Buying a Laptop: Part of an Email Thread I A Having With M..

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I am trying to decide upon a laptop. My wife wrote to me and apparently
said a laptop would be obtained for me, although I am not sure that the
people/organization acquiring this laptop have my preferences in mind.
My wife reported to me that the laptop they were planning on obtaining
had the following characteristics. I have translated the quoted text in
brackets into English (as well as I can).

Now the question is: is what they are planning to get for me what I
want, or is it or any part of it, already obsolete?

I want this laptop mainly to do work (I am a scientist). I don't want
it as a portable cinema or game-playing device (these are secondary to
it). I also don't want a laptop that needs to be recharged after only 2
hours of portable use. It's not unreasonable to demand a full day's (8
hour) portable use these days, is it? (I don't know what the power draw
is on a laptop---150 W??----or else I could reasonably estimate the time
I get on it).

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> 1- Notebook ekrani en az 15,4" WUXGA TFT display olmali ve 1920*1200
> ‡”z?n?rl? ? saglamalidir. [It should have a notebook screen display of
> at least 15.4 inches WUXGA TFT and a 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution.]

1920 x 1200 pixel resolution is too small for a 15.4-inch screen. I
don't really require that resolution anyway. The pixel resolution of a
computer is more of a function of its video RAM anyway. However, a
larger screen area requires a higher pixel resolution. A 15-inch XGA
TFT screen is probably standard these days.

> 2- Notebook anakarti Intel 855 MP ChipSetli olmalidir. [The notebook
> motherboard should have the Intel 855 MP chipset.]

I need to investigate this more. Motherboards are distinct for
notebooks compared to desktops. I am more familiar with desktops. I
have no idea what an Intel 855 MP provides unless it is optimized for
laptop as opposed to desktop use.

> 3- Notebook üzerinde Intel Pentium Centrino islemci bulunmalidir. [The
> notebook will contain an Intel Pentium Centrino processor.]

I usually prefer the AMD chips to Intel's chips. Just to keep the
microprocessor industry competitive. In the past, AMD's chips have
outpaced Intel's with respect to performance. Of course, these two
companies rely upon software programmers and compiler writers to make
use of their instruction set extensions (reduced instruction sets). I
say that because it's not strictly a matter of looking at processor
clock speeds to know what is the better processor. Some chips have
been optimized and designed by Intel and AMD to run for portables, and
because I am buying my first portable, I need to investigate this.

> 4- Ölemcinin hizli en az 1700 MHz olmalidir. [The measured clock
> speed should be 1700 MHz]

Speed is always nice. But as I said above, no one one should be misled
in thinking that a processor with a higher clock speed is better than
one with a slower clock speed. The one with the lower clock speed may
offer processor features which combine multiple routine processing steps
into single instructions that reduce the number of clock cycles (the
reduced instruction set), and so achieve better performance despite
working on a slower clock.

I do not know what they are putting in laptops nowadays. I think
motherboards for desktops are coming with 2.4-2.8 GHz clock speeds now,
and I don't know if laptops are that far behind.

If one pays 40% more to get only 30% more speed/performance, that's
clearly a losing proposition. I need to crunch the numbers.

> 5- Notebook uzerinde en az 512 MB DDR Ram bulunmali ve 2 GB'a kadar
> ‡ kabilmelidir.

Yes, a 512 MB memory is required, especially if it is running Windows
XP versions (Home/Business). Windows is not good about memory use.
Expandability to 2 GB is good. I might even want a 1 GB memory at the
start.

> 6- Notebook uzerinde en az 60 GB EIDE/ATA-100 Hard Disk surucu
> olmalidir. [The notebook should have at least a 60 GB EIDE/ATA-100
> hard drive]

60 GB is about average, I guess, from what I am seeing offered in the
newspapers here [in the US]. Lower priced units feature 40 GB. I am
thinking that many units may now be offering 80-120 GB however. I will
investigate.

> 7- Notebook uzerinde DVD/CD-RW Combo surucu unitesi olmalidir. [The
> notebook should have a DVD/CR-RW combination drive unit.]

DVD is not important unless you want your laptop to be a movie player
(I am not interested in that). A CD burner is mandatory. Nowadays,
manufacturers are just going with the DVD/CD combination. I don't know
if the DVD is also a burner. I would trade having a DVD ROM with a fast
burning and reading CD unit.

> 8- Ekran karti en az 64 MB olmali ve NVIDIA GeForce 4 Chip Setli
> olmalidir. [The video card should have a 64 MB video RAM with an
> NVIDIA GeForce 4 chipset.]

This is a decent video subsystem, even for game playing, if memory
serves. I don't plan on any game playing, as you know me.

> 9- Notebook da entegre 56K Modem ve 10/100/100 NIC ethernet karti
> olmalidir. [The notebook should have an integrated 56K modem and
> ethernet/fast ethernet/gigabit ethernet network card.]

The modem is necessary for Turkey. I don't think the university is very
well wired for ethernet, so who knows when the network card will ever be
useful.

> 10- Notebook da entegre Bluetooth ve S 802. 11 b Intel Pro 2100
> Wireless kart bulunmalidir. [The notebook should also have integrated
> Bluetooth and 802.11b Intel Pro 2100 wireless card and capability.]

I doubt that will have much use unless the university plans on having
wireless capability within the next 5 or 10 years (by which time, the
laptop will probably be obsolete anyway). If I have a cell phone, I
will only be able to make use of the 56K modem anyway.

> 11- Entegre Ses karti ve Hoparlör bulunmalidir. [An integrated sound
> car and speakers will be part of the unit.]

I would like to know in detail what the sound card is, and the
speakers. There is no detail here. There is VERY MUCH variability on
how good the sound and speaker system is. I am not sure what I can do
to enhance a laptop's sound and speaker system anyway, but in many
cases, these have been found greatly wanting.

> 12- 6 Cell 48WHr Smart Lithium Ion batarya olmalidir. [There should
> be a 6-cell 48 watt-hour smart lithium ion battery.]

The great weakness in portables is their battery running time. I will
investigate this more. A lot depends upon the power draw of the
notebook in full-power and in sleep mode.

> 13- Notebook ?zerinde en az: 1x RS232C, 1x Paralel,1x Docking
> Konnektör, 1x 15 pin VGA, 1x S-Video, IrDA , 2x USB2.0, 1x PCMCIA , 1x
> FireWire, RJ-11, RJ-45, mikrofon ve hoparlör giri /‡ k lar
> olmalidir. [Notebook must at least have: one RS232C port, one
> parallel, one docking connector, one 15-pin external video, one
> S-video, one IrDa, two USB 2.0 standard ports, one PCMCIA slot, one
> FireWire, one RJ-11 connector, one RJ-45 connector, microphone and
> speakers.

RS232C is 9-pin serial (not really sure how useful that is anymore). 1
printer port, of course. 1 external video monitor (15-pin) a must,
especially to connect to projectors. S-video also good for projectors
or television connections. IrDA: Infrared...probably good for
something, but I forget what. Two USB ports are most important of
course. I want to know the PCMCIA standard (thick or thin??).
FireWire...probably will be important. Telephone (RJ-11) for modem, if
the modem is embedded/integrated (this is a must of course). RJ-45 is
for the integrated network card.

What is this Docking Connector??? To a desktop adaptor???

> 14- Klavye tak m Q dizininde Türkce karakterlerden olu malidir. [Must
> have a Turkish Q series keyboard set.]

I prefer the U.S. standard keyboard. NOT a Turkish Q keyboard, even
though I have memorized the layout.

> 15- Isletim sistemi Windows XP Home Edition olmalidir. {should have
> Windows XP Home operating system].

Yes, unfortunately I am dependent on WinXP. Hope to install a Linux
partition anyway, and eventually get rid of XP.

> 16- Cihaz a rl 3.2 Kg gecmemelidir. [Should not exceed 7 pounds in
> weight]

One does not appreciate light weights until one has been lugging around
20 lb of gear all day long.

> 17- Notebookla beraber ta ma cantas da verilmelidir. [The notebook
> should come with a carrying case or bag.]

Of course, all notebooks (should) have a carrying bag.

> 18- Sanayi Bakanlindan onayli az 2 yil garantili olmalidir. [It should
> have a 2-year warranty.]

I really don't know what standard warranty periods are these days. 2
years seems a bit long, unless manufacturers have been having a problem
with reliability these days. Fine print definitely must be read also:
a lot of these warranties require you mail the notebook to the
manufacturer directly rather than deal with the product seller (place of
purchase). And I am sure that the manufacturer makes the consumer pick
up shipping charges both directions, which makes a warranty a farce,
since those charges would not have occurred if the product were reliable
to begin with.




--

Bush supporters beware: ignorance is its own reinforcement.