Originally Posted by christzak

i'm not sure if this has been discussed already but i'm buying a laptop and was wondering if anyone has anything to say about windows vista. i hear it slows down your system.

Because of the new GUI (eye candy), vista does need more ram and processing speed to run smoothly. Computers with older hardware might experience a slower OS.
So far, vista has been running well for me. User Acount Control gets a tad annoying after a while, but with all the bugs in XP I can see why Microsoft got rid of the "administrator-by-default" platform.

Also, you may want to consider this:

Originally Posted by UTS

On January 30, 2007, Microsoft introduced the operating system "Windows Vista".... Until compatibility is assured, UTS does not recommend upgrading to this version of Windows

k so im going to get a DELL LAPTOP TOM..
wht should i be looking for?

Originally Posted by Chad

1) 2GB of ram/memory (though 1GB will suffice .. which is 1024MB)
2) Dual core processor
3) Don't go with any laptop using Celeron (they are slow)

Additionally, I'd suggest getting a 85 Whr (minimum) battery. In terms of hard drive space, it really depends. I think dell sells them at 80, 120 or 160 GB. 80GB should honeslty be enough for a University specific laptop, but you should go for 120GB especially if you have a large music library. Also, integrated graphics are sufficient if you won't be playing any games or doing intense media-editing =P

If you are getting a Dell, keep in mind that their shipping does take quite a while...especially now since they have a lot of people buying their laptops. I ordered and its coming early next week so in all it took around 2 weeks for shipping! Make sure you're ready to wait lol

one this my friends often forget is the notebook's weight. Keep that in mind when buying. Try lifting the machine, and see if you like the weight. No one would want to be carrying a heavy machine for years when they can get a light one thats easier on the shoulders.

Heat is another big issue. At the store, feel around the notebook for any hot spots. Nothings worse that having a notebook that gets really hot on your lap. Mine does after a little while, and gets to be uncomfortable. It also heats up under the touch pad, because thats where my processor is. Just another thing to look for.

As for specs, avoid any celeron or sempron processors. They are cheap, but you get what you pay for with them. Even average user will start to complain about a slow system with them in a few months.

On the vista note, I've been running it for 3 months now on my desktop. Its nice, but takes getting used to. It does require a more powerful system than xp, but so did xp when it replaced 2000. If you get vista pre-installed, I don't think you'll be disappoint with it. I wasn't, but UAC really is annoying. It gets better though, right now i'm only asked when installing things. If you get xp, thats good too, because there really isn't a need to go vista right now.

Good luck shopping, and try not to get suckered in by sales people. They like to spread alot of FUD.

I think XP is more stable than Vista, and would recommend formatting and putting back on XP. More programs are compatible with XP, and if you need help... UTS at Mac is better equiped to help people running XP than Vista.

But if you have a powerful new PC that runs Vista smoothly, then hey... give it a shot. Eventually Vista will become as stable as XP, it'll just take some time to work out the kinks.

so i bought a flamoingo pink laptop which came upto around $1500.00 with tax..
and windows vista is in it..
and i got the 17' inch screen
n e thoughts?
oh and whts the deal with VISTA vs. XP
i dun get it..is it bad?

A flamingo pink laptop eh. Can you tell us more about it? Brand, specs, where'd you get it?

Win XP vs. Vista... if your computer can run Vista quick and smooth, go for it. But not all laptops with vista are necessarily good with vista since it requires high processor/memory/yadda yadda yadda. I prefer XP. Stable, compatible. It comes down to preference and whether of not you can be bothered to switch

Originally Posted by Amara

so i bought a flamoingo pink laptop which came upto around $1500.00 with tax..
and windows vista is in it..
and i got the 17' inch screen
n e thoughts?
oh and whts the deal with VISTA vs. XP
i dun get it..is it bad?

Dell Inspiron 1720?

LOL yes..
the DELL inspiron 1720
loll
i hope it was worth it
cuz i soo dont know much about laptops and computers..
OO i got an alarm lock thingy with it
and a bag
and a all in one printer
omgsh so how do i get XP instaled into my laptop :O

u dont need to uninstall ure vista...i dont think tht vista is all that bad..ull be able to live wid it...if u remeber way back when xp was introduced...ppl were very hesitant about getting xp...citing the same reasons which they are about vista ...7 yrs down the road ppl are calling xp stable and realiable...im sure tht vista has a few probs here and there...but keep updating it regularly and eveything will be fine...its a new os...give microsoft some time

Get a Mac and you can have both. On my Macbook Windows runs better and faster than on my PC.

B

Get an Apple. On my Macbook Windows runs faster and better than on my PC. You can literally have the best of both worlds.

B

haha i already got a dell
so i gues im gona live with it

$1500 seems like a lot to me al of a suden:|
i cud get an HP and afree printer ..for less than that:O