Another "help me choose" thread -- lightweight but higher resolution than a netbook

[GeekDrew]

I'm unexpectedly looking for a new laptop, after my Dell Inspiron E1705 was damaged. Long story short, I'm looking for something *much* lighter than the E1705.

I like the weight of netbooks, but I can't stand the tiny keyboard and screen on them. I have a Dell Latitude D830 (15") at work, and it's bigger/heavier than what I want to carry around with me. That leads me to conclude that perhaps a 13" screen would be best, since I find 10" too small. If I can't find a 13" that I like, perhaps a 12".

It doesn't have to be super-powerful, nor does it have to have the durability of a ToughBook; inversely, I don't want it to be dog slow and prone to breaking just by opening the LCD. My budget is around $1500... I can flex a little if needed. The laptop will be used mainly for web browsing, spreadsheets, word processing, email, VPN/RDP, etc. I'll also have SQL Express and Management Studio installed for light development work. It'd be nice to be able to watch movies on it too. An optical media drive isn't a requirement, but it would be nice. It must have built in bluetooth. Compatibility with Linux is also a factor (though lesser)... I'd like to dual-boot the laptop just so I can mess around with Linux in my free time. The Windows o/s would be Windows Vista 64-bit (and eventually Windows 7). 4GB+ RAM and 160GB+ storage preferred.

I've been reading a lot of good things about the Dell XPS M1330... and a few bad things. Browsing Newegg and Lenovo's website, I see that the X200 might meet my requirements. The only thing I don't like about that laptop is that it just has a track pointer rather than a track pad.... in the early 90s I loved pointers, but now I greatly prefer track pads. Perhaps I'd just get used to it, though. It looks like the X300 only comes with SSD storage, which is currently too expensive (and unnecessary) for me.

Does anyone have any comments about either of these laptops, or suggestions of others I should look at?

Thanks!

 

[Aeridyne]

Well, since you seem to be satisified with dell why not check out a 13" inspiron? It can take 4GB of ram, spacious hard drive etc...

 

[GeekDrew]

Actually, if I were satisfied with Dell, I would have just purchased the m1330 and not posted. I've had several Inspirons, and quite frankly, I'm tired of them. In my opinion, they are poorly constructed overall. I've replaced the screen latch, keyboard, and DVD-RW drive in my E1705 in the last 6 months (parts were under warranty, but that's not the point). I'm wondering if the m1330 or the Lenovo X200 is any better built than the Inspiron line seems to be.

 

[Aeridyne]

Ah, i see, pardon. I suppose I should take that into consideration as I was keeping a 1720 as an option for dual hard drives in my own search for a new laptop, and I imagine the 1705 and 1720 have fairly similar parts. I personally haven't had any experience with either of those, sorry.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: GeekDrew
Actually, if I were satisfied with Dell, I would have just purchased the m1330 and not posted. I've had several Inspirons, and quite frankly, I'm tired of them. In my opinion, they are poorly constructed overall. I've replaced the screen latch, keyboard, and DVD-RW drive in my E1705 in the last 6 months (parts were under warranty, but that's not the point). I'm wondering if the m1330 or the Lenovo X200 is any better built than the Inspiron line seems to be.

i dunno about the inspiron, but thinkpads are always well-built

i have a t60, and had a T40 and the build quality on thinkpads is great. ill miss it when i sell it

 

[loup garou]

The new E-series Dell Latitudes are really awesome, you could get a refurbed E4200 for well under your ceiling, but they come with SSDs. There's also the E4300.

Although at $1500 and 13" screen, personally, I'd go with a MacBook and load Windows on it.

 

[cheesehead]

Apple MacBook. Kickass laptop, and the $1,000 base model is differentiated from its' pricier sibling only in enclosure and RAM speed - it's still pretty fast. Battery life can hit 5 hours if you're not doing anything too hardware intensive. Linux compatibility is very high, too.

The only real problem is the keyboard, which I don't like. Apple made keyboards the same way for decades....and they change it now?

 

[loup garou]

Oh and I just saw a deal on slickdeals' front page for a lenovo x61s for 649.

 

[xSauronx]

whoa, right now you can get an X61s thinkpad with coupon code USPX61S649 to take $320 off!

vista home basic
Intel® Core? 2 Duo L7500 LV (1.6GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB)
1gb ddr2 (get your own to upgrade it)
160GB hdd
8 cell battery
XGA resolution
keep in mind: trackpoint only (which is awesome because trackpads suck, but still)
id add the dock for $160, at this price.

also, i want the lenovo ultranav keyboard...i really do, but i want them to make an ergonomic one and not charge $70+ for it :-/

 

[DaveSimmons]

Dynamism.com has exotic imports for $2-3,000 if money is no object

We've been happy with Dell Latitude D6xx laptops at work. Latitude build quality is allgedly a little higher than Inspirons.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Dynamism.com has exotic imports for $2-3,000 if money is no object

We've been happy with Dell Latitude D6xx laptops at work. Latitude build quality is allgedly a little higher than Inspirons.

D series were marginally better built. E series is night and day. They're pretty badass, IMO.

 

[sindows]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834131018

Its a little bit pricey but weighs the same as a netbook and about twice as good as a netbook

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: xSauronx
i dunno about the inspiron, but thinkpads are always well-built

i have a t60, and had a T40 and the build quality on thinkpads is great. ill miss it when i sell it

Yeah... I've used ThinkPads in the past, and they're always built excellently -- but I've only used the larger models like the T60/T61. I didn't know if the "smaller" models such as the X200 / X300 were built as well as the T60.

Originally posted by: loup garou
The new E-series Dell Latitudes are really awesome, you could get a refurbed E4200 for well under your ceiling, but they come with SSDs. There's also the E4300.

Although at $1500 and 13" screen, personally, I'd go with a MacBook and load Windows on it.

SSDs aren't going to be big enough for what I want, and they're too expensive. I'll have to go see how heavy the E4300 is. We bought some E6x00 laptops at work... IMO they're extremely heavy (feel heavier than my D830) and uglier than hell (OK, looks aren't that important to me, but nonetheless...).

I have several friends that have Apple laptops, and I've looked at the MacBook before. I just *can't tolerate* the keyboard or touch pad (or the lack of a second mouse button). MacBook is a no-go for me.

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Dynamism.com has exotic imports for $2-3,000 if money is no object

We've been happy with Dell Latitude D6xx laptops at work. Latitude build quality is allgedly a little higher than Inspirons.

The D6xx series is crap, and has been discontinued anyway. I will look at the Latitude E series though.

Originally posted by: xSauronx
whoa, right now you can get an X61s thinkpad with coupon code USPX61S649 to take $320 off!

vista home basic
Intel® Core? 2 Duo L7500 LV (1.6GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB)
1gb ddr2 (get your own to upgrade it)
160GB hdd
8 cell battery
XGA resolution
keep in mind: trackpoint only (which is awesome because trackpads suck, but still)
id add the dock for $160, at this price.

also, i want the lenovo ultranav keyboard...i really do, but i want them to make an ergonomic one and not charge $70+ for it :-/

I can't stand the screen on the X61s.

Originally posted by: sindows
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834131018

Its a little bit pricey but weighs the same as a netbook and about twice as good as a netbook

Hrmmmm. That visually looks like crap, but the specs look good. I'll read up on it.

Thanks!

 

[Emulex]

the x300 and x301 are world class built. but very expensive. basically the pc side of the macbook air

ssd's are great. no noise!

 

[tank171]

I love my dell 1530 xps. I will give you a little pros and cons list here.

PROs:
-fast
-came with 2 year warranty and 2 year accidental damage coverage for free
-has a nice LED backlit display
-well built
-has cool webcam software
-fingerprint scanner works like a charm

CONs:
-the speaker grille is a dust magnet
-sometimes the buttons have to be pressed a little harder to work
-it did have some bloatware installed
-the speakers are nothing special
-the touch pad becomes unresponsive for a few seconds sometimes

I like it more than my old vostro 1500. I am sure that a 1330 would be better than your old latitudes.