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Laptop advice needed
Thread poster: Luke Mersh
Paul Harrison MITI
Paul Harrison MITI
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
French to English
Screen resolution... May 12, 2014

...is more important than size, IMO. Try and get the largest resolution you can.

If that's all you can afford, get it, but I personally would look to use my student loan or whatever to get a better one.

I always use this website when looking at laptops:

http://www.notebookcheck.com/


 
Oliver Walter
Oliver Walter  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
German to English
+ ...
Screen resolution May 12, 2014

This asus PC apparently has a screen resolution of 1366 x 768. I think that should be enough for quite a lot of work. Mine has a resolution of 1024 x 768, and I'm satisfied with it. At least, that's usefully better than the old VGA standard of 640 x 480 !

I think, if you need to be careful with what you pay for a PC for use during this course, this one is probably OK, at least for a year or two. Make sure it is the one with the 15.6-inch screen; if it's the version with the 14.1-inc
... See more
This asus PC apparently has a screen resolution of 1366 x 768. I think that should be enough for quite a lot of work. Mine has a resolution of 1024 x 768, and I'm satisfied with it. At least, that's usefully better than the old VGA standard of 640 x 480 !

I think, if you need to be careful with what you pay for a PC for use during this course, this one is probably OK, at least for a year or two. Make sure it is the one with the 15.6-inch screen; if it's the version with the 14.1-inch screen, that could feel a bit restricted.
Even better would be if you can use a 19-inch or 22-inch TV as a monitor at home

I'm slightly surprised at the 1366 number (horizontal resolution) because it's not the sum of two powers of 2 (that's not a magic formula but such numbers seem to be common in screen resolutions):
768 = 512 + 256 (vertical resolution), each of which is a power of 2.
The number of this type nearest to 1366 is 1280 (=1024 + 256)
In case you're wondering:
256 = 2 to the power 8
512 = 2 to the power 9
1024 = 2 to the power 10.
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Paul Harrison MITI
Paul Harrison MITI
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
French to English
That's what I have May 13, 2014

Oliver Walter wrote:

This asus PC apparently has a screen resolution of 1366 x 768.



And I find it too small. My previous PC was 1600x1200, which was much better.

FWIW, I'm about to make the jump to a desktop with two high-res screens.


 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Laptop advice needed May 13, 2014

I will try and get this laptop, its about my budget.

From what I have read from your posts,it sounds ok for a student translator.
(I am a mature student) so student loans are out the question.

anyway I am glad to have all this advice,I have read in other posts that people have recommended Asus.

That was one of my reasons for trying to get this one.

I have looked on other websites and they are still quite expensive even second hand.
... See more
I will try and get this laptop, its about my budget.

From what I have read from your posts,it sounds ok for a student translator.
(I am a mature student) so student loans are out the question.

anyway I am glad to have all this advice,I have read in other posts that people have recommended Asus.

That was one of my reasons for trying to get this one.

I have looked on other websites and they are still quite expensive even second hand.

I may swap the linux drive over and put Windows on the hard drive which had Linux ( 320gb 7200RPM)

and put linux onto an old 320GB 5400rpm Hdd.
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Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Laptop advice needed May 14, 2014

Missed that one,
but need urgent advice about this one: http://tinyurl.com/ltyklgm

before this one goes.


 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Laptop advice needed May 16, 2014

Any thoughts about laptop on previous post, this one I have actually now purchased.

 
Dominique Pivard
Dominique Pivard  Identity Verified
Local time: 14:47
Finnish to French
Thermal requirements?! May 17, 2014

StefanR wrote:
This laptop is not designed for professional purposes. It's designed for non-professional use only. It does not fulfill the thermal requirements for professional use.

Please educate me: what are the "thermal requirements" of a computer used by a professional translator? Translation is not rocket science (in terms of computing requirements).

StefanR wrote:
Laptops are useful for temporary use on the road and such should by designed for professional/business use.

This is non-sense. It is perfectly possible to use a laptop as your only computer for professional/business use. Thousands of translators (me included) are the living proof of it. If you need a "desktop-like experience", just add an external keyboard/mouse/display, it's as simple.

[Edited at 2014-05-17 20:26 GMT]


 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Laptop advice needed May 17, 2014

Any comments on the specs of this machine: http://tinyurl.com/ltyklgm

many thanks


 
Paul Harrison MITI
Paul Harrison MITI
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
French to English
I think you'll be fine with this one May 17, 2014

luke mersh wrote:

Any thoughts about laptop on previous post, this one I have actually now purchased.


It's pretty much what I've been using for 3 years, minus 0.2GHz of processing power and a dedicated graphics card.

It does the job and I've found Asus to be a reliable brand. I've actually been very impressed with it. I bought it as a replacement when my previous laptop got stolen on a train: it didn't have quite the specs I was looking for but I needed a laptop in a hurry.

I've spilled water on the keyboard several times and it has survived (yes, I'm a bit clumsy). I think it might have a drip tray behind the keyboard to protect the sensitive components but don't know if this is standard or not for Asus laptops so be careful with your tea anyway.

It will definitely stand up to intensive use, in terms of the hardware.

However, I am now dying to take the plunge and get a desktop command centre for the following reasons:

- small keyboard: for me this means typos and, more importantly, hunched shoulders.

- glossy screen: the screens on laptops in the lower price ranges are sometimes so reflective that you could shave in them.

- low res screen: would prefer at least 1600x1200. This seems to be particularly important when using a CAT tool with various panes of information. On your screen there simply won't be enough room for everything.

- speed: it can lag after a while if you have your CAT tool and several internet browser windows open, but this is more of a problem later on


 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Laptop advice needed May 17, 2014

Paul Harrison wrote:

luke mersh wrote:

Any thoughts about laptop on previous post, this one I have actually now purchased.


It's pretty much what I've been using for 3 years, minus 0.2GHz of processing power and a dedicated graphics card.

It does the job and I've found Asus to be a reliable brand. I've actually been very impressed with it. I bought it as a replacement when my previous laptop got stolen on a train: it didn't have quite the specs I was looking for but I needed a laptop in a hurry.

I've spilled water on the keyboard several times and it has survived (yes, I'm a bit clumsy). I think it might have a drip tray behind the keyboard to protect the sensitive components but don't know if this is standard or not for Asus laptops so be careful with your tea anyway.

It will definitely stand up to intensive use, in terms of the hardware.

However, I am now dying to take the plunge and get a desktop command centre for the following reasons:

- small keyboard: for me this means typos and, more importantly, hunched shoulders.

- glossy screen: the screens on laptops in the lower price ranges are sometimes so reflective that you could shave in them.

- low res screen: would prefer at least 1600x1200. This seems to be particularly important when using a CAT tool with various panes of information. On your screen there simply won't be enough room for everything.

- speed: it can lag after a while if you have your CAT tool and several internet browser windows open, but this is more of a problem later on




Thank you very much for your comment.
After not getting the other one,this one is better,bigger Hdd, faster processor and more ram.

For a beginner I think it should be Ok.


 
Yuri Radcev
Yuri Radcev  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:47
English to Russian
+ ...
You may convert the one you have into a desktop May 18, 2014

quite cheaply by buying an external monitor and keyboard.

 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Laptop advice needed May 20, 2014

Once I am working professionally as a translator, and am getting a lot of work, I may consider an external keyboard.

 
Oliver Walter
Oliver Walter  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
German to English
+ ...
Get a keyboard! May 20, 2014

Luke: unless you are really happy with the existing keyboard (presumably the one built into the laptop), I think you should rush out as soon as possible and buy an external plug-in (via USB) keyboard, making sure that it is one that is good for doing the work. The USB keyboard that I use with my Toshiba laptop is a Labtech "ultra flat" and therefore relatively small but I find it good enough for typing comfortably with my usual speed and accuracy. It has keys with a "feel" that I find easier to ... See more
Luke: unless you are really happy with the existing keyboard (presumably the one built into the laptop), I think you should rush out as soon as possible and buy an external plug-in (via USB) keyboard, making sure that it is one that is good for doing the work. The USB keyboard that I use with my Toshiba laptop is a Labtech "ultra flat" and therefore relatively small but I find it good enough for typing comfortably with my usual speed and accuracy. It has keys with a "feel" that I find easier to use than the laptop's own keyboard and it has a separate numeric keypad area on the right, that I use for typing accented letters as I described earlier.
I think my external keyboard cost me about 15 GBP about 4 years ago.

Oliver
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Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Laptop advice needed May 21, 2014

Oliver Walter wrote:

Luke: unless you are really happy with the existing keyboard (presumably the one built into the laptop), I think you should rush out as soon as possible and buy an external plug-in (via USB) keyboard, making sure that it is one that is good for doing the work. The USB keyboard that I use with my Toshiba laptop is a Labtech "ultra flat" and therefore relatively small but I find it good enough for typing comfortably with my usual speed and accuracy. It has keys with a "feel" that I find easier to use than the laptop's own keyboard and it has a separate numeric keypad area on the right, that I use for typing accented letters as I described earlier.
I think my external keyboard cost me about 15 GBP about 4 years ago.

Oliver


I actually have a wireless keyboard at home.


 
Paul Harrison MITI
Paul Harrison MITI
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:47
French to English
It's what we all aspire to! May 21, 2014

luke mersh wrote:

Once I am working professionally as a translator, and am getting a lot of work, I may consider an external keyboard.


Nice house, fast car, and an external keyboard.


 
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