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THis is a few years ago now, but the best notebook I ever has was an IBM ThinkPad. THey are expensive but it was a really nice machine. Anyone have one now?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Intel Centrino

 

Sounds cool.

But what exactly is it?

 

 

I have looked over the web an' all, getting more confused in the process. Anyone here have a new notebook with this, or know SIMPLY what it all is and how I will benefit?

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I think the Centrino is supposed to be a step back from the "faster must be better" philosophy.

 

In recent years especially, the competition between AMD and Intel has had them going hell for leather to ramp up processor speed, XX MHz or (for non-Mac people lol.gif ) XX GHz. They do this by packing in more transistors and forcing the circuits on the chip to work harder. The downside to this is that the chip needs more power and becomes very hot. Higher power consumption means shorter battery life, while higher heat production means all manner of bodgey low-tech cooling solutions (noisy fans, heat shields for other components, etc) that increase case size and weight. With the Centrino (and another chip called the Crusoe made by Transmeta), I think the focus is more on power consumption and reduced heat dissipation than processing power. Since laptops are never going to be as fast as a desktop, it makes sense to focus on aspects that are beneficial for mobile computing.

 

Centrino chips also have some kind of WiFi connectivity onchip, though I don't know much about WiFi standards or whether this is a better arrangement than separate circuitry.

 

I'm in the market for a laptop myself, but the most important things for me are 1. the weight and 2. the keyboard. I don't want anything over 2kg, and I want a nice keyboard with a properly sized control key bottom right, not a function key, so I can use keyboard shortcuts. I'll have to go and poke about on one in the shop, but the Fujitsu MG ones are my main contender at the mo. It's got a 13.1" screen, but weighs only 1.63kg with the DVD drive attached. If you buy online from Fujitsu, they give you a three year guarantee.

 

If you don't intend on moving your laptop around much and always run it off the adapter, one of the larger brick-like ones with a faster chip would probably be better.

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I had a Fujitsu a couple of years back and had real problems with it - I have a really bad impression of their stuff now. Apart from the fact that the software they put on it kept on screwing things up, the battery was awful and I thought the machine wasn't built well either. It seemed flimsy.

 

It may have just been the one I had of course, but I didn't like it at all.

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Dell - had it for 2 years, not 1 problem and will more than likely get my next one from them.

 

Surely you're going to be getting stories and problems with any make of machine from time to time.

 

Dell do have a generally very good reputation.

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its the dell inspiron 2600 celeron processor.

 

dont really know the specifics, its just over a year or so old.

 

its true though, every type of computer is going to have problems. and yes, dell does have a fairly good reputation.

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i bought my dell 3 years ago in england, the keyboard started going a bit dodgy the other week (shift key wasnt working), so i called up support here in japan and someone came to my house the next day with a new keyboard (not a japanese one might i add, but the correct one for my english laptop) and fixed it for me. that was the first problem id ever had with it and i was very happy with the support they gave.

 

long live dell.

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