lost a lot of value. Stores like Best Buy insist on their warranties precisely because almost nobody ends up using them and it is pure profit for them.

[psiga]

Meanwhile, I am having a dispute with HP/Compaq over my 3yr extended warranty. Some keys aren't registering correctly, a mouse button is registering double-clicks from single clicks, the DVD DL RW has stopped burning discs, there's a weird little spot behind the screen of the LCD, and the lid has never closed right.

They're in for a couple hundred in repairs and shipping fees, all covered under warranty.

That is, if they would acknowledge that I purchased things. I spent yesterday fighting to prove that I bought the 3 year extension, and now I'm having to prove that I bought the laptop in the first place -- despite registering it the day I got it, and already having a previous service history.

Whether they are merely having innocent database troubles or actively trying to frustrate and screw me, I can't tell. All I know is that my desire to ever own another HP / Compaq is resting in the far negative numbers right now.

Always keep every scrap of proof that you've paid money for your laptop. Never trust anyone from the company you bought things from. Be ready to repeat yourself four times over, every step of the way. Even if you have successfully registered your item on their web site, that option is probably only there to give you a false sense of security.
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[Baron Patsy]

Coincidentally, the laptop I have decided on is an HP! Hopefully my experience won't be as bad as yours. I will be getting the Best Buy warranty, for as long as they offer it.

[psiga]

In this day and age, warranties are best for big high-tech TVs, and laptops. Basically nothing else, though. Those things hit the bitter-sweet-spot of delicate components which cost two or three times as much to replace and service than you might think, regardless of how quickly the resale value of the item itself will decline.
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[Baron Patsy]

Posting from a brand-new, extremely snazzy HP Pavilion dv6000! The screen is...big. As is the keyboard. The screen is also reflective, which I am not used to at all. It's way clearer than I'm used to, as well. The location of the touchpad is obnoxious, as it's right where my right palm rests while I'm typing. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get used to it. Overall, I really like this! It's a damned snazzy computer.

I got the basic two year warranty, the one that doesn't cover spills. I've never spilled a drink on anything, really, so I'm not particularly worried about spilling anything on my laptop. Even if I do, I can just, uh, pretend that I am not computer saavy at all and play the "it just stopped working I don't know what to do help me Best Buy guy :(" card.

I also got a really nice Targus case. It's snazzy too.

Snazzy.

[Broco]

I'd never spilled a drink on anything before spilling a drink on my laptop either.

[Baron Patsy]

[Panoptic]

Late to the party, but... I wouldn't recommend Corsair unless you like dealing with RMA people.