Question:
Please help me decide, which one out of these two?
General Questions
1) What is your budget? £1100
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in. England, UK
4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like? Sony, HP or Samsung are the brands I prefer.
5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook? Browsing the Internet, using Microsoft Office applications and editing photos would be the main uses.
6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk? Won't be taking it anywhere out of the house.
7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games? None apart from maybe the games that come with Windows like Solitaire.
8) How many hours of battery life do you need? Will probably just have the laptop plugged in the mains most of the time but anything above 2.5 hours would be good.
9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person? No
10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
Windows, I like the look of Vista.
Screen Specifics
11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen? Don't really mind.
12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Standard
a. XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.
Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen? Don't mind.
Build Quality and Design
14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you? Yes
15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last? Probably next week if I can decide on which one to go for. I'd like for it to last 2-3 years.
Notebook Components
16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 200GB? 100GB or above.
17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive? DVD-CD/RW
I've got it down to two laptops to choose from:
HP Pavilion Laptop, DV6299EA
or
Sony VGN-FZ11S
I was going to go for the HP but since the new Sony FZ series laptops are released soon, I thought I might wait since they are better specced but not sure if I actually need the better specs - 1.66GHz C2D/NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 256MB (128 dedicated, 128 shared) HP VS 1.80 GHz C2D/NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT (128 dedicated, 895 total available) SONY.
I would go for the HP now but I'm just worrying if the 1.66GHz C2D processor and NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 256MB (128 dedicated, 128 shared) graphics card are good enough to run Vista smoothly. I read that I probably won't be able to tell the difference between 1.66GHz and 1.80GHz but would 1.66GHz C2D really be fast enough for the smooth operation of Vista and the main tasks above? Also, will the graphics card in the HP be good enough for Vista features such as Aero?
Answer:
Re: Please help me decide, which one out of these two?
General Questions
I would go for the HP now but I'm just worrying if the 1.66GHz C2D processor and NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 256MB (128 dedicated, 128 shared) graphics card are good enough to run Vista smoothly. I read that I probably won't be able to tell the difference between 1.66GHz and 1.80GHz but would 1.66GHz C2D really be fast enough for the smooth operation of Vista and the main tasks above? Also, will the graphics card in the HP be good enough for Vista features such as Aero?
the processor should be fine, as well as the go 7400. just make sure you get at least 1gb of ram, more if you budget allows. vista is a ram hog
Answer:
Re: Please help me decide, which one out of these two?
If you don't game, the HP's specs are more than sufficient for your needs. The integrated video card that comes with the dv6299 works fine with Aero, you don't even need the go 7400 and you'll get better battery life without it. The CPU is also more than good enough for smooth Vista operation. Maybe if you let us know the prices of these two laptops, we can better tell you which one is the better deal.
Answer:
Re: Please help me decide, which one out of these two?
Hey guys, thanks for the fast responses.
the processor should be fine, as well as the go 7400. just make sure you get at least 1gb of ram, more if you budget allows. vista is a ram hog
The HP comes with 2048MB RAM, so I guess it should be alright.
If you don't game, the HP's specs are more than sufficient for your needs. The integrated video card that comes with the dv6299 works fine with Aero, you don't even need the go 7400 and you'll get better battery life without it. The CPU is also more than good enough for smooth Vista operation. Maybe if you let us know the prices of these two laptops, we can better tell you which one is the better deal.
The HP is £900, the Sony is £1100 but if the HP specs are more than enough, then I should just go for that?
Answer:
Re: Please help me decide, which one out of these two?
You mentioned Samsung as a brand you like.
Is there any reason for not considering the new Samsung R70? It seems to tick all the right boxes in your list. There is plenty of discussion about the R70 in .
John