decisions about Dell notebook (600m or 5100)

[Acts837]

Finally got a 10% coupon and Dell has the Office SB edition expiring tomorrow.

I'm looking at one of the following for a wireless rig around the house and work:

Inspiron 600m, 1.3GHz or the Inspiron 5100, 2.4GHz

anyone own one of these can comment for me? The D600 is a few hundred more than I want to spend.

 

[NeoMadHatter]

i own the 600m. i love it. it's awesome. nothing compared to the ibm t40, but still awesome. i'd get the 600m. what are the rest of the system config you have?

 

[Jugernot]

I had the same decision 3 months ago and I chose the 5100. Never looked back!

Great laptop! I opted for the following:

P4 2.53GHz
256MB DDR (upgraded to 512 myself)
30gig ATA100
8x DVD/ 24x CDRW
Builtin 802.11a/b
15" SXGA+ screen

I LOVE IT! It's a tad bulky, but for this kind of power you just can't do a small laptop. Plus this damn thing lasts over 3 hours for browsing and around 2.5hrs for watching DVDs. I can't recommend it enough.

Joe

btw: Dunno if it matters, but the wireless reception is absolutely the best I've even used in a device ever. I get 50-60% signal when I can't get a signal at all with my Orinoco Gold PCMCIA card.

 

[Acts837]

Thanks for the info. Just waiting for a 10% off coupon now and that 5100 is mine.

 

[NeoMadHatter]

as long as you don't plan to carry it around a lot. the 5100 is pretty heavy. well at least a few pounds more than the 600m. and the pentium m's are better performers for mobility. but if mobility isn't what you're looking for and want a desktop replacement, then why not go with the 5150?

 

[Acts837]

As Paul Harvey says --

I have an extra lan drop in my walk-in closet. Well my lovely bride of 17 years didn't care much for the server, workstation, etc that was in there. I already have my house wired and I also have a wireless router. The goal was $1000 for a "desktop replacement" so I didn't have to sit in the closet when everyone else in the house was asleep.

Ended up with:
5100, 14.1, 2.4GHz, 512MB, 32 ATI, 30GB HD, DVD, XP Home, XP Office SBE ==> $1075 shipped

I would have opted for the rebate but I have the worst luck in the world with those things.

 

[Jugernot]

Originally posted by: NeoMadHatter
as long as you don't plan to carry it around a lot. the 5100 is pretty heavy. well at least a few pounds more than the 600m. and the pentium m's are better performers for mobility. but if mobility isn't what you're looking for and want a desktop replacement, then why not go with the 5150?

Last I checked the 5150 was a few hundred more than the 5100. Maybe this guys on a budget and just wants the best performance for the $$ he has... If you were to get a 600m in the $1075 range, it would only have the 1.3GHz Pentium M, maybe the 1.4GHz. That would be equivalent to around a 1900MHz P4...

If mobility wasn't his top concern and he just wanted to the best performer for his money. I'd say he made the right choice. Of course, this is coming from another 5100 owner.

 

[NeoMadHatter]

Originally posted by: Jugernot

Originally posted by: NeoMadHatter
as long as you don't plan to carry it around a lot. the 5100 is pretty heavy. well at least a few pounds more than the 600m. and the pentium m's are better performers for mobility. but if mobility isn't what you're looking for and want a desktop replacement, then why not go with the 5150?

Last I checked the 5150 was a few hundred more than the 5100. Maybe this guys on a budget and just wants the best performance for the $$ he has... If you were to get a 600m in the $1075 range, it would only have the 1.3GHz Pentium M, maybe the 1.4GHz. That would be equivalent to around a 1900MHz P4...

If mobility wasn't his top concern and he just wanted to the best performer for his money. I'd say he made the right choice. Of course, this is coming from another 5100 owner.

yea, he said he wants desktop replacement. i myself actually carry my laptop around to and from classes and to and from my house every few weekends. so mobility is a big issue for me as i don't want to carry around anything over 5lbs. that's just too much weight to carry with other things like books and stuff. performance-wise, a 1900mhz p4 is not a bad thing at all. i mean, if you're going to be playing games or something, you'd definately want a desktop as video cards aren't the greatest on laptops. also, i don't think anyone really notices performance difference between a 1900mhz and a 2.5ghz when you're playing winamp, or surfing the internet. last i checked, the internet wasn't extremely dependent on processor speed. i could be wrong. but yea, if that's what he's looking for then he made the right decision. i'm just not a big fan of having a desktop processor in a notebook. that's one huge thing that made me not choose a 5100 or a 5150. and yea, the 5150 does cost more, but i figured, if you're gonna get the 5100, you might as well make the push and go for the 5150 for the HT part as it's more "future-proof" than the normal p4s as p4HTs are the new thing going. on a not so important note, if you waited a couple weeks or so, dell tends to send 15% coupons randomly. at least i get those sometimes. usually get 5% or 10% ones though.

 

[Jugernot]

Originally posted by: NeoMadHatter

Originally posted by: Jugernot

Originally posted by: NeoMadHatter
as long as you don't plan to carry it around a lot. the 5100 is pretty heavy. well at least a few pounds more than the 600m. and the pentium m's are better performers for mobility. but if mobility isn't what you're looking for and want a desktop replacement, then why not go with the 5150?

Last I checked the 5150 was a few hundred more than the 5100. Maybe this guys on a budget and just wants the best performance for the $$ he has... If you were to get a 600m in the $1075 range, it would only have the 1.3GHz Pentium M, maybe the 1.4GHz. That would be equivalent to around a 1900MHz P4...

If mobility wasn't his top concern and he just wanted to the best performer for his money. I'd say he made the right choice. Of course, this is coming from another 5100 owner.

yea, he said he wants desktop replacement. i myself actually carry my laptop around to and from classes and to and from my house every few weekends. so mobility is a big issue for me as i don't want to carry around anything over 5lbs. that's just too much weight to carry with other things like books and stuff. performance-wise, a 1900mhz p4 is not a bad thing at all. i mean, if you're going to be playing games or something, you'd definately want a desktop as video cards aren't the greatest on laptops. also, i don't think anyone really notices performance difference between a 1900mhz and a 2.5ghz when you're playing winamp, or surfing the internet. last i checked, the internet wasn't extremely dependent on processor speed. i could be wrong. but yea, if that's what he's looking for then he made the right decision. i'm just not a big fan of having a desktop processor in a notebook. that's one huge thing that made me not choose a 5100 or a 5150. and yea, the 5150 does cost more, but i figured, if you're gonna get the 5100, you might as well make the push and go for the 5150 for the HT part as it's more "future-proof" than the normal p4s as p4HTs are the new thing going. on a not so important note, if you waited a couple weeks or so, dell tends to send 15% coupons randomly. at least i get those sometimes. usually get 5% or 10% ones though.

In theory I agree that desktop CPUs shouldn't be in laptops, but in this case, it really didn't effect anything. My 5100 still lasts easily over 3 hours (around 3.5hrs) if I'm surfing or reading email. That is with the screen at around 80% brightness and nothing else slowed. Also, this laptop doesn't throttle down the CPU speed when it's running on battery like some desktop CPU laptops. This runs full speed, no matter if you are using AC or battery.

Anyway, a coworker has a 600m with the PentiumM 1.6GHz and hard to tell the different between our laptops if you are just surfing, doing some video editing, light gaming, etc.

In Photoshop, that is a different story. My 2.5GHz has a noticeable advantage. In the mobility realm, no contest, 600m wins hands down. It's lighter and smaller.

 

[NeoMadHatter]

yea, this decision is extremely based on whether you want a desktop replacement or mobility. i don't think very much else comes in to play here. having the desktop processor is also why the battery is so big and heavy. which adds to the weight. but that's about it. i'd still rather get the 5150 if he could spare the money. more future proof for upgrading the computer later. but if that's his budget, he did make the right decision as he wanted a desktop replacement.

 

[Derango]

I strongly dislike the idea of desktop processors in notebooks, so I went with the 600m. I love mine. I'd recommend it to pretty much anyone.

 

[Acts837]

But how does that 1.3GHz really perform? Yes this will not be used for road trips and such so it is a desktop. My main concern is heat.

 

[kalster]

u cud wait for a deal on the 8500
i got mine for 1080 shipped
p4m 2.2,
dvd
256 mb ddr (added 512 myself)
radeon 9000 32 mb
and the best part , 15.4 widscreen display

and p4 m 2.2 is pretty powerful too, and its a tad ligher than th e 5100 too
and i guess a bit better battery life too than 5100

 

[Acts837]

I already ordered the 5100 but if I don't like it when it comes I have been looking at the 600m as an alternative.