[vasudeva]

I have seen various reviews of hybrids (Seagate) and compared to the existing Seagate 750GB 7200 rpm HDD in my laptop, they are hardly worth the cost. Upgrading from a 5400rpm laptop drive to a hybrid makes more sense though. I do not need a extra GPU (laptop has GT525M which is not great but I am not looking for extreme performance here).

[gunner fan]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

I have seen various reviews of hybrids (Seagate) and compared to the existing Seagate 750GB 7200 rpm HDD in my laptop, they are hardly worth the cost. Upgrading from a 5400rpm laptop drive to a hybrid makes more sense though. I do not need a extra GPU (laptop has GT525M which is not great but I am not looking for extreme performance here).

Well in that case If I were you, I would save the Vitamin M for the next buy - say a maxed out Alienware 14/17 - which will definitely be a much more extreme machine. But that is me

[carboy]

Originally Posted by carboy

My Gateway laptop (1.5 years old) needs a motherboard replacement and they ask for Rs.11000. Never again will I buy a gateway/acer product.

Buying a new system only next month. So borrowed an old laptop from a friend in the meantime.

Only problem is that it's a really really old laptop.
It's a celeron with 256 MB Ram running windows XP. It runs so slow that it's practically useless. It takes 5 minutes to boot and 5 more minutes after booting before I can click the start button. It takes firefox 5 minutes to start. Any webpage takes ages to load. I cannot start 2 programs at the same time.

I was wondering if this could be mitigated by upgrading the RAM. i.e. if I upgrade the laptop to 1 GB Ram would it help?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by carboy

Buying a new system only next month. So borrowed an old laptop from a friend in the meantime.

Only problem is that it's a really really old laptop.
It's a celeron with 256 MB Ram running windows XP. It runs so slow that it's practically useless. It takes 5 minutes to boot and 5 more minutes after booting before I can click the start button. It takes firefox 5 minutes to start. Any webpage takes ages to load. I cannot start 2 programs at the same time.

I was wondering if this could be mitigated by upgrading the RAM. i.e. if I upgrade the laptop to 1 GB Ram would it help?

Try the following

. Uninstall all the software you do not need
. Find where the two directories "Temp" and "Tmp" are, and clean them up
- Location is at -> My Computer->System Properties->Advanced->Environment Variables
. Create more space on disk by deleting unwanted files
. Run a registry clean up utility. There are a lot of free ones on the net.
. Defragment the disk

That will speed up the Laptop.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Try the following

. Uninstall all the software you do not need
. Find where the two directories "Temp" and "Tmp" are, and clean them up
- Location is at -> My Computer->System Properties->Advanced->Environment Variables
. Create more space on disk by deleting unwanted files
. Run a registry clean up utility. There are a lot of free ones on the net.
. Defragment the disk

That will speed up the Laptop.

I have already done some of this and much more(stopping unwanted OS services etc). However from SP2 on, the whole OS is compiled with an additional flag (buffer overrun check) - and 256 MB is just not enough - so memory is surely one of the issues.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by carboy

I have already done some of this and much more(stopping unwanted OS services etc). However from SP2 on, the whole OS is compiled with an additional flag (buffer overrun check) - and 256 MB is just not enough - so memory is surely one of the issues.

In case the hardware supports more than 256MB, search for extra memory in the computer market. You may get 512MB or 1GB modules at reasonable cost.

[shipnil]

Hi guys,

I am in the market for a new machine. The story / requirements so far.

When I started out, the objective was quite simple. Get a machine that is light weight, inexpensive and screen size could be anything above 11 inches. The primary purpose was to surf the net and watch movies.

So zeroed in on Netbooks. I particularly like Acer Aspire One 725. But this movies part became a tricky one with this machine because a lot of movie stuff could be in HD and one of the website mentioned that it does not play HD content. I never checked by going to the store.


So I decided to next available options. So came across ultrabooks which were light, had better processors and graphics but were anything but inexpensive. So it dawned on me that I have to increase the budget.

So am exploring machines between 40-50K. Following are the contenders.

HP Envy 4 Sleekbook - Costs about 42K. Weighs 1.75kg. Has core i3 processor with Intel HD 4000 graphics.

Sony Vaio T13 Ultrabook - Costs about 45K. Weighs 1.6 kg. Has core i3 processor but slower than HP with Intel HD3000 graphics. Ultrabook series with one 32 GB ssd.

If I stretch a budget, which I am not very keen on, one S series model from is available from Sony.

Sony Vaio S13 - Costs about 54K. Weighs 1.72 kg. Has core i5 processor with a faster clock rate compared to the two above with Intel HD4000 graphics. This model also has a DVD burner which is missing in the above two.

I don't think there is any other brand that has lightweight machines in this budget.

So which one do you think would make more sense? Any ideas if the Acer netbook plays hd content? Or I should choose one from these three? Also, not having DVD burner would pose an issue? The thing is, I don't remember when did I last used that for playing any DVDs. Help me make a selection.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by shipnil

So zeroed in on Netbooks. I particularly like Acer Aspire One 725. But this movies part became a tricky one with this machine because a lot of movie stuff could be in HD and one of the website mentioned that it does not play HD content. I never checked by going to the store.

I would avoid Acer. I had a Gateway laptop - Gateway is an Acer subsidiary serviced by the same network.

The laptop quality was pathetic. And the parts were expensive. After 1.5 years I junked it. I have decided to go for Dell for all my computer needs in the near future. The quality is decent and the service is also good.

[sreedotk]

@shipnil, You can check out the HP DM1 which runs an i3 processor version too for abt 30 K . It has a 11.6 inch screen. There are models in the 12inch bracket that run AMD e450 or the newer brazos 1800k versions that can play HD videos are small and inexpensive

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by carboy

Buying a new system only next month. So borrowed an old laptop from a friend in the meantime.

Only problem is that it's a really really old laptop.
It's a celeron with 256 MB Ram running windows XP. It runs so slow that it's practically useless. It takes 5 minutes to boot and 5 more minutes after booting before I can click the start button. It takes firefox 5 minutes to start. Any webpage takes ages to load. I cannot start 2 programs at the same time.

I was wondering if this could be mitigated by upgrading the RAM. i.e. if I upgrade the laptop to 1 GB Ram would it help?

More RAM will most certainly help. Have no doubt about that. Speaking from experience. No matter how lean you keep it, 256 MB is too less even for XP. Also, define a fixed size for the swap file.... will reduce the disk I/O and will help a lot. Defrag the swap file... and the rest of the disk after that. And don't run a resident antivirus on such a machine.

[prateekm]

@Shipnil: Third gen intel processors are already in the market (Ivy Bridge), so make sure you get a laptop with a Ivy Bridge CPU.

[Pancham]

Friends, I bought a Sony Vaio last year. The warranty has just expired. Here the problems that I am facing:

1) Heating up like crazy.

2) It has become terribly slow over the past one week.

3) the right click button seldom works.

The first 2 problems have cropped up recently. It is really annoying. Can anyone help. Taking the lappy to the Service center is the easy way out I guess but it is very expensive.

Please help me out if there is any solution to these issues.

[srikanthns]

Originally Posted by carboy

I have already done some of this and much more(stopping unwanted OS services etc). However from SP2 on, the whole OS is compiled with an additional flag (buffer overrun check) - and 256 MB is just not enough - so memory is surely one of the issues.

If you are not averse to linux, try installing Debian on it. Debian is good for lower spec machines and with a light window manager (Icewm, Fluxbox), it can give a decent performance. You were mentioning opening firefox etc., so, if browsing, e mail and light editing work using lightweight office apps, the above step may help ypu.

[D4d-maniac]

Hi fellow Bhpians,
I need your advice. My dad needs to buy a very simple but functional laptop for his office. Only requirements are compact size, DVD-ROM, and good battery life. I checked out dell inspirion in this price range but didnt find them good enough. I have 2 Hp lappies( a probook and a dv6), but Hp 430 that is in my price range didnt tick all the boxes. Looks were very so-so and touch pad was not easy to use. I did however like the looks of Samsung NP series and would like your inputs.

Samsung NP300E4Z-A06IN 2nd PDC /2GB /320GB /DOS Laptop: Flipkart.com: Compare, Review Samsung Notebook

The specs are-
Pentium Dual Core (2nd Generation) B950
2 gb DD3
320 Gb SATA 5400rpm
14" LED

Budget is 25k give or take 2
Any kind of input will be really appreciated.

Regards
Jivtesh

[gunner fan]

Originally Posted by D4d-maniac

Hi fellow Bhpians,
I need your advice. My dad needs to buy a very simple but functional laptop for his office. Only requirements are compact size, DVD-ROM, and good battery life. I checked out dell inspirion in this price range but didnt find them good enough. I have 2 Hp lappies( a probook and a dv6), but Hp 430 that is in my price range didnt tick all the boxes. Looks were very so-so and touch pad was not easy to use. I did however like the looks of Samsung NP series and would like your inputs.

Samsung NP300E4Z-A06IN 2nd PDC /2GB /320GB /DOS Laptop: Flipkart.com: Compare, Review Samsung Notebook

The specs are-
Pentium Dual Core (2nd Generation) B950
2 gb DD3
320 Gb SATA 5400rpm
14" LED

Budget is 25k give or take 2
Any kind of input will be really appreciated.

Regards
Jivtesh

Jivtesh - do look at the Sony E Series as well. I recently bought the 14" - SVE14112 for my mum. Broadly the specs were i3(2nd gen - Sandy Bridge)/2gb ram/320gb hd/dvd-rw/Intel HD3000 graphics. Her requirements were for a "simple" laptop primarily for browser/office applications. This entry level Sony came for 31k (Sony Center) - includes a 1yr on-site warranty. Online/Flipkart prices could be a grand less
Damn happy with the buy + got her vote of confidence as it looks well as well Do check it out.