Laptop Questions (For a laptop Newbie)

[Jesse Risley]

I'm currently in the process of building a new E1505 dual core laptop from Dell, primarily for use in the field. I'm new to the whole laptop business, so I'm just curious -

What features do you find important in a laptop with regards to chasing? What are the essentials?

Any and all suggestions are appreciated, as this will be a first laptop for me.

 

[David Drummond]

Well, just like any other computer application, it depends on what you planning on doing chasing. Do you just need to get internet access and run a mapping program? Are you going to be running a number of heavy programs at the same time? Are you going to be doing video editing on the road? Are you going to be using the laptop for other things when not chasing? If so, what for?

Evaluate all of your needs for this machine to know what you will need. Some people can get by with a basic walmart model, others need a powerhouse.

 

[John Erwin]

Some good comments from David, so I won't repeat them. I would also strongly recommend evaluating the ergonomics and physical aspects of the laptop too;

- will it fit into my vehicle (if you plan on using it in the car)?
- is there enough brightness/contrast to see the screen on a bright day?
- is the laptop rugged enough for use in a mobile setting?

 

[Jesse Risley]

I'll be doing some video editing, but not a great deal. I want good internet access of course, and I plan on running either GR Level 3 or Swift WX..still deciding between the two. Outside of chasing, I'll likely use this pc for basic Internet connectivity in coffee shops to catch up on work related stuff.

 

[Skip Talbot]

I have a core 2 duo e1505 that I'm using for chasing. I highly recommend you have a bluetooth option added to the laptop as this was not a standard feature when I ordered mine. Although I didn't have any bluetooth devices at the time, I now connect both my cell phone and gps over the bluetooth interface, so having built in bluetooth is very nice (as opposed to a USB dongle).

The e1505 is a wide laptop with a wide screen format. I have no problems fitting it in my van though. The screen is definitely bright enough, even in broad daylight (as long as there isn't glare or direct sunshine on the screen). The only issue I've had with it was occasional blue screens during chases causing me to hard boot, losing my GPS logs and consuming about 5 minutes as I had to setup everything up again. I believe this was caused by a compatibility issue between the laptop and my Sony Ericsson phone, however. I haven't seen the problem at all on with my Motorazr v3xx.

As far as general laptop considerations go: Definitely get the 256MB video option as this is a really requirement for Vista, and will let you smooth GRLevel3. Make sure you also get 2GB of RAM. You're going to be taking a performance hit if you don't.

 

[Robert Edmonds]

Like what everyone else has said it depends on what you want. You can have some super laptop or a cheap one. I recently purchased a laptop for about $500. It can run the two programs I want it to run at the same time, and it has built in wifi. If you want to do video/photo editing I’d get a better laptop, but I usually wait till I get home to do that on my desktop computer.

 

[beaudodson]

Buyer beware - DO NOT BUY A DELL. I have just gone through the worst nightmare possible with that company. NOW I find out that I am not alone.
http://www.ihatedell.net/forum/phpBB2/

All I can say is that I will never do business with this company again. Life is good with DELL until you have a problem.

 

[Nick Parker]

I second Beau's statement...

I have TWO Dell Laptops (and no...not the cheaper versions either) and as I write this, they both have 2 inches of dust on top of em. The hard drive crashed/screen f+++ed up on one and the other had powerport problems. Dell's so called "support" would not help either one. (even under warranty!!! ) First would cost me an even $1000 bucks to fix, something like a 250 shipping charge just to repair it, then the other one they sent us a new power supply at "half price" and that wasn't even the dang problem. And I've also had three friends report horrific problems with thiers, including a desktop. Good luck talking to India when you have a problem!!

I've had this HP Pavillion dv5000 for almost a year now without so much as a hiccup. It is a great computer and will definatly buy another one when the time comes. Alienware also puts out some nice ones, and from what I hear, their customer support is outstanding.

Good luck though if you decide on the Dell. I'd hire a interpruter if you had problems though....

Nick

 

[Jerry Prsha]

Alienware

Nick,

Dell owns Alienware now.

I like Lenovo's machines too. Dell's quality keeps dropping.

Jp

 

[Tony Perkins]

Go for the internal bluetooth. It was optional on mine and I didn't get it, and now have a USB adapter sticking out the side waiting to be snapped off. My laptop pretty much has to be disassembled 100% before you can get to where the internal bluetooth adapter goes. I tried to upgrade, but after 3 stuck/stripped screws and drilling one out with a dremel, I never could get to the place to install it.

Screen brightness is key too. I have a HP and it's 'truebright' screen is great. And the SIZE of laptop is something to consider too. The smaller the better. I didn't realize how big this widescreen laptop was until I looked into mounting it.

And last, find a mouse option you are comfortable with using from an uncomfortable position (laptop to your side). Your choices usually are the little track knob and he touch pads.

 

[Robert Edmonds]

Speaking of laptops, anyone concerned about the effects of vibration on a hard drive? Anyone had a computer fail becuase of this? If so or not, what do you do to prevent this?

 

[John Erwin]

Speaking of laptops, anyone concerned about the effects of vibration on a hard drive? Anyone had a computer fail becuase of this? If so or not, what do you do to prevent this?

This is hard to assess since you can't be sure of what happened if your hard drive fails unless you can correllate a specific G-shock incident with a sudden failure.

The good news is that Notebook HD's are definitely more robust than their Desktop cousins. You can find the specs on many of the HD's by visiting some HD vendor websites. I've have favourable results with IBM, Toshiba and Fujitsu drives, however I'm a bit leery of Hitachi and a few others.

Probably one of the factors under your control is the mount you are using in your vehicle; something that absorbs excessive shock is going to help somewhat.

 

[Jesse Risley]

I have a core 2 duo e1505 that I'm using for chasing. I highly recommend you have a bluetooth option added to the laptop as this was not a standard feature when I ordered mine. Although I didn't have any bluetooth devices at the time, I now connect both my cell phone and gps over the bluetooth interface, so having built in bluetooth is very nice (as opposed to a USB dongle).

The e1505 is a wide laptop with a wide screen format. I have no problems fitting it in my van though. The screen is definitely bright enough, even in broad daylight (as long as there isn't glare or direct sunshine on the screen). The only issue I've had with it was occasional blue screens during chases causing me to hard boot, losing my GPS logs and consuming about 5 minutes as I had to setup everything up again. I believe this was caused by a compatibility issue between the laptop and my Sony Ericsson phone, however. I haven't seen the problem at all on with my Motorazr v3xx.

As far as general laptop considerations go: Definitely get the 256MB video option as this is a really requirement for Vista, and will let you smooth GRLevel3. Make sure you also get 2GB of RAM. You're going to be taking a performance hit if you don't.

Would the bluetooth be necessary if I'm only connecting to one cell line? Also, any problems with mobile vibrations? Do you have a permanent mobile mounting bracket?

 

[Robert Edmonds]

Probably one of the factors under your control is the mount you are using in your vehicle; something that absorbs excessive shock is going to help somewhat.

Is the shock absorption from mounts sufficient? Most retail ones seem to only have padding on the surface that the laptop rests on. Am I correct about this? If so are there mounts with further shock absorption, or would this be over kill?

 

[John Erwin]

Is the shock absorption from mounts sufficient? Most retail ones seem to only have padding on the surface that the laptop rests on. Am I correct about this? If so are there mounts with further shock absorption, or would this be over kill?

I use a laptop mount produced by RAM mounting systems; they claim the rubberized "ball" mounts used in the joints absorb quite a bit of shock. The padding will also help somewhat, as will the geometry of the entire mount ie. a straight pipe up to a platform might transmit more shock to the laptop than one that incorporates an arm such as a jotto-desk.