Jenni Rose
Long Term Member
The Mighty Isim
Posts: 1,435
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Post by Jenni Rose on Feb 10, 2011 7:27:53 GMT
Please! My awesome father is getting me a laptop with his tax refund, and after narrowing it down between three of them, I need a bit of help in which on would be the best one to get. They are all Dell's, my desktop is a Dell, and I love it, and figured I'd be safe going with a brand I know. The laptops I'm looking at right now are: #1I'm leaning more towards this one, it has a 640 GB hard drive, but it costs less than #2, so it makes me wonder if #2 is better. #2Microsoft Works is included in this one, and not the others, but that doesn't matter to me Joey's school uses Office so I'll be installing Open Office on any one chosen. #3The cheapest of them all, and if just as good as the others may be the one I go with, since my father is paying for it. And of course I'd like to install Sims 3 on it, or Sims 2, but I think I read somewhere that Windows 7 can't run Sims 2.
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CharlieChomper
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Totally Technical Helper
Please call me CharlieChomper (or even CC or "the other CC" on this forum). Thanks!
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Post by CharlieChomper on Feb 13, 2011 7:39:17 GMT
Sorry about nor replying sooner--I've been buried under a massive slew of work lately as well as overwhelmed with homework for my courses. The first two options look like two different variations of the same "build" (the third one is just a slightly smaller variation of the first series). Works on its own typically shouldn't provide that much of a difference in terms of the cost (especially in light of what's known as the "Microsoft Tax" (which has always involved Microsoft paying or offering incentives, sometimes financial, to companies building systems to install their software on computers, thereby making it appear that the cost has been "offset" to customers (and providing the appearance that buying the same computer without the "extra" Microsoft software (especially the operating system) might somehow make that system "cost" more than with it--there has historically been considerable discontent on this issue, ranging not just from this practice, itself, and proponents of competing software complaining about the unfairness of it (or consumers sometimes about being "stuck" with software they might not want/need), but also another aspect of this that is more political and which most people remain unaware of that was tied into the DOJ hearings the company went through many years ago (it was not the core issue, but something that was going on "behind the scenes" as it were that came out a short time after the end of those hearings/verdict and actually began prior to the hearings and all throughout them). The operating system issue (between just those two), I would put at negligible at best as well (at least, as far as cost is concerned)--the second system has a slightly slower CPU (but, realistically, it's not something that would be noticeable in terms of performance), and one less USB port (but does appear to have a VGA port). My main concern over those two, if this is to be used for gaming, is the video chipset--as while I know Intel has made great strides in that area, their graphics chipsets can sometimes prove to be an issue with some games. With Sims3, especially, this may be an issue given how demanding it has proven with even video cards--especially where performance is concerned. The third system appears to be about comparable to the first, save the roughly 2" display difference (the third one is smaller). Other than that, no major differences (and same chipset). Admittedly, I'm not aware of Windows 7 having any major issues with Sims2--and would think it should be possible to run that game in compatibility mode? Also, regarding laptop brands there's a little known secret that many people actually don't know about them--the majority of brands out there (although, there are a few exceptions to this) are all actually built by the same few manufacturers (but with some variation or rebranding). Very few companies these days actually build their laptops "themselves" anymore (especially considering the costs issue combined with the process of actually "building" laptops, it's seen as more economical to handle things this way versus doing everything "in house" by companies in that business).
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Jenni Rose
Long Term Member
The Mighty Isim
Posts: 1,435
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Post by Jenni Rose on Feb 13, 2011 17:52:01 GMT
Thanks! All the technical stuff is so confusing! I have no idea what I'd do without you! Probably spend more than I need to.
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CharlieChomper
Long Term Member
Totally Technical Helper
Please call me CharlieChomper (or even CC or "the other CC" on this forum). Thanks!
Posts: 1,756
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Post by CharlieChomper on Feb 17, 2011 4:39:28 GMT
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