Looking for new laptop but confused by jargan?!

liamcov

I´ve had my laptop for 3.5 yrs now and it has just got a virus so need to get it fixed, but i´ve been wanting to buy a new one anyway, because mine is very slow and the fan is always on really loud, all in all it´s verys sluggish.

I´ll list what it sais about my current laptop:

ADVENT
Mobile AMD Sempron 3000+
15.4" screen TFT (XGA 1280x800)
1024 MB DDR-RAM
ATI Radeon Xpress 200m
PCI Express graphics up to 128 MB shared memory
PC2001 compliant AC97 audio
40 GB HDD
DVD +/- RW
TV out, VGA Port
Line out (headphones)
Mic-in
10/100 Mbit LAN, WLAN 802.11 b/g
56k modem v.92

The only trouble is I have no idea what all this stuff means so i´m looking for a new one on the internet and things like memory/storage/operating system mean nothing to me??

I basically want something a lot faster than what I have. I´m a student so just want the basics such as microsoft office/word, internet, skype, itunes/downloading music once in a while, watching a couple of TV shows etc. Not interested in gaming etc but would like something small, maybe even a netbook if people thing they are any good as i´m back & forth to the UK and Spain so want something small as its easier to carry/take to uni/library etc.

If anyone could recommend me something or explain what I should be looking for that would be fantastic & remember not to use jargan etc!!

Marty_J

What's your budget?

Mac or PC?

If you look for something with a Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a decent size hard drive, it should perform a lot better than the model you have now.

I wouldn't recommend a netbook though if looking for increased performance.

liamcov

pc laptop between 300-400 pounds.

jbreckmckye

liamcov wrote: »

I´ve had my laptop for 3.5 yrs now and it has just got a virus so need to get it fixed, but i´ve been wanting to buy a new one anyway, because mine is very slow and the fan is always on really loud, all in all it´s verys sluggish.

I´ll list what it sais about my current laptop:

ADVENT
Mobile AMD Sempron 3000+
15.4" screen TFT (XGA 1280x800)
1024 MB DDR-RAM
ATI Radeon Xpress 200m
PCI Express graphics up to 128 MB shared memory
PC2001 compliant AC97 audio
40 GB HDD
DVD +/- RW
TV out, VGA Port
Line out (headphones)
Mic-in
10/100 Mbit LAN, WLAN 802.11 b/g
56k modem v.92

The only trouble is I have no idea what all this stuff means so i´m looking for a new one on the internet and things like memory/storage/operating system mean nothing to me??

I basically want something a lot faster than what I have. I´m a student so just want the basics such as microsoft office/word, internet, skype, itunes/downloading music once in a while, watching a couple of TV shows etc. Not interested in gaming etc but would like something small, maybe even a netbook if people thing they are any good as i´m back & forth to the UK and Spain so want something small as its easier to carry/take to uni/library etc.

If anyone could recommend me something or explain what I should be looking for that would be fantastic & remember not to use jargan etc!!

I'm not sure what's wrong with your current system. This should run XP fairly quickly, Linux even faster. It may simply be that you need to do a fresh reinstall of the Operating System, and maybe switch to a security system that demands fewer resources.

If you're still not satisfied, make the switch that MartyJ suggests.

Marty_J

liamcov wrote: »

pc laptop between 300-400 pounds.

Well you should have no problems finding something that has the above specs.

Have a look on Dell's website at their Inspiron 15 models. Any one of them should out-perform your current laptop.

Donnie

This Acer Ferrari Windows 7 11.6in for £308 will probably be sold out before you get the chance to click on it. If you wait maybe another may come up.

Unless you really need extended battery life, don't bother with a Netbook, you lose too much in the way of performance. Get a decent backpack for your laptop.

This Acer Aspire 5542 with Windows 7 is cheap at £295.

As is this Asus X5DIJ for £310

jarinek27

Bear in mind that you will need to purchase Microsoft Office separately, unless you decide to go for something like OpenOffice.

liamcov

I already have a CD with office on so thats no problem. How much difference will I notice between my current 1gb v 3 gb if for instance i have internet open with 10 pages etc?

Donnie

liamcov wrote: »

I already have a CD with office on so thats no problem. How much difference will I notice between my current 1gb v 3 gb if for instance i have internet open with 10 pages etc?

There are other factors involved other than RAM. There is also your processor, graphics card and even the specification of your Hard Drive.

computershack

Why not just fix your laptop? The fan is really loud because its trying to cool the CPU which is running hot. The CPU is running slow because its overheating and is in "limp home" mode. The whole cause of all of this is a thick wad of fluff in between the fan and the heatsink meaning the temp sensor is telling the motherboard the CPU is running hot, it whacks the fan on full speed but because the air can't get to heatsink, it doesn't cool. This isn't something you can do yourself but a shop should only charge you an hours labour. Most laptops I get in to refurbish which are over 18-24 months old and been used at home have a partially or fully clogged up heatsink. It needs stripping down to do - blowing compressed air through it doesn't clear it.

You could get them to upgrade the memory to 2GB whilst they're at it but if you're running Windows XP, there's really no point.

Sort that and reinstall Windows and you're done.

A netbook is going to be far slower than your laptop.