Buying a New Notebook Computer - Buy or Wait?

[Magister Lajciak]

I will be buying a new notebook computer, which will serve as my primary computer for everything from work to entertainment for at least the next 3 years. My budget for the notebook will be approximately $2000 (U.S. dollars) or thereabouts and the earliest I will be able to make the purchase will be after 15 September 2008 (so approximately 6 weeks from now). I am wondering whether I should buy immediately at that point or whether there are any technological innovations worth waiting for. For example, if buying immediately after 15. September, the best processor I could get would get a Dual Core 2.5GHz Penryn - is it worth waiting for Nehalem, which comes out later in the year (but who knows when it will come out for notebooks)? Or perhaps a new mobile/laptop graphics card is just around the corner, or some other technical innovation worth waiting for is coming soon thereafter?

[Magister Lajciak]

In the meantime, I will be served by my nearly three year old notebook/laptop. So far, though, it has been able to run almost everything I was interested in running. Here is the setup:

 

Pentium M 760 (2GHz)

2GB RAM

ATI Mobility Radeon X700 with 128MB of RAM

100GB Hard Disc Drive

15.4" screen

Windows XP operating system

[Magister Lajciak]

Another issue is Windows Vista - I know people who have it and I dislike it so far. Unfortunately, there is virtually no chance of buying a good Windows XP system now. Vista appears to be exceedingly security conscious to the point that it hampers the normal functioning of programs. Is this being dealt with?

[mkreku]

Just get a new one from (for example) Sony based on the Centrino 2 platform and you'll be fine for a couple of years. I also read some rumours of ATI making mobile versions of their 4XXX generation of GPU's. Those might be worth looking out for too.

[Magister Lajciak]

The laptop/notebook I will be getting will almost certainly be the Dell Studio model. I do not know whether to order it immediately after 15. September or if it is better to wait a couple of months for some new upcoming technologies (if any major ones are coming at this time - that I do not know).

[Magister Lajciak]

Any other suggestions regarding whether I should order on 15 September or wait for a while? What is there that is coming up that might be worth waiting for?

[Spider]

In regards to Vista, while it is annoying for those used to XP, it isn't all bad. I am currently trying it out at home and am starting to get the hang of it. Although at work it caused so many problems I went back to XP.

 

The source of most Vista-related problems is the moronic User Account Control feature. It asks your permission every time you want to do anything that requires you to be an administrator. Only it doesn't always ask and when it doesn't you're not running things as an admin no matter what. Turn that thing off and Vista is much, much more easy to work with.

 

If you work in software or web development there are still problems, most other fields I think it should work decently enough. Not sure when it comes to gaming, haven't gotten that far yet.

[Magister Lajciak]

In regards to Vista, while it is annoying for those used to XP, it isn't all bad. I am currently trying it out at home and am starting to get the hang of it. Although at work it caused so many problems I went back to XP.

 

Yes, part of it could be just getting used to a new system...

 

The source of most Vista-related problems is the moronic User Account Control feature. It asks your permission every time you want to do anything that requires you to be an administrator. Only it doesn't always ask and when it doesn't you're not running things as an admin no matter what. Turn that thing off and Vista is much, much more easy to work with.

 

Yes, this was precisely the source of most of the problems I have had when using Vista on the computers of others (such as trying to do some things on the computer for my sister...). I did not realize that the User Account Control feature can be turned off - if so, that does solve most of the problems with Vista for me.

 

If you work in software or web development there are still problems, most other fields I think it should work decently enough. Not sure when it comes to gaming, haven't gotten that far yet.

 

In terms of gaming, my sister has had some backward compatibility issues with older games, even though they were not all that old. There were issues with running Heroes of Might and Magic V (the only 'old' game we have tried running on my sister's new computer so far) and its expansions. Luckily, installing Service Pack 1, did solve that particular problem, but it left a bitter aftertaste in my mind about backward compatibility of Vista. Hopefully, it was an isolated incident.

[taks]

so how do you turn the danged user account control feature off? it does drive me buggy.

 

taks

[Gorth]

so how do you turn the danged user account control feature off? it does drive me buggy.

 

taks

Control Panel -> User Accounts -> Turn User Account Control On or Off

 

Makes for a much less unpleasant experience

[Magister Lajciak]

so how do you turn the danged user account control feature off? it does drive me buggy.

 

taks

Control Panel -> User Accounts -> Turn User Account Control On or Off

 

Makes for a much less unpleasant experience

 

Thanks - I will turn it off immediately when I get my new notebook with Windows Vista.

 

BTW: Any more upcoming hardware coming up that might be worth waiting for?

[Magister Lajciak]

Note: I am particularly interested in whether it is worth it to wait for Nehalem (I don't know when it's coming for notebooks) and new graphics cards, but other upcoming hardware might also make me delay if it is good enough.

[Magister Lajciak]

No ideas on whether it is worth it to wait for Nehalem and when it's coming to notebooks?

[mkreku]

It might be worth waiting for it for desktop computers. But I have absolutely no idea if/when it's coming to laptops. Besides, they just released the Centrino 2 platform for laptops.. that would be enough for me.

[Magister Lajciak]

Ok, thanks anyway...

 

BTW: I thought Centrino was the lower-end line of processors for notebooks and that Core-Duo 2 was the better one.

[mkreku]

Centrino 2 is not a processor. It's a chipset, which means a Core 2 Duo processor + Intel Centrino 2 motherboard + Intel Wireless features.

 

You may be confusing the name with Celeron, which is Intels old budget processors.

[Magister Lajciak]

Centrino 2 is not a processor. It's a chipset, which means a Core 2 Duo processor + Intel Centrino 2 motherboard + Intel Wireless features.

 

You may be confusing the name with Celeron, which is Intels old budget processors.

 

Yes, I was conflating the two. So, is the Centrino 2 a particularly good chipset and if so why?

[Hurlshort]

Glad I saw this thread. I'm also planning on getting a new notebook, although I'll be waiting until next summer to make the purchase. My budget is around $1500. What is a good place to order a laptop from? I bought my most recent desktop from Alienware, it was pricey but it is a pretty sweet rig.

 

I made the switch to Vista and found it fairly easy to adjust to. I've also been able to play all games, including Jagged Alliance 2. I even kept the user controls on, as I find it protects my PC from my wife effectively. I had to refrmat XP once because ofsomething she downloaded.

[Magister Lajciak]

Glad I saw this thread. I'm also planning on getting a new notebook, although I'll be waiting until next summer to make the purchase. My budget is around $1500. What is a good place to order a laptop from? I bought my most recent desktop from Alienware, it was pricey but it is a pretty sweet rig.

 

I think Dell is an excellent online vendor for laptops. Heck, they even own Alienware, but Dell machines are better value for a given performance, as Alienware, altough excellent, is a boutique brand, so you are paying extra for the brand name. I have only good experiences with them. Indeed, my sister's new computer was ordered from Dell.

 

I made the switch to Vista and found it fairly easy to adjust to. I've also been able to play all games, including Jagged Alliance 2. I even kept the user controls on, as I find it protects my PC from my wife effectively. I had to refrmat XP once because ofsomething she downloaded.

 

Well, adjusting to Windows Vista is inevitable - new computers only come with Vista after all. I am getting less irritated by it too, as I work more often with my sister's Vista computer and am getting used to it. Even games seem to play on it fine, now that I have installed SP1. The last thing truly annoying me is the 'mouse lock' or whatever it is called, which means that when I click on the scrolling bar, rather than scrolling only when I am holding the mouse button, as it was in XP, it scrolls it until I click again... This is something I cannot get used to and seem unable to turn off (though it must be possible).