Best Centrino Laptop

[harshac]

Hi,

Why the hell do PC companies keep out so many models for just one stupid type of computer like a laptop or a desktop ? They are pretty soon going to run out of alphabets and numbers to name them. Well anyway, I have been searching to buy a Centrino laptop for the past 2 months and still haven't decieded yet. There are too many of them out there and just when I decide on the model, another one pops up. Its driving me crazy.

Can anybody tell me the best centrino laptop I can get for these config ?

Brand - I don't care
Processor - 1.3-1.5ghz Pentium Mobile
Memory - 256 mb or higher
Screen Size - 14.1 - 15 inches
Resolution - 1024x768 or higher
Graphics Card- ATI Radeon 7500 or higher including Nvidia
Battery Life - Min 5 hrs
Weight - Less than 6 pounds
Hard drive- 40 gb 5400 rpm
Optical Drive - DVD/CD-RW combo

All other standard stuff.

COST - less than $1600.

Till now the best I have seen so far has been the IBM Thinkpad T40.

Can anybody tell me which is the best brand/model which meets my requirements ? You will save a man from going insane and also save a lot of his hair .

Thanks

Harsha

 

[kayatai]

No, your right, the T40 is one of the most highly recommended laptops if you have the budget for it.

The Dell 600m / D600 is also a nice laptop, but the battery life is only 3.5 hrs (or 7 if you swap out the modular drive for a second battery). It is also more affordable than the T40. I think the 600m only comes with 4200rpm hard drives, but you can always swap that out yourself.

 

[manko]

I just posted this: current IBM T41 deal. It meets your needs except for the hard drive which is 30GB. Unfortunately, I don't think you can change the configuration if you want to get that sale price.

 

[harshac]

That's a sweet deal. But Nobody I know seems to have the crappy Discovery Card. I have applied for one and hope it get it in a couple of days.

How are the Toshiba ones ?? The Tecra M1 seems nice. Also what about the Acer TravelMate 800 series ? But the T41 beats the crap out of them in battery life and performence.

 

[manko]

I was looking at the Acer when it first came out, but I've read a lot of complaints about them. I don't know much about the Toshiba.

Originally posted by: harshac
That's a sweet deal. But Nobody I know seems to have the crappy Discovery Card. I have applied for one and hope it get it in a couple of days.

Apparently, some people have been able to get in on the IBM deal without a Discover card. It's worth a shot.

FW deal thread

The sales said although this is supposed to be a special offer only for discover card holders, we can use any credit card we want. I use my visa gold with the benefit of extended warranty.

 

[dnuggett]

Want me to drive you crazy again? Wait until Feb. so you can get the Centrino's with Dothan. That is if you can wait.

 

[Bruce6323]

Is that confirmed now? They will be out in Feb? Is the only real difference with the Dothan, besides the smaller processor, going to be the 2MB L2 cache? I imagine they are going to be really expensive to start off. Does this mean in Feb, that the t41p price will drop drastically?

 

[dnuggett]

Originally posted by: Bruce6323
Is that confirmed now? They will be out in Feb? Is the only real difference with the Dothan, besides the smaller processor, going to be the 2MB L2 cache? I imagine they are going to be really expensive to start off. Does this mean in Feb, that the t41p price will drop drastically?

Not confirmed (I don't think), but that is the word I'm hearing.... others may have input here as well.

 

[preslove]

Where's the best rumormill for the Dothan? I think I want to spend major cash around july of next year, hopefully it will be in most systems by then.

 

[Frightcrawler]

july will be more than enough time.

 

[TazExprez]

I think the Dell Inspiron 8600 is pretty cool. You can configure it to be within your budget with the Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB card.

 

[TazExprez]

The weight is almost 7lbs, though. I think think that the max battery life on it is like 4hrs.

 

[tyanni]

What about the Toshiba m35s359?

Intel® Pentium® M processor 1.40GHz
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
512MB DDR SDRAM (256MB x 2)
15" Wide-Screen XGA display (1280 x 800)
NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 GPU w/32MB DDR SDRAM
60GB (4,200rpm) HDD
DVD/CD-RW
10/100 Ethernet, V.92/56K modem
harman/kardon® stereo speakers
Integrated Intel® PRO/Wireless 2100-802.11b
Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery, 4400mAh
Microsoft® Works
3-USB (2.0) ports
i.Link (IEEE 1394) port
FIR port
S-Video port
Secure Digital slot
10/100 Ethernet
V.92/56K modemº
ECP Parallel port


Beautiful Lappy! - 1599 on toshiba's site, but 1399 at Circuit City after rebates.

Tim

 

[dnuggett]

After reading another post, it looks like Dothan will be here Feb. 4th

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: tyanni
What about the Toshiba m35s359?

Intel® Pentium® M processor 1.40GHz
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
512MB DDR SDRAM (256MB x 2)
15" Wide-Screen XGA display (1280 x 800)
NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 GPU w/32MB DDR SDRAM
60GB (4,200rpm) HDD
DVD/CD-RW
10/100 Ethernet, V.92/56K modem
harman/kardon® stereo speakers
Integrated Intel® PRO/Wireless 2100-802.11b
Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery, 4400mAh
Microsoft® Works
3-USB (2.0) ports
i.Link (IEEE 1394) port
FIR port
S-Video port
Secure Digital slot
10/100 Ethernet
V.92/56K modemº
ECP Parallel port


Beautiful Lappy! - 1599 on toshiba's site, but 1399 at Circuit City after rebates.

Tim

Wow nice specs, just wish it were $200 cheaper.

 

[belash]

Check out the Gateway 505X. I just purchased this laptop, and it recently had a pricedrop to $1499. However, it is 6.7 lbs and only has a 4200 rpm HD. You can get the 505XL with a 5400 rpm HD and DVD-RW, but it will run you $1799. I have yet to condition the battery, but when I initially fired it up, it listed a run time of 4.5 hours left at 88% capacity. Really nice features (ATI 9600 64 mb, 15.4 widescreen, 512mb memory, and a nice finish.

 

[KevinH]

Check out the Gatway M505X. I've been shopping for a laptop for the last year and this one rings in at under $1499. It has a 1.4 centrino, 15.4 wide screen, Radeon 9600 64MB, 512 ram, wireless etc. Theres a LONG thread on it at the talknotebooks forum and quite frankly there's not a single centrino laptop out there that's within sniffing distance of this as far as bang for the buck goes. You could get a more durable laptop in a Thank Pad but you wont get the video nor the screen at this price which is huge if you're going to game. Aesthetically, I'd say this is a notch above the X1000 and just below the Apple Powerbooks. I know this sounds like an ad but I was so impressed with this notebook that after all this time I'm going to make the jump and make a purchase.

Kev

edit - DOH, didn't realize the fellow above me just mentioned the same laptop. Hehe, I guess I should read an entire thread before responding.

 

[dcdomain]

Man, if the X31 deal was still going on... =T.

 

[ceo2b]

Even though Intel will be releasing Dothan 2/4/04, would it be a while longer before manufactors implement the processor into the machines?