[Archived] Laptops

[Eddie]

When it comes to RAM it will depend on the laptop. I have two, one of which I would feel like I could change, but the HP I'm on at the moment, which I have seen opened up and everything when it has been repaired, I would never open up myself, even for what seems like the easiest of tasks.

[Iceman]

Eddie, all this information you are giving is very misleading.

The RAM is very easy to upgrade, it's actually easier than upgrading than a desktop. On the reverse of your laptop you'll see a couple of small panels that you'll be able to take screws out of and lift off. Inside one of those panels will be sticks of RAM, you just simply take those out and put the upgrade in. It doesn't even invalidate your warranty or anything. I did it to my girlfriend's laptop in less than 5 minutes and that was the first thing I'd ever done to a laptop, I found it much easier than upgrading my own computer.

. The only thing you can get wrong really is buying incompatible RAM, but if you use Crucial's memory scanner then you can't really go wrong.

The hard drive is more difficult but still very do-able, but if you're not entirely confident at getting to the insides of your laptop then you should probably just get an external drive, because it does carry more risk of things going wrong. There will be some YouTube videos of this lying around too, have a look at them and see if you feel confident enough to do it.

Thanx LeChuck,that’s very reassuring to know that it is easy to upgrade the Ram…however I don’t intend doing it,as I will take it to a PC Specialist.

[LeChuck]

Thanx LeChuck,that’s very reassuring to know that it is easy to upgrade the Ram…however I don’t intend doing it,as I will take it to a PC Specialist.

Unless you have money to burn, I really wouldn't suggest doing that, you'd be throwing your money away. It doesn't require a PC specialist to do it, it doesn't require a specialist of any kind to be honest. It really is as easy as taking out four screws, unclipping the current RAM, and putting the new one in it's place...just like you would change a watch battery/change a plug fuse etc. If you want, I'll find the RAM online for you if you post the results of the Crucial Memory Scan, in case you're worried about purchasing the wrong type.

Don't let Eddie put you off, it's incredibly simple.

[Iceman]

Lechuck,is there anyway to find something to help increase my battery life.im having terrible battery life,

[LeChuck]

I don't think so, I don't own a laptop though so I'm not really sure. A replacement battery might be the only solution.

[Paul]

Lechuck,is there anyway to find something to help increase my battery life.im having terrible battery life,

What do you mean by terrible and I take it you mean the time before the battery is drained rather than the actual "life" of the battery? I'm using an HP Compaq 6710b at the moment and get about 5.5 hours life depending on what I'm asking it to do. I also have other laptops with what I think is good battery life - the Asus Eee has 2.5 to 3 hours on it's standard battery and about 4.5 hours on the extended battery we bought. Our HP Compaq 74000 has 3.5 to 4 hours life but is running an awful lot of software compared to the the 6710b. These are all pretty standard laptops and I think 3-4 hours or more is good for running what is actually very high tech equipment.

I'm no expert but I'd suggest this; always make sure Bluetooth and Wireless are turned off unless you are using them. These two functions will constantly "hunt" for connections eating up power. Keep to a minimum any software which is running in the background, for example turn off anti-virus programmes if the laptop is isolated from the web and / or a network. If you're doing a load of e-mail or posting on a forum like this, prepare everything offline and then post / send e-mail at the end. Also avoid half charging the battery. Modern batteries are "intelligent" and "learn" how much charge is required to bring them to capacity. If you repeatedly recharge the battery when it has only used say 50% of its power it will "learn" to only charge for that period. If you drain the battery before charging it will "learn" to charge for twice the period and have a greater capacity. If the battery becomes used to charging from 50% it will learn only to charge for that length of time even if the battery is 100% drained. I have a Nokia 6310i phone which I've abused for years with charging, it now only has 24 hours battery time, originally it was 7-8 days.

Extended batteries are available for laptops and typically seem to come close to doubling the battery time, in my limited experience. Be aware an extended battery which doubles battery time will usually just be twice as big and project from the bottom and rear of your laptop. It doesn't bother me but it might worry some folk.

[Bazzanotsogreat]

Im thinking of purchasing a new Laptop; as I like to change every two years or so. I currently have a HP with a Turion 64 x2 processor ( 1.79ghz), 120GB hard-drive, 2 GB DDR Ram (2700) and an average Radeon graphics card.

I would like something with around the same amount of storage space, but performs all functions quicker and has a better on-board graphics card. Its main uses are Gaming, Internet and running some statistical programmes for work (so it must be windows). I would like to spend between £500-£700.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Bazzanotsogreat]

Im thinking of purchasing a new Laptop; as I like to change every two years or so. I currently have a HP with a Turion 64 x2 processor ( 1.79ghz), 120GB hard-drive, 2 GB DDR Ram (2700) and an average Radeon graphics card.

I would like something with around the same amount of storage space, but performs all functions quicker and has a better on-board graphics card. Its main uses are Gaming, Internet and running some statistical programmes for work (so it must be windows). I would like to spend between £500-£700.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Anyone?

[Alan75]

Anyone?

Try

HERE

AND HERE

OR HERE

[LeChuck]

Alan, you can't just link to older threads because those deals will either not exist anymore, or they will be extremely poor value for money now because of the pace technology advances at.

Bazza, there seems to be very few good deals around at the moment, it usually happens around this time of year for some reason. There only excellent deals at the moment seem to be on the budget range (£200-£400) but they probably won't be much of an improvement on what you have already. Personally I'd stick with the one you have now for the time being (assuming there's nothing wrong with it) and wait for some good deals to appear.

[Flopsy]

Bazza, Curry's had a really good one (Vista 2gb ram, 120gb harddrive, 19" screen) I've had no issues with it, think its the dogs danglies

[LeChuck]

What processor and graphics is in that flopsy? Those are the two most important parts because they're a] the most expensive bits, and b] by far the hardest to upgrade.

[brian_gallagher85]

Right I've had my Toshiba for 2 years and I just don't think 128MB and 40GB is enough nowadays

Been looking around and don't want to break the bank, but also don't want to buy one that'll be outdated completely the second I turn it on. I've had a look around and have heard pretty positive reports about Acers in the past, so I've found this on PCWorld and for £450 it seems like a pretty good deal especially with the stronger euro now and all

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/353589

Thanks, any input would be greatly welcomed

Brian

[Ninja Boi]

Some laptops come with graphics cards that cant handle all games. I made this mistake when buying mine. You need to make sure its got a good games graphics card.

[Billy Castell]

It is that time again-I need more ruddy advice.

My HP laptop has broken and there is no chance of it being repaired, so I'm going to have to get a new one after 3 or 4 years of my laptop. What are the odds of getting a half decent laptop in the next few months?

My criteria are:

1. Costs £400 or so maximum

2. Has to handle FM 2008, Rome Total War etc. without taking 5 days to do anything.

3. Should play DVDs to any standard.

4. Should be able to load up and get going without taking ages.

It sounds a lot to ask, but I am used to a HP Pavillion 6000 or something from about 2004 0r 2005, so it would not take much to improve on that.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

I was about to post a very, very similar topic. As in, practically identical. Need one for uni next year. Same criteria.

So I'll just latch onto this thread and have a look at any suggestions you get.

[Presty On Tour]

check here

[Harry Balls]

I'm also looking for something very similar! Had a quick look around, and these 2 really caught my eye

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/557073#close

http://www.johnlewis.com/230512451/Product.aspx

Spec is almost identical on both, but the Toshiba has a bigger hard drive. Even though the Toshiba is slightly more expensive (£489) than the Dell (£399) I'm probably going to go for the Toshiba, especially since John Lewis give a 2 year guarantee on all of their laptops as standard.

Hope this helps, and let us know if you find anything else in this sort of price range...

[Billy Castell]

Deals might be even better by the time I get the money together thanks to the credit crunch. Glad that my speculation has helped other people too. I may be revisiting this thread sometime.

[roversmum]

I have a Toshiba which is about three years old now, would highly recommend them. I do like the look of that John Lewis one.