Best Desktop Replacement Laptop: Inspiron 8200 Vs. Satellite 5205-S703

[hytek369]

What do you guys think? Toshiba is more feature rich, better build quality, but more expensive. Dell is more upgradable, cheaper, and has Radeon 9000.

Decisions, decisions. Your opinions will be appreciated.

pdf. file for the Toshiba

Laptop link

 

[jimmygates]

I have the Dell Inspiron 8200 and have no problems with it. The Radeon 9000 plays every game I throw at it. I guess the only complaint I have with the laptop is the 5400rpm harddrive which is quite loud BUT fast.


I haven't really dealt with the Toshiba Satellites so I can't really comment on them.



You might want to wait for the Inspiron 8250 since I hear it will include a DVD-RW drive.



-Jimbo

 

[hytek369]

What can I get info on the Inspiron 8250.

 

[NeoMadHatter]

you should provide links. well, at least for the Toshiba one. it's more helpful that way. i'm also looking into the Inspiron 8200. wasn't aware of this 8250 you're speaking of though. sounds interesting, but i don't need a dvd burner.

 

[Eug]

Dunno about the 8200, but the "little" brother, the 8100 is not very well built. It might be cheap, but you get what you pay for in this case. Plus both the 8100 and 8200 are monsters. Humungous and heavy. Everyone I know who bought the 8100 wishes they had bought a smaller laptop.

Think hard. Do you really need a 15" screen and high end gaming video card in a laptop? If the answer is no, I'd get something lighter and better built.

That said, I have a Radeon 9000 with 15" screen in my Mac laptop. Then again, it's only 5.4 lbs, with DVD burner, wireless, 60 GB drive, POWERED Firewire, and Gigabit ethernet, among other things.

 

[Derango]

Originally posted by: hytek369
What can I get info on the Inspiron 8250.

I think you're confusing the Dimension 8250 and the Inspirion 8200 One's a laptop and the other one is a desktop.

 

[hytek369]

links added

actually i am aware of dimension 8250, but jimmygates mentioned it. read the post

 

[hytek369]

just found out, the toshiba only has one PC card slot. the machine is a work of art.

 

[WhisperPntr]

Just got a loaded dell and I want to say that it is a dream. There are a few complaints such as heat, the font sizes being very tiny, and I assume in the future how the usb 2.0 feature would be missed.

HOWEVER, those aside, it is *very* speedy on bootup though taking only about 20-30 seconds to get into windows xp.

Also the screen is absolutely beautiful. A gorgeous gorgeous visual output (trust me I'm a designer, I am picky) and not a bad design for the keyboard.

The speakers are eh..not the best but it's a laptop.

It is heavy but probably because I am female and don't lift enough weights.

I have yet to use all the functions on there but when I do I will do a thorough testing and see how it holds in terms of stability.

 

[vegetation]

Nice, but one could probably buy two Dell I8200s for the same setup. If money is no object, then I agree the Apple is nice stuff.

That said, I have a Radeon 9000 with 15" screen in my Mac laptop. Then again, it's only 5.4 lbs, with DVD burner, wireless, 60 GB drive, POWERED Firewire, and Gigabit ethernet, among other things.

 

[spanner]

I would take the toshiba. I don't particularly like ATI vid cards since their drivers fall short of perfect, a g4 MX 460 should be plenty power for a laptop and will be 100% stable. I am also sure the toshiba will be significantly cheaper. I think best buy has that laptop so it also makes returns easy if you buy it from them. I am not sure about the construction of the dell but I know toshibas are built solid as a rock.

 

[Ime]

In about twelve months (after I save up the money) I'm actually considering giving up my PC's altogether.

I was thinking of keeping one PC as a server, and having two wireless laptops using 802.11a. One the for the wife, and one for me.

I was going to buy a console and use it for playing games instead of my computer.

My advice: Don't buy a laptop for gaming. Buy it for portability. At work I have a Dell Latitude with a 14.1" monitor. It weighs about 5.5 pounds and is quite convienent for the amount of travel I do (which isn't too much, but enough).