±Recent Visitors

Recent Visitors to Com-Central!

±User Info-big


Welcome Anonymous

Nickname
Password

Membership:
Latest: cgsimpson
New Today: 0
New Yesterday: 0
Overall: 6645

People Online:
Members: 0
Visitors: 800
Total: 800
Who Is Where:
 Visitors:
01: Community Forums
02: Community Forums
03: Home
04: Photo Gallery
05: Photo Gallery
06: Home
07: Community Forums
08: Community Forums
09: Downloads
10: Community Forums
11: Member Screenshots
12: Community Forums
13: Downloads
14: Community Forums
15: Community Forums
16: Home
17: Community Forums
18: Community Forums
19: Community Forums
20: Community Forums
21: Downloads
22: Community Forums
23: News Archive
24: Downloads
25: Photo Gallery
26: Community Forums
27: Community Forums
28: CPGlang
29: Home
30: Community Forums
31: Home
32: Home
33: Community Forums
34: Photo Gallery
35: Community Forums
36: Community Forums
37: Photo Gallery
38: Community Forums
39: Community Forums
40: Community Forums
41: Photo Gallery
42: Community Forums
43: Photo Gallery
44: Photo Gallery
45: Photo Gallery
46: Community Forums
47: Community Forums
48: Community Forums
49: Community Forums
50: Community Forums
51: Community Forums
52: Community Forums
53: Community Forums
54: Community Forums
55: Your Account
56: Community Forums
57: Community Forums
58: Photo Gallery
59: Community Forums
60: Home
61: Community Forums
62: Community Forums
63: Community Forums
64: Community Forums
65: Community Forums
66: Community Forums
67: Community Forums
68: Community Forums
69: Community Forums
70: Community Forums
71: Home
72: Downloads
73: Community Forums
74: Community Forums
75: Community Forums
76: Home
77: Home
78: Community Forums
79: Community Forums
80: Community Forums
81: Community Forums
82: Community Forums
83: Photo Gallery
84: Photo Gallery
85: Community Forums
86: Member Screenshots
87: Photo Gallery
88: Community Forums
89: Community Forums
90: Home
91: Community Forums
92: Community Forums
93: Community Forums
94: Photo Gallery
95: Your Account
96: Home
97: Community Forums
98: Member Screenshots
99: Community Forums
100: News
101: Member Screenshots
102: Community Forums
103: Home
104: Community Forums
105: Community Forums
106: Home
107: News
108: Community Forums
109: Photo Gallery
110: Community Forums
111: Community Forums
112: Photo Gallery
113: Community Forums
114: Community Forums
115: Community Forums
116: Photo Gallery
117: Home
118: Community Forums
119: Home
120: Community Forums
121: Home
122: Community Forums
123: Community Forums
124: Photo Gallery
125: Community Forums
126: Home
127: Photo Gallery
128: Community Forums
129: Community Forums
130: Photo Gallery
131: Photo Gallery
132: Community Forums
133: Community Forums
134: Photo Gallery
135: Community Forums
136: Home
137: Community Forums
138: Downloads
139: Photo Gallery
140: Community Forums
141: Community Forums
142: Community Forums
143: Your Account
144: Community Forums
145: Photo Gallery
146: Home
147: Community Forums
148: Community Forums
149: Photo Gallery
150: Community Forums
151: Community Forums
152: Community Forums
153: Community Forums
154: Community Forums
155: Home
156: Home
157: Photo Gallery
158: Community Forums
159: Home
160: Community Forums
161: Member Screenshots
162: Community Forums
163: Community Forums
164: Community Forums
165: Community Forums
166: Community Forums
167: Photo Gallery
168: Photo Gallery
169: Home
170: Community Forums
171: Community Forums
172: CPGlang
173: Photo Gallery
174: Community Forums
175: Community Forums
176: Community Forums
177: Home
178: Member Screenshots
179: Community Forums
180: Your Account
181: Community Forums
182: Community Forums
183: Community Forums
184: Photo Gallery
185: Photo Gallery
186: Community Forums
187: Home
188: Community Forums
189: Community Forums
190: Your Account
191: Photo Gallery
192: Community Forums
193: Community Forums
194: Statistics
195: Community Forums
196: Community Forums
197: Community Forums
198: Community Forums
199: Photo Gallery
200: Member Screenshots
201: Community Forums
202: Community Forums
203: Community Forums
204: CPGlang
205: Downloads
206: Community Forums
207: Community Forums
208: Community Forums
209: Photo Gallery
210: Community Forums
211: Home
212: Home
213: Community Forums
214: Community Forums
215: Home
216: Community Forums
217: Community Forums
218: Community Forums
219: Community Forums
220: Member Screenshots
221: Photo Gallery
222: Community Forums
223: Community Forums
224: Community Forums
225: Home
226: Community Forums
227: Community Forums
228: Community Forums
229: Community Forums
230: Photo Gallery
231: Member Screenshots
232: Community Forums
233: Community Forums
234: Photo Gallery
235: Community Forums
236: Community Forums
237: Community Forums
238: Community Forums
239: Photo Gallery
240: Community Forums
241: Downloads
242: Member Screenshots
243: Downloads
244: Community Forums
245: Community Forums
246: Community Forums
247: Home
248: Home
249: Home
250: Photo Gallery
251: Community Forums
252: Photo Gallery
253: Community Forums
254: Statistics
255: Downloads
256: Home
257: Photo Gallery
258: Community Forums
259: Community Forums
260: Community Forums
261: Community Forums
262: Downloads
263: Home
264: Community Forums
265: Community Forums
266: Photo Gallery
267: Community Forums
268: Community Forums
269: Community Forums
270: Community Forums
271: Community Forums
272: Downloads
273: Community Forums
274: Community Forums
275: Home
276: Community Forums
277: Your Account
278: Community Forums
279: Community Forums
280: Community Forums
281: Photo Gallery
282: Community Forums
283: Community Forums
284: Community Forums
285: Photo Gallery
286: Home
287: Community Forums
288: Community Forums
289: Community Forums
290: Community Forums
291: Community Forums
292: Community Forums
293: Photo Gallery
294: Photo Gallery
295: Downloads
296: Community Forums
297: Home
298: Photo Gallery
299: Community Forums
300: Home
301: Photo Gallery
302: Community Forums
303: Community Forums
304: Photo Gallery
305: Photo Gallery
306: Photo Gallery
307: Community Forums
308: Community Forums
309: Community Forums
310: Member Screenshots
311: Community Forums
312: Community Forums
313: Community Forums
314: Community Forums
315: Community Forums
316: Community Forums
317: Community Forums
318: Home
319: Home
320: Home
321: Photo Gallery
322: Community Forums
323: Community Forums
324: Home
325: Community Forums
326: Community Forums
327: Home
328: Home
329: Photo Gallery
330: Community Forums
331: Community Forums
332: Community Forums
333: Downloads
334: Community Forums
335: Community Forums
336: Photo Gallery
337: Community Forums
338: Community Forums
339: Community Forums
340: Community Forums
341: Community Forums
342: Community Forums
343: Downloads
344: Community Forums
345: Photo Gallery
346: Home
347: Community Forums
348: Home
349: Community Forums
350: Community Forums
351: Photo Gallery
352: Community Forums
353: Community Forums
354: Photo Gallery
355: Community Forums
356: Community Forums
357: Photo Gallery
358: Community Forums
359: Community Forums
360: Community Forums
361: Community Forums
362: Community Forums
363: Community Forums
364: Community Forums
365: Community Forums
366: Your Account
367: Community Forums
368: Community Forums
369: Community Forums
370: News
371: Community Forums
372: Community Forums
373: Photo Gallery
374: Community Forums
375: Photo Gallery
376: Member Screenshots
377: Community Forums
378: Community Forums
379: Community Forums
380: Photo Gallery
381: Photo Gallery
382: Community Forums
383: Photo Gallery
384: Community Forums
385: Community Forums
386: Community Forums
387: Community Forums
388: Photo Gallery
389: Home
390: Community Forums
391: Community Forums
392: Home
393: Photo Gallery
394: Community Forums
395: Your Account
396: Community Forums
397: Statistics
398: Community Forums
399: Community Forums
400: Downloads
401: Community Forums
402: Community Forums
403: Community Forums
404: Community Forums
405: Community Forums
406: Photo Gallery
407: Community Forums
408: Community Forums
409: Photo Gallery
410: Photo Gallery
411: Photo Gallery
412: Downloads
413: Community Forums
414: Home
415: Community Forums
416: Community Forums
417: Home
418: Home
419: Home
420: Community Forums
421: Community Forums
422: Downloads
423: Member Screenshots
424: Photo Gallery
425: Community Forums
426: Community Forums
427: Community Forums
428: Community Forums
429: Community Forums
430: Community Forums
431: Home
432: Photo Gallery
433: Community Forums
434: Community Forums
435: Community Forums
436: Community Forums
437: Community Forums
438: CPGlang
439: Photo Gallery
440: Photo Gallery
441: CPGlang
442: Community Forums
443: Community Forums
444: Community Forums
445: Community Forums
446: Photo Gallery
447: Photo Gallery
448: Community Forums
449: Community Forums
450: Community Forums
451: Community Forums
452: Photo Gallery
453: Photo Gallery
454: Community Forums
455: Community Forums
456: Photo Gallery
457: Community Forums
458: Home
459: Home
460: Photo Gallery
461: Photo Gallery
462: Community Forums
463: Home
464: Community Forums
465: Community Forums
466: Community Forums
467: Community Forums
468: Home
469: Community Forums
470: Downloads
471: Your Account
472: Home
473: Community Forums
474: Community Forums
475: Home
476: Community Forums
477: Photo Gallery
478: Community Forums
479: Community Forums
480: Community Forums
481: Community Forums
482: Home
483: Community Forums
484: Community Forums
485: Home
486: Community Forums
487: Statistics
488: Community Forums
489: Photo Gallery
490: Downloads
491: Community Forums
492: Community Forums
493: Home
494: Community Forums
495: Community Forums
496: Community Forums
497: Community Forums
498: Community Forums
499: Community Forums
500: Statistics
501: Community Forums
502: Community Forums
503: Photo Gallery
504: Community Forums
505: Home
506: Community Forums
507: Community Forums
508: Home
509: Downloads
510: Photo Gallery
511: Home
512: Home
513: Community Forums
514: Community Forums
515: Community Forums
516: Community Forums
517: Community Forums
518: Community Forums
519: Community Forums
520: Community Forums
521: Photo Gallery
522: Community Forums
523: Community Forums
524: Community Forums
525: News Archive
526: Photo Gallery
527: Community Forums
528: Home
529: Community Forums
530: Community Forums
531: Community Forums
532: Community Forums
533: Community Forums
534: Statistics
535: Community Forums
536: Home
537: Community Forums
538: Photo Gallery
539: Home
540: Community Forums
541: Community Forums
542: Community Forums
543: Community Forums
544: Community Forums
545: News
546: Statistics
547: Community Forums
548: Your Account
549: Community Forums
550: Community Forums
551: Photo Gallery
552: News Archive
553: Community Forums
554: Community Forums
555: Home
556: Community Forums
557: Community Forums
558: CPGlang
559: Community Forums
560: Community Forums
561: Home
562: Downloads
563: Photo Gallery
564: Home
565: Home
566: Community Forums
567: Community Forums
568: Photo Gallery
569: Photo Gallery
570: Photo Gallery
571: Community Forums
572: Photo Gallery
573: Community Forums
574: Photo Gallery
575: Home
576: Community Forums
577: Home
578: Community Forums
579: Photo Gallery
580: Community Forums
581: Photo Gallery
582: Community Forums
583: Community Forums
584: Home
585: Community Forums
586: Statistics
587: Community Forums
588: Home
589: Community Forums
590: Community Forums
591: Community Forums
592: Community Forums
593: Community Forums
594: Home
595: Community Forums
596: Community Forums
597: Community Forums
598: Home
599: Community Forums
600: News Archive
601: Community Forums
602: Community Forums
603: Community Forums
604: Community Forums
605: Home
606: Photo Gallery
607: Home
608: Community Forums
609: Community Forums
610: Home
611: Your Account
612: Home
613: Home
614: Community Forums
615: Community Forums
616: Community Forums
617: Photo Gallery
618: Community Forums
619: Community Forums
620: Community Forums
621: Photo Gallery
622: News Archive
623: Home
624: Community Forums
625: Photo Gallery
626: Community Forums
627: Community Forums
628: Community Forums
629: Community Forums
630: Home
631: Community Forums
632: Community Forums
633: Community Forums
634: Community Forums
635: Community Forums
636: Community Forums
637: Community Forums
638: Home
639: Community Forums
640: Community Forums
641: Home
642: Downloads
643: Downloads
644: Community Forums
645: Photo Gallery
646: Community Forums
647: Community Forums
648: Community Forums
649: Community Forums
650: News
651: Community Forums
652: Community Forums
653: Community Forums
654: Community Forums
655: Member Screenshots
656: Community Forums
657: Community Forums
658: Community Forums
659: Community Forums
660: Home
661: Community Forums
662: Community Forums
663: Home
664: Photo Gallery
665: Statistics
666: Community Forums
667: Downloads
668: Home
669: Community Forums
670: Photo Gallery
671: Photo Gallery
672: Community Forums
673: Downloads
674: Community Forums
675: Photo Gallery
676: Community Forums
677: Community Forums
678: Community Forums
679: Community Forums
680: Community Forums
681: Community Forums
682: Community Forums
683: Community Forums
684: Community Forums
685: Community Forums
686: Community Forums
687: Community Forums
688: Community Forums
689: Photo Gallery
690: Community Forums
691: Photo Gallery
692: Community Forums
693: Home
694: Community Forums
695: Photo Gallery
696: Community Forums
697: Community Forums
698: Home
699: Community Forums
700: Community Forums
701: Community Forums
702: Community Forums
703: Community Forums
704: Member Screenshots
705: Community Forums
706: Home
707: Community Forums
708: Photo Gallery
709: Photo Gallery
710: Community Forums
711: Photo Gallery
712: Home
713: Community Forums
714: CPGlang
715: Photo Gallery
716: Home
717: Home
718: Community Forums
719: Community Forums
720: Photo Gallery
721: Home
722: Community Forums
723: Community Forums
724: News
725: Community Forums
726: Community Forums
727: Community Forums
728: Community Forums
729: Community Forums
730: Community Forums
731: Community Forums
732: Community Forums
733: Home
734: Home
735: Community Forums
736: Photo Gallery
737: Community Forums
738: Community Forums
739: Community Forums
740: Photo Gallery
741: Community Forums
742: Community Forums
743: Photo Gallery
744: Community Forums
745: Photo Gallery
746: Community Forums
747: Community Forums
748: Photo Gallery
749: Community Forums
750: Photo Gallery
751: Photo Gallery
752: Photo Gallery
753: Statistics
754: Photo Gallery
755: Community Forums
756: Photo Gallery
757: Community Forums
758: Community Forums
759: Community Forums
760: Photo Gallery
761: Community Forums
762: Community Forums
763: Photo Gallery
764: Community Forums
765: Community Forums
766: Community Forums
767: Photo Gallery
768: Community Forums
769: Community Forums
770: Community Forums
771: Community Forums
772: Community Forums
773: Community Forums
774: Community Forums
775: Home
776: Photo Gallery
777: Community Forums
778: Home
779: Community Forums
780: Photo Gallery
781: Community Forums
782: Community Forums
783: Home
784: Member Screenshots
785: Community Forums
786: Community Forums
787: Community Forums
788: Home
789: Community Forums
790: Photo Gallery
791: Community Forums
792: Community Forums
793: Community Forums
794: Community Forums
795: Community Forums
796: Community Forums
797: Community Forums
798: Community Forums
799: Photo Gallery
800: Community Forums

Staff Online:

No staff members are online!
Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....? :: Archived
Resolve issues with your computer problems here or read about the latest computer parts and information.
Go to page 1, 2  Next
Post new topic    Revive this topic    Printer Friendly Page     Forum Index ›  Hardware

Topic Archived View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
JG300-Ascout
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 6257
Location: Cyberspace
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:01 am
Post subject: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

Guys...

Wife needs laptop. We won't have Vista. So, I gather it's possible to delete it and install Windows XP (after acquiring it and the student/teacher Office suite thingy) and installing. (Most of what's out there seems to have Vista installed already, so it's gonna' have to be surgically "excised".)

I'll probably be doing the same with a new desktop soon, too.

What, exactly, do I need to know to do this and what do you recommend before we buy and proceed?

Don't wax techy on me, be precise and step-by-step, please.

Thanks in advance!

_________________
"All facts go to clearly prove that Shades is a thrice-cursed traitor & mentally deranged person steeped in inveterate enmity toward mankind"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
Shades
Forum Tree-Rat

Offline Offline
Joined: Mar 07, 2005
Posts: 6473
Location: 3rd Branch up, 'Ye Olde Oak', Green Wood.
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 9:19 am
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

Hi Ascout,
It will be a far simpler operation to get the laptop withouyt Vista installed.
Over here dealers are starting to offer this because so many people are asking for it.
Dell (PATOOEY!) are one of those offering it, but if you go with Dell, get it completely clean as their own install is even crappier than Vista.

If you try to uninstall Vista you basically will have to format the boot drive to get rid of it so you can retrograde, otherwise your XP authentication will be revoked (Vista supercedes licence versions of earlier Windows OS).

_________________
Skwerl's place.

Com-Central's cutest, fluffiest, twitchiest, tail.
CPU > Intel i9-9900k (o/c 4.9GHz); COOLING > BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4;
MOBO > ASUS PRIME Z390-A; RAM > 2x32GB Corsair LPX 2666MHz;
GPU > Gigabyte GEFORCE GTX650Ti PCI-e 3.0 2Gb GDDR5;
AUDIO > Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music (plus - Universal Audio UAD2 Quad Custom accelerator);
HDD > 3x1TB+ M.2. SSDs; LCD > DELL - S2419HGF (1920x1080);
PSU > 650W be quiet Straight Power 11 - 80+ Gold;
CASE > BeQuiet! SILENT BASE 601; OS > Windows 11 Home Advanced (64-bit).
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website ICQ Number
JG300-Ascout
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 6257
Location: Cyberspace
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:48 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

Thanks!

Thoughts on 131L and D820 here? What is default HD size on these...I don't see it?

www.dell.com/content/p...sort=price

I gather we have to buy the "Student/Teacher Office suite? thing separate now because of the lawsuit thing (about $150) so she can have Word, Excel, Powerpoint and IE7 and all and be legal?

_________________
"All facts go to clearly prove that Shades is a thrice-cursed traitor & mentally deranged person steeped in inveterate enmity toward mankind"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
JG300-Stoopy
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 5840
Location: Group W bench
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:45 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

I would say "ptooey" to Dell desktop systems (which I finally ditched almost two years ago) however I am a very happy customer of their laptops for several years running. This is primarily because I do NOT try to make a gaming/simming rig out of them nor do I hold them to the same criteria. I imagine this is for MS Office and other regular stuff, not FS9/FSX/CFS3/IL2 ...

I go with the Lattitude family simply because they use a common docking station (aka "port replicator") which I use at my work. On the road and at home, I go without. Lotsa road miles on my systems and the only reason I upgrade is to get a faster processor and bigger hard drive every few years. Currently I'm using a Lattitude D820...one of the models you mention!

Both have a nice 15/4" display, very readable, does a good job, which is one of the things I'm happy about.

You have to price the thing out using the "customize it" option to really see HD sizes, this is one downside in that unless you exercise almost nun-like self discipline and don't click any options, the initial price is really just a teaser.

The 131L has a 60Gg HD for that proice but only 512MB RAM.....no bueno!!!! Anything you get these days I'd recommend minimum 1GIG and prefereably 2GIG RAM....the 1Gig RAM version with 80Gig HD goes at $899.

If you go to the "customize" option for the D820, The "Better" (middle collumn) D820 with 1Gig RAM and an 80MB HD at $1149 is close to what I have, and is about what I saw as the sweet spot in terms of features and price...although it wasn't my personal money, but I shop as if it were.

_________________
"Once your reputation is ruined, you can live quite freely."


Last edited by JG300-Stoopy on Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:59 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website Photo Gallery
JG300-Ascout
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 6257
Location: Cyberspace
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:56 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

- JG300-Stoopy
I would say "ptooey" to Dell desktop systems (which I finally ditched almost two years ago) however I am a very happy customer of their laptops for several years running. This is primarily because I do NOT try to make a gaming/simming rig out of them nor do I hold them to the same criteria. I imagine this is for MS Office and other regular stuff, not FS9/FSX/CFS3/IL2 ...

I go with the Lattitude family simply because they use a common docking station (aka "port replicator") which I use at my work. On the road and at home, I go without. Lotsa road miles on my systems and the only reason I upgrade is to get a faster processor and bigger hard drive every few years. Currently I'm using a Lattitude D820.

You have to price the thing out usign the "customize it" option to really see HD sizes, this is one downside in that unless you exercise almost nun-like self discipline and don't click any options, the initial price is really just a teaser.

The 131L has a 60Gg HD for that proice but only 512MB RAM.....no bueno!!!! Anything you get these days I'd recommend minimum 1GIG and prefereably 2GIG RAM....the 1Gig RAM version with 80Gig HD goes at $899.


It's for Mrs. Ascout, Stoop....she's pretty "nun-like" in her requirements. She uses for her science thing at work. We'll use a modem-router-splitter thing I guess for my our T-Warner cable connection at home (I'll need advice about that too) so we can be on internet at same time. But apart from maybe her MP3 files and her still image files, it's all bid'ness for her. No gaming. Basic stuff. Need CD burning, but's that's standard right?

Could you spec that out for us and tell us what to buy, please? I won't hold you liable. Keep under $1,500, including the software package. Under $1,000 is better, but not absolutely essential.

Thanks, Bud!

_________________
"All facts go to clearly prove that Shades is a thrice-cursed traitor & mentally deranged person steeped in inveterate enmity toward mankind"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
JG300-Stoopy
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 5840
Location: Group W bench
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 4:06 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

Sure thing - I edited my above post BTW abotu the D820, I'll spec that for ya.....and I was gonna mention the wireless adapter they come with and the router dealy you'll need. If you go with a LInksys W54G-series, you'll have the same as me and some others here which makes support on using it a bit easier.

You'll need to select your won carry case 'cuz I don't know if th'lady prefers a backpack or case style. I have a leather Samsonite backpack which is AWESOME.......rugged, comfy when worn as a backpack at airports and also when commuting for work on the bike...these things just don't fit in saddle bags too well (trust me!) and she's got the Bonnie still I imagine.... Smile

_________________
"Once your reputation is ruined, you can live quite freely."
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website Photo Gallery
JG300-Ascout
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 6257
Location: Cyberspace
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 4:12 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

- JG300-Stoopy
Sure thing - I edited my above post BTW abotu the D820, I'll spec that for ya.....and I was gonna mention the wireless adapter they come with and the router dealy you'll need. If you go with a LInksys W54G-series, you'll have the same as me and some others here which makes support on using it a bit easier.

You'll need to select your won carry case 'cuz I don't know if th'lady prefers a backpack or case style. I have a leather Samsonite backpack which is AWESOME.......rugged, comfy when worn as a backpack at airports and also when commuting for work on the bike...these things just don't fit in saddle bags too well (trust me!) and she's got the Bonnie still I imagine.... Smile


Thanks, Bud....she's off at the store now...I'll have her read this thread later and let her type her own questions/reply over my login if you don't mind and we can proceed from there. Wink
(Suggestions on warranty coverage an' stuff are something to think about, if applicable...what software too...was I on the right track with what I mentioned...should I just buy that locally?)


_________________
"All facts go to clearly prove that Shades is a thrice-cursed traitor & mentally deranged person steeped in inveterate enmity toward mankind"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
Shades
Forum Tree-Rat

Offline Offline
Joined: Mar 07, 2005
Posts: 6473
Location: 3rd Branch up, 'Ye Olde Oak', Green Wood.
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 4:18 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

I agree with Stoops on the Dell desktop / laptop scenario.
As you say Mrs Ascout is fairly nunlike (*dribbles*) and only looking for Word, Excel, etc., I would suggest 1Gb should be okay for her with XP. 2Gb will be better but she should be okay to go running Office in XP with 1Gb. Any heavy visual / audio prog's will run better with more (Photoshop, etc) and running a lot of prog's simultaneously will also open more quickly with more. The more RAM you have the better, if you can afford it, the same with faster RAM, BUT make sure you don't start slowing the existing RAM down by getting too much (XP over 2Gb may run into this speed botleneck, Vista over 4Gb).

I would also suggest that you don't write Vista off altogether.
As we all know, right now it's crap.
In all likelihood, it's still going to be crap after SP1.
SP2 (or before) should see everything come together properly, and then M$ will be starting to make their usual, "We're-going-to-stop-supporting-XP-now-so-that-you-all-HAVE-to-buy-Vista" noises.
Try to get something that's Vista-compatable so you can upgrade later or you'll have to buy something new in a year or so's time.

Student/teacher licences are for student/teachers.
If Mrs Ascout is a student/teacher she can get special discount on Office and a lot of other software (including XP and Vista).
OR..., she could get Open Office and pay diddly (For full details of 'Diddly', look in Wikipedia, under "Bushwhacker" Wink ).

_________________
Skwerl's place.

Com-Central's cutest, fluffiest, twitchiest, tail.
CPU > Intel i9-9900k (o/c 4.9GHz); COOLING > BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4;
MOBO > ASUS PRIME Z390-A; RAM > 2x32GB Corsair LPX 2666MHz;
GPU > Gigabyte GEFORCE GTX650Ti PCI-e 3.0 2Gb GDDR5;
AUDIO > Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music (plus - Universal Audio UAD2 Quad Custom accelerator);
HDD > 3x1TB+ M.2. SSDs; LCD > DELL - S2419HGF (1920x1080);
PSU > 650W be quiet Straight Power 11 - 80+ Gold;
CASE > BeQuiet! SILENT BASE 601; OS > Windows 11 Home Advanced (64-bit).
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website ICQ Number
JG300-Ascout
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 6257
Location: Cyberspace
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 4:45 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

- Shades
I agree with Stoops on the Dell desktop / laptop scenario.
As you say Mrs Ascout is fairly nunlike (*dribbles*) and only looking for Word, Excel, etc., I would suggest 1Gb should be okay for her with XP. 2Gb will be better but she should be okay to go running Office in XP with 1Gb. Any heavy visual / audio prog's will run better with more (Photoshop, etc) and running a lot of prog's simultaneously will also open more quickly with more. The more RAM you have the better, if you can afford it, the same with faster RAM, BUT make sure you don't start slowing the existing RAM down by getting too much (XP over 2Gb may run into this speed botleneck, Vista over 4Gb).

I would also suggest that you don't write Vista off altogether.
As we all know, right now it's crap.
In all likelihood, it's still going to be crap after SP1.
SP2 (or before) should see everything come together properly, and then M$ will be starting to make their usual, "We're-going-to-stop-supporting-XP-now-so-that-you-all-HAVE-to-buy-Vista" noises.
Try to get something that's Vista-compatable so you can upgrade later or you'll have to buy something new in a year or so's time.

Student/teacher licences are for student/teachers.
If Mrs Ascout is a student/teacher she can get special discount on Office and a lot of other software (including XP and Vista).
OR..., she could get Open Office and pay diddly (For full details of 'Diddly', look in Wikipedia, under "Bushwhacker" Wink ).


Well, I'm given to understand that XP will get support for the next seven years, then nada. That should suffice.

Among my all too numerous "hats" I'm also a designated official "Coordinator of Continuing Medical Education Program" so I qualifies for the Teacher thingy. We want to stick with software she's been using and is compatible with what is in use by her company at work and elsewhere. If necessary, I can use that moniker to buy the software at Circuit City, for example. I want to be able to get upgrades online without MS giving us crap. I like to be "official".

_________________
"All facts go to clearly prove that Shades is a thrice-cursed traitor & mentally deranged person steeped in inveterate enmity toward mankind"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
JG300-Stoopy
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 5840
Location: Group W bench
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 4:59 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

Yup, good point, that sounds like the way to go. I didn't know if you can buy it locally or have to go theough someone like Amazon. com. I was looking at it myself for my son who is using starting to use Powerpoint now. Haven't got it yet for here at home, so he uses my laptop for his projects when needed.

Warranty seem to be about 3 years......normally I havent had a proble,m the screen on my old Lattitude is going pale on one side, but that may be becuase it's been sitting on it's side at work, stowed away unused, for a long time. Once in a while I fire it up to snag some tool I've made or something that I forgot to transfer.

The Latitude 820 comes out at $1403, but that includes 1Gig RAM, and ALSO the Linksys Wireless ROuter you need, plus MS Office BASIC (no Powerpoint). There's an option to delete that, and sub $145 off the price, at which point the Student/Teacher vers. can be ad for about $100-$120 bucks (smart way to go I'd say, if it can be done).

The 131L, which has an AMD processor and not Intel, and a slower DVD drive, comes out at $1050 but also without MS Office at all (add $145 or more for whatever version you want). Not a bad choice though, I think I'd be tempted in this direction if I werent an Intel purist (has to do with my work stuff anyways).

Dangit, there used to be a way to save custom quotes at theor site and share the URL so you can send it to someone - I don't see a way to do that right now, but I'll look. I'd be happy to help, but be advised I'm just about to go outside to shovel 5" of snow we got this morning, then shower, poack and head off to the airport in the Moostang (which oughta be exciting).

_________________
"Once your reputation is ruined, you can live quite freely."
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website Photo Gallery
JG300-Ascout
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 6257
Location: Cyberspace
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 5:34 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

- JG300-Stoopy
off to the airport in the Moostang (which oughta be exciting).


Traction control ON!

_________________
"All facts go to clearly prove that Shades is a thrice-cursed traitor & mentally deranged person steeped in inveterate enmity toward mankind"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
JG300-Ascout
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 6257
Location: Cyberspace
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 6:30 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

What's really the difference between MS Office "Home and Student" and "Office Standard", besides $250? Seems to have same programs...so what are the real functional diffs?

I think we're gonna go witht the Latitude 820 mid-level as suggested:

www.dell.com/content/p...l=en&s=bsd

_________________
"All facts go to clearly prove that Shades is a thrice-cursed traitor & mentally deranged person steeped in inveterate enmity toward mankind"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
JG300-Stoopy
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 5840
Location: Group W bench
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 7:37 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

Forgive me if I stumble, becuase my company has a corporate license fo reverything and simply installs it all on a new laptop, sol I'm not an expert.....from what I see (and this may depend on whether we're talking about Office 2003 and Office 2007, just so they can make things more confusing) there are choices of:

- Office Basic 2003 (MS Word, MS Excel spreadsheet, and MS Outlook email)

- Office Professional Edition 2003 gives MS Word, Excel, Outlook, plus MS Access (database, if you need it) PowerPoint (for your presentations) as wel as Publisher 2003, which if you are gonna do web page stuff I imagine.

- Office Student/Teacher 2003 version gives you MS Word, MS Excel, AND MS Powerpoint, and "OneNote" which I haven't a clue what it is - but DOESN'T come with Outloook, which seems silly. However I see you can buy it in a bundle with Outlook added for $239.

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Office-Home-Student-2007/dp/B000HCZ8EO/sr=1-3/qid=1172435163/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/103-1662106-6543021?ie=UTF8&s=software

Here's the fun part - there's also Office Professional Edition 2003 ( Academic Version ) - seems to be the best of everything - all the trimmings, with Outlook, and Publisher, and Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access:

http://www.amazon.com/MICROSOFT-Professional-Academic-Version-Windows/dp/B0000C1204/sr=1-1/qid=1172435530/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-1662106-6543021?ie=UTF8&s=software

I think I'll dig into this some more....

_________________
"Once your reputation is ruined, you can live quite freely."
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website Photo Gallery
JG300-Ascout
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 6257
Location: Cyberspace
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 7:53 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

- JG300-Stoopy
Forgive me if I stumble, becuase my company has a corporate license fo reverything and simply installs it all on a new laptop, sol I'm not an expert.....from what I see (and this may depend on whether we're talking about Office 2003 and Office 2007, just so they can make things more confusing) there are choices of:

- Office Basic 2003 (MS Word, MS Excel spreadsheet, and MS Outlook email)

- Office Professional Edition 2003 gives MS Word, Excel, Outlook, plus MS Access (database, if you need it) PowerPoint (for your presentations) as wel as Publisher 2003, which if you are gonna do web page stuff I imagine.

- Office Student/Teacher 2003 version gives you MS Word, MS Excel, AND MS Powerpoint, and "OneNote" which I haven't a clue what it is - but DOESN'T come with Outloook, which seems silly. However I see you can buy it in a bundle with Outlook added for $239.

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Office-Home-Student-2007/dp/B000HCZ8EO/sr=1-3/qid=1172435163/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/103-1662106-6543021?ie=UTF8&s=software

Here's the fun part - there's also Office Professional Edition 2003 ( Academic Version ) - seems to be the best of everything - all the trimmings, with Outlook, and Publisher, and Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access:

http://www.amazon.com/MICROSOFT-Professional-Academic-Version-Windows/dp/B0000C1204/sr=1-1/qid=1172435530/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-1662106-6543021?ie=UTF8&s=software

I think I'll dig into this some more....


Stoop...the first one you got linked there is actually for 2007, which is what is pretty much what is for sale via Dell anyway...and who wants do a bunch of upgrades for 4-5 year old software anywho? I'd get the '07 variety. Mainly, I'm wondering what's the diff between "Home and Student" and the "Office Standard"...both seem to offer Word, Excel, Powerpoint and like that there...and that's the main thing. We both have email so Outlook is no biggie. She just needs to do her biochemist thang. Presentations and so on... Data stuff.

And her MP3 Stuff (so I can get it the heck off my computer!) and her pics an' stuff, cuz' gawd knows, I got enough of those cluttering up my own system now.

Mainly, we have a "competition" for the computer issue at home that we need to relieve, and the smaller unit will be nice for using elsewhere in the house.

Hey, if it has wireless, what do you need to take advantage of that at home? (I'm not sure I want to go that way at home...I've heard of security issues with neighbors and stuff).

_________________
"All facts go to clearly prove that Shades is a thrice-cursed traitor & mentally deranged person steeped in inveterate enmity toward mankind"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
JG300-Stoopy
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 5840
Location: Group W bench
PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 8:03 pm
Post subject: Re: Short course, need laptop, no Vista, what to do....?

Hmmm..okay: From what I know of your preferences, you want to walk into a store somewhere and just get the stuff, rather than buy online. And also keep it simple, and not spend more than you need to. So here's what I think I'd do (as a matter of fact I think I'll go get the first item myself soon).

Go with the Office 2007 products rather than the 2003 products, becuase you'll get MS Word 2007 and won't have to deal with the trouble in the future of having MS Word 2003 which won't be able to open documents made with Word 2007.

In that light, youcan go right to Best Buy if you want and pick up Office Home and Student 2007, which wil give you 2007 versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and OneNote (note-taking thingamajig). So you have Word Processing, Spreadsheet, and presentations:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8129447&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01083&id=1158320998618

That's $149.99

Then for $98.99 grab MS Outlook 2007 off the same shelf....and you have your fancy new latest & greatest email program.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8168323&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01083&id=1162593933838

Total $250 so far. Dell wants $275 for Office 2007 Small Business Edition which is about the same thing with a sales contact manager thing if you need that....

BUT, the nice thing about buying these seperately and not packaged with the Dell, is you will have a legal end user license agreement to install these on two seperate systems - say, one desktop and one laptop system.

And while you're there, go to the other aisle and pick up your router (Dell wants too much for the same thing, $120)....for about seventy bucks:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat25300050001&type=category&parentCatID=false&initialize=false&initialize=true&_requestid=53561

So that's $320 in add-ons, plus the price of the D820 with 1Gig of RAM which is $1149, gets you to $1470 and tax......pretty close to your upper limit but about all you're gonna need.

If it makes you feel more confident, I wrote all that while sitting here by the fireplace on my exact similar laptop:


_________________
"Once your reputation is ruined, you can live quite freely."
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website Photo Gallery
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic    Revive this topic    Printer Friendly Page    Forum Index ›  Hardware
Page 1 of 2
All times are GMT - 6 Hours
Go to page 1, 2  Next

Archive Revive
Username:
This is an archived topic - your reply will not be appended here.
Instead, a new topic will be generated in the active forum.
The new topic will provide a reference link to this archived topic.