Help me out here people- looking for a new notebook

[fahad0]

Alright, like it says, I'm looking for a new notebook.
specs that I would like to have in it:

Pentium M anything above 715
256 or 512 ram, doesnt matter as long as I can upgrade the former
around 5lbs or less- "thin & light"
I would really really like a widescreen
DVD burner
at least 40GB Hard Drive
56k modem
integrated wireless
usb ports and all the other usual stuff
UNDER $1500 -> very important!!
this is the closest thing i've found:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...=cat15107&type=product

I dont know about the quality of hp notebooks, so I'm a little hesitant buying it
and I would like to know what else is out there. I'm not a big gamer or anything anymore
just need something for school that is light so I can carry it around and has decent performance.
many thanks to all of you.

 

[TheCanuck]

These are similar but have less hard drive space than the 1170 (60GB for the Compaq, and 80GB for the HP):

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=34-147-205&depa=3 ($1249)

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=34-147-203&depa=3 ($1369)

For your price range you aren't going to find many others that have a DVD-RW. HP and Compaq are the same now...and their quality is probably about average these days since pretty much every laptop is made by the same 3 companies in Asia.

At least if you order through Newegg you won't have to pay taxes and you'll save a couple of hundred bux...although you'll lose a few gigs of storage space.

 

[thuned]

dell 700m?

 

[modestninja]

Or you could order straight from HPshopping.com and customize it to your specs.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/web...oreName=computer_store

I customized one with the 256mb ram, 8X DVD burner, 60gig 5400rpm hd, PM-1.7ghz, a free extra 6 cell battery and 1 year accidental damage service plan for $1449 - $50 mir. Leaving you $100 to get a 512mb stick of ram (i'd recommend the Coarsair I got from zzf for $88 shipped.)

When my gf ordered one there was no tax and shipping was free.

Anyway, I was a little leary HP notebooks, but so far the quality of this one has impressed me. The only place I've found it lacking is in the graphics department (since it shares memory), but there is no way you will find a gaming laptop with everything you wanted for under $1500.

The other thing I'd consider trying, is making a friend with someone who works for IBM and getting them to purchase you one of there notebooks for the employee discount price which is pretty damn good.

 

[inhotep]

This HP from newegg looks pretty good.
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=34-147-205&depa=3 ($1249)
Don't go for the higher capacity stock hard drive, you will hate it! Instead, pick a lower end one and get a 60 gig 7200 HD w/ 8mg buffer for $150. Use the stock HD as a backup, or toss it in your desktop (need a $2 kit).
ANd you need 512 < ram too! don't fall for the 2700 crap. 855 chipsets won't run the rm at that speed.
Oh, you don't need more than 1.5< cpu as well. I mean, you are NOT going to notice a difference between a 1.5 and 1.7. ALso, they all run at 600mhz on battery anyway! Plus, the 855 / dothan is getting phazed out right now, so you can aways upgrade later when it gets a lot cheaper.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Okay buddy, I don't know where you've been getting your info. You gave the same wrong info in another thread.
Let's clear this up: the 855 chipset DOES support PC2700/DDR333. It runs on a quad-pumped 100MHz (x4=400MHz) FSB. Intel 855PM Chipset

Support for up to 2GB of DDR 333/266/200 memory technology

Well lookie here, DDR 333.

Oh, you don't need more than 1.5< cpu as well. I mean, you are NOT going to notice a difference between a 1.5 and 1.7. ALso, they all run at 600mhz on battery anyway!

More farce. I'm guessing you either don't own a Centrino/P-M based notebook or you're just too dumb to use it. The minimum clock speed for most Centrino setups is 600MHz (My T42 throttles to 200MHz under long idle sessions), but the great thing about P-M is ENHANCED SPEEDSTEP. That means that this CPU is able to switch clockspeeds in microseconds and goes from 600MHz to full speed based on usage. I think the "inbetween" speeds are 800Mhz and 1200MHz, then full clock speed. I have noted this on both my Thinkpad and my gf's new dv1000 which has a 1.6GHz P-M in it.

Now, back on topic, the dv1000's are a sweet notebook. I was surprised with their build quality, but is very good for a relatively low-priced notebook. Check out the dv1000 thread on AT here, it has a LOT of good info. If you plan on taking it around with you and need battery life, definitely get the 12-cell battery. My gf gets 5+ hours under any circumstance (except gaming of course, the video card sucks and she doesn't game, sooo), and usually 6-7 hours with wifi and internet browsing. The brightview screen is up to your preference. It helps with brightness, but increases glare quite a bit.

Now there is a difference between the 1.5 & 1.7. First of all, the one offered by HP is the 715A. IIRC, the 715A is a Banias core CPU sold cheaply to OEM's as a budget processor. It has 1MB L2 Cache versus 2MB and is not as efficient as the Dothan in many ways. So there will be a pretty good difference between a 1.5 Banias and a 1.7 Dothan. IMO, the 1.7 Dothan is the best CPU for the money, but if you want to save some money, a 1.5 Banias will do well; even a Celeron-M for $100 less isn't a bad performer for BASIC usage.

With an 8X DVDRW, 256MB, 60GB 5400RPM, 1.5 Banias, and 12cell batt, it came out to be like $1224. Spend another ~$80 on a 512MB stick of PC2700 and you should be straight. As the only good thing imhotep suggested, you might opt to get the 40GB and replace it with a 60GB 7200RPM or a 100GB 7200RPM when they come out this fall. Or put the money into the CPU and get a Dothan. Either way, its up to you! But the laptop is a great model and I highly recommend it. Either way, I would configure it on HP.com and order it there. IIRC, they have a 30-day no questions return policy which is unrivaled by any retail store or online retailer.

Please write back with any other questions.

 

[MDE]

Link

Not a Centrino\Pentium-M but everything else matches your specs except the weight. I have the oldest eMachines model this one is based on and it's still ticking after a year. In a backpack the weight difference isn't that bad.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Also a sweet notebook. Will be VERY quick and powerful, but not the best on battery life or good for portability. The newest ones have the stupid 9550 Radeon in them, but from what I hear that is just an underclocked 9600 in the mobile flavor. :thumbsup:

 

[inhotep]

855GM notebooks does not support 2700, some companies will put a 2700 stick in there to trick people.
855PM does support 2700, but that will cost more than GM chipsets.
Noticed the HP from bestbuy has an Intel Extreme II graphics chip? so what does that mean? it is a 855 GM system which can not use 2700.
Would you rather have a slower CPU w/ 855 PM or faster CPU with 855 GM? Who is your daddy?
Yes I do have a Centrino P-M laptop. mine happens to be a GM chip with 2700 ram.
Have you used 3rd party softwares to test mhz during low usage? May be ibms are different.
My book runs at 600 mhz at Max Battery. And yes i have used softwareS to test the speed. Also, the FBS is reduced in Max Mattery.

You don't have to think you know everthing.

 

[fahad0]

thanks a lot all of you
got two questions:
would it be better if I just added the ram on the website to 512 for the extra $75
and
where do I get one of those 7200 8mb hard drives from??
thanks again

 

[gtg948g]

I definitely agree with the first poster who said the 700m. You can get them from dell for around a $1000 for a brand new base model. They are very light, less than 5lbs with the extend battery (highly recommended), and have one of the best lcd's I have ever seen on a laptop.

*I forgot to mention that they come standard with a wide screen and can be upgraded to a dvd-burner if needed. I am able to play WoW on this machine as well as half-life2 on lower settings.*