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Upcoming laptop tech (need advice)

J

JazZy-

n00b
Joined
Feb 24, 2008
Messages
3
I'm thinking about getting a laptop for some CAD work on the go, but I'm not in a hurry to get one yet. Other than waiting for Penryn and LED backlit screens to become a bit more common, is there any other new tech around the corner worth holding out for a month or two? And has anyone seen a review comparing the LED to non-LED backlits back to back on the same model to see how much more battery life you get?

Oh and a few other noob questions (never bought a laptop before): Is there room for more than one HD without sacrificing any other components? And would replacing components yourself (CPU, RAM, HD, network card, etc) void the warranty? Finally, are the extended warranties worth it? When I eventually do get a laptop it'll most likely be thrown into my backpack along with my textbooks. Spills are not an issue though.
 
JazZy- said:
Oh and a few other noob questions (never bought a laptop before): Is there room for more than one HD without sacrificing any other components? And would replacing components yourself (CPU, RAM, HD, network card, etc) void the warranty? Finally, are the extended warranties worth it? When I eventually do get a laptop it'll most likely be thrown into my backpack along with my textbooks. Spills are not an issue though.
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Depends on what laptop you buy. Some laptops have dual hard drives, others (such as my Asus W3J) have a slot for either a battery, another hard drive, or a DVD-ROM drive. The thing is, it has to be included in the original laptop. You can't just add another hard drive once you get it unless it specifically says you can. So, generally speak, no.

Replacing components does generally void your warranty. Unless, again, it says it wont. If something is hot swap-able, such as a modular drive bay for a hard drive, battery, or DVD-ROM then it wont void your warranty. Also, some manufactures will void the warranty if you change the RAM, others wont. Generally, anything other then the RAM will void your warranty.

This is all personal preference. I bought an HP Laptop at Circuit City, and I got an extended warranty. Somehow, and I have no idea how this happened, the PCI Express slot got bent. The thing is about 3 inches inside the laptop, and had a protective cover on it, but it got bent none the less. I called up City Advantage (Circuit City's protection plan) and got everything set up. They mailed me a pre-paid box to put my laptop in, put it, mailed it. A week later, they mailed me the laptop back fix. The entire thing was free to have it fixed. I think it's worth it, something that you can't fix without buying a new motherboard ended up being fixed for free for me. I've personally had good experiences with Circuit City, so I'd say they're worth it. But, really, it comes down to a personal preference.
 
Replacing parts does not void the warranty. Laptops are designed so that many of the components(CPU, RAM, HD, sometimes the optical drive) are user-serviceable and most vendors even have disassembly instructions on their sites.
 
Cool, thanks for the warranty advice (I'll prob end up getting one with the way I expect to carry my laptop around), and for clearing up the upgrade stuff.

So, how about the LED backlit power test? No one's done a back to back comparison? ;)
 
LED technology is supposed to save power, but it probably depends on the specific implementation. It certainly will make the laptop thinner and lighter though.
 
Laptops are designed so that many of the components(CPU, RAM, HD, sometimes the optical drive) are user-serviceable and most vendors even have disassembly instructions on their sites.
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Within reason. I don't think HP is going to service a computer if you tried to replace the CPU yourself. RAM or HD is generally okay, so long as it is user serviceable. Generally, anything that requires more then a few screws to open is going to void your warranty.
 
EQTakeOffense said:
Within reason. I don't think HP is going to service a computer if you tried to replace the CPU yourself. RAM or HD is generally okay, so long as it is user serviceable. Generally, anything that requires more then a few screws to open is going to void your warranty.
Click to expand...

Unless you break something while doing it, they can't void the warranty if you replace a CPU.
 
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