Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | PC Support |
Buying my first Laptop |
DVA4215
Senior Captain, MD-11
OLP
Joined on March 12 2007
Everett 250 Club
Six Century Club
Online Quadruple Century Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Pleasant Grove, UT USA
636 legs, 1,647.2 hours
410 legs,
746.5 hours online 589 legs,
1,563.2 hours ACARS 7 legs,
10.3 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
June 16 2010 18:21 ET by Kyle Hatch
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Hi everyone!
So the time has come to buy myself my first laptop. Now I'm keeping the price $400 or less. I have found one I'm interested in but I would first like some of the tech guys here take a look and let me know what you think. I'm not planning on doing too much FS on it so a gaming status isn't a big deal. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Compaq-G62-219WM/14224748
Thanks!
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DVA6983
Captain, B737-800
Joined on February 07 2009
Century Club
""Can't, never did anything.."" Phoenix, AZ USA
125 legs, 233.4 hours
4 legs,
7.2 hours online 125 legs,
233.4 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
June 16 2010 18:31 ET by Dale Westlund
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Looks like a pretty nice one.. How's the sunburn..?
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DVA4215
Senior Captain, MD-11
OLP
Joined on March 12 2007
Everett 250 Club
Six Century Club
Online Quadruple Century Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Pleasant Grove, UT USA
636 legs, 1,647.2 hours
410 legs,
746.5 hours online 589 legs,
1,563.2 hours ACARS 7 legs,
10.3 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
June 17 2010 16:53 ET by Kyle Hatch
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Thanks Dale! Haha its hurtin but getting better! Anybody else have advise on this? I dont know much about lap tops so it would be nice to get some pro opinions on it!
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DVA7899
Captain, B737-800
Joined on October 29 2009
Online Double Century Club
Long Beach Century Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
"PMDG or go home :)" Springfield, MO USA
304 legs, 743.8 hours
283 legs,
682.2 hours online 303 legs,
740.0 hours ACARS 30 legs,
47.9 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
June 17 2010 17:12 ET by Skylar Macminn
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I'd say as long as you don't plan to play FS on it you should be fine. It probably wouldn't even be able to play FS -- looks like it's only an on-board integrated gpu, which means it's pretty lackluster for a gaming system.
For the price, and for using it for videos/website access/work I'd say it's a decent buy.
If you are willing to up your budget by $29 or so, I'd personally go with:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Pentium%26%23174%3B+Processor+-+Titanium/9700714.p?skuId=9700714&ky=1sVcNEQUypz4wWbzawyGOesETar5V5iCh&cmp=RMX&id=1218152462975
Intel Pentium T4400 2.2ghz, 3GB RAM, 320GB SATA Hard Drive, IntelĀ® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M, a Webcam, Windows 7 Home Premium.
ASUS makes stellar computers, and it's a bit of a plug because I now work for Bust Buy's tech support call center
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DVA4295
Captain, B767-300
Joined on April 05 2007
Online Century Club
Double Century Club
Stratford, CT USA
212 legs, 397.9 hours
194 legs,
368.4 hours online 190 legs,
356.7 hours ACARS 3 legs,
6.7 hours event 19 legs dispatched, 10.0
hours
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Posted onPost created on
June 17 2010 19:14 ET by John Alusik
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An Intel Graphics Media Accelerator is also an integrated card, he'll probably bet better performance out of the 4250 because it is a more powerful GPU. AMD actually sells their chipset for Desktop motherboards and the Northbridge chipset contains a 4250. It is pretty much a discrete chip embedded in a motherboard.
John AlusikCaptain, B767-300
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DVA7899
Captain, B737-800
Joined on October 29 2009
Online Double Century Club
Long Beach Century Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
"PMDG or go home :)" Springfield, MO USA
304 legs, 743.8 hours
283 legs,
682.2 hours online 303 legs,
740.0 hours ACARS 30 legs,
47.9 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
June 17 2010 19:18 ET by Skylar Macminn
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John Alusik wrote:
An Intel Graphics Media Accelerator is also an integrated card, he'll probably bet better performance out of the 4250 because it is a more powerful GPU. AMD actually sells their chipset for Desktop motherboards and the Northbridge chipset contains a 4250. It is pretty much a discrete chip embedded in a motherboard.
I know that it's an integrated card, I wasn't saying it was otherwise. The biggest reason I'd say get it through BestBuy is their support is far superior to that of Walmart. Walmart doesn't specialize in Technical Support like Best Buy does
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DVA4295
Captain, B767-300
Joined on April 05 2007
Online Century Club
Double Century Club
Stratford, CT USA
212 legs, 397.9 hours
194 legs,
368.4 hours online 190 legs,
356.7 hours ACARS 3 legs,
6.7 hours event 19 legs dispatched, 10.0
hours
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Posted onPost created on
June 17 2010 19:23 ET by John Alusik
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Yeah but unless you get a Geek Squad warranty, you won't get Geek Squad support under that warranty. You can still bring any computer to Geek Squad they are going to charge you just as they would if a Geek Squad extended warranty wasn't purchased.
John AlusikCaptain, B767-300
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DVA7899
Captain, B737-800
Joined on October 29 2009
Online Double Century Club
Long Beach Century Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
"PMDG or go home :)" Springfield, MO USA
304 legs, 743.8 hours
283 legs,
682.2 hours online 303 legs,
740.0 hours ACARS 30 legs,
47.9 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
June 17 2010 19:26 ET by Skylar Macminn
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John Alusik wrote:
Yeah but unless you get a Geek Squad warranty, you won't get Geek Squad support under that warranty. You can still bring any computer to Geek Squad they are going to charge you just as they would if a Geek Squad extended warranty wasn't purchased.
I believe you get free phone technical support, no? Their phone support is separate from Geek Squad.
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DVA4295
Captain, B767-300
Joined on April 05 2007
Online Century Club
Double Century Club
Stratford, CT USA
212 legs, 397.9 hours
194 legs,
368.4 hours online 190 legs,
356.7 hours ACARS 3 legs,
6.7 hours event 19 legs dispatched, 10.0
hours
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Posted onPost created on
June 17 2010 19:31 ET by John Alusik
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I don't believe they do, any tech support services is usually rendered by the manufacturer of the computer. I have come across plenty of items that say to contact the manufacturer rather than bring a product back to the store.
John AlusikCaptain, B767-300
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DVA7899
Captain, B737-800
Joined on October 29 2009
Online Double Century Club
Long Beach Century Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
"PMDG or go home :)" Springfield, MO USA
304 legs, 743.8 hours
283 legs,
682.2 hours online 303 legs,
740.0 hours ACARS 30 legs,
47.9 hours event
|
Posted onPost created on
June 17 2010 19:39 ET by Skylar Macminn
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In unrelated news:
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DVA4215
Senior Captain, MD-11
OLP
Joined on March 12 2007
Everett 250 Club
Six Century Club
Online Quadruple Century Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Pleasant Grove, UT USA
636 legs, 1,647.2 hours
410 legs,
746.5 hours online 589 legs,
1,563.2 hours ACARS 7 legs,
10.3 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
June 17 2010 20:26 ET by Kyle Hatch
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If we throw support off to the side, which one would be the better one on performance?
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DVA7899
Captain, B737-800
Joined on October 29 2009
Online Double Century Club
Long Beach Century Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
"PMDG or go home :)" Springfield, MO USA
304 legs, 743.8 hours
283 legs,
682.2 hours online 303 legs,
740.0 hours ACARS 30 legs,
47.9 hours event
|
Posted onPost created on
June 18 2010 10:38 ET by Skylar Macminn
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Kyle I really cannot comment on the AMD as I have never, nor will I ever use AMD -- I'm an Intel guy Comes down to preference there.
For what it's worth though, ASUS makes really reliable, sturdy computers.
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DVA7373
Captain, B757-200
OLP
Joined on May 31 2009
"Howdy" Southeastern United States
72 legs, 187.6 hours
32 legs,
85.4 hours online 67 legs,
153.2 hours ACARS 2 legs,
3.1 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
June 18 2010 11:30 ET by Nicholas Taylor
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Kyle, they'll both be about equal. I'd go with the Compaq only because it's cheaper, and it has a legitimate graphics card.
Nicholas TaylorCaptain, B757-200
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DVA4295
Captain, B767-300
Joined on April 05 2007
Online Century Club
Double Century Club
Stratford, CT USA
212 legs, 397.9 hours
194 legs,
368.4 hours online 190 legs,
356.7 hours ACARS 3 legs,
6.7 hours event 19 legs dispatched, 10.0
hours
|
Posted onPost created on
June 18 2010 11:42 ET by John Alusik
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Mobile CPUs are pretty much the same between Intel and AMD, I have no preference for mobile CPUs I just look for the other key components.
John AlusikCaptain, B767-300
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DVA364
Captain, B767-300
Joined on October 23 2001
Century Club
DVA Twenty-Year Anniversary
Everett Century Club
"COWBOY UP!" Carrollton, GA
190 legs, 366.9 hours
5 legs,
6.5 hours online 150 legs,
249.2 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
June 18 2010 12:49 ET by Ralph Templeman
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I think either are good. just depends on what your using it for.
Ralph TemplemanCaptain, B767-300
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DVA1933
Senior Captain, B727-200
Joined on September 19 2004
Triple Century Club
Monterrey, NL Mexico
357 legs, 860.4 hours
72 legs,
132.3 hours online 255 legs,
668.3 hours ACARS 1 legs,
1.9 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
June 18 2010 15:01 ET by David Eugenio Gomez
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Whatever you do... DO NOT buy Compaq or HP, trust me on this one.
Toshiba is a great brand. Acer is OK.
I just got a Toshiba with an i3 CPU and 4 Gigs of RAM, works great. I'm typing this from it, actually. http://www.deltava.org/thread.do?id=0x1648d
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DVA4215
Senior Captain, MD-11
OLP
Joined on March 12 2007
Everett 250 Club
Six Century Club
Online Quadruple Century Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Pleasant Grove, UT USA
636 legs, 1,647.2 hours
410 legs,
746.5 hours online 589 legs,
1,563.2 hours ACARS 7 legs,
10.3 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
June 18 2010 21:14 ET by Kyle Hatch
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Haha great... I still keep getting split answers. I emailed a professional tech guy and he says go with the compaq because it has better performance. I have searched the web and 70% of people say dont buy compaqs while others love them. I've been told the dual core 2.1 on the compaq kicks the ASUS 2.2 single core. I know a lot of you guys are just going to tell me to get what I want, but what I want is a confident purchase.
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DVA1933
Senior Captain, B727-200
Joined on September 19 2004
Triple Century Club
Monterrey, NL Mexico
357 legs, 860.4 hours
72 legs,
132.3 hours online 255 legs,
668.3 hours ACARS 1 legs,
1.9 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
June 18 2010 22:00 ET by David Eugenio Gomez
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Well, Compaq has the worst quality control out there. Their stuff breaks in a month, and ever since HP bought Compaq, they said good bye to their quality too!
Something to consider: not everyone is a computer expert. Most of those people who say that X brand is great, haven't had a problem YET, and think the computer is "excellent". Then again, EVERY device will fail sooner or later. The thing is, Compaq and HP fail WAY SOONER.
From own experience, and what I've heard from computer systems engineers at college and work, I say stay away from Compaq and HP.
One more thing: every electronic device is subjected to possible manufacturing failures. That one computer you bought came malfunctioning from factory, doesn't mean that the brand is bad, at all! The problem comes when too many people complain of the same problems over and over again, which is the case of HP.
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DVA4215
Senior Captain, MD-11
OLP
Joined on March 12 2007
Everett 250 Club
Six Century Club
Online Quadruple Century Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Pleasant Grove, UT USA
636 legs, 1,647.2 hours
410 legs,
746.5 hours online 589 legs,
1,563.2 hours ACARS 7 legs,
10.3 hours event
|
Posted onPost created on
June 18 2010 22:57 ET by Kyle Hatch
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I trust what your saying. Do you know of any other good laptops for 450 or less? Can NOT go higher than 450. I really like the dual core and video card in the Compaq. If we could find a reliable brand with very similar specs as the Compaq that would be awesome. The Asus is the next in line for me but it does lack a little more than the compaq does. And also the Asus doesnt have the DDR3 which is also a plus for that price.
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DVA8720
Captain, B767-300
Joined on June 11 2010
Century Club
Everett Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
Washington, DC USA
171 legs, 500.5 hours
171 legs,
500.5 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
June 19 2010 02:32 ET by Dmytri Eck
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If you're hoping to play FSX on a reasonable computer it will cost you an arm and a leg. I have a hp dv9000 and it's alright but still no where near what I was hoping for. The setting on this computer are close to minimal. Desktops, I think, are better suited for a game like FSX assuming yoru hardware is on the upper half of the spectrum :-)
Dmytri EckCaptain, B767-300
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DVA6164
Senior Captain, MD-11
Joined on June 17 2008
50 State Club
Tri-Jet Quincentenary
Three Million Mile Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Millennium Club
"Clearance Clarence, Roger Roger..." Lafayette, IN USA
1,169 legs, 7,457.7 hours
57 legs,
183.0 hours online 1,166 legs,
7,448.2 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
June 19 2010 14:52 ET by Brian Knight
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I think the deal with the HP and Compaq computers are you need to watch which ones you purchase. I have an HP industrial workstation that I have been using daily for over 3 years, and haven't had problem one with it. It may cost you a little more up front for the machine, but if it is made for daily use, then it should put up with whatever you throw at it.
Brian KnightSenior Captain, MD-11
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DVA1933
Senior Captain, B727-200
Joined on September 19 2004
Triple Century Club
Monterrey, NL Mexico
357 legs, 860.4 hours
72 legs,
132.3 hours online 255 legs,
668.3 hours ACARS 1 legs,
1.9 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
June 19 2010 15:26 ET by David Eugenio Gomez
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He said he doesn't need to run FS on it that much.
Honestly, it's hard to find a good laptop for that price. If I were you, I'd save an extra 100 bucks and get something in the $550 range. It also depends on what you want it for. Office applications, videos, email, etc? Or something a little bit more professional?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+Satellite+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Pentium%26%23174%3B+Processor+-+Graphite/9705221.p?id=1218154378233&skuId=9705221
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Inspiron+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Pentium%26%23174%3B+Processor+-+Jet+Black/9718119.p?id=1218158730509&skuId=9718119
That seems alright. I'd somewhat slower than the one I got, but it's similar. BTW, a lot of the guys at my university use that Dell computer. It seems good enough.
Remember, you get what you pay for. These are NOT gaming computers.
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DVA8675
Captain, B737-800
E-MAIL
Joined on May 21 2010
West Indies
37 legs, 100.1 hours
32 legs,
87.3 hours online 37 legs,
100.1 hours ACARS 2 legs,
6.6 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
June 22 2010 20:39 ET by Shannon Solomon
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I like this laptop but I cant get a decent review. Anybody knows for fact that this computer is good and would recommend it for flight sim and other gaming.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+-+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i5+Processor+-+Red/Black/9748386.p?id=1218166152252&skuId=9748386
Shannon SolomonCaptain, B737-800
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