Buying a laptop

[timosyy]

So.. its that time again (not really but it sounds wrong without the "again"). All the college kiddies getting ready to head back to school. I'm particularly young being an incoming freshman I guess. Anyhow, been busy with work and WoW and sleep.. decided to draw upon the collective powers of ATOT to help out with my laptop selection.

Hoping to get a list of potential laptops to look over, basically a narrowing of the field... any specific recommendations, personal product reviews, etc.

Some basic specs I'm looking for..

Pentium M 1.6 or higher (Athlon equivalent is alright if you can find em)
1GB of RAM (this is actually a school requirement for Virginia Tech, and even though I'm going to Illinois which doesnt have any requirements I thought it'd be a nice starting ground. Opinions welcome on this.)
60GB+ Hardrive (would prefer higher speeds... like 7200)
Decent mid-range video card.
DVD player, CDRW. DVD burner would be nice for backup purposes but probably not for the $$.
Windows XP Pro... unless theres not that much difference with Home (I wouldn't know, I use Pro).

Gogo =). Keep in mind I'm going to college out of state so tuition is killing me, and in that respect I'm looking for cheap as well (but it has to last 4 years!)

 

[clarkey01]

I am in the same position. Cept Im in the UK. Here whats Im getting : http://www.webelectricals.co.uk/eStore/...A97020D-192E-4A1C-9C84-63F925D9FF47%7D

 

[calvinbiss]

1. get dell lappy cause of all the school deals
2. reformat
3. ....
4. profit

 

[Otaking]

HP Paviliion dv1000

/thread

 

[clarkey01]

The performance difference between the pentium M and the turion isnt worth talking about (battery and performance)

 

[Saint Nick]

wrong forum

 

[spherrod]

I thought this looked a pretty good deal for UK users

http://www.go-mv.com/showdet.php?id=101

 

[Vegito]

dell = cheap, buy 4 year warranty, it'll last but by third year, the pc will probably be slow.

1 gb @ 1 stick since most laptop can take 2 sticks max.. that'll give u a bit for end of year 2

check hot deals, the dell 9300 is like 900 after discounts..

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: calvinbiss
1. get dell lappy cause of all the school deals
2. reformat
3. ....
4. profit

 

[junkerman123]

Dell $500/$750 off coupons are very nice (check out the hot deals forums for those) Also, IBM T40's are going for cheap these days, and some places give you student discounts. I have a T40 with the same specs as the ones you want (except 40GB HD) and it's been fantastic.

 

[Saint Nick]

duh if i would have posted a thread about the SFF i'm building here everyone woulda gotten pissed and told me to take it to the SFF/laptop forum where NO ONE RESPONDS TO ANYTHING.

/rant

 

[timosyy]

There are other forums outside ATOT (and Hot Deals)? :Q

 

[bonkers325]

Originally posted by: timosyy
Anyhow, been busy with work and WoW and sleep.. decided to draw upon the collective powers of ATOT to help out with my laptop selection.

give it up

 

[Brackis]

Just bought myself a Dell 6000 and...
1.6 PM is basically standard at dell these days
Stick to less RAM and buy it seperate.

Checkout the Dell Outlet, but also gottadeal.com to frind the latest coupons first (where I got a nice 15% off coupon for my Outlet 6000)

 

[imported_Pablo]

Originally posted by: jndietz
duh if i would have posted a thread about the SFF i'm building here everyone woulda gotten pissed and told me to take it to the SFF/laptop forum where NO ONE RESPONDS TO ANYTHING.

/rant

WRONG FORUM. TAKE IT TO FORUM ISSUES.

 

[vi edit]

/typical response

Latitude D-610

Or an Inspiron 700m.

 

[timosyy]

No response is really typical. I'm "throwing out the net" so to speak, and seeing what I reel in (suggestions for laptops).

/noob

You can get RAM installed seperate?

/end noob

 

[habib89]

yah, dell 700m if you want something small and portable.. i love mine.. just make sure to format/reinstall before you actually do anythign with it

 

[RossMAN]

Wrong forum and please STFU and listen.

If you are a member of CostCo they are going to have a killer deal on the awesome HP DV1000 next week. Specs are Intel Centrino 1.8GHz, 1GB RAM, 80GB Hard Drive, Dual Layer DVD Burner, 802.11b/g WiFi and Windows XP Home for $999 out the door.

Of course there's also the Dell Inspiron 9300 which has a new $750 off $1899 coupon that will expire soon.

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition (most colleges sell XP Pro for cheap to students)
SAVE $60 instantly with the 3yr Plus Solution Package
256MB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 1 Dimm (see below comments)
60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive (DVD Burner is another $99)
256MB NVIDA® GeForce? Go 6800 (one of the best video cards for laptop gaming available today)
6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (53 WHr)
FREE Dell Color Printer 720! (you could sell this for $30)
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)

$2,195 - $750 = $1,445 with no sales tax to most states

/noob

You can get RAM installed seperate?

/end noob

Yes, it's significantly cheaper than buying RAM from Dell.com

For instance Dell charges $250 to go from 256MB to 1GB. You can buy 1GB from NewEgg.com for $119 and still have your original 256MB RAM. Upgrading the RAM is easy, just need a screw driver and takes about 3 minutes.

 

[timosyy]

/bow Rossman

edit: I am a CostCo member (c'mon, I'm Asian). The HP DV1000 looks tempting, but from what I've read the video card isnt that hot...

 

[RossMAN]

I still prefer the HP DV1000 @ CostCo as I love HP laptops and it's more portable.

However the Dell Inspiron 9300 is definitely a desktop replacement and gamers laptop.

 

[timosyy]

The price tag is also ridiculously tempting. Just wish they had an option to up the graphics (WoW is going on this machine, most definately).

I sort of want to ask how much each of these weigh but that'd just be lazy of me so I'll check myself... and instead ask this question:

What do you all feel is a comfortable weight? How much is too much? I can see myself lugging this around a fair bit (Illinois is a huge campus.. and my dorm is pretty far from the main quad so if I want my laptop during the day I'm going to have to bring it with me).

 

[RossMAN]

What's more important to you?

Gaming and nice 17" LCD size or weigth and portability?

If weight and portability are more important then check out the HP @ CostCo or Dell 6000.

 

[timosyy]

I want to say Gaming & LCD size ...

Might not be the most responsible answer though.

Is the listed 8 pounds too heavy to carry around casually?

Edit: Also, anyone actually recommend getting a warrantee?

 

[mb]

Originally posted by: timosyy
I want to say Gaming & LCD size ...

Might not be the most responsible answer though.

Is the listed 8 pounds too heavy to carry around casually?

That depends on how weak/strong you are

My old Toshiba weighed 9lbs for a 15" laptop, and the Dell 9300 I just ordered will weigh ~8lbs.