i've had a sony for the last couple of months, and i've had no problem with it

Originally Posted by **jewel 03**

I do multi task alot-as in word, music, internet/downloading at once, so as long as the speed can handle that without slowing down then I'm good.

After upgrading from 512MB to 1.5GB of RAM, and Windows 7, my 5.5 year old laptop can handle that without breaking a sweat. As expected, the only thing that trips it up is 1080 HD video - 720 is decent. Sounds like you really don't need much.


I love IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads, particularly the T-series when they go on sale for 35% off. "Ugly" as shit on the outside, but it'll have better build quality than anything mentioned in this thread and they have the _BEST_ keyboards in the business. Its whats on the inside that counts I want to buy a new one but my old Thinkpad R51 can't and won't die.

If not IBM/Lenovo, I would say Asus.

Originally Posted by **jewel 03**

Thanks! Just wondering is this the one you have?

I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop but its an older model since its 3+ years old. My sister and cousin have Satellites too. Its a good line I've found.

Mine specifically is the Satellite A200-AH5. The one I linked is newer, has a newer processor, longer battery life etc. Newer models will of course have higher specs.

Originally Posted by **jewel 03**

What is the difference between Intel Core, AMD Athlon II dual core, Intel Centrino, and AMD Phenom II triple-core? Which one is the best? The reason why I am asking is because I am looking for a new laptop and the things that are most important for me is-speed, battery, weight, and how hot it gets. Based on those criteria which laptop do you guys recommend?

Asus

/Topic

Originally Posted by **jewel 03**

What is the difference between Intel Core, AMD Athlon II dual core, Intel Centrino, and AMD Phenom II triple-core? Which one is the best? The reason why I am asking is because I am looking for a new laptop and the things that are most important for me is-speed, battery, weight, and how hot it gets. Based on those criteria which laptop do you guys recommend?

Intel Core (assuming Core2duo -> i7) :
Pros: Pretty much the fastest processors you can get for laptops.
Cons: Expensive and just okay with battery.
-> I believe 'centrino' is just the name given to any Intel processor not in a desktop and designed specifically for laptops.

AMD (Dual -> Triplecore):
Pros: Pretty fast and pretty cheap
Cons: Expect your battery to last about 3 hours at absolute max, and prepare for a hole to be burned in your lap.

Intel Celeron:
Pros: Good battery life and very inexpensive
Cons: Super crappy performance

Intel Atom:
Pros: Super-dooper cheap, and a bit faster or equivalent to a celeron, and great battery life
Cons: Still sub-par performance and pretty much exclusive to the netbook market

you guys have been a huge help, thanks so much!! I have now narrowed it down to three different laptops, with the Intel Core i3 processor. These are the three that I am looking at now:

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 3860efd0fen02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 346ac2f87en02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 13a9eb777en02

Which one would you guys recommend?

Originally Posted by **jewel 03**

you guys have been a huge help, thanks so much!! I have now narrowed it down to three different laptops, with the Intel Core i3 processor. These are the three that I am looking at now:

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 3860efd0fen02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 346ac2f87en02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 13a9eb777en02

Which one would you guys recommend?

Futureshop has a compare feature btw. You can click compare on a product and choose other products to compare it with so you can compare the specs for all 3 of these side by side on the site.

Here, I compared the 3 computers you selected for you. Personally I wouldn't touch an HP product but it does have a few different features that you might be interested in from the Toshiba's like an HDMI port. The $599 Toshiba is the least expensive model you selected and also has the a 5/5 consumer rating as opposed to 4/5 like the other two. Reading the actual customer reviews on the site can also help determine what people like/dislike about each model.

I looked at the reviews and the one with the 5/5 rating doesn't have any written reviews, perhaps no complaints or its a newer product, not sure. The other Toshiba has minimal reviews but generally good feedback. The HP laptop has a bunch of complaints/poor reviews despite the high overall rating so that may rule that one out. Seems the HP is poorly designed/constructed and has a shitty keyboard/mouse.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/com...u bclass%253d

Originally Posted by **jewel 03**

you guys have been a huge help, thanks so much!! I have now narrowed it down to three different laptops, with the Intel Core i3 processor. These are the three that I am looking at now:

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 3860efd0fen02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 346ac2f87en02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 13a9eb777en02

Which one would you guys recommend?

In all honesty, you can get by with a CULV Core 2 Duo, you'll get a solid 50% or more battery life and the difference in performance wont be noticeable unless you're planning to constantly create huge PSD files, encode AVI files, edit raw video, etc.

I recently picked up a netbook running a Dual Core 1.8GHz Atom for my GF (about equal in performance to a 1Ghz Core 2 Duo) and the performance multitasking, watching videos, MSN, iTunes, web browsing, and word processing is basically the same as my 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo laptop (which is basically a mid-level gaming laptop). The only difference between our laptops with about 95% of our use is that mine is big, heavy, and only lasts about 1.5 hours while hers is small light and lasts a solid 6 hours. I'd much rather have her laptop (especially since her's cost less than half of what mine did).

it seems u just want a "light" style computer that just suits ur school needs. If you dont game, go to tigerdirect.ca and search up some asus laptops(Imo best company out there). maybe say 50 bucks more than the hp or dell equivalent but worth it. Also, dont get anything more than a dual core. quadcores/i3 and up are just gona eat up ur battery and create more heat. I would also make a state of opinion, ignore this if you dont believe me. Dell/Hp have gone super cheap on parts and tend to break (hardware wise, as in poor quality) abit past the 1year warranty

@others wow im surprised none of the toshiba users had a meltdown on their laptops. 2007-2009 was the major overheat recall series

Originally Posted by Leeoku

@others wow im surprised none of the toshiba users had a meltdown on their laptops. 2007-2009 was the major overheat recall series

Hmmm, I didn't even know there were any recalls of Toshiba's in the period.

My laptop only ever gets warm to the touch, I can sit with it comfortably on my lap no matter how long I use it or what I'm doing.

Perhaps no one here had any of the models recalled.

ok so it sounds like I would be giving up alot of battery if I got an i3 quad core processor. The only reason why I thought I should get it is because the guy at future shop said for now the dual core procesor would be fast and fine, but in the future when you need more to run multiple programs it would get slower since it was almost 5 years old, whereas this quad core is the latest which would last more :S But based on what you guys are saying I started looking into some dual core laptops and found a couple.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... ee540b922en02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 60dc17bd4en02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 734bf61a9en02

Any opinions on these?

Originally Posted by **jewel 03**

ok so it sounds like I would be giving up alot of battery if I got an i3 quad core processor. The only reason why I thought I should get it is because the guy at future shop said for now the dual core procesor would be fast and fine, but in the future when you need more to run multiple programs it would get slower since it was almost 5 years old, whereas this quad core is the latest which would last more :S But based on what you guys are saying I started looking into some dual core laptops and found a couple.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... ee540b922en02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 60dc17bd4en02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 734bf61a9en02

Any opinions on these?

THe Bell Looks pretty nice for the price. Big HD as well as 4GB Ram, processor is decent aswell.

Also take a look at places such as CanadaComputers and Tiger Direct, they seem to have some very nice deals sometimes.

Take a look at this one --> http://www.canadacomputers.c om/pro...kc27ndaieq9nc5

Its an ACER, has an i5(Fairly new processor), 4GB Ram, 320 GB HD. You notice a difference from the i5 when compared to the Dual Core in speed
What Screen size are you looking for? something around 13-15 ?

Originally Posted by lawleypop

Running a program and watching 2 movies in a day makes your godly Macbook overheat?
Me thinks we need to reconsider what's godly.

I haven't turned off my Toshiba in 3 weeks and it's as cool as they day I first turned it on.

(but side note, Toshiba battery is mediocre in terms of life =[)

I love these post, My Macbook usually heats up right away aswell when i use garage band as well, its cause its a heavy program constantly recording and processing your recordings. If you were to run something like Sony Vegas for recording on your Toshiba, me thinks it would not be able to handle more than an hour before having to restart. Dont bash on something just cause you dont like it.

Originally Posted by **jewel 03**

ok so it sounds like I would be giving up alot of battery if I got an i3 quad core processor. The only reason why I thought I should get it is because the guy at future shop said for now the dual core procesor would be fast and fine, but in the future when you need more to run multiple programs it would get slower since it was almost 5 years old, whereas this quad core is the latest which would last more :S But based on what you guys are saying I started looking into some dual core laptops and found a couple.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... ee540b922en02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 60dc17bd4en02

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ... 734bf61a9en02

Any opinions on these?

Try These:

http://www.canadacomputers.c om/pro...em_id= 033430

http://www.canadacomputers.c om/pro...em_id =027783

http://www.canadacomputers.c om/pro...em_id =031506

Try one of those, Asus and Lenovo are basically the only PC vendors I trust other than Apple, and each of those is more than capable of handling HD video and basically anything else a normal Uni student would do while still being super portable and boasting 6+ hours of battery life.

If you dont like os x/ cant afford it i suggest you get this model and only this.
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...p romoid=1018
The SU7300 is a fantastic processor for the battery life it results in. I had this model before i got my i5 macbook pro and it was easily the best pc laptop i had ever used. Unless you intend on doing large amounts of video processing the Asus Ul30 is your best option.

this seems to suit ur quad core cravings

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio... 6017&CatId=17