I need a new laptop.

[Mao]

if you are going to play games on that laptop, then I'd recommend the Dell XPS M1530 [$1800]

if not, I recommend the Inspiron 13 [$1400, more expensive, worse specs but smaller and lighter] or Studio 15 [$1300, better specs but 15"]

[champorado]

too lazy to type it out. :p

you can also try this.
http://www.benq.com.au/page/frame.cfm?frameId=WTB

[melanie.dee]

Lol I won't be playing any games or whatever. Anyway thanks all I think I've decided on the BenQ one, I just need to find it for a good price somewhere. I'll check those places out tomoro champorado.

Yay! Hope I can find it. It's amazingly cute for a laptop haha, I can't imagine it would appeals to guys though with the floral print baha? Limiting their market a bit?

[champorado]

osh, I never noticed that. I guess that's what happens when all you do is look at specs. Still not as noticeable as some of the Asus notebooks.

[melanie.dee]

They're just plain hideous. The BenQ one is a bit more subtle and cool.

[excal]

Or Dell Studio 15? Or Dell Inspiron 1525? Oh god this is so hard. Should I move away from the Dells haha I'm seem to be fixated on them.

I'm getting rather confused as to what things are necessary for what I need.

As in 160 or 250GB harddrive?

Memory: 3GB? Or is 2GB enough?

Processor: No clue what to look for here, what does cache mean (ie 1MG, 2MG, 3MG) and which one do I need, and GHz - 2.00? or 2.something? MHz what the fuck. Help! haha

I need to get this like tomoro so please help asap!

HDD - the more the better (in your price range)

RAM - 2GB should be more than enough for most people

Cache - don't worry about it. It's fairly standard between computers, but more is better. They've changed to a Pxxxx rating on CPUs, so the higher the better basically (GHz is not wholly representative of performance).

Dell XPS laptops are pretty good if you can afford them. However, they're not exactly the lightest beasts to be carrying around but the grunt is worth it if you plan on doing something a little more than watching DVDs.

Here are some snippets of stuff on the BenQ that might give you some insights:

http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/0,39050489,43893077p,00.htm
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1096687.html

[costargh]

Mel, I purchased a Dell 1525 about mid last year. I'm on it right now.

I'm very happy with it for home use however in hindsight I would have bought a smaller/lighter laptop. It's not really that big but sorta heavy enough to put me off taking it to University this year. I sorta like the feel/look of Macbooks but they are pricey and I prefer Windows anyway.

So I wouldnt recommend the Dell 1525 if your looking for a Uni laptop. Just a bit too heavy/chuncky although a great laptop for home use/ the occasional taking it places.

My AC adapter has been faulty twice so far in a year and Dell have been really quick to replace it ASAP. Last week it didnt work and the next day I had a new one express couried to me lol. So there warrenty service stuff is good while it lasts.

[melanie.dee]

Yeh I think I want the BenQ one but now I'm having doubts that I'm spending too much when all I really need is a laptop for uni and normal use like internet, photos and music etc. My mother went down to some store and came back with the brochure of what they apparently sell to most uni students for $795. Admittedly it sounds like a piece of shit, but maybe I can get something reasonable for less than I'm looking at.. Hmm.

ETA: Yeh I think I've decided it's a no on the bigger ones, 13 or 14 inch is sounding good. I doubt I'll even take it to lectures, too lazy, but I do want it to be transportable when I feel like it. I haaate travelling with a massively heavy laptop too. I love the look of Macbooks too but a) too expensive and b) couldn't be bothered learning how to use it.

[champorado]

Asus have a 13.3" notebook called the F6A. Its specs aren't as good as the BenQ, but it's smaller and cheaper.

here's a link with some prices
http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=asus+f6a&spos=3

[excal]

^ You should use Staticice when looking for this sort of gear. It could help you save a fair bit of money!

Personally, I think a netbook would've been fine for you. DVDs won't be great given the limited real estate, but it should be enough to do what you want to do and be light enough to carry around Uni (and have the battery life to go the distance).

Asus EeePC is one example of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_PC

Also, you will be paying far less for the computer (they tend to be sub-$1000 and even sub-$500 for some of the lower models).

[melanie.dee]

BenQ S33? Looks smaller and possibly cheaper? Can't seem to work out if it's actually in stock yet though?

[melanie.dee]

Even the X31? Tossing up between these 3 BenQs now, gona go out and have a look at them this arvo.

[excal]

Even the X31? Tossing up between these 3 BenQs now, gona go out and have a look at them this arvo.

Good thinking.

You should plug the model into Google, add the word review, and go read.

[melanie.dee]

Lol yeh I have been don't worry, still like checking with people on here though! I seem to be learning haha I did know 0 about computers. There's not that much info on the S33.

X31 only has 1.6DHz? Don't even know what it is haha but it's lower than all the other ones! Not a good thing?

[champorado]

mmm.. the X31 only has a 1.6G processor. The S33 looks good, though. It has integrated graphics, but that won't really be an issue since you won't be gaming.