A brand new novice.

[Rik1087]

Afternoon All,

As the title says, my knowledge on computers is pretty much nil.

Im looking to purchase a laptop mainly for web browsing, uploading photos/videos, downloading music, streaming football games, and mainly playing football manager, no other games will really be played.

Please could you advise me if the following laptop will be relevant for the usage, will the sytem be quick?

Chassis & Display Genesis IV: 15.6" Glossy HD LED 16:9 Widescreen (1366x768)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Pentium® Dual Core Processor B970 (2.30 GHz) 2MB Cache
Memory (RAM) 8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card Intel® HD Graphics 3000/4000 Video Memory Technology up to 1.7GB
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 1TB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD10JPVT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
2nd Hard Disk NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Sound Card Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery Genesis Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (48.84WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 65W AC Adaptor
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Laptop Cooling Stands NONE
Carry Case NONE
Monitor NONE
Keyboard & Mouse INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Speakers NONE
Webcam INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Headsets (VOIP) NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE


Also one last question, once the laptop arrives, what actions do i need to take to make it work? I have read somewhere you need to install all the hardrives and programs yourself, is this correct?

Any help would be much appreicated

Regards,

 

[Roberts1234567]

I would say 8GB of RAM is too much, 4GB of DDR2 handles me playing FM2012 and browsing the web, music etc at the same time, if you put it to 4GB and used the savings on upgrading the processor if you could afford too. If you find the RAM isn't enough you could upgrade a lot easier than upgrading the processor. But you should probably wait for some expert opinions from the forum regulars before you buy it as i'm no expert.

 

[Rik1087]

Thanks for your response - Does anyone know if my CPU - (Intel® Pentium® Dual Core Processor B970 (2.30 GHz) 2MB Cache)
will be good enough to handle what i want to do? Or will i eventually find the laptop runs slower and slower?
Apologies for these simple questions.

Thanks

 

[Keithg]

My concern with the CPU would be the football manager games. I have FM10 and depending on how many countries and leagues you select doing match updates can take a long time as it is very CPU intensive.
For everything else the CPU would be fine, so it depends on how much you play FM and whether you can stand to have smaller games or longer waits. If you play it alot then you should upgrade.

 

[bojan6]

Depend how much it cost. If you'r thinking the laptop to last for the next 3-4 years I won't recommend core duo CPU. For new generation software to run smoothly you will need min i3 and 4gb ram plus if you can invest in ssd instead of hd will be better. However, everything depend how much you want to spend. I don't have time at the moment to search as I have to go to work but I thing you can find decent laptop ot build one with pcspecialis for around 600-700 or even less.