<p>I just bought my computer for college and I think I got a pretty good deal but I don’t really know anything about computers. Could anyone here maybe look at these details and tell me if this laptop is going to hold me over for 4 years at Georgetown? I mostly just surf the internet, write papers, watch movies and download music/burn CD’s.</p>
<p>Sony VAIO VGN-FS810/W
Intel Celeron M370 Processor (1.5GHz)
512 MB RAM
80GB hard drive (I have a portable hard drive that’s an extra 40GB)</p>
<p>I just want to make sure this computer won’t be totally obsolete in 2 years. I have 15 days to return it if it’s not good. I’m mostly worried about it not being fast online. Any replies are appreciated!</p>
<p>My greatest concern would be the processor. The celeron is without a doubt used to keep the price low. But, because of its presence, your laptop’s capabilities will be limited. That being said, one could easily surf, write, and listen to music with almost anything. Watching movies could present a problem because of a lot of new and nifty codecs being used to encode. I would have serious doubts about your laptop’s ability to handle, lets say, a 720x480 h.264 encoded film, which a good number of dvd rips would be, because of the integrated graphics card. But again, with the exception of anything that would require decent processor heft, one could really get by with almost anything on the market.</p>
<p>One note, I looked up the model’s specs and was cited a 6+ weight. Now this of course won’t affect the operability of the computer, but if you plan to haul it around in a backpack all day this might be one thing you want to consider, especially as you might find yourself having to add an ac adapter or another battery to compensate for the 2-2.5 hour battery life.</p>
<p>That’s definitely gonna be underpowered. I can’t believe they’re even still selling 1.5 GHz Celeron processors, and although 512 MB of RAM is adequate for now, in a year or two, it won’t be.</p>
<p>Hey hopefulpentz and smithsj, you guys seem pretty computer savvy, so would u guys recommend an Apple, as opposed to a PC? Any input would be appreciated.</p>
<p>If you really want it to last 4 years and have good performance, I suggest avoiding celeron. Its true that the new celerons aren’t quite as bad as they were years ago, but they are still highly underpowered.</p>
<p>I’m not sure about the Celeron Duo I’ve never heard of it. Personally, I like Macs, and you can’t go wrong with any of the current Mac laptops. If you get one, though, make sure to get the educational discount. If you’re gonna buy a PC, I’d recommend getting a Lenovo (formerly IBM) Dells are physically pieces of ****, always feeling like they’re going to break, whereas Lenovos/IBMs just feel better-built.</p>
<p>Well thanks guys but it looks like I’m sort of stuck with this one after talking it over with my mom. Oh well- see you in 2 years in a computer lab at Georgetown once this thing breaks.</p>
<p>cny06 I might avoid the T2400. I realize the price point is nice for this Duo, but for a usually smidgen more one can upgrade to a 2500 or 2600. The power consumption is the same (31W) so I would not expect too much of a loss of battery life. Also it looks like your looking into purchasing a desktop replacement as opposed to an auxiliary computer, and if that is the case I would also be concerned about the integrated graphics. With Vista coming supposedly in late Jan / early Feb (with Microsoft’s history of pushing the deadline who can really say) if you hope to upgrade your integrated graphics will most likely be the limiting factor for which versions of vista will be accessible to you. A note on the software; Office 2003 is essentially already out of date with 2007 coming soon and you’ll be wasting your money with norton. Symantec is falling behind the curve in many respects, and what is the point of installing a security suite that has its own vulnerabilities in addition to the ones inherent in windows. Remember to think about how the laptop will fit into your life, shoot, you might find yearning for the oh so pretty X60s w/ an L2400.</p>
<p>As a response to smithsj’s last post, I agree mac’s are a thing of beauty, but one must not lose sight of some of the poorer decisions apple has recently made. I was so looking foreword to the release of the 12-inch macbook pro, but it didn’t come. Instead they replace both their iBook line and 12-inch powerbook with the macbook. Now I do admit there are many things to like about the macbook, but it is not a 12-inch powerbook replacement. And this is where one might want to take caution if thinking about a macbook. First, you will find the only screen option to be glossy. Now this does provide great contrast and a pretty picture, but after spending some time with it at the apple store I could not see myself living with it for four years. I love to work outside, but with a glossy screen any form of direct sunlight will make your macbook virtually unusuable. I currently have a somewhat old 1.25 G4 15-inch, but the screen, despite a single dead pixel that has plagued it since day one, has stood up extremely well. Now I know we all like to think that we will never touch our screen, but eventually we all do, whether it is to swipe away some bothersome dust or by sheer clumsiness, and with the matte screen, now only available on the mbp, it is not that big of a deal. This is not the case, however, on the mb’s glossy screen where I have seen even a quick swipe leave a big smudge. Also note that apple, like many other manufacturers, has turned to integrated graphics to keep prices low in the mb. Now I don’t know how exactly in everyday processes this would affect a user’s experience, but note for their mbp line they wisely chose a separate ATI board (if you choose to run bootcamp the integrated graphics may become more noticeable.) If you do end up with a mb I would strongly recommend that you at least make the investment for the 2 Ghz version.</p>
<p>I personally would choose a 15-inch mbp w/ a T2600, but I realize many budgets are limited and this represents a large investment. With the additional investment you do get some pretty spiffy specs. You get to keep a matte screen, you get a separate graphics board, you get an expresscard slot which could prove to be vital in the future, you get an actual dual-link dvi port, and so much more. Sadly, mac has decided to only offer 9-pin fw on the 17-inch version, which it just too big :-(</p>
<p>I’m likely going to buy a macbook with 1gb of ram, 2.0 ghz, and 80gb of memory. I’ll likely do it through the Gtown store which has a good price. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>actually i am typing this post from my brand new macbook and i love it. got a discount through the edu discount and so far so good. maybe thats some encouragement for those of you still undecided as to whether to get a macbook. good price, excellent performance…and heck, its dead sexy. cant beat that</p>
<p>hey g-izzle did you get the macbook or the pro? Im thinking about getting the pro myself. Does anyone have any reasons why I should or shouldnt get the pro?</p>
<p>just the “middle of the road” macbook in white. its good enough for what im going to use it for and it didnt seem to make much sense to spend the extra money for the pro. but the pro is the top of the line, so i guess if you are willing to pay the price, go for it.</p>