Dell 700m v. Mwave custom centrino-based?

[SSibalNom]

Looking at two lappy's: The Dell 700m which currently is on sale (see hot deals) , and an Mwave Centrino. I put both to similiar specs, and the Dell comes to $1910 before 25% off - 447 - 200 rebate = $1232.50 including 2yr accidental / 2yr wty. The mwave comes to $1103 after upgrading it to 512mb and adding XP home, 1yr ltd wty and I would buy accidental coverage for $75 yearly from safeware.com. However it is a 1.5 while the dell is a 1.6. This thing has to last me about 3 years, will pretty much only be used for word processing, some office apps, web surfing, DVD playing, and online poker. Another reason I'm looking more at the mwave is because there are no rebates, and I could get it 2-3 weeks sooner. Anyone have experience with mwave lappys? anything else in this price range($1250or less)/size/battery life I should look into? any help would be great, thanks

 

[Justin216]

MWave lappys are from generic manufacturers, but actually, most notebooks come originally from places such as these....Sager follows the same suit....every company does to some extent...so get which ever one you like better...cause more than likely, they both are manufactured by either the same or similar company before dell or mwave puts their badge on

 

[SSibalNom]

but is there a big difference in quality comparing all the generics?

 

[KevinH]

Dell is a rebadge Wistron. Dell takes their notebooks from the same group of so called generics as most other vendors : Wistron, Compal, Uniwill etc. VERY few manufacturers produce their own from teh ground up. Fujitsu, Acer, IBM and Apple are the only ones I can think of and from what I've read even among those vendors certain models are just rebadges from another ODM manufacturer. I can say for certain that Dell is just the world's biggest rebadgers when it comes to notebooks. Judging by the model # on the Mwave, it's a Uniwill notebook. Go here: www.talknotebooks.com. There's a wealth of info on lesser known brands, etc.

 

[kuljc]

yup that's a uniwill.. and actually they're a good manufacturer.... I was gonna build that laptop for a myself (but now for a friend). But after talking with mwave... they have no clue about their laptops, so the quality of parts is questionable.

I would try www.1toppc.com, they have the same laptop. I do believe uniwill covers 2 years warranty. and I have been talking w/ 1toppc and from what i'm getting from them they're using better parts (at least they know what they use). I would still suggest if going w/ the uniwill to build it yourself so you know exactly what you're getting.


also, unless you're getting into a SWEET deal on the 700m, I would do the uniwill. b/c the 700m has a 4200rpm hdd, you'll have to upgrade the ram anyways and the battery too. IMHO.

 

[SSibalNom]

thanks for the info, this
appears to be the Uniwill one, as it is the only 12.1" wide barebone they have on there. I set up both w/ the same specs, and the toppc came out to be about $350 more... is it worth the risk to just go with mwave? as far as the HDD i know its 5400rpm, but not much else.... and anyone know about the quality of the LCD itself? thanks

 

[SSibalNom]

I called mwave today and they know NOTHING, telling me the battery life is 1-2 hours on all their laptops, but I dont think this is correct, anyone else have/used one of these and know the actual battery life? thanks

 

[kuljc]

Originally posted by: SSibalNom
I called mwave today and they know NOTHING, telling me the battery life is 1-2 hours on all their laptops, but I dont think this is correct, anyone else have/used one of these and know the actual battery life? thanks

that's exactly why I'm not purcahsing from them.... I actually JUST found a different site.. www.ekm.com, seems to be a few people ordering from them. They reply to emails quick, and know what they're selling. and they're SO much cheaper. From what other people say their packages were shipped the next day and they're a quality company.

The only thing is I couldn't find any reviews of the site, so I'm gonna order w/ my amex card (protect against fraud). And well from what other people said it's a good site.

try it out.. they have AWSOME prices.

 

[kuljc]

forgot to mention... this guy gives a pretty good review on the 223ii0

http://notebookforums.com/show...ighlight=223ii0+review


try searching through that site.. you'll find a lot about it.


(aren't you lucky I found your thread)

 

[FortFunFoSho]

Check the hot deals forum. I think you will be buying the 700m tomorrow with a $750 rebate.

 

[kuljc]

damn his right... I got ripped off!!!!

well anyways... getting the 700m is a good choice.. the only thing I would suggest after getting it is to sell the 4200rpm hdd that comes w/ it and purchase a 5400rpm hdd. besides that.. you can configure it to have everything else you need and still be about 750... dang this sucks a$$