Question for IT people

[davidjenkin]

Hi, I've been offered a chance to buy a second hand laptop which has, and I believe I quote:

"VIDIA GeForce Go 7600 discrete graphics with 256MB dedicated DDR2 VRAM. Dual Hard Disk Drive option."

I'm assuming VRAM is video RAM, and DDR2 is some sort of Digital upgrade, but going by this description, is this laptop going to be very fast, very sluggish or somewhere in between?

Any help gratefully received

 

[Mark Wakeley]

I think its only a notebook dont pay anymore than £150

 

[davidjenkin]

The guy who's selling it is a decent bloke, and minted as he is in a good job. Just upgraded to an iMac which is why he's selling it. Thing is, he says that it cost him a grand new, three years ago, which is what somebody else said too, which would be pricey for a notebook but not for a top spec laptop would it?

When it gets too complicated for me to understand I know its either too sh*t for me to have heard of, or too good for me to have heard of, if it really did cost a grand new, then wouldn't it be the latter rather than the former?

Also - been offered it for £100

 

[Swanaldo]

I'm assuming VRAM is video RAM, and DDR2 is some sort of Digital upgrade

DDR is yer actual physical RAM chip, I'm assuming that a portion of it (256mb) is dedicated to be used only by the graphics card.

 

[Southampton Gull]

DDR is yer actual physical RAM chip, I'm assuming that a portion of it (256mb) is dedicated to be used only by the graphics card.

Correct.

David, find out what the cpu (processor) is and what speed it runs at. That will give a better indication of what it's worth.

Anything close to 2.0GHz will be fine, closer to 1.5GHz will be less attractive.

Edit: See if you can look at it while it's running, check to see if it gets hot underneath, if so you will need to get a laptop cooler pad as heat is the biggest killer of laptops.

 

[LOG]

Dave,

I've been looking into laptops recently as there are some good deals about at the moment, and i've found out a few things i didn't know before which i hope help.

What i'd suggest is asking if you could see for yourself what it's like, speed wise, when it's up and running. This will give you an idea of the CPU, the processor, speed. You should be looking at a minimum of 1.5GHz, but preferably nearer 2GHz.

Also worth checking how hot it gets when it's at full throttle. Hot = bad, laptop wise, and will shorten its life.

Finally, just to clarify, the DDR, that's the RAM chip, will probably have a portion of it which is only used by the graphics card.

Cheers.

 

[davidjenkin]

Further info - its a HP dv900. Seems like it could be a 4gb, and is a laptop rather than a notebook. A quick squizz on google shows that one customer had problems with their CDROM not working, but thats the only negative review, in fact the only review I could find.

Which leads me to think that as a) I fully trust the integrity of the seller, b) it seems like a good machine which has been restored back to its best spec by the sellers mate who works in IT and c) it's only £100 which leaves me with £150ish available for potential repairs that I'm saving on what I would have shelled out now, that I might just take a punt on this

 

[davidjenkin]

Thanks LOG/Soton Gull

I have a cooler pad already which I'll use regardless, may purchase a USB extender as the model only seems to have three ports and when the wireless mouse, printer and memory stick are all in at once, it leaves a smidgen short. Looking at it Weds, how can I tell its speed? (Sorry you really are dealing with a dinosaur here)

 

[Southampton Gull]

Nice edit LOG

David, that machine can come with the following list of Processors:

Intel Core Duo T7200 (2.00-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T5600 (1.83-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T5500 (1.66-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T5300 (1.73-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T5200 (1.66-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T2250 (1.66-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T2350 (1.86-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T2300E (1.66-GHz)
Intel Pentium Dual-Core T2080 (1.73-GHz)
AMD Turion TL-64 2.2-GHz
AMD Turion TL-60 2.0-GHz
AMD Turion TL-58 1.9-GHz
AMD Turion TL-56 1.8-GHz
AMD Athlon 64 TK-53 (1.7-GHz)


Any of the Turion cpu's are fine, avoid the Athlon and the lower end Core Duo's

Most important thing to check is the temperature underneath when it's up to speed. Lots of hot air being exhausted isn't a good sign and can prove costly, very costly. Battery life isn't important as they're cheap enough on ebay.

If it's a Turion I'd take the gamble, if it's not I'd be hesitant

Edit, most cooler pads have extra USB ports

 

[davidjenkin]

Nice edit LOG

David, that machine can come with the following list of Processors:

Intel Core Duo T7200 (2.00-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T5600 (1.83-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T5500 (1.66-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T5300 (1.73-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T5200 (1.66-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T2250 (1.66-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T2350 (1.86-GHz)
Intel Core Duo T2300E (1.66-GHz)
Intel Pentium Dual-Core T2080 (1.73-GHz)
AMD Turion TL-64 2.2-GHz
AMD Turion TL-60 2.0-GHz
AMD Turion TL-58 1.9-GHz
AMD Turion TL-56 1.8-GHz
AMD Athlon 64 TK-53 (1.7-GHz)


Any of the Turion cpu's are fine, avoid the Athlon and the lower end Core Duo's

Most important thing to check is the temperature underneath when it's up to speed. Lots of hot air being exhausted isn't a good sign and can prove costly, very costly. Battery life isn't important as they're cheap enough on ebay.

If it's a Turion I'd take the gamble, if it's not I'd be hesitant

Edit, most cooler pads have extra USB ports

Awesome, the CPU will be on the label on the underside I assume? Also may be time for me to look for a new cooler pad in that case! Mine has none. (Cheapskates)