Decent College Laptop

[SNoWyV82]

What would be a good notebook for a college student? It seems like people prefer IBM and Toshiba. Any other brands to look at? I'm looking for a Pentium M 1.5-2.0 w/512 MB DDR, 60+ GB HD, 14.1"-15" screen, 802.11g/b, and decent video memory. It should be somewhat light too. It's going to be my only computer in college so I want it to have decent specs. I can see myself playing SOME games but I'm nowhere near a hardcore gamer. Any specific models that people recommend? Thanks!

 

[Excelsior]

Just get one of those IBM T-series laptops. They rock.

 

[ShellGuy]

Look at this one. Prob what i would get if i wanted that stuff. Im still lookin at a Emachine.



Will

 

[juancferrer]

Originally posted by: Excelsior
Just get one of those IBM T-series laptops. They rock.

 

[BlackMamba]

Make sure you check if your College has a tech discount with certain companies to save some money.

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

If your college offers educational discounts, definitely look into the IBM Thinkpads.

 

[OdiN]

Definitely look into the Dell 600m

 

[SNoWyV82]

Well many people say that the Dell Inspirons aren't good. They are a lot cheaper than those IBMs, but I don't want a system that's going to give me problems. We recently bought an 8600 and it didn't work right out of the box. Now it seems to be working but I don't know if that is a typical experience for someone buying an Inspiron or if mine was an isolated incident.

Also...why do people recommend the T series over the R series?

A friend said that his brother just got a Sony Z1. Anyone have any experiences with those? Thanks!

 

[SNoWyV82]

Bump...with the 20% off coupon, I can get a Dell Inspiron 600m with:

1.8GHz Pentium M
14.1" SXGA+ screen
512MB DDR on 1 DIMM
Windows XP Professional
60 GB Hard drive (is is a sllooooww 4200 RPM???)
24X CDRW/DVD Combo
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 (802.11b/g)
A basic 1 year warranty

for $1645.60 shipped! That's so cheap! The only things that make me mad are the fact that the Inspiron has very bad battery life, it only has 32MB of video memory, and I am thinking that the hard drive is really slow. Anyone have any suggestions??

Edit: I found the way to get 64MB of video ram but it won't let me get the ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 right now for some reason

 

[thuned]

Originally posted by: SNoWyV82
Bump...with the 20% off coupon, I can get a Dell Inspiron 600m with:

1.8GHz Pentium M
14.1" SXGA+ screen
512MB DDR on 1 DIMM
Windows XP Professional
60 GB Hard drive (is is a sllooooww 4200 RPM???)
24X CDRW/DVD Combo
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 (802.11b/g)
A basic 1 year warranty

for $1645.60 shipped! That's so cheap! The only things that make me mad are the fact that the Inspiron has very bad battery life, it only has 32MB of video memory, and I am thinking that the hard drive is really slow. Anyone have any suggestions??

Edit: I found the way to get 64MB of video ram but it won't let me get the ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 right now for some reason

I would rather bump the 1.8Ghz down to a 1.5-1.6Ghz or so and get a 7200rpm. But that's just me. Who needs a fast cpu anyways if you don't do hardcore gaming or do heavy media stuff?

 

[SNoWyV82]

No...there aren't any options as far as Hard drive RPM. That's why I assume that they are 4200 RPM since it doesn't specify.

 

[SNoWyV82]

And...it IS a 4200 RPM hard drive. Now there are two things holding me back from this system....the 4200 RPM hard drive and the awful battery life. Someone help me! It's so cheap, I don't know what to do.....

 

[cw42]

with a 600m u should get about 2.5-3hrs, depending on what you're doing.

 

[Wuzup101]

The 600m doesn't have horiable batt life. I'm sure you could easily figure out how to drop in a 60gb/7200rpm drive with little effort. It's a good price for a decent system IMHO. Not the best, but definitely worth the money.

 

[SNoWyV82]

Okay I called Dell and configured a 600m and now I'm getting all of the above with a 64MB Radeon 9000 for $1615 shipped. Somehow I saved money by upgrading to a Radeon...doesn't quite make sense. Nevertheless, when I configure a Toshiba Tecra or an IBM T series with the same specs as the Dell, they come out to be around $400 more. The Toshiba allows me to get a 7200RPM 60GB HD though.

 

[Wuzup101]

LOL... also because I just bought one and I love it... I have to say check out the 15" apple Powerbook... but hey... sameless plug for the PB...

 

[imported_jon1003]

Can't you order a dell without a hdd by calling them to configure? then just buy one from newegg?

 

[StealthGear]

I've got a 600m with similar specs as your, typing from it right now. It's a decent inbetween laptop (lightweight but still packs some power). One thing that I really like about it is that its dead silent, the fan never comes on unless I'm playing an intense 3D game. I've been able to run Pandora Tomorrow and beyond good at good speeds (got the 64 radeon 9000 version), but I mainly use it for web surfing and watching movies.

 

[cy7878]

IBM will sell you stuff at the 20% educational discount on-line in their Education Store. there is no verification process to proof you are actually an educational customer. It is done on a honor process. If you say you are an educational customer, they believe you.

This is nice because most University Bookstores only carry a few configuration, and usually are the ones you DON'T want.

 

[bolido2000]

I just bought a 600m last week from Dell outlet. Yes, it is refurbished but from the Dell support forums it seems that no one has had a problem buying from outlet:

1.6GHz Pentium M (Dothan)
14.1" SXGA+ screen
256MB DDR on 1 DIMM
Windows XP Home
30gig 5400RPM
24X CDRW/DVD Combo
Dell 802.11b/g
A basic 1 year warranty

$960 shipped.

I already have Windows XP PRO. I will get a 256MB stick from FS/FT for $30. 512MB should be more than enough has my peak usage has never gone over 350MB. HD is kinda small, but I can upgrade that later if I need to. Dell Outlet also provides 1 year of warranty, plus I bought with my AMEX so in total I have 2 years of warranty. Nevertheless, I will probably sell the laptop when I finish school, which is pretty soon.

EDIT: I remember reading that Dell's wireless (Broadcom chip I think) is superior than Intel's 2200. The only drawback is that you don't get the Centrino sticker