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Post by beagle on Nov 1, 2013 19:22:48 GMT 12
No I have not found a money tree growing in the back yard, but I did dig a big hole and went down a bit too far then this black sticky fluid started gushing up. yeah right
Currently i have a 10 year old HP pavillion, although new bigger hard drive fitted about about 5 years back.
I, oops, we are looking at making the most of a new toy by being able t use it in other places, so looking at a laptop. Had a look thru the brand new Harvey Norman at Hornby this arvo saying to this guy that I wnated to keep it under $1000 but upon talking photography, he immediately took me to one at $1700 as it had 2G graphics and he said I would need that to run photoshop etc.
ok ok, never used a lap top before etc so HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
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Post by haughtney1 on Nov 1, 2013 19:33:41 GMT 12
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Post by htbrst on Nov 2, 2013 7:30:09 GMT 12
1) You want an i5 (or i7 if you can stretch processor). Not an i3 or anything else. Ideally "Haswell core" but I don't think there are many in your budget yet 2) Ideally you want a solid state drive (SSD) - you will notice the difference - the disadvantage is less storage space for your photos, hence 3) You also want to budget for a NAS device - which is essentially a network connected hard drive. This would store your photos, and back itself up to the cloud for extra backup. 4) If you don't already have a WiFi router, get one so that you can have Wireless internet in the house. Full photoshop pretty much exceeds your budget already. You can get away without the NAS (e.g. just using the cloud) but a quality one is easy to set up, and will thank yourself later if something happens to your laptop. This is perfect.http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=403409 You can get much better deals by not going to Harvey Norman, Something like this www.laptopbattery.co.nz/Laptops/Asus/Asus-ZENBOOK-UX21E-DH52-Core-i5-2467M-16GHz-128GB-LBN50089.htm is in Christchurch is more powerful and smaller than anything in the same price range at HN, and also allows you to get the NAS
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Nov 2, 2013 8:20:28 GMT 12
I've gone over to solid-state digital memory (ie....NO spinning hard-drive) in my last two laptops.
If you accidentally drop the computer onto something hard, you may possibly stuff the motherboard, but you won't lose what you've saved to the computer.
Plus, SSD memory is considerably faster than spinning hard-drives....the laptop I'm posting this with takes seven seconds to have a functioning desktop from the time the power button is hit.
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Post by corsair5517 on Nov 2, 2013 9:45:03 GMT 12
Agree wholeheartedly with the back up suggestions, though I still use a 2TB HD as a back up for the family Macs, primarily because i store the thousands of digital photos we've taken in RAW format!
I know you say you are after a lapdog, but might a tablet serve the purpose? I've been using an iPad 2 for about 3 years now for most things - including photo manipulation - and find it ideal....
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Post by The Red Baron on Nov 2, 2013 10:24:36 GMT 12
I went to buy a new desk top PC earlier in the year and it appears like the Hector dolphin the desk top PC is nearly extinct. It appears I have been travelling in the slow lane of the information highway these past years and have been overtaken by the fact everything is done on lap tops these days.
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Post by spongebob206 on Nov 2, 2013 11:11:34 GMT 12
Hi Mate
Go to computerlounge.co.nz
These guys are brilliant and will the a machine to your needs and budget.
They are outstanding builds. Ask for Billy.
Cheers
Derek
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Post by beagle on Nov 2, 2013 19:13:40 GMT 12
Ok guys saw an ad in the paper today and just went to have a look, yes just a look, hear me out,
Noel Leeming
•Brand/Model: HP Pavilion 15-n008AX Notebook •Processor: 2.1Ghz AMD A10-5745M Quad Core Processor •Memory: 8GB DDR3L System Memory at 1,600MHz (8GB x 1) •Disk Drive: 1TB Hard Drive (5,400RPM) •Optical Drive: DVD-RW Drive •Display: 15.6" diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit Display (1366x768) •Webcam: VGA Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone •Connections/Ports: 1 HDMI, 1 headphone-out/microphone-in combo, 1 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, 1 RJ45, 3 Multi-format digital media card reader for secure digital cards & multimedia cards, Integrated 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet LAN, 802.11b/g/n WLAN •Software: Windows 8 (64-bit) •Warranty: 12 Months •Graphics: 2GB AMD Radeon HD 8670M Graphics Discrete 2GB DDR3 Graphics
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Post by raymond on Nov 2, 2013 19:16:53 GMT 12
have u had a look on pricespy??
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Post by suthg on Nov 2, 2013 19:39:07 GMT 12
Beagle - I have been shopping Noel Leeming for all our household goods and lappies (x3) for a while now - and our 50" Smart Samsung TV, fridge, etc. I have been very pleased with the HP Pavilion dv6 I bought about two years ago with a 1TB drive and 4xUSB, 1xHDMI; 8GB RAm, upgraded to 16GB. Just a 2.4GHz dual core (streams as 4 cores) but it has hummed along perfectly for the two years. I extended the warranty a further 2 years ($200 extra I think). I also bought a 1TB remote drive for file and system backup, and a 16GB USB for system recovery "disc". Mine also had a gimmicky fingerprint security fast logon - seems to work fine. Good store support too. Webcam wasn't working on the dv6, replaced whole laptop next day.
You can often grab these for up to $400 off as I did $1600 > $1200 + warranty extra. If it is on special, then grab it. Also look at Toshibas for similar specs.
That extra video card with 2GB is good. Just what you need.
Cheers
Graeme
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Post by suthg on Nov 2, 2013 20:09:59 GMT 12
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Post by beagle on Nov 2, 2013 20:56:54 GMT 12
This one I looked at is down from $1499 to $1049, cheapest on pricespy
They did have it at $1499 but with a bundle package with about $537 worth of other things, cannot remember what but probably stuff I dn't need
oh this is the bundle •INCLUDES SOLUTION BUNDLE WORTH $573: Microsoft Wireless Keyboard & Mouse, OMP Classic Notebook Case (Black), Trend Max Security, USB 4 Port Travel Hub with Swivel Connector, Logitech Z506 Surround Sound Speakers & 32GB USB Drive!
I already have a wireless keyboard and mouse from this desktop, as for the case, i think it will fit in a flying helmet bag,(not sure where that come from) just bought 2 computer trend, have got a decent speaker system if needed.
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Nov 3, 2013 8:27:54 GMT 12
One of the best things you could look for in a laptop if you are going to do a lot of travelling would be one with a simcard facility built into it.
I wish I had that in my laptops....a couple of friends have got HP laptops with that built-in. Whereas I need to plug a T-stick in to access the internet via a mobile phone network, they just simply connect the computer to a mobile phone network, and they are away.
Yeah, I know there is heaps of free WiFi around these days, but sometimes you want to do secure stuff like internet banking where it isn't advisable to connect via public WiFi.
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Post by htbrst on Nov 3, 2013 10:27:35 GMT 12
One of the best things you could look for in a laptop if you are going to do a lot of travelling would be one with a simcard facility built into it. I wish I had that in my laptops....a couple of friends have got HP laptops with that built-in. Whereas I need to plug a T-stick in to access the internet via a mobile phone network, they just simply connect the computer to a mobile phone network, and they are away. Not sure I'd bother - tethering to your cellphone via bluetooth or wireless is so simple these days on modern phones - and it saves you an extra ongoing cost of another mobile connection
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Post by beagle on Nov 3, 2013 15:05:16 GMT 12
just remembered. connection to internet while say we are driving to Blenheim to see her folks otr to dunedin to see mine. neither of us have cell phones, never have. isn't there some stick you can buy and you plug it in and that does it.
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Post by corsair67 on Nov 3, 2013 16:11:19 GMT 12
just remembered....... neither of us have cell phones, never have. You, my friend, are beyond help! Yes, you can buy a dongle that plugs into one of the usb jacks on the side of a laptop, or a portable wifi hotspot device. Most telcos have them, and you can use prepay to purchase a certain number of gB of data from them. Just be aware that you will probably pay through the nose to use the service........so in many ways it might be cheaper to get a smartphone for use on the road.
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Post by beagle on Nov 3, 2013 16:41:09 GMT 12
might be easier for her to save stuff first before we travel
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Post by The Red Baron on Nov 3, 2013 17:38:47 GMT 12
Hewlett Packard are the work of the devil.....I've only had one dud computer and its an HP....just saying.
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Post by corsair67 on Nov 3, 2013 22:04:45 GMT 12
I went to buy a new desk top PC earlier in the year and it appears like the Hector dolphin the desk top PC is nearly extinct. It appears I have been travelling in the slow lane of the information highway these past years and have been overtaken by the fact everything is done on lap tops these days. I still prefer the PC, and won't be going onto a laptop anytime soon if I can avoid it. Smartphone and a tablet are enough for my mobile needs. From experience I would recommend avoiding ACER products. Had to use them at various times at work, and they weren't the most reliable machines around.
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Post by corsair5517 on Nov 4, 2013 10:22:24 GMT 12
This. I prefer to do anything weighty on one of the family IMacs but if push comes to shove, I can use the iPad for everything. And yeah; we took an Acer away to England with us and it failed 3 months later....
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