new laptop jus a few questions

Hi all,
i've been searching everywhere on the internet to find a good laptop at a good price and eventually stumbled onto this

15.4 INCH WIDESCREEN DISPLAY (1440 X 900)

INTEL® Core 2 Duo T8100 (2 X 2.10GHz) 800MHz FSB/3MB L2 Cache

2GB CORSAIR DDR2 667MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY! (2x1GB)

64 BIT WINDOWS® VISTA HOME PREM SP1 (not sure if i should get 32 bit or 64 bit)

160GB SERIAL ATA II HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5400rpm)

8x DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)

512MB GEFORCE 8600GT + D-SUB + TV-OUT

9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (7,200 mAh) - up to 4 Hours Battery Life

Biometric Fingertip Reader & 1 x Express Card Slot

£686 inc VAT & Del. to Ireland

I rang the retailers to confirm it was a compal which they did and i feel that this is a good deal.
my only questions are:
what is the build quality like?
and
are there any issues i should be looking for once a get the laptop?

thanks

 

I have one, JFL92, it's great, I believe everybody here will say go for it. Price seems OK.
Issues? Do a research on the forum, some have, some don't, they are ALIVE.

 

It seems like a good laptop, but why are yo getting a so low speed CPU?

 

i can'tsee a need for anything bigger than the 2.1. its basically gonna be used for web development and java programming for final year uni. i have looked at uping the GHz to 2.4 but is it really worth the extra cost think the total was £707 with the 2.4 and for some reason they don't offer the 2.5 only the 2.6

 

the 2.4 ghz upgrade is probably the most economical. i wish i had got it. i'm not complaining though. my 2.1 is still plenty fast for me.

 

For 21 pounds more I would go with the 2.4GHz, and yes, 2.4 is certainly faster than 2.1 in the overall performances. You don't need speed today but you might need it later, so go for longevity.

 

that seems like a good idea. thanks guys. only thing remaining is vista
what version (home prem, buz, ultimate) would be best to get and what bit version?

 

I'd say go for ultimate if you can as ir regroups the feature of premium and business. If you're not planning to use 4gb of ram in the future or you're not using any apps that'll see a boost in perfs from going x64, I'd say stick to the 32bit ...

 

i had a look at the comparisons between all the Vista version here
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choose.mspx
and i dont know if i really need ultimate.
i've only ever used XP pro before and the things like remote access and fax and scan and hardware backup features i wouldn't need which would save an extra £60

 

Then I suggest you go for the the Premium Vista, it is similar to XP Home.

 

ok guys thanks for all the help i reckon its time to buy the laptop.
i gave everyone rep for the help

 

yep. i think you should just get premium vista 64. if you run into any compatibility problems you can always reinstall 32 bit version. hopefully your reseller gives you a full copy so you don't have to download it. if it's oem, you'll probably only have 64 bit version, if you decide to get it. otherwise you should be very happy with happy with whatever you get, and you can always upgrade the ram and hdd for a little more performance.

 

Good luck with your purchase.