Buying laptops in Udon.

Hi,
My laptop has gone to that big place in the sky. Was looking for a new one in Udon. One with the spec., i want, cost 16,000B, cheapest i could find, this is without gen. windows 7 pro. On checking with windows, a gen. windows 7 pro out here costs 6,000B, plus postage, for the CD. I have an account with Maplins they have a 15.4 inch laptop, a Lenovo 300 G530 laptop. I have never heard of this make, if someone has please let me know what it is like, it has a DVD rewrite and is loaded with Gen. windows 7 Pro. and costs 201GBP's. Has a good graphics card and a DVD rewrite. Plus all i want.
Thanking you for your advice.
Cheers Doug.

Lenovo is a good brand - they bought out the PC/laptop division of IBM.

The model you are considering gets good reviews (when it was released) - however, it is very much old technology re CPU, RAM (1GB) and graphics, plus has a small (160GB) hard drive.

It also has no HDMI, which will make it difficult to connect to a flat screen TV (if you were thinking of doing that).

Lenovo are the Chinese company that bought IBMs Personal Computing Division from IBM when they wanted out of manufacturing in 2005.
The X300 is, I believe, a model range that they brought out in 2008, when it had some rave reviews.
So maybe a bit 'long in the tooth' design wise (3 years is an age in the computer world) but probably well made & as reliable as anything - as they are all made in China these days anyway.
£201 seems a snip to be honest douglas. I am not long back from the UK & the laptop sellers were pitching there cheapest models at between the £250 & £300 mark..

Here of some independent reviews of the machine. Not exactly ringing endorsements, but the prices quoted are significantly higher than the quote you had...
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-G530.16195.0.html

The thing to check is how much memory you get with it...anything above 3GB is good for most things. Should not worry too much about the hard disk space, new 1TB disks in the complex are cheap enough..

Sorry jack, posted at the same time....
I, personally, wouldn't buy a lap top with just 1GB on it & would find the cost of adding 2GB from the complex..
As I said the small Hard Disk is not really an issue, unless you expect to carry it about a hell of a lot!!

Anything with less than 4 GB of RAM is obsolete. That was fine for the 32-bit era, but this is the 64-bit era. Microsoft will end support for 32-bit platforms soon. I think towards the end of 2012 if indications are accurate (I know of some widely used Microsoft 32-bit business apps which will not be supported beyond 2012). Here's an article from 2007:

Microsoft scraps 32-bit operating systems
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/113114/micr ... ng-systems

You'll see seemingly cheap prices galore on obsolete hardware manufactures are trying to dump in SE Asia (long history of that). Not always the best or frugal choice long-term if you end up having to replace it later because the specs are too low.

KD good info... so now I know to hold out until the end of 2012 to buy something.

rjj04 wrote:KD good info... so now I know to hold out until the end of 2012 to buy something.

You can buy a system on the market today. No need to wait it out. As a rule of thumb, most systems capable of installing more than 4 GB of RAM are capable of running 64-bit apps. Check the requirements of the primary apps you intend to run, and get a system with double that required RAM (because you have to allow for the operating system's requirements, too). The CPU, GPU, and HDD will likely be sufficient already unless you are doing high-end or graphic-intensive stuff (which does not seem to be the case here).

Jus my two satang.

Whoa up there KHONDAHM.
Microsoft have NOT given up on 32 bit windows applications just yet.
The article you refer to is concerning Microsoft Server applications & I doubt if the OP is interested in that.
Even the next popular use Windows software (currently referred to as Windows 8 ) will still comes in 32 bit as well as 64 bit versions.

3GB of RAM will remain perfectly adequate for most users for a long time yet.

To say that buying a computer today only if it supports 64 bit architecture as 32 bit is obsolete is rather like saying don't buy a new car that is driven by oil products, buy an electric car.
Yes, 32 bit is 'old technology' but it is a long way yet from being obsolete technology. As long as you are paying 'old technology' prices then it can still represent great value for money.

KD I should have been more specific. I meant that I will wait for the deals, because, as a Linux user I could care less about what MSFT does. In this case though, it would be a boon for me if manufacturers were dumping old stock because of a MSFT move. Now Bob has shot that hope down. Thanks Bob!!

Oh, and as far as RAM goes, Linux uses a lot less than Windows, and the performance is better as well
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=a ... 7_ws&num=1

sorry for the hijack

@BobHelm - Depends on one's interpretation of the "obsolete". Will a Model T ride on today's roads? Sure. Horse and buggy? Sure. Are they obsolete? They sure are to me. Maybe not to my neighbor, but I would still recommend a late model sedan over either.

@rjj04 - "Oh, and as far as RAM goes, Linux uses a lot less than Windows, and the performance is better as well". No argument there. Too bad MSFT has the lion's share of the market, though. Would be a better world if Linux was the global standard. Perhaps someday...chicken and egg sometimes...

KHONDAHM wrote:@BobHelm - Depends on one's interpretation of the "obsolete". Will a Model T ride on today's roads? Sure. Horse and buggy? Sure. Are they obsolete? They sure are to me. Maybe not to my neighbor, but I would still recommend a late model sedan over either.

But that is not the comparison that we are making here...
That would be me recommending someone buying a 386 or 486 chip machine.

In equivalent language you are saying that anything except a new hybrid engined car is obsolete.
I am saying that the sole oil based engine model just rolling off the production line is still well worth buying, at the right price.

Hi,
Thanks for that info. Tried to check the details and the children have been on this comp. This is why i want my own, on a quick search could not find it.
Going by memory it had more than 1GB of RAM, can't remember the exact figure, and 400GB of hard drive. I have an external H.D. so that would of been no problem. I will not be using it on the T.V. so thats no problem. The price i quoted is without the VAT, and the blurb said new model, brought out this year. Can't remember wither it is 32 or 64 Bit. Like a fool, only wrote down the details that are in my opening post. I've slapped my wrist.
When i get back from town will do a search again to try and find it, if all fails will try a, go back, to find it. If i find it i will post all the details, if not, will send a e-mail to Maplin's. Maplins said they had sold out but will be getting a further stock in three weeks time. Always found Maplin's very good, IMHO better quality than Radio Spares.
Thank you for your kind help, and time.
Cheers Doug.
KD brought up on Windows since before 1990, so it is to late for a old dog to learn new tricks. For me anyway, and the college i worked in, from 1988 to 2005 only taught Windows. Just looking at my old laptop, bought in Dec. 2004, it had a AMD 64 bit Mobile Athlon in it. Seem to still work but no picture on screen, Don't want to plug into kids monitor. And want to use it on the go, as i have an Air Card.

The 1GB of RAM is an issue douglas if you want to have Windows 7.
That is the minimum that Microsoft recommend for use with 32 bit Windows & not enough to run 64 bit.
In my experience Microsoft are always very conservative in their RAM requirements and would not attempt to run 7 on a computer just covering their minimums.

If you are going to e-mail Maplins then I would highly recommend that you ask them how much they will charge for an additional 2GB & 4GB of RAM & include one of those costs in your replacement plans.

If you do want to run 64 bit Windows 7 then I would really recommend that you go for at least the 4GB addition.

If you are happy with running Window 7 at 32 bit (& personally I have been for the last year, without issues) then the 2GB would be sufficient.

If you do plumb for the 4GB then Windows 7 64 bit is the option to go for as 32 bit would not recognise the 1GB over the 4GB that you had paid for...

Interesting—I have 10” notebook—which I only purchased overseas last year. I wanted to buy another notebook for my daughter who will be going to Uni next year. With the cheap price of large, wafer thin monitors to dock them at home + or plug them into the TV, the 10-14 hours of battery life when you are traveling and weighing 900+ grams for me it was a better choice than the clunky laptop.
However a year is a long time in the Tec world and when I went back to review the notebooks it seems that the latest in the market –not only disconnect their screens to let you walk around with an iPad/Camera –etc…but some, have now dumped the window system and are running on Andriod,--now that’s got me.

Does anyone own a computer running on the android system—I really would like to talk with them, rather then getting a sales pitch.

I know basics of Andriod, its faster--you don't need very much RAM ...etc —also from Wiki that it is now the fastest selling OP system for so many other appliances, but it was the first time I had seen it in a comp.

Oh I see they have just started a 7 storey Building which the sign says will be the largest computer Store(s) (Pantip Plaza type) in issan---didn’t say finish date..surprised they even put a sign up.

@douglas - Without knowing the apps you plan to run most of the time, I would go with a base model capable of 64-bit and 4 GB of RAM BUT is expandable to 6 or 8 GB at least. Most low-end brands are all comparable in performance, so after meeting those needs, I would shop by price, aesthetics, or other subordinate consideration. Warranty and being able to get it fixed where you buy it (and without having to also give them your HDD for - say - a monitor or motherboard repair) is also something I would consider.

Good luck and let us know what you get.