laptop advice

[craigw]

Hi chaps,

getting broadband next week so need to buy a laptop this weekend.

criteria:

wireless connection
biggish hard disk
fast processor

would be nice to also have:

bluetooth

primary usage:

- internet
- using as a media centre (wirelessly connecting to an xbox 360 which I will use as a front end applicator)
- general photo storage etc

dont want to go beserk pricewise if poss.

any suggestions ?

[bez_uk]

If your main uses are storage and internet... may I ask, Why a laptop?

Just that for an equal machine you will be paying probably double.

[randlemarcus]

craigw said:

Hi chaps,

getting broadband next week so need to buy a laptop this weekend.

Fair enough - presume you are getting wireless, so you can surf PH TV in the garden?

craigw said:

criteria:

wireless connection
biggish hard disk
fast processor

All easy enough, would suggest a 20 min walk down Tottenham Court Road, to choose a style.

craigw said:

would be nice to also have:

bluetooth

look for the sticker as a built in, rather than buying a dongle

craigw said:

primary usage:

- internet
- using as a media centre (wirelessly connecting to an xbox 360 which I will use as a front end applicator)

This is a PITA and can eat a serious desktop CPU with 1Gb of RAM. Be aware of this when expecting a laptop to cope easily. Look at a dedicated cupboard bound desktop for preference.

craigw said:

- general photo storage etc

dont want to go beserk pricewise if poss.

500 for a basic lappie, then we can talk about the desktop, and the multi-terabyte storage

craigw said:

any suggestions ?

Its all as easy as finding a supercar to go to Tescos
Seriously, hope this helps..
Marcus

[thepassenger]

randlemarcus said:

craigw said:

primary usage:

- internet
- using as a media centre (wirelessly connecting to an xbox 360 which I will use as a front end applicator)

This is a PITA and can eat a serious desktop CPU with 1Gb of RAM. Be aware of this when expecting a laptop to cope easily. Look at a dedicated cupboard bound desktop for preference.
dont want to go beserk pricewise if poss.

I have to agree with this. Laptops are very good playback devices, but I wouldn't want to use one as the actual media server. The HDD's tend to be on the slowish side (runs cool, uses less power) and going with external disk packs will probably mean using USB... more cables and plugs roaming around.

On the other hand, you can probably get a £500 laptop which will generaly meet the specs given here and then buy a £500 or less computer in to which you can throw drives and such to act as a cheapo media store.

[bez_uk]

I'll third that.... (coming from the guy with the crazy big power laptop and yes I have external HD for the extra space)