Biggins

Guys,

I've had my current office PC set-up (266MhZ PII) for over 5 years now and I feel that an upgrade is well overdue. I am looking at getting an all singing & dancing laptop as the replacement, which will hopefully free up some desk space and also improve security by allowing me to take it home every night.
I also want to use the new Laptop at home for games, family internet use, DVD/CD burning and digi photo editing etc.

As a business tool I use my PC for running Sage A/C's & Payroll plus the usual MS Word/Works/Publisher and also Corel Draw/Photoshop.

What sort of spec. should I be looking for?

Also, someone has mentioned that I could operate wireless and connect to my printer/scanner & internet via bluetooth, is this possible?

Finally, will it damage a laptops battery if I run it off the mains during the day in the office?

Thanks for any advice.

milo

i have been looking at laptops too, so have done quite a bit of research recently and might be able to help.

essentially it depends on your budget and how portable you need the laptop to be (i.e. is it a desktop replacement that is rarely moved, or do u need to carry it around a lot and run off battery?) as to the spec u should get.

look for 512mb ram and a good graphics card if u want to play modern games no matter what. but processor type and screen spec largely depends on budget and portability requirements.

hybwrx2002

Daily running of Sage AC/Payroll MS word/works/excell etc will run smoothly on near enough any new laptop, there not very demanding. The only thing that will draw on the system a bit is Corel draw/photoshop, and thats mainly linked to the memory. However, you don't need to go and buy a laptop with 2 gig of ram just to run that for an hour of the day. 512 will be plenty.

You have to decide if you want power over portability.
'Desktop Replacement' laptops offer huge amounts of power, low battery time(1 hourish), big screens and all the ports you'd find on a desktop, but also come with a lot of weight. Lightweight, long life battery (4,5,6 hours) like Centrino laptops are a lot lighter, but still pack a punch when it comes to performance.I'd recommend getting a 1.5 Centrino, 512MB ram,Ati Radeon 9600/9700, DVD/CDRW, 40-60gb hard drive. 14/15" laptop. That spec will see you running things nice and quick, and also not putting hurting your back when you try and take it home. Look to pay around £1,000 for that.

If you find a laptop you like the look of, give me a PM. I can usually find it cheaper elsewhere

Just recently, someone wanted a Sony vaio for £1,427. I found it for 900

Biggins

Cheers guys,

I take your point about the weight & poor battery life of a laptop designed as a desktop replacement machine. However, I would be transporting it no more than 100M to the car at the end of the working day and 10M from the car to the house so don't see this as a problem. Also, with regard to the poor battery life, this is why I ask whether it's safe to plug into the mains and run like this for 8-10hrs at work?

Anyone got any ideas regarding this wireless business?

What are the new 17" screens like on laptops?

I'm starting to form a picture of what spec. i'm after and thank you for any advice.

hybwrx2002

It shoulnd't be a problem running your laptop with battery plugged in for the whole day. I do and don't have a problem. If you are worried you can always take it out.

Not sure what the 17" screens are like, only seen widescreen models, and don't really like them myself. Great for movies though. I tend to plug in an external monitor if i want a bigger screen. Most new laptops will have wireless built in. Only good if you have a wireless access point at work or home. Nice to have it in case you want to use wireless in the future though.

angrynorth

Think about a Mac too from reading what you require a nice PowerBook could be just what you are looking for.

www.demomac.com

milo

also remember that screen resolution means more than screen size. a better resolution will allow u to see more on screen.

no good paying for a 17in screen if u can only see the same about as if it were a 15in screen.