good laptop for <$1500??

spp

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2001
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Hey all... i'm looking for a laptop for < 1500.... any recommendations?

(i'm currently looking at the dell inspiron 8200 and the HP Pavilion Ze4125.. but i just want some opinions from you guys.

Thanks!!
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
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What do you want in the laptop?

I just nabbed a couple Inspiron 4150's w/ P4 1.8g, 256 RAM, 30 gig HD, 16 meg Radeon video, and 24x CDRW's for $1,055 a piece.
 

spp

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2001
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Originally posted by: vi_edit
What do you want in the laptop?

I just nabbed a couple Inspiron 4150's w/ P4 1.8g, 256 RAM, 30 gig HD, 16 meg Radeon video, and 24x CDRW's for $1,055 a piece.

how did you get it for 1055?? rebates?? ( i guess i have to wait for the deal)
 

spp

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2001
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Originally posted by: Cycad
Booo to the people suggesting MACs, PC all the way, keepin it real.

mac is good but we're just more used to pc....
 

Freejack2

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2000
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Dude, you're getting a Dell. Check the hot deals forum. You'll find a deal on the Dells easy.
 

spp

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2001
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Originally posted by: Freejack2
Dude, you're getting a Dell. Check the hot deals forum. You'll find a deal on the Dells easy.

yea i checked.... there aren't particularlly good deals right now but i can wait.. i'm just trying to taget one that's a good laptop
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
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Hmm... and they all worked fine??
and between 4150 and 8200 which one do you recommend?

Depends on your needs and intended use. If you actually plan to carry it around and don't have any need for top of the line graphics, then the 4150 is a much better choice. MUCH better battery life, and considerably lighter without really compromising on performance.

The 8200's are fuggin huge and heavy. They really offer only two advantages over the 4150 - better video cards, and allow you to use floppy and cdrom in the laptop at the same time. The 4150's require you to use a parallel cable to hook up the floppy if the cdrom is in the machine. But other than that, the money saved, and the better battery life and easier portability of the 4150's is nice.
 

spp

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2001
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Originally posted by: vi_edit
Hmm... and they all worked fine??
and between 4150 and 8200 which one do you recommend?

Depends on your needs and intended use. If you actually plan to carry it around and don't have any need for top of the line graphics, then the 4150 is a much better choice. MUCH better battery life, and considerably lighter without really compromising on performance.

The 8200's are fuggin huge and heavy. They really offer only two advantages over the 4150 - better video cards, and allow you to use floppy and cdrom in the laptop at the same time. The 4150's require you to use a parallel cable to hook up the floppy if the cdrom is in the machine. But other than that, the money saved, and the better battery life and easier portability of the 4150's is nice.

hmm so how much better is the GeForce4? 440 Go than the radeon 7500? i think my gf will be doing a lot of graphic design and rendering stuff so it is importnat for her. also, is 1299 for inspiron 8200 worth it (i've also seen deals last week on this... unfortunately it expired..)
 

notfred

Lifer
Feb 12, 2001
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Originally posted by: spp
hmm so how much better is the GeForce4? 440 Go than the radeon 7500? i think my gf will be doing a lot of graphic design and rendering stuff so it is importnat for her. also, is 1299 for inspiron 8200 worth it (i've also seen deals last week on this... unfortunately it expired..)

It's not going to make a difference in photoshop or any other 2D design program, it'll only matter in 3D stuff.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
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hmm so how much better is the GeForce4? 440 Go than the radeon 7500? i think my gf will be doing a lot of graphic design and rendering stuff so it is importnat for her. also, is 1299 for inspiron 8200 worth it (i've also seen deals last week on this... unfortunately it expired..)

No clue. I'm sure there are some comparisons out there that show the difference. Also, I really have no idea what is required for graphic design and rendering. I don't know if it's RAM, CPU, video, ect dependent. No idea what's important for it.

$1300 for an 8200 seems like a decent deal. What does it come with?
 

spp

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2001
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Originally posted by: notfred
Originally posted by: spp
hmm so how much better is the GeForce4? 440 Go than the radeon 7500? i think my gf will be doing a lot of graphic design and rendering stuff so it is importnat for her. also, is 1299 for inspiron 8200 worth it (i've also seen deals last week on this... unfortunately it expired..)

It's not going to make a difference in photoshop or any other 2D design program, it'll only matter in 3D stuff.

yea i think she'll be using 3d studio and other 3d programs... is it going to noticable though??

Thanks!
 

HokieESM

Senior member
Jun 10, 2002
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Depends on what you want/need in the laptop. I'm personally a BIG fan of IBMs just because of the build quality--and I've never had problems with their service. If you're looking for cheap, check their ebay store which sells NEW laptops that are a "generation" old (mostly with P3-Ms--1.13GHz... which have VERY good battery life and are MORE than enough to do most of the things people do with laptops).

IBM eBay store

Dell also has a few "value oriented" laptops... and they're not bad. To me, they feel a bit cheap. Personally, IBM and Apple make the two highest quality laptops--especially in terms of "feel".

Best of luck to ya!
 

spp

Golden Member
Jul 9, 2001
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Originally posted by: vi_edit
hmm so how much better is the GeForce4? 440 Go than the radeon 7500? i think my gf will be doing a lot of graphic design and rendering stuff so it is importnat for her. also, is 1299 for inspiron 8200 worth it (i've also seen deals last week on this... unfortunately it expired..)

No clue. I'm sure there are some comparisons out there that show the difference. Also, I really have no idea what is required for graphic design and rendering. I don't know if it's RAM, CPU, video, ect dependent. No idea what's important for it.

$1300 for an 8200 seems like a decent deal. What does it come with?

specs...pentium 4 Processor-M at 1.8GHz, 128Ram, NVIDIA® GeForce4 440 GoTM , 40Gig, dvd/cdrw..

 

Ryan

Lifer
Oct 31, 2000
27,519
2
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This computer kicks all of your computers asses: Gateway 600 Series:

2ghz P4-m
256mb DDR Ram
15.7' Screen
It's got either an ATI Radeon 7500 or 9000 with an RCA out jack (The site doesn't say, but I work for Gateway so it's def. got either one of those)
DVD-Rom
40gb Hard Drive
XP Home Edition
Integrated Sound with Optical Out
-------------------------------------------------
$1479

OR

<a class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.gateway.com/reman/hm_Notebook_1007070_1000045_Gateway_400_series.shtml" target=blank>Gateway 400 Series:
</A>2.4ghz P4
256mb DDR ram
15" Screen
30gb HD
DVD-Rom/CD Burner
XP Home
ATI Radeon Graphics Card
Integrated Sound
-------------------------------------
$1199