Team-BHP - The Laptop Thread: Configs, deals & questions

@ghpk:
Well, i meant the external DVD drives and not external Hard Disk Drives.

I have this cervical disc prolpase and carrying the regular laptop everyday is quite a pain and hence i am looking for a light weight less than 1.5 kgs.

Are there any good models and this is going to be official laptop and hence needs to be purely functional and can do away with bling bling.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ikoneer (Post 2072888)

What you need is an "Ultra Light" laptop. All of them come without an internal CD/DVD drive.

Most of the major brands have the ultra light in their range. I have using the IBM/Lenovo X series for the last six years (X40 followed by X61s). If you can manage with a smaller screen (<12") Sony has some really light laptops in the 1kg range. Be aware these laptops are not cheap and normally hover around a lac for a decent configuration. One advantage of these laptops is the battery life. 6 hours is the minimum and goes upto 10 hours with some models.

Links to some models
Lenovo - Laptop computers - ThinkPad X Series - X201

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&lang Id=-1&categoryId=16154&N=4294966502&Name=VAIO+Laptop s#/overviewTab

Business Laptops and Laptop Computers | Dell

Quote:

Originally Posted by ikoneer (Post 2072888)

Just a light laptop wont be sufficient. You need a really good laptop bag to distribute the weight evenly on both your shoulders and back. The best ones in the popular range are the Targus backpacks. I have used one for a long time now, over 3 years. They are quite rugged and at the same time very comfortable. You also need to make sure that the straps are the right length. Too long or too short, they will badly affect you. I too have a back problem and I use a Latitude D630 which is not light but with the targus back, it doesnt hurt at all even when carrying over a long duration.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aroy (Post 2073202)

Smaller Screens should be ok, at office i will might as well connect to a monitor
.
I checked the Sony models and the procurement team at office has recommended the following model:
Sony Vaio X117g model - Atom processor Z550 2GHZ processor, 2GB RAM, 128 GB Flash memory etc. Is this a good performance model? BTW, what does the Flash memory mean, is it a replacement to Hard Disk and are these reliable?

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorheadinc (Post 2074499)

I too have a back problem and I use a Latitude D630 which is not light but with the targus back, it doesnt hurt at all even when carrying over a long duration.

Nice Tip. will look into that as well. Any idea on the cost?

Hey guys..

My laptop has been behaving strangely lately so I thought I'd ask the gurus here. Whenever I disconnect the power cord, the battery reading drops from fully charged to 70% in a few seconds. Then it proceeds to discharge as usual. Effectively, I'm only getting 70% of my battery's capacity.

Is the battery starting to die out? Or is there a quick fix to this issue? Its only one year old and rather annoyingly, the battery warranty expired a month before this problem started.

Quote:

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez (Post 2075456)

Ha-ha-ha. This happens. My Thinkpad battery died (I mean died, no capacity at all!) in its 13th month. The new one is going strong for last two years.

Some batteries require periodic full discharge to determine their capacity. This happens when you use your laptop mostly with power adapter. In your case the battery capacity as determined by the controller in the battery might be acting up. Try this

- If you have battery reconditioning utility, run it. Thinkpad has it.
- Otherwise discharge you battery fully, recharge it fully. Then check

If the above works well and good, else your battery is on its way out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ikoneer (Post 2075298)

I checked the Sony models and the procurement team at office has recommended the following model:
Sony Vaio X117g model - Atom processor Z550 2GHZ processor, 2GB RAM, 128 GB Flash memory etc. Is this a good performance model? BTW, what does the Flash memory mean, is it a replacement to Hard Disk and are these reliable?

Atom processor is "light weight" processor good for browser based applications. Check this out Intel Pentium 4 Vs. Atom: A Battle Of The Generations : Can Atom Beat A Pentium 4?

Check if all your applications as well as games run in the Atom processor. Netbooks have this processors. Some games especially older ones are both processor and OS dependent and may crash.

Quote:

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez (Post 2075456)

This is a common problem i have observed on all HP laptops. I am not generalizing, but under my observation i have 7 HP laptops on which i have to keep a tab on for any hardware/software failure. All these laptops sooner or later had the problem of battery discharging/dying after 1 and half years.

My vostro 1500 after 3 yrs, 5 months is facing the same problem. Still it last for 25 mins before dying. So its not as bad as your case.

I am told by HP customer care representative to replace it with new battery.

I guess you can try some other battery and see if its happening with a new battery too, in that case the charging points in laptop are a goner.

Just my 2 cents.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sammyboy (Post 2081138)

Got another laptop after the Dell 15 R, this time a Sony Vaio E Series.
15.5 inch screen, i5 520 m 2.4 GHz with Turbo boost upto 2.93 GHz, WIn 7 Professional, 4GB RAM, 320 GB HD and a free licensed CD for Win XP professional that can be used with the laptop, if required.

Cost INR 44,400 :)

The exact model number please?
I am also looking at buying Vaio.

Quote:

Originally Posted by manim (Post 2081231)

The exact model number please?
I am also looking at buying Vaio.

VPCEB1AGG is the name of the model. Comes with 1 year international warranty as well.
The MRP is 52,490 but the dealer mentioned that they are Sony is upgrading this model so have discounts going on.
This was the last piece that he had and I couldnt resist the specs for the price (negotiated for the extra 1K though :D )

Ok, firstly a little background. I am an IBM Thinkpad user and currently am using a R51 (upgraded the RAM last year). The system is very rugged indeed, and after over 6 years of its ownership I feel the time to change is near. Although the machine is running quite well, I feel if I dont change now I'd be left far behind (considering I havent already been so...) :D.

Although my use is more on the desk during the day, however I would like now to buy a LIGHT and POWERFUL machine. As per documented specs, I'd love to own the Vaio Z however spending over 1 lac on a laptop is too daunting a thought. Hec I could buy a car in that price!!!

I'd love to have a sub 1.5KG machine, with built-in optical drive, good screen real estate (1600x900 should be ideal), a powerful processor, good graphic card (for the occassional gaming or the occasional graphics animation designer tuggings at my heart), and good disk space.

I know, i know... i am hinting at the Z. I also know that there isnt anything in comparison/equation to it. So does anyone know how the Z fares? Is it dependable? After being a happy Thinkpad user, owning the same Thinkpad machine for over 6 years without any glitch - can i safely pile up the same expectations from the Vaio Z136? Will it be as durable and everlasting? Also any advice on a dependable dealer to buy it from.

Although I'd love to have the Geforce 330m GT, is it better to compromise a little on power, weight and screen and take the Vaio S137 which has the Geforce 310m and save me self 45K? Damn...!