Re: Laptop Question (off topic? I don't know)

[John Hedtke <john -at- hedtke -dot- com>]

Ah, there we are, then this is *not* true about Dell laptops.  Good good good.

Yours truly,

John Hedtke
Author/Consultant/Contract Writer
www.hedtke.com <-- website
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At 07:23 AM 5/13/2008, Rob Hudson wrote:
>I've always had good luck replacing hard drives in my Dell laptop with
>cheaper, bigger, faster versions. Maybe that's one part that is
>standardized.
>
>I figure with laptops that parts aren't going to be universal in general.
>
>On Tue, May 13, 2008 at 10:15 AM, John Hedtke <john -at- hedtke -dot- com> wrote:
> > I don't know if it's true about their laptops, but I've run into the
> >  problem on Dell desktops that you need Dell parts and not just
> >  anybody's parts.  For some odd reason, Dell parts always cost
> >  more.  It's like the old joke about putting the words "marine" or
> >  "Mac" in front of a part name and the price doubles for no apparent
> >  reason.  You may care to add "Dell" to that list.
> >
> >  (Having probably irked all the Mac users--which wasn't the point; I'm
> >  just repeating the joke--I'm going back to work.)
> >
> >  Yours truly,
> >
> >  John Hedtke
> >
> >
> >
> >  At 07:07 AM 5/13/2008, Collin Turner wrote:
> >  >Windows XP Pro supports up to 4GB.
> >  >http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/evaluation/features.mspx
> >  >
> >  >I would *always* recommend the 7200 RPM hard drive and as much RAM (up
> >  >to 4GB) as you can afford.
> >  >
> >  >Go with the advice about separate memory for graphics.
> >  >
> >  >Dell is a good brand, but I've had several of them require service. I
> >  >have been hearing good things about Gateways recently and will
> >  >probably be buying one myself, soon.
> >  >
> >  >When buying a laptop consider this:
> >  >1. Always get the most memory you can afford/the laptop or OS will
> >  >support (seriously!)
> >  >2. Large, fast HD's will only add to the useful lifespan of your
> >  >laptop (fewer upgrades down the road...software isn't getting smaller
> >  >or less hungry)
> >  >3. If you're traveling, or will be traveling? THINK LIGHT and smaller.
> >  >You can always connect a laptop to external keyboards, mice and
> >  >monitors.
> >  >4. Put your money on your use. What is the main purpose? Concentrate
> >  >on that...don't waste money on features you'll never use.
> >  >5. Buy a REALLY good bag.
> >  >6. Personal preference...I hate the shiny screens.
> >  >
> >  >-Collin
> >  >  ________________________________
> >  >  collinturner.com
> >  >  The unofficial words of a Tech Writer
> >  >
> >  >
> >  >On Tue, May 13, 2008 at 7:38 AM, Al Geist
> >  ><al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com> wrote:
> >  > > John made a good point about graphics RAM. My Gateway was 
> configured with
> >  > > 512 MB of dedicated video RAM for the ATI Radeon interface. When I was
> >  > > researching laptops, I also discovered that many stated they 
> had 2 GB of
> >  > > RAM, but 0 RAM for the video. Instead, they used shared RAM...so a
> >  > > percentage of your system memory would be gobbled up by the 
> video card and
> >  > > the amount gobbled would be determined by whatever action 
> you were doing at
> >  > > the time. For most Word Processing, the amount would be 
> minimal and the
> >  > > affect on system performance marginal. For heavy graphics 
> applications, the
> >  > > laptop could slow to a crawl. When you add Vista (a known memory
> >  > hog) to the
> >  > > picture, the speed reduction would be impossible to bear.
> >  > >
> >  > >
> >  > > Al Geist
> >  > > Technical Communicator, Help, Web Design, Video, Photography
> >  > > Office/Msg: 802-872-9091
> >  > > Cell: 802-578-3964
> >  > > Website: www.geistassociates.com
> >  > > See Also:
> >  > > Fine Art Photography
> >  > > Website: www.geistimages.com
> >  > >
> >  > > "...I walked to work, quit my job, and kept walking. Better 
> to be a pilgrim
> >  > > without a destination, I figured, than to cross the wrong 
> threshold each
> >  > > day." (Anon.)
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