My New Laptop

[betheny]

Lucky I got it when I did-sold out now! I decided my philosophy is spend less and spring for the warranty. I don't use tons of programs, just a few large ones like Adobe Illustrator. I tend to wear the computer out long before I fill up the memory so hopefully this will suit me well. So far I love it and Vista is totally intuitive. My last laptop, a sturdy HP model, actually had the black paint worn down to silver, I'd used it so hard. The warranty ran out, it died a final death, the case was all cracked LOL, it had a rough life.

Wish us luck! I hope we'll be very happy together...

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b295/betheny1/new_laptop.jpg

Product Number KP030UA#ABA
Microprocessor 2.00 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-60
Microprocessor Cache 512KB+512KB L2 Cache
Memory 2048 MB
Memory Max Up to 3GB DDR2
Video Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 7000M
Video Memory Up to 335 MB
Hard Drive 250 GB (5400 rpm)
Multimedia Drive Super Multi 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Display 15.4" WXGA High-Definition BrightView Widescreen (1280 x 800)
Fax/Modem High speed 56K modem
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Ethernet LAN
Wireless Connectivity 802.11 b/g WLAN
Sound Altec Lansing speakers
Keyboard 101-key compatible
Pointing Device Touch Pad with dedicated vertical and horizontal Scroll Up/Down pad
External Ports

* 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards
* 3 Universal Serial Bus USB 2.0
* 1 VGA (15-pin)
* 1 RJ-11 (modem)
* 1 TV-Out (S-video)
* 1 RJ -45 (LAN)
* 1 headphone-out
* 1 microphone-in

Dimensions 14.06" (L) x 10.12" (W) x 1.2" (min H)/1.55" (max H)
Weight 5.68lbs
Security

* Kensington MicroSaver lock slot
* Power-on password
* Accepts 3rd party security lock devices

Power

* 65 W AC Adapter
* 6-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion)

[skippy13]

I notice you waited until the kid moved out so that you could play with it too:D. Congrats on a new toy.

[LaMemChose]

May you and your new PC share a long and happy relationship together.:)

[betheny]

So does anyone else own this, or have any feedback on it? I know it's hardly super impressive, darned if I'm not loving it though. I didn't realize how many little battles I was fighting with my old one, overheating and shutting down, not wanting to play youtube clips, just little stuff.

Did I get a good price? Anybody else agree w/ my philosophy of buying less and springing for the warranty? (To explain-I used the warranty 6 times on the old one! From spilt coffee to teenage temper tantrums to legitimate computer probs, it got used.)

When I first got it, I turned it on, uninstalled Norton's, went straight to majorgeeks.com, installed the free download of AVG, installed Firefox. I felt all virtuous. I'd put on the condoms and was now free to play safely on the internet LOL.

How do I uninstall this other crap, like the internet services they try to sell you etc? They aren't in the Uninstall possibilities in Programs.

It's cool that is has a battery manager in the toolbar, is that a Vista thing? You can turn down the brightness of the monitor real easily for when you're on battery for a while.

Any accessories anybody recommends?

[trainman]

I just got a new MacBook Pro to replace my PowerBook and Dell Inspiron laptop. I tend to go with the save up for 3-4 years and buy higher end, with warranty. I've had clients that get inexpensive machines and like them for the first six months, then all the trial software and everything that made it cheap runs out. They either reinstall windows and start over or get a new computer again. You sound like you know what you're doing though, so yours will hopefully serve you well.

Battery monitor is pretty well standard with PC laptops, you just may have to dig on some to find it. Good accessories are of course a digital camera and printer, iTunes is good for music, tv shows and video if you're into that. An external hard drive is great for extra storage, and backup, if you do a lot with pictures and video.

[Liz321]

mazel tov

[RehabRhino]

Interesting what you say about Vista. I just bought an all singing all Sony Vaio TZ

http://vaio.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProduct.action?product=VGN-TZ31MN%2FN&site=voe_en_GB_cons&category=VN+TZ+Series

I hate Vista, it seems to slow everything up. I had the previous model TZ with XP and everything seemed faster.

[betheny]

Maybe because you got Vista Business? I got the cheapo home version. Surely not slowed down b/c yours has the built-in webcam?

That's a nice machine, Paul. You always have nice toys. :)

My old machine w/ XP may have been slower than this one w/ Vista b/c it had much less of those gigabyte thingys you kids talk about these days. :D

[RehabRhino]

Maybe because you got Vista Business? I got the cheapo home version. Surely not slowed down b/c yours has the built-in webcam?

That's a nice machine, Paul. You always have nice toys. :)

Maybe. Although I tend to keep the webcam turned off (much to Todd's disgust).

I'm a terrible toy buyer.:o Although I can excuse this one slightly - I bought the smallest I could find so I can put it in my lap bag and take it to meetings to take notes (even though I've kind of learnt to use a pen), work on the train to London and use it in bed.

The cost of your laptop was excellent, the nearest equivalent would probably be $200 dearer in the UK. My friend is looking for one now.

[Patonb]

Bethany.... It's your basic run of the mill system, which most im portantly, makes YOU happy.
As long as it does what you want uit too, than its perfect. I have an older hp, and havn't had issues.

RR... your slowness is cause it's only a 1.2Ghz cpu... Which is very slow compared to todays systems. BUT slower means less power consumed, which is what your system is designed for.
XP would be better suited as it was designed for a system speced like yours.

Both computers ARE nice.

[RehabRhino]

Thanks Paton. As you can tell, I am a computard. Is there anything I can do to boost the CPU?

[MioaraD]

[quote=betheny]

Did I get a good price?


Yes+!
In Australia you'd pay about $ 900 for same .
Enjoy it

Mioara

[Patonb]

Thanks Paton. As you can tell, I am a computard. Is there anything I can do to boost the CPU?

Nope.. You can, but it's not easy..

You can trim the fat from vista. Don't ask me how cause i'm a vistatard. If you have a copy of xp, put that on.

[skippy13]

I bought a toshiba satellite a135-s4487 last year. My first laptop. It has vista home premium. I'm still not sure how I feel about vista. I should have gone for a smaller unit though because this 15.4 screen makes it too heavy to lug around for very long.

[PN]

Is there anything I can do to boost the CPU?
I do like the form factor of this laptop and even though it has a Core 2 Duo, 1.2 GHz, may not be enough horsepower to run Vista very well. If you are a sophisticated user then you can try to reduce some of the bloat in Vista by visiting BlackVipers (http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/servicecfg.htm) website. I think this Sony VAIO would perform better with Windows XP.

Bill Gates is a visionary, and he knew that he could release a bloated operating system because Moore's Law would bail him out.

[RJC]

toyz r fun :)

[RehabRhino]

I do like the form factor of this laptop and even though it has a Core 2 Duo, 1.2 GHz, may not be enough horsepower to run Vista very well. If you are a sophisticated user then you can try to reduce some of the bloat in Vista by visiting BlackVipers (http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/servicecfg.htm) website. I think this Sony VAIO would perform better with Windows XP.

Bill Gates is a visionary, and he knew that he could release a bloated operating system because Moore's Law would bail him out.

Thanks PN.

Betheny, sorry for slightly hijacking your thread:o