Hey all. My roommate through out college was a Comp E. at Tech so he used to answer all my computer questions, and now he is gone. It is time for a new computer (my dell laptop is 5-1/2 years old). I have decided I want a laptop, and I know I want a dual processor architecture. However, all new computers are coming with Vista loaded on them. I don't think I want to deal with Vista at all. So my question is: Will XP Pro be able to take advantage of a 64 bit processor or will it just pretend like its a 32 bit? I don't want a Mac either... they seem over priced and all together too trendy. Any advice on a good laptop in general? (I definately want at least ~250 gig, 2 gig RAM, High Def monitor a plus, and DVD-RW. Built in TV Tuner would be a plus too. Thanks for your help!:wavey:
go hp. they have some reliable laptops now, swicthed my entire company from dell to them and saved a few k in tech issues
I know I want a dual processor architecture. However, all new computers are coming with Vista loaded on them. I don't think I want to deal with Vista at all. So my question is: Windows will downgrade your laptop to XP pro for free btw. Now, for most stuff like computer games which have to render an ass ton of textures, a 1.7Ghz dual core will be slower than a 3Ghz Single, even though they have the same theoretical processing power. However, since XP pro can take advantage of the multithreading capabilites of dual core, application performance will improved for the most part. Will XP Pro be able to take advantage of a 64 bit processor or will it just pretend like its a 32 bit? It all depends on whether the application was programmed to take advantage of the bigger mem space. Most apps right now are still 32 bit. As you would then have 2^64~8 exabytes of addressing, certain things like movie rendering would be improved if you have the physical space to take advantage. Vista, unlike XP pro, doesn't have a limit on the amount of RAM it recognizes in the OS after it sets aside it's system area. It's around 3GB. So if you plan on getting more RAM than that, go with Vista, and it will run 32 bit programs quite well. Any advice on a good laptop in general? (I definately want at least ~250 gig, 2 gig RAM, High Def monitor a plus, and DVD-RW. Built in TV Tuner would be a plus too. Toughbooks are pretty baller, and would impress people at your job
Personally, I don't see how you can't go wrong with a big name brand. It all comes down to what you want it to do. Get at least 2 gig of ram. It will be hard to find a TV tuner in a laptop. Most the other stuff should be standard. Go check out Fry's.
XP is only 32 bit. Vista Ultimate 64 is the only OS that will fully utilize 64 bit architecture. But for a laptop though I say XP. Just because they are not as "powerful" as a desktop. Plus they are very limited to the amount of RAM you can upgrade to.
just go to dell, and customize your own. My friend customized his laptop its just about as good as an xps and cost a fraction of the price.
Come to the dark side and you will believe... Wait, "too trendy"??? you have a loud, yellow, fast and the furious car?!
there is a 64 bit of xp that works great. As for macs. PLEASE dont why pay 2x for hardware when you can go home and install leopord on an intel based pc anyway?
eh it happens, unless your going to use more than 8 gigs of ram and multitask to the high heavens, just stick to 32 bit. like weapon wrx suggests. get adecent laptop with 1gb of ram and xp pro or media center and it will be plenty for you