Laptop upgrade

[vRS]

Ive been using my Think Pad T41 for over a year now and its getting a bit outdated so I think its time for a upgrade, only I haven't a clue what to buy as there are tones out there. Id like something that is considerably better than my current laptop ( look here for these http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h544.htm)

I'm looking for something with specs around these-
- 512mb + RAM, the T41 has 256 and it shows when running applications and the slow start up
- 60gb hard disk or maybe 80 depends on the price. 40gb is good but when I add movies and music this is eaten up
- 1.6Ghz or thereabouts processing speed
- DVD burner is possible but definitely a CD one
- Vista is possible, I know its just out but Xp has started to piss me of more than usual lately

Price wise id have to sell the T41 to help pay for it, any idea what its be worth now? I paid £490 and I hope to make a good amount of it. Its is in near perfect condition and has been well maintained and up to date. Id like to spend under £500 which may seem low considering some of the specs but id be willing to buy a second hand machine. Id also take a Mac Book....

[Shawn]

If you've only had it around a year I would recommend keeping it. Computers obviously become outdated within a few months, let alone a year, but it's just not cost effective to change them so quickly... especially laptops.

Otherwise I can vouch for the MacBook... I have the MB Pro and it's a great machine. In my experience Apple's laptops are the only machines with the same build quality as the Thinkpad, everything else falls short. Don't let the Apple fanboys fool you though, their products aren't perfect, but they're pretty damn good.

Still, if I were you I'd just get some RAM for the Thinkpad. If XP is giving you troubles you can reformat and reinstall XP fresh or move up to Vista.

[jeffy777]

If I ever buy another laptop, it will be an Asus (Core 2 Duo, atleast 1 GB RAM, nice graphics, 120GB hard drive)

Something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220142

But that has better specs than you mentioned, so if you want something cheaper, then consider this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220122

That's a very nice laptop for the price.

[vRS]

Ive always considered upgrading the T41, 1gig or ram is around £80 and Vista Home Premium is around £70-£80 although ill run the upgrade advisor to see if it would work.

That Asus is perfect and at £400 its a giveaway, any clue what id get for the Think pad on eBay if I were to sell it?

[Shawn]

Well if you wanna see how much it's worth on eBay, there's only one thing to do: Check out the T41s on eBay.

I don't have experience with that model but let me tell you that you probably won't get what you want for it. The used computer market is kind of non-existent it seems.

[jeffy777]

Originally Posted by vRS

That Asus is perfect

Yeah bro, Asus is top-notch

[vRS]

Originally Posted by Shawn

Well if you wanna see how much it's worth on eBay, there's only one thing to do: Check out the T41s on eBay.

I don't have experience with that model but let me tell you that you probably won't get what you want for it. The used computer market is kind of non-existent it seems.

I'm seeing £200 to £370 on eBay but most don't have any pics of the actual item in hand, just the ones of IBMs website. Ill look into it but I could maybe get £200 to £275 for it if I throw in Office 2007 and some other goodies.

I'm moving closer to an upgrade but that Asus that jeffy777 showed is perfect for me, cheap and up to the spec Id prefer in a laptop. What abouts Mac Books? they cost an awful lot more to buy so are they worth the extra cash? This one caught my eye, loks great but the price is scary...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Macbook-Pro-1-...QQcmdZViewItem

[jeffy777]

Originally Posted by vRS

What abouts Mac Books? they cost an awful lot more to buy so are they worth the extra cash? This one caught my eye, loks great but the price is scary...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Macbook-Pro-1-...QQcmdZViewItem

They are good computers, but definitely not worth the extra money, IMO. I don't think the hardware quality is any better than Asus.

[Shawn]

Yeah, I guess Apples are sorta luxury items if you will. If you're on a budget then you'd be better off with a Windows machine. That Asus Jeffy posted does look quite good actually @ $1200.