Looking for opinions...

[Battie]

Hello. I'm going to give my current computer one more summer to see how it does, but since my summer job is going to pay well I'm serious considering getting something more up to date.

This is what I have:
HP Pavilion ze4315
AMD Athlon 1800+, 1.53GHz
512 MB RAM, 64 MB dedicated Video RAM (so really 448 MB)
30 GB HDD
CD-RW/DVD-R combo drive
Windows XP Home Edition, SP2

The problem is that when I run heavy applications, the computer seems to suffer. I've knocked out every unnecessary process I can, but I use a little 200 MB RAM just sitting here. Corel Painter uses at least 100 MB, so my resources drain quickly. A memory upgrade is an easy fix, but there's more to worry about.

Painter seems to really heat things up. The fan immediately goes to full blast, and sometimes I hear alarming cracking noises coming from around bottom of the screen. If I run PS Elements (alone), I will occasionally see white staticky looking lines dart across the screen. The computer has overheated (I guess) and shut down and I lost a fair amount of work on a piece.

I could put up with it, I suppose, but it would be nice not to. If I get a new one, I'll need something a little more robust. Does anyone know of any reputable laptop brands that will run heavy applications well? I'm hoping not to spend much more than $1000, if that.

I have also been looking at the middle iBook here.

I would add 256-512 MB RAM, which would cost about $75-150 more. There is a student discount on the iBook so it comes out about the same.

I've never been a Mac person, but Windows seems to be going downhill, and I'll be able to free up a lot of memory if I don't need AV processes running all the time.

Does anyone have experience with these? Is the hardware reliable? Will I notice a performance increase from my old machine? Will I be happy with Panther, or will I want to upgrade to Tiger?

Or are there any PC brands that could do the same thing for me? I'm not very good with picking out reliable manufacturers. Linux is not an option for me; because of software availability it will not serve my purposes.

Thanks for reading all this!

 

[WhirlwindMonk]

Well, first, if you get a good antivirus (not norton) then the program taking up memory really isn't an issue, especially if you have 512 ram. Your other option would be to install linux rather than windows, but that would only be if you are up to the challenge. As long as you wouldn't plan on installing any non-mainstream windows programs, you should be fine. Linux has the ability to work with most windows files like word docs and excell spreadsheets etc, but if you want to install like a piece of student software for your astrophysics course or w/e, then it'll take some learning and some work.

Linux has the same advantages as a mac of virus' being nearly non-existent, so you wouldn't need a firewall or antivirus probably.

 

[Battie]

Well, first, if you get a good antivirus (not norton) then the program taking up memory really isn't an issue, especially if you have 512 ram. Your other option would be to install linux rather than windows, but that would only be if you are up to the challenge. As long as you wouldn't plan on installing any non-mainstream windows programs, you should be fine. Linux has the ability to work with most windows files like word docs and excell spreadsheets etc, but if you want to install like a piece of student software for your astrophysics course or w/e, then it'll take some learning and some work.

Linux has the same advantages as a mac of virus' being nearly non-existent, so you wouldn't need a firewall or antivirus probably.

Thanks.

The problem with Linux is that I do use non-mainstream Windows programs. I have Corel Painter 8, which will only run on OS X or Windows, and it's a little expense. I also use PS Elements and Illustrator. I don't think I could run any of these on Linux without an emulator.

I'm also hoping to find some good, solid hardware.

 

[WhirlwindMonk]

I'm also hoping to find some good, solid hardware.

You could go alienware, which I believe is one of the best as far as pricing for power goes. You could also check out www.newegg.com. They don't have a lot as far as prebuilt laptops go (which is what I'm assuming you are looking for) but they have some stuff.

 

[Battie]

I'll check those out. Thanks again!

 

[Seekeraftertruth]

If you can afford it, one of the high-end Alienware PC's is the ultimate!!

 

[MusicalProgrammer]

Get at least 1GB of RAM if you use heavy-duty graphics applications; that's going to affect your performance far more than any other system aspect. WWMonk is right, a good AV utility shouldn't be sucking too much in the way of system resources. Finally, I actually disagree about Alienware, IMHO it's overrated and overpriced.

I'm looking at getting an Asus or a Fujitsu notebook myself. If you can hold off for a few months, AMD's newly-released low-voltage 64-bit "Turion" processor is going to be showing up in notebooks.

 

[zoziw]

Does anyone have experience with these? Is the hardware reliable? Will I notice a performance increase from my old machine? Will I be happy with Panther, or will I want to upgrade to Tiger?

Note: I have an Athlon XP box and a G4 Mac box.

Unfortunately, your link to the iBook expired so I do not know which one you were looking at.

IME, Apple's hardware is very reliable with really good customer service.

If you order a new iBook (I assume that is what your link was to) it will come with Tiger. If you want to do photo editing I would say you should get a minimum of 512 MB of RAM but you might appreciate a full gig even more.


Using Panther instead of Windows XP was great, using Tiger is even better as it adds a lot of really clever and handy features for end users to make use of.

But keep a couple of things in mind: 1) You don't know what you are missing with Tiger anyways; 2) Windows XP SP2 is a really good operating system that runs 99% of the software made for computers these days; 3) You can probably get a lot more performance for your buck with a Windows box.

Or are there any PC brands that could do the same thing for me? I'm not very good with picking out reliable manufacturers. Linux is not an option for me; because of software availability it will not serve my purposes.

If Linux is not an option because of software availability you should do some serious checking on what is available for Apple. If you want the widest possible selection of programs for your computer you should go with Windows. Apple's software library is significantly smaller.

If you want to get the biggest performance bang for your buck and want access to the widest variety of software then a Windows XP box is probably what you are looking for.

 

[MusicalProgrammer]

Here's a promising-looking model:

http://www.laptoplogic.com/news/05/12/2005/229/0/


To note, I never would have considered a Ferrari before because I couldn't stand the old solid-red design. After all, I'll need to use it at work and such. I like this new one much better, and a carbon-fiber shell is top-notch.

 

[Battie]

Thanks for the info, everyone.

The Turion does look promising. I like AMD a lot, but they run hot and it probably contributes to my laptop overheating. A low voltage model would probably help a lot. A 64 bit processor run on a 64 bit edition Windows (I think I heard rumors of that) would be wonderful too.

Zoziw, you're probably right about bang for the buck. The iBook model I was looking at was only a 1.33 GHz G3 with 256 MB RAM and a 14" screen. I could probably do better for the same price or better with a Windows laptop.

I don't think limited applications would be a problem, though. I am only concerned about painting, word-processing, and surfing the Internet. The last two are easy to take care of, and Adobe caters mainly to Macs anyways.

I've never heard of a Ferrari before. I'll have to keep an eye on that release...

 

[MusicalProgrammer]

The Turion does look promising. I like AMD a lot, but they run hot and it probably contributes to my laptop overheating. A low voltage model would probably help a lot. A 64 bit processor run on a 64 bit edition Windows (I think I heard rumors of that) would be wonderful too.

Are you referring to rumors of 64-bit Windows?

Already available!

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/default.mspx


If you have a license/copy of 32-bit XP Pro, you can trade it in for the 64-bit version!

 

[Battie]

Are you referring to rumors of 64-bit Windows?

Already available!

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/default.mspx


If you have a license/copy of 32-bit XP Pro, you can trade it in for the 64-bit version!

Awesome! So if I get a computer with the XP Pro OEM, I can upgrade it for free?

 

[MusicalProgrammer]

Awesome! So if I get a computer with the XP Pro OEM, I can upgrade it for free?

Yes, you can! Although if it's not one you built yourself, I'd check with the manufacturer to see if they offer an exchange program; according to M$, it might void your warranty if you upgrade through them.


http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/upgrade/default.mspx

 

[Battie]

Yes, you can! Although if it's not one you built yourself, I'd check with the manufacturer to see if they offer an exchange program; according to M$, it might void your warranty if you upgrade through them.


http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/upgrade/default.mspx

Ah, interesting. Thanks again.

It would make sense, though, that retailers sell their 64 bit machines with the appropriate edition of Windows in the first place.

 

[MusicalProgrammer]

Ah, interesting. Thanks again.

It would make sense, though, that retailers sell their 64 bit machines with the appropriate edition of Windows in the first place.

You're welcome!

Yeah, OEM licenses are technically licensed to the CPU(s), so I can understand where they're coming from. If you've got a 32-bit machine, XP 64-bit does you no good of course.

 

[Psalms34]

ASUS laptops are looking really good these days. Swing a 64bit with that and you will have a system that will last you for a good long time. You need at least 1gig of memory no matter what system you are running or are thinking of buying. XP and I'm sure Longhorn will both SUCK memory resources and unless you use 98SE/Me which is pretty good with resources, you'll need the extra memory for graphics. As for the system you have, it may help if you install an additional case fan (if you have an available power plug and power) to keep the summer heat under control. Those wafer fans go for about $12 or so. I loaded my tower case with them and I could almost catch it hovering out of the corner of my eye at times. Unmarked helicopter, hovering, they said it was a weather balloon. About a loud as on too...

Oh, nm case fans, you have a laptop, you said graphic editing and laptops are not so great for that really so I figured desktop. If you are getting heat, crack it open and blow a can of compressed air in there to get the dust out. My laptop gets pretty hot too, that's just how it is. Anyway, if you are serious about working with graphic editing programs, it would prolly be better to get a desktop or at least plug a nice big lcd into the back of the laptop.

 

[Battie]

How effective is sticking a vacuum hose to the vents? That's all I've known to do with laptops before. I do notice that the fan has to run more often than it used to.

A desktop would be better for digital art, but I like the mobility I get with the laptop. Heat aside, it's not really so bad. I just have to make sure that I test a piece on a good CRT before I post it anywhere, since my screen washes colors out slightly.

Thanks again for answering all my questions.

Edit: How good is dedicated video memory? My current machine has 64MB dedicated, which means that no matter what I only get 448 MB to work with. I'm not sure I need that even if I'm working on a lot of artwork. Is that a waste unless the computer is meant for gaming?

 

[MusicalProgrammer]

How effective is sticking a vacuum hose to the vents? That's all I've known to do with laptops before. I do notice that the fan has to run more often than it used to.

A desktop would be better for digital art, but I like the mobility I get with the laptop. Heat aside, it's not really so bad. I just have to make sure that I test a piece on a good CRT before I post it anywhere, since my screen washes colors out slightly.

Thanks again for answering all my questions.

Edit: How good is dedicated video memory? My current machine has 64MB dedicated, which means that no matter what I only get 448 MB to work with. I'm not sure I need that even if I'm working on a lot of artwork. Is that a waste unless the computer is meant for gaming?

FYI, that Ferrari has 2 video ports: 1 VGA and 1 DVI! So you can get a couple of nice monitors to plug it into when you're using it at home. Stay away from shared video graphics if you do any rendering; in that case, you'd probably want to find a lappie with a good CAD graphics card in it. I'm sure the Turions are going to be much cooler than the usual Athlon CPUs, simply because the voltage is half or a third (depending on the model).

 

[mc2phat]

Your 64 meg dedicated means you have onboard video, which means the graphics chip is soldered onto the motherboard and uses your system memory. A separate video card has memory on it and doesn't suck up so much system memory, which will mean better overall system performance.

"AMD's run hot." this was true of the socket A models, but, the new socket 754 and 939 models run much cooler in comparison to the current socket 478 and 775 Intel Prescott cores (slang nickname: PressHot). I for one will miss the cool-running Intel 478 Northwood core processors. Newegg is owned by ABS computers. ABS sells prebuilt systems. Another option, and a fun one, would be to take the plunge and build your own. Look at www.pcmech.com
NewEgg and Chief Value are where you would want to order your innards if you choose this option.

If you plan to buy a prebuilt machine, stay away from the bottom-feeding HPs, Compaqs, etc. You get what you pay for. They are proprietary machines, not very upgradeable. Save your nickels and buy one with a video card instead of integrated video like you have now.

The Gimp is an excellent FREE program comparable to Photoshop and your Corel program. Versions are available for Linux, Windows, and I believe Apple's operating systems.

As far as laptops, my favorite vendor is the Christian-owned www.powernotebooks.com
Good prices, excellent warranty/customer service.
Their PowerPro 3:17 is an Asus laptop. Remember, most known OEMs do not manufacture their own laptops. Laptops come from large Original Design Manufacturers. The best three ODMs in my opinion are Asus, Quanta, and Clevo. Others include Compal, Acer/Wistron, ECS (double-triple *ick*). For example, Clevo wins a contract from HP. Clevo makes the laptops and puts HPs name on them (or they're shipped barebone to HP, who puts their name on them ). The last I knew, Quanta was making the Dell Latitudes. The Inspirons I'm pretty sure go to the low bidder. Look on Power Notebook's site in the "Knowledge" section, they have a write-up on the ODM thing.
As far as going to 64 bit Windows XP, I'd recommend you wait until there's full industry driver support. Look here:
http://www.overclockers.com/tips00767/
Regards,
Jim

 

[MusicalProgrammer]

As far as laptops, my favorite vendor is the Christian-owned www.powernotebooks.com
Good prices, excellent warranty/customer service.

I wholeheartedly second that!


I keep waiting for them to come out with new Asus barebones models... I really want a Turion though, and I'm not sure if Asus is planning a barebones with it.