Which laptop is right for us?

melt71

Hi everyone, don't usually venture onto this board but recently I've posted a problem with my laptop. Since then, we've had various other issues with it and I am worried that it is about to pack up.

We are just in the process of setting up a new business which will involve designing a magazine and therefore we CANNOT be without a decent computer.

THerefore, I wondered if anyone could advise on the best laptop for us within an £750 budget?

We need a 17" screen if possible. We also need a decent size memory as we will need to design & store each (monthly) magazine plus a database of customer and other company info. I'm also a photographer so I need storage space for my photos. We don't use the computer for games as my partner has an xbox so it's just for internet, MS Office, photo editing programmes and a design programme such as MS Publisher or Quark.

Does anybody have any recommendations?

Thanks very much,

Mel

dps_2

melt71 wrote: »

We are just in the process of setting up a new business which will involve designing a magazine and therefore we CANNOT be without a decent computer.

I wouldnt plump for a laptop myself I would go for a desktop easier to upgrade but if its portabillity rather than fashion accessory then get a laptop, for designing I would consider a Mac as they are quite the norm to use because of how the software loads etc etc, anyway if you wanted to you could go for a windows based PC XP or Vista personally I like XP over Vista and I have both, Minimum RAM would be 1gig and storage of 120gig at least also consider an external storage device (external HDD) for backup also make sure a good processor is also at the top of your list and a good graphics card, also I would tend to use a CRT monitor over TFT as they can be sharper.

Nikolai

Just to reinforce what dps said - you must have a proper backup setup as your business will depend on it!

Jzpop

Before you start looking for a new laptop, get an external hard drive and decent backup software (I prefer Acronis), and make two backups of your data.

Then look at the Dell packages - as it is for critical business use, remember to factor in the cost of next-day onsite repairs, which will make quite a dent in your £750 budget.

Jona323

I have just bought one of these:D

https://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=126831&_LOC=UK

The screen is fantastic, really clear images, the memory is 100gb but about 20gb is already used by vista operating system, suggest you may want to purchase a seperate external hard driive, but you can pick up a 500gb one for about £70.

This is a great laptop for the money, especially wih the 17inch screen

Cheers

Jona

melt71

Hi thanks for your replies.

I already have 2 back up processes both on CD and one of those memory stick thingys We had a very bad virus about 3 years ago and the computer had to be completely wiped so I learnt my lesson then :eek:

We would prefer a laptop for convenience really, we don't have an area big enough for a large monitor, sep keyboard and sep tower so I think a laptop is the only way to go.

Is it worth trying to wipe the computer again and start from scratch, just loading the stuff we want back onto the system? If so, we may try that. Do we just put the Sony viao disk into the computer or is there some other little trick that we can do to get the computer to go back to the beginning. The reason I ask is that there are lots of niggley problems with it which I'm sure would be sorted if we could wipe it clean. If you see what I mean

Millionaire

melt71 wrote: »

Hi thanks for your replies.

I already have 2 back up processes both on CD and one of those memory stick thingys We had a very bad virus about 3 years ago and the computer had to be completely wiped so I learnt my lesson then :eek:

We would prefer a laptop for convenience really, we don't have an area big enough for a large monitor, sep keyboard and sep tower so I think a laptop is the only way to go.

Is it worth trying to wipe the computer again and start from scratch, just loading the stuff we want back onto the system? If so, we may try that. Do we just put the Sony viao disk into the computer or is there some other little trick that we can do to get the computer to go back to the beginning. The reason I ask is that there are lots of niggley problems with it which I'm sure would be sorted if we could wipe it clean. If you see what I mean

It all depends whats wrong with the Laptop. If you post all the symptoms on here im sure someone will be able to advise whether its a hardware problem or software problem.

Regarding Reinstallation the you can out the Vaio cds in and it will reinstall to factory settings. just make sure you back everthing up that you have on it or have added as it will delete it.

Jzpop

If you are sure you have backed up all of your data (and know all your passwords etc), you have a messed-up PC and are not very techie, then often the quickest and most effective fix is to do a factory-restore (the PC will roll back to the same state as the day it was delivered).

Most Vaios have a factory-restore CD supplied. Either check the Sony site for an online manual, or post the exact model here for step-by-step instructions.