advice on a laptop

[Asdracles]

Ok, I have been checking around again and I found this computer

http://sg.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=5&l ... odelmenu=1

in a good deal in Harvey Norman.

I got the 4GB extension, Office, Bag, Mouse and a Brother Multifunction. Not the one I would buy, but enough for my domestic use. Price is 2700 SGD

Specifications are approximately the same that the Sony Vaio Z

http://www.sony.com.sg/product/vgn-z16gn

but 500 dollars cheaper. I find only big difference is design, but I won't pay so much for it!

My actual laptop is ASUS, and it has given me lot of troubles, but I must say that customer service and warranty was good. Just I would have preferred don't check so often how helpful they are!

So was bad luck? Or any other ASUS user has same complains?

[durain]

ASUS has moved on a bit, so i think you will be fine.

[taxico]

I'm thinking of buying a new laptop and I need some advice .

I'm on the road most of the time so I need A long time Battery.

I'll travelling a fair bit so I need a good international warranty deal

don't skimp too much, go for a notebook with a 3 year warranty. preferably international since you'll be traveling or make sure you can upgrade to an international warranty.

i've used and owned heaps of laptops over the past 12 years, travel regularly and personally feel that the 3 year warranted ones tend to last longer and have better build quality (in general) and frankly, they give me a peace of mind.

as for brand and config (and perhaps reliability), i swear it's up to you to pick and likewise, for luck to pick you.

i used to swear by IBM (pre-lenovo) but have been using HP the last 3 years (2 units) as they have decent warranty and upgrade options available post-purchase.

a way to save may be to get a refurbished unit direct from manufacturer or an opened box unit if you're heading to north america.

if you travel there over the coming holidays (late nov, late dec, etc), look out for steals and deals at all major electronic stores (best buy, etc).

otherwise, head online (yahoo's dead, so ebay spore?) and look for brand new laptops with 3 year warranties. if they're last-gen, it's cheaper. always get proof of purchase or insist the unit gets registered online in your name before paying.

a small notebook will rarely be blazin fast, but tends to give better battery life. bigger brands have more accessories (9-cell travel batt, etc) and tech support even if you're out in the sticks.

but if you travel on planes regularly, you'd appreciate having a few hundred grams shaved off while you're trundling around airports making your connection.

did i mention? DON'T SKIMP ON WARRANTY! don't learn your lesson the hard way! divvy up the premium paid over the many extra months and you'd feel alright.

oh. look for one of them notebooks with hard disk accelerometer thingymajig. tres cool! tres useful!

[taxico]

Hi, I'm going to buy a new laptop too but my requirements are quite different. I need mainly a light laptop, as I'm moving all day around, and even I must carry it sometimes in my days-off

just so you know, my only laptop is a 12.1" widescreen HP.

beautiful little number, and very nice on the shoulders (under 1.6kg).

but when i spend extended hours on it, my neck goes insane. regularly.

on smaller laptops, the screen is much smaller, so you tend to angle your head and spine forward/downwards more.

worse, these notebooks have batteries that last like over 5 hours so you tend to want to keep pounding away at your work.

small laptops also tend to be slower as they can't cram in enough heat-dispersing devices within or the miniaturization wasn't accomplished in time.

space constraints mean extra RAM slots tend to be non-existent, so upgrade it when you buy or you'll be stuck with a spare stick of RAM.

get the model with the largest hard disk if it uses a 1.8" hdd (80gb max right now).

demand the right to downgrade tp XP. call up their customer svc before committing and pretend you own their product and badly want to downgrade. then see whot happens... (worked for me)

you have been warned... ! i'm sure i left some good advice out. oh, yes, don't skimp on the warranty. but small laptops tend to be 3 year world wide covered.

[taxico]

I'm interested in the "tough book" but just wonder what the compromises are for the extra resiliance.

i like the one shown in the monkey ad because it has a spill proof keyboard and top loading optical drive (good on a plane or messy table).

it's also light for its display size and has decent battery life (on spec sheet)

but compared to "real" toughbooks, it's not as rugged. not built to same ISO standards. that may be the only "real" trade off.

but heck, it's made in japan so it might take a lickin before it breaks! however i would worry global support is a little measly.

the only reason why i've not jump ship is because it uses a track pad (and the pad looks weird).

i'm an accupoint (eraser tip/nipple/blah) kinda guy! so i'm really limited to one model from HP and one model from thinkpad (s'gotta be a full fledged notebook, none of that wind or eee ATOM-based nonsense)

[ccenex]

you should check out HP Business Laptops, there are more durable than the consumer ranges. And also more reliable and cost effective compared to most brands out there.

Comes with 3 year warranty etc.
Take a look at Compaq 6510B and 6930P, might be what u are looking for.


here's the link to HP Singapore.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/sg/en/sm ... 64295.html