New laptop - what screen size? 14" or smaller??

[Alien 13]

Although I have had three laptops from them and each has been ultra reliable, they have all been top end machines of their period (XPS etc) the latest one is an Alienware but do wonder how much Dell is inside it.

Alan

[RayD]

5 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

Although I have had three laptops from them and each has been ultra reliable, they have all been top end machines of their period (XPS etc) the latest one is an Alienware but do wonder how much Dell is inside it.

Alan

Probably not that much Alan. Their best machines have always been their top range which was predominantly assembled from third party components.

[furrysocks2]

Thanks all, I've ordered my 2570p. Fingers crossed for a good one...

 

There's an interesting post in the 2570 thread that suggests a number of incremental tweaks for maximising battery life... should be applicable to other laptops.

https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/forums/topic/1982-125-hp-elitebook-2570p-owners-lounge/&do=findComment&comment=35271

 

[furrysocks2]

Unknown at the time, I have bought the laptop from an Essex-based not-for-profit social enterprise.

• MillRace IT (http://millraceit.co.uk/ and on eBay)
• Parent charity: Interact (http://www.interact.org.uk/)

 

It's gratifying to think that this laptop purchase will benefit more than just me and the pockets of the seller.

Matt.

[DaveS]

I use a 15" Dell Vostro i5 running win7. It's plenty for running my DDM60 and camera. However I usually run it with either my 24" TV or lately my 27" Dell Ultrasharp monitor.

I use the second monitor for Carts du Ciel and the Maxim capture window, while the laptop has Autoslew and the Maxim camera control.

[furrysocks2]

29 minutes ago, DaveS said:

I use a 15" Dell Vostro i5 running win7. It's plenty for running my DDM60 and camera. However I usually run it with either my 24" TV or lately my 27" Dell Ultrasharp monitor.

I use the second monitor for Carts du Ciel and the Maxim capture window, while the laptop has Autoslew and the Maxim camera control.

Some setup!

[Charic]

22 hours ago, Charic said:

I doubt my present laptop  has the speed or memory capacity to run my DAW

lol........... the old Acer Laptop with its Intel Core 2 CPU T5500 @ 1.66GHz x2  and 2GB RAM is pretty slow with Stellarium, just now, never mind running a full Digital Audio Workstation? Looks like the old Acer will just get used  as a backup browser for now!

Even the two main PCs with their  Intel Quad Core 2 CPU 8300 @ 2.50GHz - 2.50GHz are pretty lame by today's standards!  I'll be needing a newer PC sometime this year.

[furrysocks2]

14 hours ago, Charic said:

lol........... the old Acer Laptop with its Intel Core 2 CPU T5500 @ 1.66GHz x2  and 2GB RAM is pretty slow with Stellarium, just now, never mind running a full Digital Audio Workstation? Looks like the old Acer will just get used  as a backup browser for now!

Even the two main PCs with their  Intel Quad Core 2 CPU 8300 @ 2.50GHz - 2.50GHz are pretty lame by today's standards!  I'll be needing a newer PC sometime this year.

You could try pepping up any of these machines with an SSD, if you haven't already. Even if you are buying a new machine, you probably want to consider SSD anyway.

I've just trashed my £250 laptop budget with a 250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD - that's me at £315 inc docking station, but reasonably well spec'd at that.

[Charic]

Thanks......A laptop would be convenient in some respects but I think this old Acer will just remain old, and treated accordingly?  I'm hoping that my next main build is actually a desktop  based  system built around the intel Core i7 6700K possibly on the ROG Maximus VIII  Motherboard. This will have both SSD's  and mechanical drives.

 

[furrysocks2]

Laptop received - rather nice!  Size and feel pretty much what I was after - resolution looks fine at first glance. A few sticky keys but they appear to be improving with use so hoping to avoid warranty return.