How's this laptop deal?

Important stuff, please read before posting
Captain Picard's Hair
Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Posts: 4042
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 3:58 am
Location: Right here.

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Captain Picard's Hair »

I understood exactly what you meant; I tried to make a really stupid pun and asked for the obligatory http://www.instantrimshot.com
"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wonderous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross... but it's not for the timid." Q, Q Who
User avatar
LaughingCheese
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 1001
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:57 am

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by LaughingCheese »

Captain Picard's Hair wrote:I understood exactly what you meant; I tried to make a really stupid pun and asked for the obligatory http://www.instantrimshot.com
Ohh, I see.

And, why should I click? :lol:
Tsukiyumi
4 Star Admiral
4 Star Admiral
Posts: 21747
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 2:38 pm
Location: Forward Torpedo Tube Twenty. Help!
Contact:

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Tsukiyumi »

Pshaw. 2008-09 games.

Here's what you need to play:

Magic: The Gathering

and,

XCOM: Terror From the Deep

:)
There is only one way of avoiding the war – that is the overthrow of this society. However, as we are too weak for this task, the war is inevitable. -L. Trotsky, 1939
Captain Picard's Hair
Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Posts: 4042
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 3:58 am
Location: Right here.

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Captain Picard's Hair »

Updated specs: RAM increased from 2 to 4 GB of DDR2-667 (in the process doubling shared video RAM from 128 to 256 MB FWIW - this isn't a gaming machine and I'm no gamer) - done
HDD boosted from 160 GB (5400 RPM 8 mb buffer) to 500 GB (7200 RPM 16 mb buffer) - pending arrival of new HDD

Pentium dual core 2.16 GHz unchanged
15.4" glossy widescreen + full set of peripherals, DVD burner, etc

after I sell the old HDD (already arranged) I end up still being under $600.

(I beat most or all similarly spec'd out-of-the-box laptops I could find , I like the brand (Lenovo) and construction of this model - and it was kind of fun to upgrade it myself)
"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wonderous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross... but it's not for the timid." Q, Q Who
Tsukiyumi
4 Star Admiral
4 Star Admiral
Posts: 21747
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 2:38 pm
Location: Forward Torpedo Tube Twenty. Help!
Contact:

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Tsukiyumi »

I've never worked on a laptop. Must be tough with all the teeny tiny parts. Good going CPH. :)
There is only one way of avoiding the war – that is the overthrow of this society. However, as we are too weak for this task, the war is inevitable. -L. Trotsky, 1939
Captain Picard's Hair
Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Posts: 4042
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 3:58 am
Location: Right here.

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Captain Picard's Hair »

Tsukiyumi wrote:I've never worked on a laptop. Must be tough with all the teeny tiny parts. Good going CPH. :)
In this case, these major parts (CPU, RAM, HDD, and wifi card) are all accessible through bays in the bottom - just remove a couple of screws, pull off the panels and it's right there (common on newer designs). However, I have in fact completely taken apart laptops (as to replace the motherboard :shock: ). You do have to be careful to keep track of a lot of very small screws.
"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wonderous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross... but it's not for the timid." Q, Q Who
Tsukiyumi
4 Star Admiral
4 Star Admiral
Posts: 21747
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 2:38 pm
Location: Forward Torpedo Tube Twenty. Help!
Contact:

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Tsukiyumi »

Captain Picard's Hair wrote:...(common on newer designs)...
See, I remember laptops in the 90's being a bit tougher to access.

BTW, does anyone (Ian) have a good guess as to how to figure out exactly what MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION and KERNEL_DATA_INPUT_ERROR could be? I've narrowed it down to either the motherboard cache or the HD, though it could also possibly be the RAM. :?
There is only one way of avoiding the war – that is the overthrow of this society. However, as we are too weak for this task, the war is inevitable. -L. Trotsky, 1939
User avatar
Reliant121
3 Star Admiral
3 Star Admiral
Posts: 12263
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 5:00 pm

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Reliant121 »

Ah building PC's. Reminds me of before we left italy when dad brought home some home pc system for mum, bouncing in the back of the old Rover 414 they had (yes...i know...what a rustbucket). She took it completely apart and put it back together again in 2 hours, and it worked slightly faster. Keep in mind this was 1997, and also that they had never seen a proper computer in life before.
Tsukiyumi
4 Star Admiral
4 Star Admiral
Posts: 21747
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 2:38 pm
Location: Forward Torpedo Tube Twenty. Help!
Contact:

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Tsukiyumi »

Reliant121 wrote:...She took it completely apart and put it back together again in 2 hours, and it worked slightly faster...
Sounds like she overclocked it; probably added some RAM. The first computer I owned myself was in '98 or so; it was a 150 Mhz Pentium I overclocked to 166, IIRC. :lol:
There is only one way of avoiding the war – that is the overthrow of this society. However, as we are too weak for this task, the war is inevitable. -L. Trotsky, 1939
Captain Picard's Hair
Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Posts: 4042
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 3:58 am
Location: Right here.

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Captain Picard's Hair »

Tsukiyumi wrote:
Captain Picard's Hair wrote:...(common on newer designs)...
See, I remember laptops in the 90's being a bit tougher to access.
I've seen some older ones; I have an old Compaq laptop (Pentium II 366 MHz, 192 MB RAM) from around 1998 in my bedroom that was given to me free that I've worked on a bit. Now that it's completely useless to me I'm hoping to part it out (should get more than selling it as a unit)
"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wonderous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross... but it's not for the timid." Q, Q Who
Tsukiyumi
4 Star Admiral
4 Star Admiral
Posts: 21747
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 2:38 pm
Location: Forward Torpedo Tube Twenty. Help!
Contact:

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Tsukiyumi »

Captain Picard's Hair wrote:...I'm hoping to part it out (should get more than selling it as a unit)
Should get a couple of bucks, right?
There is only one way of avoiding the war – that is the overthrow of this society. However, as we are too weak for this task, the war is inevitable. -L. Trotsky, 1939
Captain Picard's Hair
Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Posts: 4042
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 3:58 am
Location: Right here.

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Captain Picard's Hair »

Tsukiyumi wrote:Should get a couple of bucks, right?
All I've got to beat is $20 or so I've seen the complete machine go for on Ebay (IIRC) :lol: The CPU alone should come close.
"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wonderous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross... but it's not for the timid." Q, Q Who
User avatar
Teaos
4 Star Admiral
4 Star Admiral
Posts: 15368
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:00 am
Commendations: The Daystrom Award
Location: Behind you!

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Teaos »

THat hard drive is pretty damn good, 7200 is noticably faster, but if your going for that its almost worth splashing out for DDR3 ram over DDR2. I'd take 2GB DD3 over 4GB DDR2.
What does defeat mean to you?

Nothing it will never come. Death before defeat. I don’t bend or break. I end, if I meet a foe capable of it. Victory is in forcing the opponent to back down. I do not. There is no defeat.
Captain Picard's Hair
Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Posts: 4042
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 3:58 am
Location: Right here.

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by Captain Picard's Hair »

Teaos wrote:THat hard drive is pretty damn good, 7200 is noticably faster, but if your going for that its almost worth splashing out for DDR3 ram over DDR2. I'd take 2GB DD3 over 4GB DDR2.
Alas, this laptop isn't compatible with DDR3.
"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wonderous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross... but it's not for the timid." Q, Q Who
User avatar
IanKennedy
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 6155
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:28 pm
Location: Oxford, UK
Contact:

Re: How's this laptop deal?

Post by IanKennedy »

Tsukiyumi wrote:
Captain Picard's Hair wrote:...(common on newer designs)...
See, I remember laptops in the 90's being a bit tougher to access.

BTW, does anyone (Ian) have a good guess as to how to figure out exactly what MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION and KERNEL_DATA_INPUT_ERROR could be? I've narrowed it down to either the motherboard cache or the HD, though it could also possibly be the RAM. :?
Outside of this, no not really:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Check_Exception

and this:

http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-188031.php

Make sure the CPU is seated correctly in it's socket and non of the pins are bent. Check you connections with memory, disk drives etc. ensure everything is well seated in it's sockets. If you have multiple banks of memory try removing each one at a time and see if it solves the problem. Obviously with memory you need to keep to the rules of the RAM involved (for example some RAM needs to be installed in the machine in pairs). I suppose you are following these at the moment?
email, ergo spam
Post Reply