Laptop Suggestion - for Wi-Fi - and in-Car Use

[Deactivated] on 04/01/2015 - 16:39
Last edited 04/01/2015 - 16:40

Hoping for suggestions for a laptop purchase.

Doesn't have to be new.
It will be used for a few hours each day in a vehicle.

Mostly will be used for:

  • WiFi Internet browsing.
  • Wired network/Internet browsing.
  • Watching DVDs.
  • Ripping occassional DVD to mp4/avi (not sure which yet).
  • Ripping lots of music CDs to mp3s.
  • Scanning photos.
  • Occasional graphic design/photo editing/photo slideshows.
  • Playing some MAME. Maybe.
  • Typing.

Needs to have:

  1. I assume I'd need minimum ~14" screen!? (As I'll be watching DVDs?)
  2. Heat might be a concern, if sitting on my lap and using in a car?
  3. CD/DVD burner.
  4. WiFi.
  5. Sensible battery life - and need to charge from car 12V DC.
  6. Cheap & easily found parts like chargers/batteries/DVD drive/whatever.
  7. 4GB RAM (I'm assuming again - see below for other uses).
  8. Separate HDD and SSD slot would be nice.

Note 1:

If it can't have separate HDD & SSD, then probably need a few external USB sockets. (Because if it's too hot to sit on my lap, I might sit it on the dash, etc. and use a wireless mouse & keyboard. Plus I might need an external HDD, if it only has only one slot taken by an SSD.)

Note 2:

Never used Linux before. Can I use Linux for all the above? In case I decide not to, what's the cheapest way to get a valid Windows?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Computing

Comments

  • PVA on 04/01/2015 - 16:42
    +1

    get a cheap toshiba or hp for around $3-400. will do all you want with ease.

  • [Deactivated] on 04/01/2015 - 16:46

    Thank you. Only trouble is when I start looking, I always have difficulty working out different specs between two devices. Especially when they don't quote i3, i5, etc. - but use that other processor type instead - as it means nothing to me.

    Any specific suggestions?

    • PVA on 04/01/2015 - 19:15

      I think people need to ignore specs a bit. Go to Dick Smith or JB and have a play with all of the ones you like. The sales staff will tell you only the expensive ones will do what you want but it is not true my 5 year old Toshiba can do every thing you want (not two slots for ssd hdd but you dont need that).

      make sure it has a dvd drive though as some models dont have them any more.

      this is cheap and seems fine http://www.dicksmith.com.au/laptops-notebooks/acer-aspire-15… or similar

  • Axelstrife on 04/01/2015 - 17:41
    +1

    What is MAME?

    • [Deactivated] on 04/01/2015 - 18:51
      +1

      M.A.M.E. = Multiple Aracade Machine Emulator - software that emulates coin operated video games - you then add a ROM that contains the game - and you're playing the original game.

  • scrimshaw on 04/01/2015 - 20:18
    +1

    Buy a Refurbished business grade laptop if you want repairability, and reliability.

    E.g
    Lenovo Thinkpad from the Lenovo Outlet
    Dell Latitude from the Dell Outlet

    Even try BudgetPC's refurbed notebook section
    http://budgetpc.com.au/refurbished-products/refurbished-note…

    Recommended specifications
    Core i3 (Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge is fine, but Haswell would give you better battery life)
    4GB RAM
    6 cell battery
    Supports MSATA port

    Another thing you want to consider is the quality of the touchpad. Play around with the display stock at a computer store and see if they are good — many budget notebooks have terrible touchpads that are infuriating to use.

    • mrmarkau67 on 05/01/2015 - 17:13

      In my view, this is the best advice on this thread.

      I like Dell Latitudes - they are tough, the trackpad is good and you can get a caddy that allows you to swap out the DVD for an extra hard drive.

      http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/with-ejector-2ND-HARD-DRIVE-caddy…

      • [Deactivated] on 07/01/2015 - 01:43

        There's a few different type of Dell laptops. Latitude, Inspirion, Vostro, etc. which type should I be looking at - or avoiding?

        • scrimshaw on 07/01/2015 - 02:06

          The Inspiron series are your typical mainstream laptops. Don't bother with these.

          Vostro is aimed at small businesses and this product line was discontinued 2 years ago in 2013, - it is available in select countries / markets.

          Latitude is what you're looking at if you want good hardware and build quality.

        • [Deactivated] on 07/01/2015 - 02:30

          I've got an old P3 Latitude actually. Dell can't supply a new BIOS battery for it, and battery world wanted about $60 to build me one. Otherwise I'd try reassembling that. I'd bought a new DVD drive and main battery for it, just before the BIOS battery died too.

  • resubaehtgnolhcs on 04/01/2015 - 20:54
    +1

    Just curious … are you planning on driving and using your laptop at the same time or will you be a passenger in a car?

    • Randxyz123 on 04/01/2015 - 22:45

      I was going to comment this….

    • [Deactivated] on 05/01/2015 - 10:31

      Sitting in vehicle. Parked. ;-)

  • Axelstrife on 04/01/2015 - 21:18

    http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HP-PAVILION-G6-2231TU-LAPTOP-Inte…

    my recommendation unless you need a dedicated GPU which it doesn't seem like you do.

    I have almost the same laptop just that mine is amd processor and has a dedicated GPU.
    It's really easy to pull apart and clean when needed and replacing the disk drive with The HDD and then installing ssd isnt very hard

    ive had mine which i bought used about two years ago and it's had no problems whatsoever.
    My brother has the same type but Intel I3 and his runs really cool even cooler then mine.

    • [Deactivated] on 07/01/2015 - 02:02

      Well, MAME can be quite intensive. But I'm not sure if a dedicated GPU would help that though?

      • scrimshaw on 07/01/2015 - 02:19

        Totally unnecessary.

        • [Deactivated] on 07/01/2015 - 02:26

          Why do you say that? Because I'm thinking first, it's because MAME is an emulator - so all video processing would done in the program code in the CPU - is that the reason? Second of course, I don't play any modern games that utilise (more) powerful GPU on dedicted video cards.

        • scrimshaw on 07/01/2015 - 02:30

          The GPU does close to nothing in MAME emulation, there is basically no GPU acceleration support in most of the MAME emulation software out there. The only thing the GPU is required to do is scale the graphics to high resolution display screens but this is something that integrated graphics can do without a sweat — Intel HD3000 / HD4000 GPU is enough.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/01/2015 - 02:06

    And sorry… Does an SSD just fit into a typical HDD socket, or would a laptop need a different type of socket? (If so, what's it called?)

    • scrimshaw on 07/01/2015 - 02:15

      SSD's are in every way identical in terms of shape, size and ports to an ordinary 2.5" drive.

      Their SATA and power ports are in the same location to a ordinary HDD

      And a guide on Youtube.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d2L32932XM&feature=player_d…

      They will vary in terms of height — 7mm and 9mm. Most SSD's nowadays are 7mm in height, but there are some SSD's that are 9mm. A 7mm SSD will fit in any laptop but a 9mm SSD will not fit in a laptop that uses 7mm drives.

      • [Deactivated] on 07/01/2015 - 02:27

        Great, thank you for that.

    • mrmarkau67 on 07/01/2015 - 09:13

      If you can find a laptop that also has an msata socket go for that. It means you can install a an extra SSD, but without sacrificing the existing hard drive. Best of both worlds.

      MSATA SSDs are tiny, but they perform just like full sized ones. The only reason why most SSDs are as big as spinning disk drives is so they can easily drop-in replace spinning drives - the actual memory and controller are tiny.

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