Buying a new laptop

[spamzilla]

Hey

I am going to buy a new laptop soon as this one is dying on me and I am thinking of getting the Novatech Rasor Pro without an OS preinstalled. (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NNB-560) Looking at the machines spec, will I have any driver or hardware issues? And will Compiz run smoothly?

Providing Gutsy runs well on this laptop (internet included), I can finally scrap XP and just use the fantastic Ubuntu :lolflag:

**Edit** Budget £500 and I live in England **edit**

Thanks for any help in advance :D

[Wiebelhaus]

look at System 76 (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.system76.com%2F&ei=vt4kR4LrNJi-gQTW4OFv&usg=AFQjCNF-7jzCwJb8o0SNYtU3mhonUHDr0w&sig2=y7tY6t75PFHwLhve8fTZ4g) , never mind your in England , my bad.

[miggols99]

You should look at Zepto. The prices are great! I got a Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM laptop for £340 including P&P. The postage prices are quite high though. I bought the cheapest one but added a few things ;)

http://uk.zepto.com

[Skye]

I don't know your budget, but if you're looking for excellent Linux compatibility, I'd go with a Thinkpad. I bought one for school, and everything works- it's fantastic. The downside is, they're pricey.

That being said, the laptop you're looking at has an intel x3100 integrated video card, which is currently broken with regards to compiz. The way the driver is right now, you cannot play video and have acceleration at the same time. The Ubuntu devs opted in favor of having video- you can have compiz through a workaround, but not video at the same time.

[spamzilla]

look at System 76 (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.system76.com%2F&ei=vt4kR4LrNJi-gQTW4OFv&usg=AFQjCNF-7jzCwJb8o0SNYtU3mhonUHDr0w&sig2=y7tY6t75PFHwLhve8fTZ4g) , never mind your in England , my bad.

No worries :KS


You should look at Zepto. The prices are great! I got a Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM laptop for £340 including P&P. The postage prices are quite high though. I bought the cheapest one but added a few things ;)

http://uk.zepto.com

I'm looking at this site now and will report back soon. Thanks :popcorn:


I don't know your budget, but if you're looking for excellent Linux compatibility, I'd go with a Thinkpad. I bought one for school, and everything works- it's fantastic. The downside is, they're pricey.

That being said, the laptop you're looking at has an intel x3100 integrated video card, which is currently broken with regards to compiz. The way the driver is right now, you cannot play video and have acceleration at the same time. The Ubuntu devs opted in favor of having video- you can have compiz through a workaround, but not video at the same time.

Oh. Is there going to be a fix for this graphics card any time soon? Thanks for the info :)

[spamzilla]

You should look at Zepto. The prices are great! I got a Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM laptop for £340 including P&P. The postage prices are quite high though. I bought the cheapest one but added a few things ;)

http://uk.zepto.com

I just configured this laptop on that site:



1,6 GHz Intel Core Duo T2330
No OS
Keyboard Znote 2x25 Black UK
12 months pick up & return
15,4" WXGA 1280x800 - 3215W
6 Cell Battery for Znote 2225W/2425W
Intel® GMA X3100
Online discount UK 6
2GB (2x1024) DDR2 800/PC6400 SODIMM
120GB 7200rpm SATA Harddisk Samsung®
Intel Pro/Wireless 4965AGN
SAMSUNG DVD-RW DL
£486.85


However I still face the problem of having the broken graphics card :lolflag: Sadly the laptops with the decent Nvidia graphics card is too far out of my budget :/

Also, what is the Intel Pro/Wireless 4965AGN functionality like on Gutsy?

Thanks for responding :guitar:

[miggols99]

Intel Pro/Wireless should work out of the box. No messing about with ndiswrapper etc. :)

Hopefully the graphics card issue will be fixed soon because the drivers are open source...

[spamzilla]

Intel Pro/Wireless should work out of the box. No messing about with ndiswrapper etc. :)

Hopefully the graphics card issue will be fixed soon because the drivers are open source...

Oh great!! Thanks for the info :)

Now I just gotta decide which laptop to get.

Either this one from zepto



1,6 GHz Intel Core Duo T2330
No OS
Keyboard Znote 2x25 Black UK
12 months pick up & return
15,4" WXGA 1280x800 - 3215W
6 Cell Battery for Znote 2225W/2425W
Intel® GMA X3100
Online discount UK 6
2GB (2x1024) DDR2 800/PC6400 SODIMM
120GB 7200rpm SATA Harddisk Samsung®
Intel Pro/Wireless 4965AGN
SAMSUNG DVD-RW DL
£486.85


or this one from novatech http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NNB-560

Decisions, decisions :lolflag::lolflag:

[helliewm]

If you buy it,PM me I have a script to get the graphics card working with Compiz. I have the same card.

Helen

[spamzilla]

If you buy it,PM me I have a script to get the graphics card working with Compiz. I have the same card.

Helen

Ok thanks for the kind offer :)

[jgrabham]

erm, dell?

[spamzilla]

erm, dell?

I looked at Dell laptops, but the laptops graphics cards, hard drives and screens aren't as big or good as the 2 listed above.

[hessiess]

http://www.misco.co.uk/ seems to be the cheepist pc website in the uk at the momernt

[spamzilla]

http://www.misco.co.uk/ seems to be the cheepist pc website in the uk at the momernt

The laptops weren't bad but the ones that caught my eye either had a horrible graphics card, or only 1gb of ram. Thanks anyway :popcorn:

[jgrabham]

http://www.misco.co.uk/ seems to be the cheepist pc website in the uk at the momernt

Miscos expensive compared to aria!!

[igknighted]

I looked at Dell laptops, but the laptops graphics cards, hard drives and screens aren't as big or good as the 2 listed above.

A big screen is often not a plus on a laptop... they are heavier and less portable, plus they draw much more power (and drain your battery much quicker). If you need a big screen go for it, but if it's a "luxury", be aware of what the downside is. Also note that most 15.4" screens run the same resolution as most 14" screens (1280x800) so you don't gain any screen area.

I recently purchased an AMD dual-core laptop with geforce go 7 series graphics card and 1gb of ram for $550 USD, so I would think that if you look hard enough you could find a laptop with a nice nvidia card within your price range.

[spamzilla]

A big screen is often not a plus on a laptop... they are heavier and less portable, plus they draw much more power (and drain your battery much quicker). If you need a big screen go for it, but if it's a "luxury", be aware of what the downside is. Also note that most 15.4" screens run the same resolution as most 14" screens (1280x800) so you don't gain any screen area.

I recently purchased an AMD dual-core laptop with geforce go 7 series graphics card and 1gb of ram for $550 USD, so I would think that if you look hard enough you could find a laptop with a nice nvidia card within your price range.

My laptop is always sat on my desk charging, so that won't be a problem for me :)

I've looked for ages, and all laptops with a decent graphics card cost too much for me! I only play internet online games anyway, so I don't really need a top of the range card.

Thanks for responding :guitar:

[igknighted]

My laptop is always sat on my desk charging, so that won't be a problem for me :)

I've looked for ages, and all laptops with a decent graphics card cost too much for me! I only play internet online games anyway, so I don't really need a top of the range card.

Thanks for responding :guitar:

If that's the case... wouldn't you get a lot more bang for your buck with a desktop?

[zaxaca]

Thinkpad,great!

[b0ng0]

I'm ordering a Dell XPS M1330 today which apparently works perfectly with ubuntu and to boot has £50 knocked off the price till Wednesday.

[LML]

I orderd my Dell XPS M1330 today and I will recieve it the next days. I hope that everything will work. I read about different experiences...

kind regards

[spamzilla]

If that's the case... wouldn't you get a lot more bang for your buck with a desktop?

I don't have the space for a desktop, else I would have built one.

I finally decided to buy this laptop (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NNB-560) this morning and it should arrive tomorrow :)

[treb0r]

Hey

I am going to buy a new laptop soon as this one is dying on me and I am thinking of getting the Novatech Rasor Pro without an OS preinstalled. (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NNB-560) Looking at the machines spec, will I have any driver or hardware issues? And will Compiz run smoothly?

Providing Gutsy runs well on this laptop (internet included), I can finally scrap XP and just use the fantastic Ubuntu :lolflag:


I bought that model from Novatech about two weeks ago, and I'm thrilled. There are minor issues with compiz that should be worked out with the new intel driver due any day now. Apart from that, Gutsy flies, and I can't believe how responsive XP is in Virtualbox. I was amazed to discover the card reader works too. Wireless also works flawlessly.

I paid £419 + VAT, which means that this is not only the best laptop I've ever owned, but the cheapest too.

[mips]

Now I just gotta decide which laptop to get.


Get the Zepto, they seem pretty good and apparently their after sales support is also good.

[handzmonkey]

Avoid the Intel GMA like the plague. I speak from experience. If you can get it to run compiz it will run buggy, but also if you dual boot to play games most of the newer releases will not play at all on the integrated chips. Look for laptops with the Nvidia 8600 or better

[mips]

Avoid the Intel GMA like the plague. I speak from experience. If you can get it to run compiz it will run buggy, but also if you dual boot to play games most of the newer releases will not play at all on the integrated chips. Look for laptops with the Nvidia 8600 or better

GMA chipset working fine here. What bugs you referring to as I have seen none.

Is Compiz the be all and end all of the desktop experience ?

[handzmonkey]

If I was buying a new computer after having a GMA I would look for a laptop without one. Compiz doesn't run well, and if you are dual booting to play games, the Intel GMA isn't even considered as a minimum system spec, it isn't even considered. If I had my choice I would look for a laptop with a nvidia card.

[gn2]

Compiz the be all and end all of the desktop experience ?

Definitely not, it doesn't actually do anything that's genuinely useful.