New Laptop

After waiting for two and a half weeks for my laptop to arrive (not to mention that I had to pay 140 euros in import taxes), it finally came! In fact, I’m happily typing this post using this laptop and I can continue to keep posting things that I never got a chance to (like the trips that I went on during this time). The laptop is an Asus U33JC with the following specs:

• Intel Core i3-370M Processor (2.4 GHz)
• Nvidia G310M Graphics Engine with 1 GB DDR3 Dedicated VRAM and Optimus Technology
• 4 GB of DDR3 1066MHz DRAM (2 GB x 2 slots)
• Intel Wireless 802.11 b/g/n + WiDi
• 500 GB Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
• Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) Operating System (which I upgraded to Pro)
• 13.3-Inch HD (1366×768) LED Display
• HDMI Port
• USB 3.0 port
• Bluetooth
• 8 cell 5600 mAh battery

The one thing it doesn’t have that I realized just now is that the computer doesn’t have an optical drive. I didn’t know that before. I guess I assumed that all computers except for netbooks have them. It’s not really a big deal though.Since my laptop kind of died on me earlier, there weren’t many things I could do to solve the problem. I pretty much only had three options: get my laptop repaired, buy/borrow a monitor for the duration of my stay, or buy a new laptop.

Repairing my laptop was definitely the first thing I tried. I researched on how to fix it, but I couldn’t even get the screws out to even peek at the insides. Right now, I still think that the problem inside the computer is just a loose connection. Unfortunately, I can’t confirm that. I could let Dell fix the computer, but my warranty expired a long time ago. I also bought the computer from Canada and would have to go through lots of red tape just to get it repaired by Dell Europe.

The next thing I tried was to find someone who had an extra monitor I could borrow. Since all my friends in Germany are all interns or thesis students, they all had only a laptop and not an extra display. Although, I did manage to borrow one for like a week until I had to return it. I could have bought a new monitor, but then it would have been really been difficult to bring home a 20 something inch screen (if I’m buying a monitor to keep then I wouldn’t buy anything smaller). I didn’t feel like buying a cheap one and just leaving it behind when I leave Germany either.

In the end, I ended up buying a new laptop (with much financial assistance from my parents). I figure my old laptop is getting old anyways (2007), and for the past year and a half it had been failing to keep up with my intense computer usage habits. When I return to Vancouver, I’ll get this laptop repaired and then my parents could use it (or my brother if he decides that he needs to bring a laptop somewhere).