Computer bargains

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Hey all, I gots me a computer problem and need some advice, so figured I'd check in here.

Long story short, my laptop PC is on it's way to the great scrapheap in the sky both hardware and software wise. It's still functional, but judging from the noises it's making and the way it needs to stop and think about just about everything it does it's only a matter of time before it's gonna die on me. I'm more or less a technophobe and have had the temperamental beast since '07 and it's been through a lot of travel and abuse, so it's done OK, but I'm also off overseas in about two months so figure I should replace it now while I have the time to get to learn my way around a new one and set it up to my liking.
I was also thinking I might go for a Mac this time, if only so it's less likely to fall prey to the myriad viruses etc my PCs always seem to get what with being subjected to an ignorant owner like me. I'll miss the easy gaming buys but otherwise Macs do seem the better option. Since it's a big purchase I'm thinking I might jump on the online overseas ordering trend rather than paying domestic markups.
So, can anyone recommend any good sources and/or bargains for a laptop Mac suitable for a non-computer-minded travelling type? Are there any makes/models/brands I should avoid, or any particular problems associated with said? I'm after something sturdy, portable, and easy-to-use which will be able to function as my music library, play movies, do internet stuff (email, facebook, Ozformers, news sites etc), do basic office stuff (mostly word processing), and which will last someone like me a while. If there's some way of making them compatible with old-school Windows games that's a bonus. Not sure about what the budget will be but likely around $1800-$2500.

Any suggestions/advice are much appreciated.

[KillinSpoon]

Are there any makes/models/brands I should avoid...?

Definitely anything Apple related :P
Get yourself a good windows-working computer, then get rid of that Microsoft crap and chuck Linux on it :P

[Doubledealer]

Definitely anything Apple related :P

Amen to that, KS. I have to use an i7 Mac Pro every Saturday and it drives me insane, the workflow is just horrible with the Mac OS. 64-bit Windows 7 Pro is my Operating System of choice, and can be had for around $120 shipped on ebay (for the OEM version).

Btw, that's a huuuuuge budget for a new laptop considering you haven't mentioned modern gaming as a necessity. Intel's new Sandy Bridge CPU architecture is meant to be much faster than the i5/7 range so I'd go for one of them. This site should be able to help you find exactly what you need: http://apcmag.com/notebookhunter/index.htm

EDIT: Oh and if you do go down the Windows path again, use Microsoft Security Essentials as your anti-virus. It's free and oh-so-awesome.

[Hursticon]

Some great advice already, avoid fruity manufacturers at all costs.
My own advice? - DO NOT go to any store chain that is in the possession of Gerry Harvey, that is Harvey Norman, Domayne and/or Joyce Mayne.
You'll save a truck load of money and you wont be sold down the gurgler with inferior, out-of-date products and you wont have crap you don't need forced onto you by 'full of crap-know nothing' salesman if you avoid those chains like the plague.

[blackie]

get a macbook, dump winblows

[jaydisc]

I can't think of any worse advice to give a self-proclaimed technophone then they should install Linux.

Even before its star was rising as sharply and high as it is now, Mac is the way to go. And Macs scale all the way from technophones (that's right, no more Microsoft Security Essentials needed and no more reinstalling the OS to troubleshoot your problems) to the true professionals. Go to any software development related conference nowadays, go to Google headquarters (ironically Apple's biggest current competitor) and you'll see a sea of Apple logos on aluminum laptops.

If you really feel the need (although the only reason is games, and that reason is getting dated), you can dual boot it with Windows, or even triple boot it with Linux, which isn't necessary because you can basically compile anything that runs on Linux on your Mac anyway (if it isn't already built-in, e.g. PHP, Apache, RoR)

With your requested list of requirements, all of that stuff is built in, and just works, and works well.

Lastly, there's support. If you have a problem with a Mac, or just need help and you can make an appointment to go to an Apple store (not a reseller), get free advice, free support, and they even do repairs on the premises. If it's under warranty, and even sometimes when it's not, Apple likes to err on the side of just replacing the item or part. They feel they make up any loss in money as gains in reputation. And if you've ever seen how packed these stores are, I'm sure you'll agree.

As far as pricing and bargains go, don't expect much. There's very little margin on the lower-end Macs. The best you can expect to do on a new model is $100 off at Myer, and that's when that model has been around for a bit. You can also buy an ex-demo from a reseller, or a refurbished model directly from a reseller or even directly from Apple, although I don't personally feel the difference is worth it. Of course, you can always buy a last-gen model (either new, demo or refurb) once newer models are out, and typically get a full warranty with it.

Apple is pretty good about adjusting their pricing based on fluctuations in AUD (certainly better than Hasbro), but they rarely-to-never adjust the pricing of current models. Rather, when new models come out, they adjust the pricing. At the moment, a USD 999 laptop costs AUD 1199. I know that's still not correct, but when you think about shipping, and the convenience with getting one right away, I still think it's worth getting locally. However, even if you don't, the warranties are international. All the power adaptors are universal voltage and have a very cleverly detachable prong tip, easily swappable with any country. Also, you can just use a standard two-prong black cord instead of the prong-tip. Even the power adapters are overly designed.

If you were happy with 13", you could get the bottom of the line MacBook Pro:

http://store.apple.com/au/browse/hom...co=MTAyNTQzMjc

Apple doesn't make underpowered machines, and they don't make pieces of crap (eee pc anyone?), so even their bottom of the line is pretty awesome. That's $1399 and would give you everything you need. Buy it at Myer and you can probably save 100, and get Myer One points. You can jump up to a 15" for $2100 (full price). You could probably get $200 off that model.

I'm happy to field any further questions or dispel any old myths, either here or via IM/PM.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Btw, that's a huuuuuge budget for a new laptop considering you haven't mentioned modern gaming as a necessity. Intel's new Sandy Bridge CPU architecture is meant to be much faster than the i5/7 range so I'd go for one of them. This site should be able to help you find exactly what you need: http://apcmag.com/notebookhunter/index.htm

Sweet. It'll likely be my default-for-everything computer for the next couple of years, so gaming is kind of important, but I'm also more into older games like the Thief series, Baldur's Gate, the occasional play of GTA Vice City (I love shooting up the 80s ), and so forth - probably the most recent game I really want to play besides maybe War for Cybertron is the first Assassin's Creed, which my current ****heap is a tad short of running. So gameability is a factor, but less so than keeping it working at my less-than-tender 'puter-wise hands and it definitely doesn't have to be top-of-the-line. It'll be a work, internet, and media computer first, and a games rig second - the big factors are versatility,reliability, how well it'll travel, and if it'll last a fair while.
The current beast is a HP Pavilion dv6000, running Vista Business, a 32-bit OS, 1GB RAM, and 143 GB memory, which I got in a hurry in '07 when the old one died during my final semester at uni - it wasn't a bad deal but it definitely could have been better, and, well, Vista sucks balls. Happily this time I have some leeway, but I really don't want it to die on me in Japan so better to just bite the bullet now methinks.

Some great advice already, avoid fruity manufacturers at all costs.
My own advice? - DO NOT go to any store chain that is in the possession of Gerry Harvey, that is Harvey Norman, Domayne and/or Joyce Mayne.
You'll save a truck load of money and you wont be sold down the gurgler with inferior, out-of-date products and you wont have crap you don't need forced onto you by 'full of crap-know nothing' salesman if you avoid those chains like the plague.

For sure, the trouble is I really am hopeless when it comes to computers so I want to get advice from people who do know about them without their trying to sell me something.
Cheers muchly all, the more info I can get from people who know 'puters and aren't trying to sell me a product the better - keep the info coming!

[blackoptimus]

You can get a mac and run windows 7 Ultimate on it through bootcamp. I'll PM you how if your interested on how to do it for free . You can game and do everything you want like a PC and Also use Mac operating system as well.

[jaydisc]

Further to my post, if you're not looking to run the most cutting-edge games, you can even run Windows as a process INSIDE the Mac, so you don't even need to reboot.

[Lint]

Sweet. It'll likely be my default-for-everything computer for the next couple of years, so gaming is kind of important, but I'm also more into older games like the Thief series, Baldur's Gate, the occasional play of GTA Vice City (I love shooting up the 80s ), and so forth - probably the most recent game I really want to play besides maybe War for Cybertron is the first Assassin's Creed, which my current ****heap is a tad short of running. So gameability is a factor, but less so than keeping it working at my less-than-tender 'puter-wise hands and it definitely doesn't have to be top-of-the-line. It'll be a work, internet, and media computer first, and a games rig second - the big factors are versatility,reliability, how well it'll travel, and if it'll last a fair while.

Hehe we have very similar taste in games . The first two games I played through after buying my new laptop this year was War for Cybertron and Assassin's Creed.

Any laptop being sold now will probably get you by work/internet/media wise for the next 5 years. Thus gameability is going to define the performance specifications you want. If you're going Windows I would recommend getting the laptop equipped with the highest spec graphics card available, as this will future proof you for at least 2 years of being able to play new games at reasonable performance. Also if you're gonna game, the bigger the screen resolution (not physical size) offered the better. If you're going with an Intel processor, I reckon the new 'sandy bridge' series of i5's is sufficient. Compared to an i5 chip, i7's cost more, run much hotter and only give you a performance edge when doing stuff like video encoding or serious 3D modelling. Some people have questioned why i7's are put in laptops in the first place.

Another thing that hasn't been discussed so far is travel friendliness. I don't know if you're like me and your laptop is your desktop pc OR if you need to travel with it everyday. If you need to travel I would avoid the ASUS brand as their construction is not very robust (personal experience, I own two of them, however I still reckon they are value for money). Even though I hate their guts, HP build a pretty robust laptop and I reckon Toshibas are pretty sturdy too.

Finally, a few items to look out for:
-make sure it includes at least one USB3 port. This will be important as file sizes inevitably grow and you want to store stuff on portable hard drives.
-screen resolution: if you're hooking it up to a TV or monitor, the bigger the res the better. If not, don't waste your time with high resolutions (i.e anything bigger than 720p / 1366x768 which is basic HD not full HD ).
-battery life. If you're very mobile, you'll want a decent one, and the smaller your machine the better.
-weight. Every gram counts if you're walking lots so the lighter the better. I personally dislike carrying my 3kg laptop around.
-bluray or dvd drive. Up to you but can save you about 150 bucks if you ditch bluray.
-connectivity. if you are planning to hook this up to your awesome TV, a HDMI output is mandatory and also check if you have a standard VGA output for monitors. Also check where the headphones, heat vent, power supply, USB ports and disc drives are located. I preferentially like EVERYTHING at the back if possible.