Sorry for starting yet another thread on this topic, but as my requirements were slightly different, I was not sure whether bumping an older thread would be the right thing.
I would be purchasing a laptop soon, for a price of around 30000 to 35000 Rs. It would be mainly used as a desktop replacement. These are my primary requirements -
Good linux compatibility, i.e. basic components including netcard, video and sound card should work well under linux.
Decent performance with current applications (like Java, Python, .NET (mono) applications).
DVD Writer or a DVD/CDRW combo drive.
Atleast 40GB hard disk space.
Acceptable graphics performance (Intel integrated graphics will do)
Portability is not very important, and therefore relatively lower battery life is acceptable. Because of this, I am guessing that a 15" screen is what I should be looking for.
Should I opt for a Celeron or a Sempron based laptop? There are some models from Acer and HP that look promising, but I have no idea which of them are easily available. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks for the offer and advise superczar :), unfortunately I think that having a laptop shipped from Chennai to Delhi would be a lot of trouble to either of us. But I still keep it in mind, in case I am not able to find a decent first hand laptop in my price range. Thanks a lot for the great linux laptop links!
I guess the choice which confuses me is whether to go for a Sempron or an Intel based laptop. If one assigns a low priority to battery life, but gives importance to low heat generation (as it would have to be used continuously over a long duration) and performance, which of the two options would provide better value for money?
I guess the choice which confuses me is whether to go for a Sempron or an Intel based laptop. If one assigns a low priority to battery life, but gives importance to low heat generation (as it would have to be used continuously over a long duration) and performance, which of the two options would provide better value for money?
The Banias/Dothan Proccys (Celeron M & Pentium Ms) are at par when it comes to heat dissipation and score over the Semprons on this front
Performance wise, The P-Ms win hands down thanks to the large L2 cache..The Semprons and Celeron Ms are no slouches either and are pretty much even-Stevens
Battery consumption , The tables would look like P-M>Sempron>Celeron M
Celeron M unfortunately cannot throttle itself down and runs at full clock speeds all the time
So if you have to choose between a Sempron and Celeron M, the odds are pretty much matched, but since heat dissipation is a more important criteria than Battery consumption, The Celeron M perhaps makes a better buy..
unfortunately I think that having a laptop shipped from Chennai to Delhi would be a lot of trouble to either of us.
True…I’ll have to use Blue Dart at the bare minimum, and shipping alone would come close to 1000/-
Grrr :@ wake up Chennai/Bangalore guys! Close this sale
Don’t worry about linux-laptop compatibility. Linux has caught up in that regard and FC4/RHEL4/Ubuntu/SUSE all run easily. For your price range unfortunately, you will not get a P-M easily, which is a pity - the rest really aren’t laptop material.
Kingkrool, is the ATI Xpress 200M chipset well supported by linux? If so, this laptop looks very promising indeed, and would leave room for another 256MB RAM stick. However I was avoiding it as I hear ATI graphics doesn’t support linux very well.
The other option for me is the Acer Travelmate 2413NLMi, which is Celeron M based.
Many thanks to everyone for their help, especially to superczar
ujjwal I want you to challenge your basic premise. I too was considering a lappy as a space saving desktop replacement.
Let me just tell you why I didn’t.
If you are going to use it for long hours at a time it is definitely not advisable. There is a fixed distance between the display and the keyboard which will lead to severe strain when used for long periods. If the keyboard is kept at a comfortable height, you will strain your neck and eyes. On the other hand, if the placement is to make the eyes and neck comfortable, then you will strain your hands and shoulders.
If you still want to go in for a desktop as primarily a desktop replacement and use it for extend periods as you seem to want, you should go for an external keyboard and mouse.
Emil, thanks for your advice, I most certainly am going for an external (non wireless) keyboard and mouse, as I am not very comfortable with usual laptop input devices, and most of my work would involve programming and web browsing. Extended usage would rarely mean more than 4 hours at a time for me.
Superczar, turion machines seem out of my range, and so I have more or less decided on the Acer Travelmate.
Look, you certainly won’t get 3d graphics running well on Linux, but do you need that? I use ATI on the desktop, and ignore all 3d. It is that simple. But yes, I have heard all sorts of things regarding the xpress 200 chipset and Linux.
Perhaps u wud know this, but the “29,990/-” is not what u wud get ur laptop for. The applicable taxes (VAT 4%), delivery charges, service/installation charges and taxes applicable on them wud be additional. just thot u shud know, in case u already didnt
