looking to buy a new laptop. could use your help.

well in short im sick and tired of my 4 year old laptop im currently running a dell inspiron 1501 with 1 gig of ram 1.7ghz processer and a ati radion 1150 wich is crap. so im wondering whats a cheap effective upgrade from this system. looking to keep as cheap as possible yet still have at least a semi-decent gpu

Look at this thread, it is a good beginning.


EDIT: https://www.fakku.net/viewtopic.php?t=35019

ehh? whats that got to do with what i asked.

sorry, the link was missing a digit.
I have corrected it now.

thankyou that is the one ill shoot for then

Happy to be able to help :)

Don't buy an HP laptop. I have one myself, but the heating issues are mad gay. Shit just sucks. I say go asus. They seem to be making bomb ass laptops right now that you can get right out of stores if that is what you're looking for.

HP laptops are perfectly fine.

Most of the heat issues is because people put their laptops on the floor, they suck up dust clogging up the heatsink and fan.

And as a general thing most laptops will heat up if you put a heavy load on them.

HP has indeed made some very poorly designed laptops, and I do not personally like them. BUT so has ASUS!..

yea i think im either going with this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220701

or this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220640

only dif is the screen i think ill go for the larger one.

AMD? In a laptop? Are you serious? Someone tell me he isn't serious. AMD's are meant to be used in budget desktop gaming and high performance rigs; AMD's lineup of laptop-class processors are a sick joke meant to tempt people looking for an inexpensive laptop into buying it because it's cheaper. Be forewarned! In my experience and the experience of many of my close peers, AMD equipped laptops have a history of being worthless piles of plastic, silicone and metal. Every single AMD equipped laptop I or anyone I know personally has ever owned have all died horrible, horrible deaths, usually within about a year of being purchased. My advice to you: pay the little bit extra for an Intel equipped unit, it'll last a helluva lot longer than an AMD. And wtf is this about 5400rpm HDD's? That shit is so outdated it isn't even funny! I haven't seen a 5400rpm drive used in a full sized laptop in ages, even most of the tiny little netbooks have 7200rpm drives!

Oh I see. I had always heard that Asus was good. But then again, I'm no computer expert. Just thought I would try to help by giving my two cents. And I see that it isn't really needed with REAL computer people, lol. I wish I had computer know how. I would have gotten something better than my HP laptop. =/

First of all, you need to THINK when giving advice to someone with less knowledge about a subject than you! Your advice reads more like FUD.
It is true that AMD is behind Intel on the mobile processor marked, but the CPUs are still stable and the only real difference would be battery time (still very important of cause!), and unless you have concrete numbers from a comparison with an equivalent Intel laptop you really can't say how much less time the laptop will last on the battery.
Regarding the Hard drive you really need to shut up. Almost every single low-end laptop you will find has a 5400 RPM hard drive! I have given advice in other threads exactly like this, and I kept on insisting that any suggestion should have a 7200 RPM drive, and it was neer impossible for a low-end laptop!
A 5400 RPM drive will however be the single most limiting factor for the overall speed of the computer, since it is slow as hell. I feel certain that you will think it worth it to exchange the 5400 RPM hard drive with a 7200 RPM model.





ASUS does have a good reputation, so you were not wrong on that part :)

You want concrete numbers? Here they are: out of 23 AMD equipped laptops that either myself or close friends have owned over the years, 16 of them died within 12 months, 5 of them were dead with in 18 months, and the remaining 2 died at 20 and 22 months, and all of those that made it past 12 months experienced significant decrease in overall output. Compared to the 17 Intel equipped laptops that are being used by myself and close associates now, all of which have been running for at least 2 years without any issues or decrease in function over time. My current Intel equipped Dell XPS M1210 has been working for just a few months under 3 years now, and the only issue I've had was that the ventilation fan died and I had to order a new one and replace it. For me, AMD's in laptops just don't cut the mustard, jenslyn. And if those numbers don't at least give some indication of this, I don't know what will. Sadly, I don't have access to the numbers from the benchmark tests that were done over time on any of the laptops anymore because those laptops have all been broken down for parts and recycled a looong time ago. So I have no hard proof of the decrease of function over time.

-EDIT-
most low end laptops still use 5400rmp drive discs? Srsly? Damn. Well, I guess that means I've never owned a lower class laptop before.

So basically you do not have a problem with AMD processors, the manufacture choose to sell their shitty/faulty models with AMD processors, which I guess makes since since they are cheaper than Intel so they save additional money there.
You specify one specific example, the XPS M1210, a quality DELL. I am guessing that if you had bought an XPS with an AMD you would not get any problems since they are build with better hardware and materials then Dells usual laptops .
But I get guess your numbers do not lie, so there is an apparent trend that cheap laptops with AMD will have been build with to many low quality components.

Actually jenslyn, tbh my XPS M1210 is a piece of shit. It was made right as they were phasing that particular model out of their production lines, meaning that mine was made from a hodgepodge of leftover components that Dell still had lying around. Which would probably explain why my ventilation fan died so fast. The model itself was meant to be a quality unit, but mine isn't really a true XPS model. It's kind of like comparing the original Shelby Mustangs to the Shelby Mustangs that were made during the time period in which Carroll Shelby had nothing to do with Ford.(Car people should be able to get the gist of the metaphor.) But yes, you did essentially hit on what I was trying to get across in that low end laptops equipped with AMD processors generally suck, not simply because AMD's suck, but because they are so much cheaper than Intel Units, and if someone is making a low end laptop with an AMD inside, then you can bet your bottom dollar that the entire unit is going to be made from more or less shitty components. That's why I would suggest a unit with an Intel processor, because while it may cost more, Intel units, generally speaking, are made with higher quality components. At least, that's the conlusion that I've come to over the years of using AMD and Intel units and observing others who have done the same. Now an desktop gaming rig with a good AMD/ATI setup, that's a completely different story.

For AMD, the overheating issues is a problem. Not to mention battery life and laptops built with cheap components.

I myself use a Compaq CQ40 with Turion and trust me after a year the heat coming out of my computer was like a jet engine. i could even use it for a heater.
I'd say Intel is the way to go for laptops.
But if u cant afford it it then AMD is fine. Just need to take better care of your laptop and i'll last 1.1/2 to 2 years.(IF u took good care service.maintenance etc.))

sooo basicley dont get amd aor a 5400 rpm hd. ic ic.. uuhhhmm hmmm.... ukk see if i can find one that has the same specs but is intel

I think if you handle the laptop well you can still buy an AMD laptop, just try to find reviews on the model first to see if it has to many complaints of parts dying or breaking.
Regarding the HD, then it is a speed issue, and not so much a quality issue. although, if they as standard put a 7200 rpm hd in, then you can generally assume that they have not tried to save to much on other components since most people do not get that 5400 rpm is a bad so that is the first place they start saving a buck.

wow 5400 is realy that bad? righto, going for a 7200