computer question

[Chelsea4thewin]

yeah was looking at putting it on interest free finance but if its a big saving buying outright might be the best option

cheers for ur help, i know where MSY is so ill go there this weekend too

[bennymacca]

seriously big savings steve

i bought a desktop computer from msy about a year ago, for 2300 bucks - and it is only slightly worse than anything harvey norman are selling in the shops at the moment for over 3K!! and this is a year later

i reckon if i went into harvey's and asked for the same computer a year ago, they would quote me 3 to 4 grand

[maccatak11]

How did i know that bennymacca would be heavily involved in this thread

[David]

Laptops are a bit different to desktop machines. Can't really get (in a big way) a "clone" laptop like you can with a PC.

If you get a cheap deal - nothing wrong with getting a laptop from a department store.

I saw a DELL on an ad in the paper for under $900 which would EASILY do what you wanted. Obviously though, you'd need to pay upfront.

[bennymacca]

you are right, laptops are a little less "build yourself"

but still these shops sell the same laptops, but just cheaper

How did i know that bennymacca would be heavily involved in this thread

there is no way i could resist!!

[Darren B]

Be wary of which brand laptop you buy.

Apart from Acer and some Toshiba models all warranties are done interstate. Also the extended warranties aren't worth the piece of paper they are written on.

Cant comment on Dell warranties. They were terrible a couple of years back. I have heard a few good things lately though.

If you dont plan on using MYOB more than once a week you could quite easily get away with a 500.00 laptop with a 100.00 upgrade to 2 gig of ram. By the way, that would be my recommended minimum for ram if you need to use the dreaded Vista.

[bennymacca]

By the way, that would be my recommended minimum for ram if you need to use the dreaded Vista.

2 gig ABSOLUTE MIN

also, i must be in the minority, but i really like vista

although i got it just after it came out, so i had troubles with driver compatibility issues. but most software supports vista now, so its all sweet

[BigPete33]

Vista is great right up to the point where you want something that you plug into your pc to actually work.

There seem to be quite a few driver issues.

Vista also offers NOTHING to gamers.

I'm also led to believe that very soon (if not already) you can't buy XP even with a new pc/laptop anymore.

Ensuring you have adequate RAM is absolutely vital on a laptop. I completely agree with benny the cunt about 2GB minimum.

DELL certainly do have some good products/offers happening. Be sure to check online for any specials they might be running.

[Chelsea4thewin]

do you guys reccommend me upgrading to 4gb ram? how much would this cost?

[BigPete33]

For a laptop, get as much quality RAM as you possible can jam into the thing but at the same time try and keep it cost effective, which can be difficult.

I've no idea on pricing as I tend to avoid laptops as much as possible but as a general guideline - if you have at least 2GB RAM and it's not too much more to add extra RAM, do eeet. If it's starting to get pricey, leave it at 2GB and you'll still survive ok.

Completely forget anything less than 2GB.