Sheather Posted May 14, 2011 (edited) Hullo, I'm thinking of getting a laptop for my birthday, it will be helpful for studies, and writing, and just a bit of everything in general, but I'm not sure what to get. I'd prefer something that was high-spec at a decent price. I've been looking at these, but they only ship inside the US! (with upgrade to 8Gb RAM being only major mod) Looking for suggestions on either an alternative laptop available within Australia, or a way to get it shipped out to me here. Preferably the latter... Looking forward to any input, if we have any tech-heads hereabouts... Edited May 14, 2011 by Sheather Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Psylo Posted May 14, 2011 (edited) Make sure you avoid the Windows 7 "Starter" OS, because there are many limitations. I bought a couple of netbooks last year with this installed, and am not happy that I need to pay for an upgrade. The limitations, officially from the MS website: What you DONT get in W7 Starter: * Aero Glass, meaning you can only use the Windows Basic or other opaque themes. It also means you do not get Taskbar Previews or Aero Peek. * Personalization features for changing desktop backgrounds, window colors, or sound schemes. * The ability to switch between users without having to log off. * 64 bit version * Multi-monitor support. * DVD playback. * Windows Media Center for watching recorded TV or other media. * Remote Media Streaming for streaming your music, videos, and recorded TV from your home computer. * Domain support for business customers. * XP Mode for those that want the ability to run older Windows XP programs on Windows 7. Edited May 14, 2011 by Psylo Dread Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sheather Posted May 15, 2011 Ewww. That sounds awful. Thanks for the advice there Psylo, the one I'm looking at has the choices of Win7 Home Premium, Win7 Professional, and Win7 Ultimate. If I can get this one to Aus then I don't need to worry about it, but I'll be looking at others so I'll keep an eye out for that sneaky crap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bush Turkey Posted May 15, 2011 i bought a hp pavillion.... should of got a mac Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C_T Posted May 15, 2011 (edited) the macbook air is unreal, best laptop ive ever had. make sure you get a ssd, it makes computing 100x better. Edited May 15, 2011 by C_T Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted May 15, 2011 get one without an OS. can you even get laptops without windoze i duno Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sheather Posted May 15, 2011 I don't know of any reason to get an Apple laptop. At the worst I can get a laptop with better specs for cheaper and install an Apple OS onto it. And I wouldn't even do that. If using non-windows I'd make it a Linux of some form. From my experience Apple is paying for the brand name, not the quality of the products. An SSD would be nice, but they're selling at $1-2 per Gb... for 60 bucks more, I can swap a 500Gb 7200rpm disc drive with a 64Gb SSD... Perhaps I should go with SSD and get an external for data storage? Kinda on a budget to some degree though, don't want to be throwing money all over the place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C_T Posted May 15, 2011 if your after a games system get a pc, if your after a laptop, get something small, light and long battery power. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C_T Posted May 15, 2011 get one without an OS. can you even get laptops without windoze i duno thats illegal, every system has to come with an os, thats how microsoft got so rich. everyone buy's pc's, HAS to come with a registed version of windows. money in the bank for mr gates. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted May 15, 2011 so you can't get laptops without, unless you build them yourself? i remember once dell started selling machines with a copy of DOS, in the USA, because they had a contract stating each machine had to come with a microsoft OS. you can easily buy the components for a PC and built it for yourself, in fact everyone should do it that way, savings to be had. laptops on the other hand.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
synchromesh Posted May 15, 2011 Yeah, and you don't even have to build it yourself if you've got an extra $50. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sheather Posted May 16, 2011 Yeah I'd get a PC for gaming, but I can't afford both, and this one is starting to sound like it's going to cark it. So it's pretty much just a laptop. I need a laptop more, for uni and such, and would like it to have the capability to play some games and be functional with Adobe products like Photoshop and Illustrator. So I have the choice of a crappier laptop that will work for note taking and not much else, or one with powerful parts that I can use for everything. For the batallion I'm looking at 1200 dollars, which is about the limit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bush Turkey Posted May 16, 2011 mac's just work! if it farks up apple will give you a brand new one. cant get viruses either, so can watch as much porn as you like Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mac Posted May 16, 2011 It depends on how much you want to spend look at the MSI GT680 if you can still get that model, or any of the MSI gaming laptops as they are all high spec machines using quality chassis & internal components your better off spending the big bucks on laptops unless you plan to upgrade every 18-24 months Other than the MSI,s as they have a high price tag i would look into a I7 leader laptop as they are aussie made & good quality & ASUS also use a good chassis & internals I wont go into the PC vs MAC debate but ill just say i wouldnt bother with a mac mac Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sheather Posted May 16, 2011 mac's just work! if it farks up apple will give you a brand new one. cant get viruses either, so can watch as much porn as you like If I wanted a Mac OS, I would get a cheaper, Asus or Dell, or somesuch, and install the Mac OS on it, giving it the lack of viruses, which I shouldn't need anyway, because I'd be using regular virus scans etc. They work, yes, and are slightly more reliable than other computers, at approximately 2x the price. Thanks Mac, will be looking at them over the next few days Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C_T Posted May 16, 2011 its not just about the os, its about the weight and build quality. If its for uni you will be carrying it with you everywhere you go. So battery life and weight should be the top of your list. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bush Turkey Posted May 16, 2011 yeah thats something i didnt look into. i got a hp pavillion i7 and it lasts about 45 mins tops! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
