i5 or i7 processor laptop?

[Firefly]

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1. The i7 offered in the 14z is just a slightly faster clocked i5. It is NOT a 4 core inspite of the i7 classification, so performance is only marginally better.
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Thanks. I think that is what it boils to.

I am still confused. In fact, It's worst now.

Heard that Win8 is to debut sometime later this year. Should I be better off waiting till 2013 to purchase as that would most likely be when he would be needing it?

[currymee]

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Heard that Win8 is to debut sometime later this year. Should I be better off waiting till 2013 to purchase as that would most likely be when he would be needing it?

YES !! One month or one week before you need it then BUY ... buying laptop is like buying a car, the moment you switch ON, instantaneously depreciation and starts going "obsolete"

Some more, with Window 8, you know the "old saying" about Microsoft softwares ... only BUY after Service Pack 1 is released ....

[fonzie]

Thanks. I think that is what it boils to.

I am still confused. In fact, It's worst now.

Heard that Win8 is to debut sometime later this year. Should I be better off waiting till 2013 to purchase as that would most likely be when he would be needing it?

Sorry if my posts has caused you confusion.....
Computer buying decisions are pretty "complicated" for men folks, in my experience. I put in quotes and mentioned men folk...
For women folk ( and I'm gonna be "speeck" left and right by them) it's just "got the moola, then it is come along babe!"

Back to topic....
I would wait for Windows 8 release. Then I'll upgrade one of my present Windows Vista machine to this Windows 8. From reviews so far, it seems older machines runs pretty good on Windows 8.....of course without touch technology. For that get a tablet with keyboard..and lots of usb ports!

Cheers!

[VeeJay]

Dell's Inspirons are basically value for money machines - not the best looking or the best built. If it matters to you, Dell still has the best support service in Malaysia IMHO.

Cant disagree there. If you are concern on support service, then in Msia nothing beats Dell's onsite support. Asus is known for their worst support, although they offer best buy. You may google for Asus support issues.

[fonzie]

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Energy sector - whether is in exploring new energy reserve, finding new energy alternative, or improve on exiting renewable energy are STILL the most promising sector in this world, wherever you are.. from the most populated country like PRC to the remote tundra in Canada..

Cheers

Yes Rhiga-san.....energy sector is a good career field.....however this thread was about computers....
Irrespective which field of scholarly endeavour one wants their children to pursue, prudently, one would base his/her decisions on present knowledge resources available....

In your time, perhaps, your mentors/teachers may not have the needed knowledge resources to articulate on....not like now with the Internet evolution....
Picture if you are on an oil rig somewhere faraway from mankind. It is good to have colleagues who comes from different fields so as to trade/share industry jokes/stories.....otherwise it would be damn boring!....

Cheers!

[Firefly]

YES !! One month or one week before you need it then BUY ... buying laptop is like buying a car, the moment you switch ON, instantaneously depreciation and starts going "obsolete"

Some more, with Window 8, you know the "old saying" about Microsoft softwares ... only BUY after Service Pack 1 is released ....

I think this is the best advice by far.

Will the SP1 be out within 3 months of release?

But meanwhile before the D day, I think getting more knowledge on that i5 and i7 would be better. As quoted, the i7 offer (by Dell) is nothing more than a glorified i5. Just a tweek to boast the processor. Please don't get me wrong here..that particular Processor in that offer only. Not all i7 are created equal.

fonzie...I think I would agree with you on your deduction. the female counterpart would just walk into a computer shop, irregardless of brand, would most likely pick one of the correct COLOR and maybe size. They would not bother with the specs and the built.!!!!

[FineTuned]

Should I be better off waiting till 2013 to purchase as that would most likely be when he would be needing it?

Hold off if you don't need it yet. You will always get better value for money later when it comes to computer hardware..... The only time recently when things went the other way was with hard disks due to the floods in Thailand.....up to today, HDDs are still priced almost double what they were pre floods.

I'm hoping for the AMD Trinity based `Sleekbooks' to come out in full force....then we'll likely see a price war between Ultrabooks and Sleekbooks. For example last year, when the AMD Brazos notebooks hit the market, it caused Intel Sandy Bridge notebooks to dip below RM1500! Good for consumers like you and me!

[DarkNite]

Cant disagree there. If you are concern on support service, then in Msia nothing beats Dell's onsite support. Asus is known for their worst support, although they offer best buy. You may google for Asus support issues.

I seconded that!

My college kids are using dell with 3 yrs warranty. I bought dell cos of their after-sales service. They have sent technicians to service my kids' laptops in their dorms in oversea. No need the problems of finding their support center and sending the laptop there. More over dell fixed all their problems including replacing parts, on the spot within 24hours after phoning them!

[ng]

I have an ASUS A6F dual-core..running on Windows XP...still running fine after 4 years. My home PC, running on ASUS motherboard dual-core Windows 7 upgrade running great after 4 years. Using ASUS A43S running on core i5 now. So far no problems. Got for my son an ASUS core i7 laptop for games. All running OK. So I trust ASUS more. Had an ACER notebook which conked out in 8 months. Core i7 more for games. Normal stuff till core i5 good enuff.

What about Toshiba ? Is Asus more reliable than Toshiba laptop ?

Taiwan product better than japanese product ?

[currymee]

What about Toshiba ? Is Asus more reliable than Toshiba laptop ?

Taiwan product better than japanese product ?

The way laptops are being build today ... lifespan is around 3-4 years , even a Toshiba will also "konk" may be in 5-6 years instead ... mine "konk" after 5 years ... 1 year longer than Acer and HP ... hehehee ... Japanese laptop like Japanese people - slightly longer lifespan ... in the genes !!

[Firefly]

I don't expect my kiddo to be carrying/using the same laptop for more then 3 years. At the rate tec is upgrading, 5 years old laptop any not run many of the latest resource hungry applications. Just that USB port, just a few years ago it was fine but then with the HDD going beyond the 1Tb boundary, and it seem ages to just have a mirror backup to an external device.

currymee, not all toshiba laptops are created equal. they have different ranges and their builds are very different. It follows the saying, pay peanuts, get monkeys.

[besitai2007]

What about Toshiba ? Is Asus more reliable than Toshiba laptop ?

Taiwan product better than japanese product ?

My daughter had a Toshiba laptop before and it wasn't great. Conked out after 2 years. Faulty screen cable which had to be changed. Some people call it luck but I tend to go with ASUS as they make motherboards for PCs and notebooks, too. However, be forewarned that their aftersales s**ks. My A6F kept crashing and produced the blue screen of death when I first bought it. Brought it back to ASUS at Lowyat Plaza several times and the Taiwan engineer had the gall to tell me that I don't know how to use a computer. Later, I brought my laptop to my regular PC shop in Sunway and the guy tested my RAM chip and found that the ASUS people had installed an incompatible RAM chip to my notebook. I changed the chip and till today my A6F is still running smoothly on Windows XP. I think most notebooks are assembled in China now. Rarely do you see a "Made in Japan" label.