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About 640-750 Euro, but since the two computers mentioned above (the latest and the 17'' one) are 533 and 608 Euro respectively, it kinda makes me think paying up to 750 Euro is too much, since I won't be playing Mass Effect or any such game (although, of course I would like to try Fallout 3 some day).

 

It generally means it will make use of the RAM (the 2048mb)...which probably isn't too big a problem with Infinite engine games (given that they tend to run fine on 256mb). I'm not too sure how much Vista would like it (I'm still not ready to leave xp), perhaps someone else could answer (I think the general consensus is you want at least 2gb, but that's probably just opposed to 1gb, given you generally don't have amounts in between)

 

So you're looking to spend around $1000USD. With that in mind, I'd go with the HP d6700t series laptops.
The HP dv6871us is a preconfigured 6700 that's going for $930 (that's only €606) It comes with an Intel C2D T5550, NVIDIA Go8400GS, 3GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a built-in 802.11N.

For a little more power, you can choose to configure your own 6700t series laptop and choose a faster CPU, more RAM (you need Vista 64-bit to support 4GB of RAM), or a bigger hard drive if you want.

 

A little sidenote on vista. I had 2 gig of ram and it worked slow. the google picasa picture browser was so slow... Now I have 4 gig on 32 bit. It make too much difference not to do it. So yes, vista is very memory demanding, so using onboard graphics in a vista laptop is a no go. Take the 8400/2400 setup as an absolute minimal. (the ati's being a bit weaker but cheaper)You said it yourself that you want to watch video on it.

 

I have decided to go with the 17'' screen posted above, and I will install Win XP on it for what I think will be better performance. I will also, if there is room, increase RAM on it by 1-2 GB.

Aside from what has been posted in the guides on this forum, is there anything else I should concider/do with a new laptop?

 

a small notebook mouse. A stand whit cooling fans on it to keep it cool during gaming. An insurance if the warranty if insufficient. Spare battery. But it all adds up.

I assume it is the dv6871 metioned by Kitrax. Good machine, good specs. it might be possible to get it whit xp. It is mentioned in posts a few times, perhaps not here, that a vista liscence gives you the right to take XP instead. So the need for a extra xp version might be avoided.

 

Nope, I'm talking about the 17'' laptop that I posted about (the Acer TravelMate 7520-7A2G16Mi). I think it will be solid enough, and I think that if I wanted the computers Kitrax posted about, I would have had to import them to Sweden (which means that the price would increase by over 25 % due to sales tax, customs fee and intrest and more). I'll tell you how it works once I get it (so that you can say "I told you so" if it turns out to suck ).

 

Hell, with the currency rates the way they are right now, it would be cheaper for you to fly over to the US, buy the HP, and then continue to Australia.

 

Those clutzes I ordered the computer from apparently didn't actually have the computer, and had no intention of ordering in new ones, so I made a rash decision to get this one instead:


ACER TMATE 5520-7A2G16MI ATHTK-57 160GB 2GB 15.4IN DVD±RW VHP SS

4 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB typ A
1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
1 x infraröd - IrDA
1 x bildskärm / video - VGA - 15-pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
1 x bildskärm / video - S-videoutgång
1 x ljud - linjeutgång/hörlurar - minihörlurskontakt, stereo 3,5 mm
1 x mikrofon - ingång - minitelefon 3,5 mm
1 x ljud - linjeingång - minitelefon 3,5 mm
1 x modem - telefonlinje - RJ-11
1 x nätverk - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45
Antal (lediga) kortplatser: 2 ( 0 ) x minne - SO DIMM 200-pin
1 ( 1 ) x ExpressCard/54
1 ( 1 ) x PC Card - typ II
Diverse
Egenskaper: Plats för säkerhetslås (kabellås säljs separat), administratörslösenord, systemlösenord, hårddisklösenord, Disk Anti-Shock Protection System (DASP), wake on LAN
Standarder som följs: ACPI 3.0
Tillverkarens garanti
Service och support: 1 års garanti
Service och support (specifikationer): Resegaranti - 1 år
Processor
64-bitars datorkapacitet: Ja
Dual Core
Kretstyp: AMD M690G
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-57
Kontrollerkort
Seriellt ATA-gränssnitt: Serial ATA-150
Typ: Serial ATA
Video
Videominne: 256 MB
Max tilldelad RAM-storlek: 640 MB
Grafikprocessor/tillverkare: ATI Radeon X1250 HyperMemory upp till 896 MB - PCI Express
Ljud
Ljudutgång: Ljudkort
Ljudingång: Mikrofon
Egenskaper: Acer 3DSonic-stereohögtalare
Display
Bredbildsskärm: Ja
Färgstöd: 24 bitar (16,7 miljoner färger)
Egenskaper: CrystalBrite
Max upplösning: 1280 x 800 ( WXGA )
Typ av bildskärm: 15.4" TFT
Strömtillförsel
Strömenhet: Extern
Nätspänning: AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Nätverk
Nätverk: Nätverkskort
Protokoll för administration på distans: DMI 2.0
Stöd för Wireless LAN: Ja
Datalänkprotokoll: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Standarder som följs: IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED
Egenskaper: Acer SignalUp
Trådlöst NIC: Acer InviLink 802.11b/g
RAM
Installerad storlek: 2 GB / 4 GB (max)
Formfaktor: SO DIMM 200-pin
Konfigurationsegenskaper: 2 x 1 GB
Teknik: DDR II SDRAM
Cacheminne
Typ: L2-cache
Lagring
Hårddisk: 160 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpm
Operativsystem / Programvara
Medföljande OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
Microsoft Office Ready: Inkluderar en bild av utvalda 2007 Microsoft Office-programsviter. Köp en Medialess License Kit (MLK) för att aktivera programvaran.
Mjukvara: Cyberlink Power DVD, Acer Launch Manager, NTI CD-Maker, Acer GridVista, Adobe Reader, Acer Empowering Technology, McAfee Internet Security Suite (Trial), NTI Shadow, Microsoft Office Ready 2007 (Trial)
Optisk lagring
Typ: DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM - integrerad
Ingångsanordning/-ar
Typ: Tangentbord, pekplatta, 4-vägs scrollknapp
Egenskaper: Inbyggt numeriskt tangentbord
Batteri
Installerat antal: 1
Driftstid (upp till): 2.5 timme/timmar
Teknik: 6-cells litiumjon
Kapacitet: 44.4 Wh
Telecom
Modem: Fax / modem
Max överföringshastighet: 56 Kbps
Egenskaper: Wake on Ring
Protokoll och specifikationer: ITU V.92
Kortläsare
Typ: Kortläsare 5 i 1
Flash-minneskort som stöds: SD-minneskort, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, MultiMediaCard, xD-Picture Card
Notebook-kamera
Kameratyp: Inbyggd

 

This is a bit overdue, but anyway, I bought the computer above, and with advice from you all and other good sources, I have installed programs and features such as

COMODO Firewall Pro
AVG Antivirus
Threatfire Antivirus and spyware
JkDefrag
CCleaner
TweakVI
CodeStuff Starter
Mz Vista Force
Logon Studio Vista
Vista Battery Saver


It's running pretty smoothly, except that the shutdown time is minutes long. Any idea about what could be causing this and how to improve it?


And oh yes, I am in Adelaide now. Weather is not awesome, and it's a bit of a change from the Swedish summer, but apart from that, everything is going smoothly. I have gotten a place to stay, and have enrolled in my classes (although I'd like to fill out my schedule a bit more).


Stu, let me know if you want to meet some time. I'm open for anything.

 

V.nice selection of utilities there - I almost forgot about JkDefrag, just re-set it as my screensaver then.
Most google results tend to suggest reducing the "WaitToKillServiceTimeout" value in the registry. Just go Start->run->"regedit" (without the quotes) and follow the steps here.

The weather's been truly **** of late, but on the bright side it shouldn't get any worse. I'm actually leaving for Cairns in two days to get away from it all, but ill PM you when I get back (~10days) and hopefully we can catch up for a beer or a feed sometime.