decisions, decisions... advice for a laptop

[sadley]

so guys, i need your advice on two 17" laptops. toshiba satellite p300d-10v and asus a7sn. the price difference is about 122€ / 180$, asus being more expensive. which one would you get?

specs:

asus:
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=5&l2=22&l3=291&l4=0&model=2256&modelmenu=2
intel core 2 duo T8100 2.1GHz FSB 800MHz 3MB L2 cache
nvidia gf 9500m gs 256MB dedicated gddr3
3GB ddr2 667MHz
250gb sata hdd
dvd writer
Li-ion 8 cell 4800mAh 65Whr battery

toshiba:
http://eu.computers.toshiba-europe.com/cgi-bin/ToshibaCSG/jsp/productPage.do?service=EU&PRODUCT_
ID=150423
amd turion 64 X2 TL-64 2.2GHz FSB 800MHz 1MB L2 cache
ati mobility radeon HD3650 512MB dedicated memory
3GB ddr2 667MHz
250gb sata hdd
dvd writer
Li-ion *probably* 6 cell battery

[Lostatsea3]

What's your main use going to be for the computer?

Do you have a set budget?

I think we could probably find you a better one then those two...

The Asus has an "eh" processor. The Toshiba's isn't better due to the smaller cache... I would lean more towards an HP Pavillion. I have one and its great. Let us know your budget, though.

[hockey man]

For the best mobile battery performance, Intel is the way to go right now with the Centrino 2 platform.

[Lostatsea3]

Agreed... but if he wants mobile battery life he's gotta step down from the 17" screen. ;)

[hockey man]

True, didn't think about his preference of screen size.

[sadley]

sorry for the late response. just got home.

so, first up, budget should be around/less than 1000€ (~1500$).

main use: photoshop, movies, browsing (and some games, i'd like to be able to run diablo 3 and starcraft 2 :P)

battery life isn't really the most important because most of the time it will serve as a desktop replacement. screen size...well, i honestly would prefer a 17".

also, note that i live in romania (europe, somewhere towards russia) so shipping might be a problem or cost quite some money.

[Lostatsea3]

I like how you have to describe where Romania is. ;) Haha

Anyways, I would suggest something like this. You could go with a Mac... but that would probably exceed your budget with less "Bang for your buck."

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto.do

Then customize... downgrade the OS to 64bit Premium (-$160) up the processor to the 2.4ghz (+$175) upgrade the Graphics card (+$50) got to atleast the 320gb hard drive (+$75) or you could buy an external... and then go up to 4gb RAM (+100)

That should come out to $1,447 USD. Shipping could be an issue... I really don't know about HP and international shipping.

[hockey man]

battery life isn't really the most important because most of the time it will serve as a desktop replacement.

Do you think that you really need the portability of a laptop? Because a desktop solution would get you more bang for your buck (or leu which is what Wikipedia is telling me the currency is over there). If you do need that then yes go a laptop route. Another option if you want the portability would be to get a smaller screen size (which is usually cheaper) then get a LCD monitor, keyboard, and mouse and then plug those in for desktop work. Then unplug when you want to go anywhere.

also, note that i live in romania (europe, somewhere towards russia) so shipping might be a problem or cost quite some money.

We do have some members from Europe here so maybe they can chime in on recommendations.

[Team Toshiba]

True, if you don't need the portability then going with a desktop would make sense or you can get a smaller laptop and try to find an external monitor/keyboard to hook it up to. It would take some looking around, but not an impossible task and that way you can have best of both worlds.

Anyone here from Eastern Europe? Help out on this...


-TRT
LaptopExperts.net