AMD Phenom II Quad Core (P920)

[Harsh Gupta]

Is anyone using a laptop with this processor? If yes, would you recommend the same?

I have been looking for a notebook (sans HP), and this the cheapest notebook with quad core processor I am getting.

Any comments/pros/cons on this?

Thank you.

[mendhak]

You get what you pay for, so the more you spend, the better you'll get, obviously.

What's the laptop for - not gaming I presume (because that processor won't be any good).

Also, how long do you want to keep the laptop for? If it's for at least a few years, then you may want to spend the extra cash for something better. Possibly the n930 or x920.

[BackWoodsCoder]

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 2.5 hours of battery life

That would stop me from buying the machine right there.

[Harsh Gupta]

Hey,

Sorry for such a late reply. Been unwell for past few days.

I am not looking for a gaming rig, but if it could play some of them, that'd be nice.

What do you guys think of Acer Aspire AS7551G-5821? I guess this was suggested by another member in a previous thread. It looks good and falls in my budget.

[Harsh Gupta]

Also, battery life doesn't bother me too much. I am a student and gets a power point most of the time as I usually stay at home.

[akhileshbc]

Looks like the battery life is very low (about 2 hours only). But overall, it a power packed machine of Acer at an affordable price

Is it possible to extend the battery life by adding new cells ?

[Harsh Gupta]

Looks like the battery life is very low (about 2 hours only). But overall, it a power packed machine of Acer at an affordable price

Is it possible to extend the battery life by adding new cells ?

This system has 6 Lithium-ion cells battery. It is possible to increase battery life by replacing it with 8 cells or 9 cells battery. I recall that there is also 12 cell battery option but I guess that is not Lithium-ion but I maybe wrong. Someone else can affirm this.

[TheBigB]

Every time somebody buys an Acer, Satan kills a kitten

Seriously, though, I do not recommend Acers.
They are cheap, but can be very pricey for maintenance (and you'll need it when warranty exceeds).
Taking in consideration that the notebook you mentioned only has a one year warranty, I discourage you to buy that notebook.
Pick a notebook with a two year warranty, they aren't always more expensive.

If you take my word of advice, don't buy Dell, Acer or a crappy supermarket brand.
Good brands (I think) are Asus, MSI, Samsung and Sony.
Of course some people might disagree, but everyone's entitled to their own opinion, eh?

[akhileshbc]

If you take my word of advice, don't buy Dell, Acer or a crappy supermarket brand.
Good brands (I think) are Asus, MSI, Samsung and Sony.
Of course some people might disagree, but everyone's entitled to their own opinion, eh?

I think, Dell laps are also cheap. But don't know about the quality of the product though

But Sony is a bit over priced, IMHO !!!

[Harsh Gupta]

Every time somebody buys an Acer, Satan kills a kitten

Seriously, though, I do not recommend Acers.
They are cheap, but can be very pricey for maintenance (and you'll need it when warranty exceeds).
Taking in consideration that the notebook you mentioned only has a one year warranty, I discourage you to buy that notebook.
Pick a notebook with a two year warranty, they aren't always more expensive.

If you take my word of advice, don't buy Dell, Acer or a crappy supermarket brand.
Good brands (I think) are Asus, MSI, Samsung and Sony.
Of course some people might disagree, but everyone's entitled to their own opinion, eh?

Actually I was interested in getting an Asus Laptop but couldn't find anything decent within my budget.

I am not interested in getting a Duo-Core when I can get a Quad-Core in same price range.

I think brand doesn't matter. The processor, GPU, RAM, MOBO, whatever they use come from different manufacturer, and if they are crappy then even Sony will fail.

My 2 cents.

[honeybee]

Also, battery life doesn't bother me too much. I am a student and gets a power point most of the time as I usually stay at home.

Why not go for a desktop? Much less price, better config and easily upgradable too!

.

[akhileshbc]

Why not go for a desktop?
.

Because they are not portable.

[honeybee]

Because they are not portable.

Well, I can deduce that much. Why I asked is he said he is home most of the times. If he doesn't need to lug it around, why spend money on a laptop? He could build a good gaming rig for the price of a basic laptop.

.

[Harsh Gupta]

I do favor desktops but laptops have their own advantages. Collaboration is one that comes to mind.

Anyways, I am student right now and may move from here within next 5-6 months. At this point of time, having a desktop will be painful in future.

That's why I am looking for a not-too-pricy laptop.

[NeedSomeAnswers]

Good brands (I think) are Asus, MSI, Samsung and Sony.

Sony are the Apple of the PC Laptop market. Look very pretty and nicely designed but costs a small fortune.

For this reason alone do not look to buy a Sony laptop, you pay a premium for the design.

[honeybee]

I think brand doesn't matter. The processor, GPU, RAM, MOBO, whatever they use come from different manufacturer, and if they are crappy then even Sony will fail.

It's the service that is associated with a brand that matters. Laptops aren't something that can be fixed by an ordinary technician. Even desktops aren't, for that matter, but then they are cheap. Go with a brand that will give you a good warranty support (and stand by it when you need it).

In my last job I used an Acer laptop that was given by the company. Used it for about two years. It was the only machine I used so the usage was pretty good. Other than a battery replacement it didn't have any major issues in the two years. It did lose some coat where my wrists rubbed with the rest area below the keyboard, and on the lid. It was cheap too.

.

[TheBigB]

Sony are the Apple of the PC Laptop market. Look very pretty and nicely designed but costs a small fortune.

For this reason alone do not look to buy a Sony laptop, you pay a premium for the design.

I disagree.
Just bought a 14" vaio with i3 and decent graphics for a good price.

[Harsh Gupta]

Sony are the Apple of the PC Laptop market. Look very pretty and nicely designed but costs a small fortune.

For this reason alone do not look to buy a Sony laptop, you pay a premium for the design.

I diagree with that too. My friend had a Sony Vaio which doesn't looked like it is all about looks and not performance. I found the look to be too ordinary to have good performance. But it sucked my HP Pavilion dv6500 series laptop.

In fact, if you look at experts review at CNET or ZDNet, the design of Sony Vaio usually falls between not-so-good to OK. But then it is their perspective.

If someone has any better option, preferably Asus, please share your opinion. My system has been crashing a lot lately, even while watching youtube (and running nothing else, except gtalk) and I am in dire need of getting a new system asap.

[honeybee]

My system has been crashing a lot lately, even while watching youtube (and running nothing else, except gtalk) and I am in dire need of getting a new system asap.

What software are you running? If this is a phenomenon of late, maybe you should try formatting and reinstalling the OS and the other software. If it's working, it wouldn't make much sense to spend money on a new laptop.

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