Does >this< laptop exist...?

[MIDIman]

Hi all - I recently bought my brother a Dell 700m, and I myself have owned a Dell 8600 for about a year now (typing on it now). I got a great deal on the 700m - basically just under $900 with the 2.0ghz chip, and then I threw in some $50 ram making it 1gb. IMHO - those two specs alone are what I need in a lappy.

But what really shocked me was the size of a 12" notebook. Its so small and light - night and day compared with my hunkin 8600! The only two issues I have with the 700m is that a) the Intel Extreme Graphics SUCK for gaming, and b) while WXGA (1366x768, or basically "wide" 1024x768) is fin for 12" its not enough space to work with on a larger screen...

SO - is there a manufacturer out there that makes the following? In order of preference:

1) 14" screen or smaller (pref. wide), with support for W-SXGA.
2) The "lightness" and "thinness" factor as seen on the 700m.
3) Support for at least 2.0ghz Pentium M's
4) Support for 1gb ram
5) Support for ATI/Nvidia miniPCI cards
6) Support of the latest 533mhz FSB PentiumM's

I should note that I am VERY used to working with high resolutions on smaller displays. My 8600 is WUXGA 1920x1200.

 

[cheesehead]

The IBM/Lenovo Z60T can be configured with an ATI Radeon X300 w/64 mb of video memory. It's got a 14" screen, and weighs under 5 lbs.
If I recall, IBM used to sell a T-model laptop with FireGL graphics, but I have no idea where it is.

That, or you can get an Apple Powerbook. They're really the only way to go, it seems, for getting decent graphics in a thin-and-light platform. The 15.2" Powerbook weighs under six lbs., supports 1440 x 960 resolution, and has a Mobile Radeon 9700/128mb. The 1.67ghz G4 processor may be slower than the 2Ghz Pentium M in some areas, though. (Also, it's two grand.)

 

[MIDIman]

Thanks - yeah, definitely looking for a PC, as I don't think I'm ready to turn to Apple quite yet for a portable.

What about the new Sony's? It looks like there's a few 700m-like models, and one even has a nvidia 6200, but I can't find any with higher resolutions...

 

[inhotep]

Originally posted by: MIDIman
Hi all - I recently bought my brother a Dell 700m, and I myself have owned a Dell 8600 for about a year now (typing on it now). I got a great deal on the 700m - basically just under $900 with the 2.0ghz chip, and then I threw in some $50 ram making it 1gb. IMHO - those two specs alone are what I need in a lappy.

But what really shocked me was the size of a 12" notebook. Its so small and light - night and day compared with my hunkin 8600! The only two issues I have with the 700m is that a) the Intel Extreme Graphics SUCK for gaming, and b) while WXGA (1366x768, or basically "wide" 1024x768) is fin for 12" its not enough space to work with on a larger screen...

SO - is there a manufacturer out there that makes the following? In order of preference:

1) 14" screen or smaller (pref. wide), with support for W-SXGA.
2) The "lightness" and "thinness" factor as seen on the 700m.
3) Support for at least 2.0ghz Pentium M's
4) Support for 1gb ram
5) Support for ATI/Nvidia miniPCI cards
6) Support of the latest 533mhz FSB PentiumM's

I should note that I am VERY used to working with high resolutions on smaller displays. My 8600 is WUXGA 1920x1200.

Ummm shouldn't you ask these questions before you purchase that 700m?

 

[inhotep]

dude, how did you get that 700m with 2ghz cpu for under $900?? was it used?

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
The IBM/Lenovo Z60T can be configured with an ATI Radeon X300 w/64 mb of video memory. It's got a 14" screen, and weighs under 5 lbs.
If I recall, IBM used to sell a T-model laptop with FireGL graphics, but I have no idea where it is.

Actually the Z60t has Intel GMA900 only. And all of the T-series offer an ATI FireGL card, but those systems start at like $2500+.

Originally posted by: MIDIman
1) 14" screen or smaller (pref. wide), with support for W-SXGA.
2) The "lightness" and "thinness" factor as seen on the 700m.
3) Support for at least 2.0ghz Pentium M's
4) Support for 1gb ram
5) Support for ATI/Nvidia miniPCI cards
6) Support of the latest 533mhz FSB PentiumM's

Unfortunately there are no sub-15" screens have have above an XGA/WXGA resolution. I truly wish there was a 14" WSXGA+ dedicated graphics machine because I would JUMP on it.

The Asus W3V is a 14" widescreen with X600 graphics; probably the best in its form factor.

All notebooks support 1GB RAM these days.

Removeable graphics cards are a feature found only in high end DTR's, not anything remotely portable.

You don't need a 533MHz FSB chip, and the ultraportables generally do not use them. Most sub-12" notebooks use the Pentium M LV's which run on a 400MHz FSB. Yes, its a minor performance increase. But they produce too much heat and are not suitable for ultraportable use.

 

[MIDIman]

thanks fbrdphreak - agreed with all you've said, tho that's why I asked! I have a feeling there's a sub 14", sub 4.5lbs, out there with more than WXGA...there's always hope.

Ummm shouldn't you ask these questions before you purchase that 700m?

The 700m was for my brother. Its more than he could ever need in a laptop. This post is concerning my future needs for a laptop...

dude, how did you get that 700m with 2ghz cpu for under $900?? was it used?

I think the deal was something like $1500 - 25%, with a rare $150 off stackable coupon and I had a $30 off DPA...something like that...the $900 got me a barebone 700m (CDRW/DVD, 256mb, 40gb HD) but with the 2ghz. So yeah...with the $50 512mb ram I guess it was 768mb not 1gb. Still though, it was a great deal!

 

[MIDIman]

Originally posted by: inhotep
dude, how did you get that 700m with 2ghz cpu for under $900?? was it used?

HA! Actually, I just pulled up the old Order and it was actually $820!! Can't remember quite how I pulled that one off, but it must've been one of the "-$750" coupons...I DO remember using "the big wallet" .com and not seeing the deal on anandtech's hot deals. This is actually looking like 1150 - 25% - Dell DPA $30.

1 Inspiron 700m, Intel Pentium MProcessor 755(2GHz/400MHz FSB)12.1 in WXGA $819.35
1 256MB,DDR,333MHz,1 Dimm, Inspiron 700m $0.00
1 40GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive for Inspiron 700m $0.00
1 Image Restore $0.00
1 Microsoft Windows XP Home Service Pack 2, English, for Inspiron $0.00
1 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access $0.00
1 Windows Media Player 10 $0.00
1 DELL SUPPORT 3.0 $0.00
1 Integrated NIC for Inspiron $0.00
1 Internal 56k Modem $0.00
1 Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0, for Inspiron $0.00
1 24X Combo DVD/CD-RW for Inspiron 700m $0.00
1 CyberLink PowerDVD v5.5 Decoding Sofware for DVD Drives $0.00
1 Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11b/g,54Mbps) for Inspiron 700m $0.00
1 No Security Subscription $0.00
1 Music Match 9.0 Basic 7 day OnDemand $0.00
1 32 WHr 4-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery $0.00
1 Dell/My Way Home Page $0.00
1 Broadband Icon for Inspiron $0.00
1 AOL for Broadband $0.00
1 Paint Shop Photo Album 5.1 Standard $0.00
1 Corel WordPerfect 12 plus Trial of Quartro Pro and Presentations $0.00
1 No Warranty After 90 Days $0.00
1 Technical Support, 90 Days $0.00
1 Type 12- Mail-In Service, 24x7 Technical Support, 90 Days $0.00
1 Thank you for choosing Dell $0.00
1 Quickbooks 2005 Special SimpleStart Edition $0.00
1 Dell Media Experience 3.0 Basic $0.00

Sub-Total $819.35
Shipping $19.00
Tax $0.00
Total Price $838.35

 

[inhotep]

Oh man that would justify anyone buying that 700m, even me.

 

[andrewbabcock]

Upgrade the ram and the hdd on that thang and you are set.

 

[lazybum131]

No widescreens smaller than 15.4" have high resolution screens, but there are several normal aspect 14" notebooks with SXGA+ (1400x1050). A IBM T42 is just under 5lb and is thinner then the 700m with a Radeon 9600 64MB. The upcoming Sony BX series is suppose to have a 14" configurable with a SXGA+ screen and dedicated graphics. Dell's D610 is configurable with a SXGA+ screen too.

 

[BornStar]

Originally posted by: lazybum131
No widescreens smaller than 15.4" have high resolution screens, but there are several normal aspect 14" notebooks with SXGA+ (1400x1050). A IBM T42 is just under 5lb and is thinner then the 700m with a Radeon 9600 64MB. The upcoming Sony BX series is suppose to have a 14" configurable with a SXGA+ screen and dedicated graphics. Dell's D610 is configurable with a SXGA+ screen too.

I think you meant the 600m with Radeon 9000 64MB graphics. The D610 is configurable with a 14in SXGA+ and a Radeon X300.

I too am unaware of any laptops that meet your resolution requirement with a 14in widescreen. Sorry.