Choosing the right anything takes research. Knowing your goals helps to make a decision.
When it came to the last monitor I bought, I read reviews, looked up stats and compared prices before deciding on the right one. Suffice to say, I was very happy with the Samsung 20.1" TFT that I chose at the time, and continued to appreciate it up until the day I left New Zealand.
Now, in deciding on a laptop, I looked up a laptop purchasing guide to re-familiarise myself with terminology. I read this alongside the ultimate cpu guide and resolution in relation to gpus and gaming. I also compared the two prominent cpus in my current laptop selection, namely the T8100 and the T9300. Upon reading a thread related to the cpus, I came across this thread, that compares the T8300 and the T9300. It appears that the difference between the 8100 and the 8300 is greater than the difference between the 8300 and the 9300, overall.
As the store that I will purchase my computer from provided me with a Sony Vaio catalogue, and the laptop that I want fits the description of the type A laptops, I decided on the VGN-AR65DB as compared to the VGN-AR75UDB. The 65 has a smaller hard-drive, but this is upgradeable. I will probably go with 4GB of RAM rather than 2GB, simply to save the bother of researching RAM prices and installing an extra 2GB myself.
The biggest differences between the two laptops are the processors and the screen resolutions. The 75 has a WUXGA (1920 x 1200) native resolution. However, WXGA+ (1440 x 900) is perfectly fine for gaming, and in fact may prove to be better, especially considering the GeForce 8600M GT GPU in these machinees -- as outlined in this thread. The 75 is running a Core 2 Duo T9300 (6MB L2 cache), as compared to the 65's T8100 (3MB L2). As the difference between these CPUs is minimal and will not noticeably affect my gaming or video editing performance, it would be wise -- even now -- to go with the cheaper option.
I intend to put what money I save in choosing the mid-range notebook towards a Bluetooth laser mouse (possibly the Logitech V470) or something more suited to gaming (like the VX Revolution) and a notebook carry bag. Eventually, I want to get one of those cool metal cases, but I may have to look around online for something suitable.
17" Sony Vaio, here I come!
Timotheos
Lappy powah
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2 comments:
Well written article.
Thank you.
I ended up getting a Dell Inspiron 1720. It boasts similar stats to the Sony Vaio I was looking at. My only qualm is that the OS is in Japanese; which I haven't got around to overwriting with an English version.
Gecko Mayhem
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