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Laptop for CCD imaging?

FLO

By FLO
in Discussions - Cameras

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FLO

FLO

Posted
Posted

I know there are a number of PC literate tech' types on SGL - can I pick your brains please :D

I am looking for a laptop suitable for imaging and having been advised that Acer and Toshiba are well made so have concentrated on those. It also needs to work with my mobile phone for wireless internet connection. Orange tell me it should have Bluetooth; I don't see it listed in the spec; perhaps it is there under a different name?

Anyhow, I am considering these:

Acer Aspire 5633WLMI Core2 Duo T5500 1.66GHz 512MB 120GB 5in1 Card Reader Integrated - 1.3 Megapixel Camera 15.4" DVD±RW Windows XP MCE - HERE

Toshiba Satellite Pro A120SE T2050 1.6GHz 512MB 80GB SuperMulti Dual layer DVD 15.4" TFT WLAN WinXP Pro - HERE

I am also wondering whether this lower spec model will suffice?

Acer Aspire 3692WLMi Intel Celeron M420 1.6GHz 1GB 80GB DVD±RW Windows XP Media Center - HERE

Thanks,

Steve

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Grant

Grant

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Posted

Thats a great machine Chubster at a great price!

Well worth considering, although I know you don't want Windows Vista and that comes with it.

All laptops are about equal when it comes to the cold and damp, unless you buy a specially ruggerdised laptop that is. As long as there isn't a hint of rain I would be happy to use my laptop outside, with temperature, if I can stand outside without a big coat on then the laptop can too...

Found this:

Every laptop has a recommended safe range of operating temperature. This is not to say the laptop will absolutely not work in temperatures outside of this range. However, a laptop is much like you and me: it does not like to work in temperatures outside its "comfort range," and usually does not like to work near the outer ranges of that temperature range, either.

Documentation for most laptop computers will recommend a safe temperature range of about 50 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 35 degrees Celsius) for operating the computer. This does not mean that the laptop simply needs to be in an environment within that temperature range. This means the laptop should be allowed to either warm or cool to a temperature in that range as well. For example, if you've had your laptop in a cold car and bring it inside, you should allow several minutes for the laptop to warm to room temperature before you operate it. (If you bring a laptop in from the cold and use it immediately, you could also subject yourself to risk of problems from condensation.)

Prolonged exposure of a laptop to extreme cold or hot temperatures can result in a number of glitches and possible hardware damage. As such, we offer the following recommendations:

* Do not leave your laptop sitting in the car for extended periods of time. This applies during both hot and cold weather. Aside from temperature concerns, a laptop computer is also one of the easiest targets for possible theft.

* Do not leave the laptop computer sitting exposed to direct sunlight or near any heat source for extended periods of time.

All computer documentation we have seen also makes mention of relative humidity. You do not want to operate your computer in too damp or too moist an environment (e.g., don't run your computer right next to a humidifier unit). Most documentation recommends a safe relative humidity range of 10-80%.

From: http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:32cvuwblt44J:pcsupport.stritch.edu/cobhelp/laptop.php+temperature+range+laptop+operating&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=uk

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Kaptain Klevtsov

Kaptain Klevtsov

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My personal experience with Toshiba and Acer laptops is:-

I bought a Tosh for work as its a household name and an Acer for my gorgeous chick as it was considerably cheaper.

The Tosh. now has no CD drive as the windows update kills it every time. Reinstall from the recovery discs is a hard format of the hard drive, but the CD then works.

The Acer has had zero issues.

Could be bad luck or the choice of the actual models, but I'm not spending the extra to get a posh name again.

Captain Chaos

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FLO

FLO

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Thanks chaps,

That Dell does look good and the Vista can be changed to XP in the options section.

If nothing better is recommended before Monday, I'll order it 8)

<edit> Other than XP, should I be considering any of the other options/upgrades?

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Chubster

Chubster

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Just click Customise with winxp....

one thing though if you do go for it Steve when you click Customise the price goes up....they basically automatically upgrade the service to 3 yrs. To get back to the advertised price just select 1 yr return to base. I have one of these I think it a great laptop. I had the return to base service...but when the monitor developed a fault (little pink line down the far right side) a engineer came to the house and replaced it. :D

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FLO

FLO

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Have just opted for XP Pro, better battery and bluetooth which has increased the price to £394 + VAT. Sounds reasonable. Have put it in the cart to buy Monday. I declined the option to 'Keep things interesting by purchasing two or more colours and change your look on the go!' :D

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MikeP

MikeP

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Steve,

I bought a Dell Inspiron 5100 for use at work several years ago. I've had no big problems with it. Service pack upgrades and normal Windows updates have been effortless and I've run some fairly meaty software (make sure you have plenty of memory installed).

At the time of buying, I was warned that the hinges on Dell laptops are weak and have a tendency to break. Even Dell themselves mentioned it when they phoned me to try to sell me an extended warranty. I've been careful with how I handle it and had no problems.

The laptop gets quite hot. Since it has cooling vents underneath, I always make sure they aren't obstructed.

The only problem has been with the supplied transformer where the cable from the output side has "slipped" in some way to reveal a bare wire. I taped it up and so far it hasn't got worse.

Sound like prices have plummeted - you don't want to know what mine cost.

Mike

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GordonCopestake

GordonCopestake

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The laptop i'm using now is an Acer that i've had for 3 years. The right hinge has JUST gone on it :x

However as this has been my main PC for 3 years and it has had constant use all day every day for those 3 years I have no problem at all recommending Acer brand laptops. Even now it's still a good spec at 1.6Ghz centrino 544Mhz system bus, 1 gig RAM, 80gig HDD etc etc etc

When I replace it (sooner than I would have liked now it's broken!) i'll probably buy another Acer or Dell. You CAN buy cheaper, but the quality of these brands stands out, at least in my experience.

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Greg

Greg

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Kai,

Can you do Honda Italian red..H157 code??

I want to do my little bike that colour..

Oooppsss...thread hijacking..Sorry :nono:

You wouldn't happen to do carbon fiber paint would you :shock:

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FLO

FLO

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Slight change of plan: I have just ordered an Acer because it will arrive tomorrow in time for a weekend away. Dell wanted at least 10 days for delivery.

Thanks for all your advice chaps :D

So ... mount, scope, software and laptop sorted, I already have a DSLR - I guess I just need to get on with it!

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Kai

Kai

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Kai,

Can you do Honda Italian red..H157 code??

I want to do my little bike that colour..

Oooppsss...thread hijacking..Sorry :nono:

You wouldn't happen to do carbon fiber paint would you :shock:

Hang on i will check for you ........

Carbon fibre no ! but i do know a man who does all sorts of flip coats/glitter sparkles etc

I can do you some stripey paint if you want :D

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ElijahB

ElijahB

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Look forward to seeing the results you get from the DSLR, just acquired what I need to start taking pictures with a DSLR and need some benchmark piccies to know the kind of standard I one day will hope to attain.

Enjoy the weekend and all the late nights :D

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