Laptop Suggestion

[ankit_niitian]

Sorry guys but I have not bought the lappy yet. Actually now my plans have changed a bit. I still want to play games but I will be doing web programming on my lappy 10-12hrs a day. So will this lappy be able to handle that pressure? I have seen an AMD based lappy which gets hot very fast. Is this a problem with AMD? There might be something wrong with that particular model or piece? Plz help. I might also need to install linux on it. So Arighna can u plz tell some details about what problems u faced with the graphics driver on linux???

Thanks in advance

 

[shri]

Acer 4530 and Compaq CQ 50 have similar configuration. But acer has Nvidia 9100M chipset whereas Compaq comes with 8200M chipset.

Acer is also cheaper. What say?

 

[ashu888ashu888]

^^ naaah,.,,,

stay away with Acer, it has got the poorest of build quality and cannot perform well wen it gets heated...

 

[ankit_niitian]

The Acer one has a better graphics processor and it costs only 29,000. But as everyone is saying, Acer has poor quality. I cannot compromise with the quality now since I will push my lappy to the limit as I will work on software like Photoshop, Netbeans (which normally uses 250MB RAM alone), jBoss Application Server (which takes about 300MB RAM alone) and the likes. So I am thinking about a Dell lappy. I know that it will not come with nVidia graphics, but now I am really concerned about the quality of Compaq.
Sorry for changing my plan guys. I am totally confused . I want to go for CQ50 but I don't know whether it will be able to handle the stress. Plz help me guys...

 

[ashu888ashu888]

Compaq CQ 50 is a good option..believe me...add a few more RAM to be on a safer side
If u buy dell, u May hv to compromise on gaming part..

I hope u hv been following my replies above..
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Cheers n e-peace...

 

[ankit_niitian]

Yes Ashu I have been following your posts. I really appreciate your help. I will do some more research on this. Also I am confused with the nVidia Go series graphics. Is it onboard or dedicated. I know about dedicated and onBoard graphics in desktops but I have no idea about it in laptops. So basically the on CQ50 is dedicated or not?? Plz someone help

 

[ashu888ashu888]

^^

well, it says that it is Integrated...and there is difference b/w dedicated adn integrated.. see this search link (wich i found out)... for more details..

*www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=does+integrated+gpu+means+dedicated+gpu?&btnG=Search&meta=

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Cheers n e-peace...

 

[ankit_niitian]

thanks Ashu for your immense help. I am really thankful to you. And raju the link you posted is also nice...

 

[j_h]

^^
i have seen several Compaq Lappies and i tell you that the build quality is very poor and the part s*x as well.
Dell and Toshiba would be my first prefrance followed by acer and lenovo.

You would prefer dell more than lenovo ? Lenovo(IBM) laptops are the most robust ones I have ever used.

 

[shri]

Bought Acer 4530.
Upgraded RAM to 2GB , 2 years extended warranty, with carrycase.
Total price: Rs 31000. (including taxes)

 

[ashu888ashu888]

ankit_niitian wrote:

thanks Ashu for your immense help. I am really thankful to you. And raju the link you posted is also nice...

well not a problem buddy, im always there to help..
but hv u decided on wich lappy to take after all this discussion ?? or still confused

Also, u an NIITian ?? doin ur courses at NIIT still or left ?? coz im also doin course from NIIT, Mumbai (plz no debate abt niit here guys.. )
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Cheers n e-peace...

 

[ankit_niitian]

Sorry to say Ashu but I am still confused. Actually I am going to do some intense work on my laptop. I hv completed my NIIT and I am now a web developer so I will do web development on my Laptop along with some designing on Photosop. The CQ50 I think has a processor in comparison with Pentium D (I may be wrong). But I want fast processing power. I am thinking about Dell 1525 which you pointed me out in the begginning. I may have to compromise on games for now, but surely I will put an nVidia into it as soon as I have enough cash. Plz don't tell me that I cannot upgrade the Graphics of Dell 1525 6 months after I buy it...

 

[shri]

Dell's website doesn't give an upgrade option on add-on graphics card.

 

[ashu888ashu888]

ankit_niitian wrote:

Sorry to say Ashu but I am still confused. Actually I am going to do some intense work on my laptop. I hv completed my NIIT and I am now a web developer so I will do web development on my Laptop along with some designing on Photosop. The CQ50 I think has a processor in comparison with Pentium D (I may be wrong). But I want fast processing power. I am thinking about Dell 1525 which you pointed me out in the begginning. I may have to compromise on games for now, but surely I will put an nVidia into it as soon as I have enough cash. Plz don't tell me that I cannot upgrade the Graphics of Dell 1525 6 months after I buy it...

Well, neither DELL nor any other brand of lappys are easy to upgrade (h/w parts) as u wud do easily on a Desktop PC.. so u'll hv to make ur choice now and now itself wether u want a lappy for gaming and work both or jus work..

yup, shri said the correct thing... too...
-------

i think ankit, u shud really go for the DELL XPS 1530 and NOT the (inspiron) 1525 please ....
Inspiron 1525 (Rs.38,900 to Rs.42,900): comes ONLY with Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (GMA X3100)
and even the customisation option has NO other option to change this card.

(and believe me dude, the Intel GMA X3100 really sucks bad ) infact the Compaq's CQ50 GPU is far better than this...
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Cheers n e-peace...

 

[ankit_niitian]

Today I went to the nearest Dell show room. They told me that I cannot upgrade the graphics card on 1525. Also the price of that laptop with Core 2 Duo and 2GB RAM was given on internet as 36k (without taxes) and he told me that it will cost me 41k after taxes . There was another variant with Pentium D 2Ghz and it costs 37k. He also showed me another model Dell Vostro 1400 with Core 2 Duo 1.8Ghz and 2GB RAM. It costs around 38k. I am confused here. Ashu u have suggested me to go for DELL XPS 1530 but that one costs 60k . I am all lost. I don't know where to go. I have made my mind and I can compromise on the gaming front now. If there is any laptop with Core2Duo and whose graphics card can be later upgraded and which costs under 40k, then please let me know. Thank you all and Ashu for you immense help and support. I am really greatfull to you all...

 

[ashu888ashu888]

Well, as i said previously tat upgradation of lappy h/w is really NOT possible (in many cases).. (i knw its a pain in the @$$ to read these lins, but this is the fact abt lappy upgradation)...

I can understand ur frustration and ur confusion tat u are goin thru (coz im also a student, recently completed my I.T Engineering adn even im planning to buy a lappy so this is the reason Y i was able to help u with so many valuable inputs and also treating this thread as my own thread too..)

Plz DO NOT go for the Vostro (as it has got really less processing power,w tih jus 1.8 Ghz and a poor RAM of 2 GB) it will make ur lappy move at a snail's pace wen u work with heavy Apps..(wich i knw u wud be working with)..


Also, u cannot go for a XPS as
1.) it costs a bomb at nearly 58K
2.) the lappy is old, of 8xxx series as compared to the lastest 9xxx series in HP's DV series

U cant even go for the Inspiron series of DELL coz:
1.) the gpu Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 $uck$ really bad bro, believe me...(even the onboard lower end nVIDA 7xxx series beats this gpu to death) so ur apps will really suffer (even if u hv good amount of RAM)
2.) there is no upgradation option in the gpu dept as well..
----

U shud buy a lappy wich has got a good RAM like say 4GB or ATLEAST (if not any less) 3GB RAM and a decent gpu...

So, if i were u, i wud hv gone with CQ50 with 4 GB RAM and gpu (as its this lappy wich has got a good option of price and gpu)..and wud hv jus prayed tat this lappy will run more than 1.5 years and i wud hv paid happily for tat 2 extra years of warranty for this lappy.. (as its better to hv extra 2 yrs of warranty than to spend 8K more for a DELL lappy wich has got no good gpu..)...
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Cheers n e-peace...

 

[ankit_niitian]

Thanks ashu again for your help. I found these two videos on youtube where they are playing crisis on 8200

*in.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Df6ST7L00&feature=related
*in.youtube.com/watch?v=Gir0Fk_PEvA&feature=related

I am really inclined back towards CQ50 now. I have dropped the idea for Vostro. Now I have two choices

Compaq CQ50 and Dell Inspiron 1525. Inspiron 1525 with 2Ghz Core2Duo is costing around 42k. There is another variant of 1525 with Pentium D 2.0Ghz and it costs 37k. The CQ50 costs around 32-33k. What I am really concerned about the CQ50 is the processor. It has an AMD Athlon 1.9Ghz. I know that CQ50 will handle games will. But is the processor enough to handle most of the tasks that I will give it. As far as I know, Athlon is at par with Pentium D. So basically if you compare Dell and Compaq from my eyes, then you will see this

Dell
Pros
Good Quality
Intel Core 2 Duo
Cons
Less gaming capacity
Costly

Compaq
Pros
Better Gaming Graphics
Cheap
Cons
AMD Athlon (this is a con only if it is equivalent to Pentium D)
Not Sure about quality

Also I am now concerned about this statement by you ashu

and wud hv jus prayed tat this lappy will run more than 1.5 years

What do you mean by that?? Can you please clarify a bit. I would be really thankful to you. Thanks again...

 

[shri]

I would say that acer and compaq have almost same build quality. I recently bought acer 4530 (same config as CQ50) and I have seen my cousin's compaq lappy. I would say 4530's quality is better than the compaq one (its a 37xx series i think).

Also acer 4530 with 2 GB is 31k
but compaq with 1 GB is 33k (extra costs 1.3k per GB)

I dont want to be seen as one pushing for the acer but give it a try once.

 

[ashu888ashu888]

and wud hv jus prayed tat this lappy will run more than 1.5 years

Well,
by tat i meant tat many ppl here were sayin "Compaq lappys DO NOT last more than a year, as after that they start giving problems" (wich i hv NOT seen/felt perosnally)..so was saying this based on other ppls sayings (in this same thread)..

but yes, its always better to get an extended 2 yr warranty so tat watever happens, u are damn sure tat ur lappy is under stable warranty..

Abt u being inclined towards CQ50 its a good option for u...

but a comparison b/w Pentium D and AMD Athlon64 X2 Dual Core Processor QL-60 (1.9 GHz) :

the Athlon 64 X2 outperforms the Pentium D in most areas. The high end Pentium D 950 seems to be about in the same playing field as the Athlon X2 4400+. The main benefit that the Pentium D possesses over the Athlon 64 X2 is its great overclocking potential, which can allow their processors to go up to speeds around 4.0GHz. It is still debated that an overclocked Athlon 64 X2 working at 2.6GHz can outperform the Pentium D performing at 4.0GHz

but yes, i too hv a lil doubt abt that 1.9 Ghz processing power of the CQ50, wat i can advice u is tat, u can increase the RAM to 4GB wich will NOT exactly bridge the gap b/w 1.9 Ghz adn ur porcessor hungry apps but still will be really good bet to hv the MAX amount of RAM...coz u already hv an edge using the improved nVIDIA gpu in teh CQ50...
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Cheers n e-peace....

 

[bounda]

Well I just registered on the forums JUST to reply to this topic that i saw while browsing reading about the CQ50.

Recently, I ordered a cq50 off the HP website, and because i live in the states i cant give a number in the currency you guys are saying, but for me it was about 430$ without tax.

Though I havn't received it yet, i believe the CQ50 will outperform the 1525.

You stated that the 1525's processor will be better for you, it really depends on the tasks you will be doing. Because of the way AMD's processors are, they are faster for things such as gaming. With intel, this is the same with things like video encoding.

Even though there is a difference, it isn't exactly a HUGE difference to where you should struggle to decide between the two.

The CQ50 has a better gpu, the 8200m is much better than the x3100 even though neither are amazing.

Also, I wouldn't worry about ram because 3 gigs is more than enough to run photoshop and all of the programs you are stating.

Personally, I'm going to dual boot myself windows xp for better performance, as I dislike vista.

I actually had to choose between the two also, and i decided to order the compaq because overall, I would rather have it built by hp than dell, and it had higher specs, for a cheaper price.

Also, I wouldn't worry about the amount of time it lasts, because if you are able to keep it clean, and treat it right, it should last you a while.

When i get mine in, I can tell you what i think about it and how good it actually runs Counter-Strike: Source which is mainly what i play.

I hope i was of some help, and will check up on this topic now and then.

Peace