My new laptop?

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Yes, Drew, size DOES matter
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The link provided shows a laptop that already has a 250 gig hd
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Tiger Direct is a good company to deal with. I just bought a similar unit direct from Lenovo( paid $499 ) with 4 gigs of DDR3 Ram, maybe they will upgrade that for you.
 
I've had no problems in the past buying stuff from Tiger Direct.
Some of the old CompUSA stores down here are now Tiger Direct stores.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT

Also, should I pay the $50 to go from 160 gig to 250 gig hard drive? I've read that hard drive size does equate to faster performance.

Going from 160 GB to 250 GB will not increase performance. Hard drive rotational speed is what affects performance. There is usually a noticeable difference between a 5400 rpm drive and a 7200 rpm drive. Hard drive's cache/buffer size also makes a difference. However, in this price range, you will be hard pressed to find a 7200 rpm drive, so don't worry about it.
 
Originally Posted By: hate2work



The link provided shows a laptop that already has a 250 gig hd
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I know - they have the same machine for $449 with a 160 gig HD.

Do you have a link for the Lenovo you purchased? Does it have the webcam?
 
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I have heard alot of horror stories about Tiger Direct. I am a fan of NewEgg myself.

As far as Lenovo I am not to happy aboout them either. At work we buy and replace LOTS of laptops every year. Every since IBM ThinkPads were sold to Lenovo we had nothing BUT problems I would not own one personally. I see it first hand since I am one of the Network Admins and all of the problems come to me from our help desk.

The one you linked does have good specs for the money.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

Going from 160 GB to 250 GB will not increase performance. Hard drive rotational speed is what affects performance.


It depends on the data density of the platters AND the rotational speed. If that 160GB is a single-platter drive and the 250GB a two-platter drive, the 160GB will be faster. If the 250GB is a single platter drive and the 160GB is also a single-platter drive, the 250GB will be faster.

I have a 10K RPM 80GB SCSI drive that's slower than a 7200RPM 320GB SATA drive.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Originally Posted By: hate2work



The link provided shows a laptop that already has a 250 gig hd
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I know - they have the same machine for $449 with a 160 gig HD.

Do you have a link for the Lenovo you purchased? Does it have the webcam?


Ah, I see now :)

Sure, here's the link to the place I first saw it last month, fatwallet. I'm not sure if they still have this available. Yes, it has the webcam as well as a 320 gig hd.

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/expired-deals/919565/?start=0
 
Generally, yes, going from a 160GB to a 250GB will give better performance in laptop drives, but not in desktop drives.

TomsHardware.com has charts to look at for you compare different drives.

However, now that SSD drives are out, I've tested several different models of them. SLC models based on the Samsung drive are unbelievable! FAST!!!! But, drive size is small, 32 or 64GB.

We tried these and LOVE these things:
G-Skill Falcon SSD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231255
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231221
64MB of cache, not based on the dreaded JMicron controller! These things are GREAT!

I bought one last week and put it in an HP tc4400 tablet PC with 1GB of RAM. XP screams. Windows 7 build 7100 screams, Ubuntu 9.04 screams. Apps load darn near instantaneously in Win7 & Ubuntu (XP strangely takes a bit longer, I think it's a video driver issue). Java apps that take 12-20 seconds with even a fast Seagate 11 or 12 series drive take 2-3 seconds with one of these SSD's.

My suggestion is to find the laptop you like but buy it with the smallest traditional hard drive to save a few $$, then get a G-Skill Falcon drive to replace it. Then you will be a VERY happy camper.
 
Frankly, you should be keeping everything off of the laptop HD. HDs are terribly unreliable, and if youre trusting your drive to store stuff, youre asking for trouble. Get an external Raid 1 backup at home, and then a nice-sized USB stick if needed.

Id go for a smaller, faster rotating drive than a slower rotating, bigger drive. I generally go for the smaller drive optimizing on price per MB/GB.
 
Originally Posted By: brianl703
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

Going from 160 GB to 250 GB will not increase performance. Hard drive rotational speed is what affects performance.


It depends on the data density of the platters AND the rotational speed. If that 160GB is a single-platter drive and the 250GB a two-platter drive, the 160GB will be faster. If the 250GB is a single platter drive and the 160GB is also a single-platter drive, the 250GB will be faster.

I have a 10K RPM 80GB SCSI drive that's slower than a 7200RPM 320GB SATA drive.


Anything can affect performance including rotational speed, disk density or even interface.

As example, I recently upgraded my old Hitachi 160 Gb system disk for this:
http://www.hitachigst.com/portal/site/en/products/travelstar/5K500.B/

This 500 Gb dual disk drive is blazing fast and runs much cooler that old one. What I would do is get laptop with 160 Gb drive, then order new Hitachi 500 Gb drive from Newegg. Only USD$90.00.
 
I have bought stuff from Tiger since at least 2001. Good customer service. Very fair to deal with.

I bought a picture frame for my Mom that had some pixel problem. They paid for shipping both ways and the shipping is always fast even for the cheapest shipping option. I am writing this on my $399 laptop I bought 3 years ago.

They are a good company IMO.
 
It's a decent laptop, but I think better deals are out there. I bought a Dell Vostro with a better Core 2 Duo and mroe cache for $499 over a year ago.

It was a no-frills buisness looking laptop but it is reliable and quick enough for apps I would use on a laptop.

Decent videocard too!
 
Hey Mike, do you have any experience with Lenovo laptops?

Cripes, in one ear I hear they are great, in the other ear they are piles of [censored]!
crazy2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: jigen
It's a decent laptop, but I think better deals are out there. I bought a Dell Vostro with a better Core 2 Duo and mroe cache for $499 over a year ago.

It was a no-frills buisness looking laptop but it is reliable and quick enough for apps I would use on a laptop.

Decent videocard too!


This is about the best deal I've found for what I need and want.

Bestbuy had a similarly equipped Toshiba for $399 about a month ago - I shuld have jumped on that!
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
I shuld have jumped on that!



Hey, don't should on your friends and don't should on yourself!
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My Lenovo experience is limited to a handful of models. They seem to work OK, but again, I don't see all the issues an all IBM/Lenovo shop would see...
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Hey Mike, do you have any experience with Lenovo laptops?

Cripes, in one ear I hear they are great, in the other ear they are piles of [censored]!
crazy2.gif



Welcome to internet forums...
 
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