hp or toshiba

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alimoalem

Diamond Member
Sep 22, 2005
4,025
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i have problems with both laptops.

the only reason that i can think of getting a 17" laptop is for gaming. the hp has a 7600 go but the toshiba has integrated graphics.

both come with the T5200. thought it's core2duo, it comes with a slower fsb than T5500 and higher (533 vs 667 iirc)

2gb from laptop sellers is expensive. i'm not sure why your daughter would need the 2gb but supposing she does, i would purchase the additional ram from newegg or another retailer.

the toshiba has a 4200rpm harddrive. 4200rpm is SLOW. i would definitely go with a 5400rpm hdd like the hp. if she can't find a 200gb 5400rpm drive, would an external drive suffice?

at that budget, i would consider lenovo's (IBM) Thinkpad line and dell's latitude line in addition to the two you've selected.

if you could state what your daughter will be using the laptop for, that would be good. as a student, i think a 13.3"-14.1" laptop (maybe 15.4") would be a better buy. much lighter (those 3 additional pounds the 17" has make a big difference) and it's easier to put on a desk. plus, you get better battery life.

i would get 1gb for now, too, unless she needs the additional ram. see if bluetooth and a webcam is something she would like having. i would also recommend getting an upgraded network card.

for the cpu, i would get either a T5500 or T7200. the T5600, imo, is not worth the money unless it's $50. the reason the T7200 has an advantage, though, is that it comes with 4mb of cache and it's .33GHz faster than the T5500. in reality, the 4mb of cache (vs 2mb) isn't noticable but at least you get something in addition to the added GHz.

i noticed both laptops come with tv tuners. is that something your daughter needs? cause it costs ~$140 iirc

one last thing is i would recommend customizing the laptops as opposed to using the "recommended" option as you did for the HP.
 
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KuJoe

Member
Sep 23, 2006
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www.jweb2.com
I use an HP dv2000z and being a student I like the freedom it allows me. I moved down from a 15.4" monitor and I can't really tell the difference except that my 14.1" is widescreen.
 
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gorbs

Senior member
Mar 22, 2004
240
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alimoalem and kujoe,

thanks for your replies. never having used a laptop before i find it valuable to seek out other peoples perspectives and opinions and after stopping at the local Circuit City to look at some laptops i can believe she does not need a 17 inch. they are huge! a 15.4 would be fine. the 2gigs of memory is not essential but it was part of the package.

she will mainly be using it for burning cd's, pictures and talking with her friends until college bound, and being a good father i would rather her have more than she needs in a laptop than just the bare minimum to get by. so i'm looking for the best bang for the buck. i would imagine her first year of ownership would be mainly entertainment usage so a fast processor and hard drive is important. i too noticed the slow speed of the Toshiba hard drive but threw it in for comparison.

also the ability to watch tv on it is more of a 'cool' factor thing than anything else. it saves me from having to replace the tv too !! lol but they are pretty cheap nowadays anyway so that is not a must have option. i have prebuilt a dell inspiron on their site and it came in around 1400.00 so back to the drawing board with the processor first , hard drive then memory and graphics card. i dont like on board graphics so i will pony up the cabbage for one with a card in it. thanks again
 
Brainonska511

Brainonska511

Lifer
Dec 10, 2005
28,758
13,933
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How about this Latitude D620 (~$1500):

PROCESSOR: Intel® Core? 2 Duo T5500 (1.66GHz) 2M L2 Cache, 667Mhz FSB
OS: XP Pro with Media
DISPLAY: 14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA+
MEMORY: 1.0GB, DDR2-533 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
HDD: 120GB Hard Drive, 5400RPM
OPTICAL: 8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio Digital Media? and Cyberlink Power DVD
GPU: 256MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 110M TurboCache?
WIRELESS: Dell Wireless? 1390 802.11g
BLUETOOTH: Dell Wireless® 350 Bluetooth Module
Battery: 6 Cell
Warranty: 3-Year On-site

Things like Antivirus/Firewall can be found for free online, such as ZoneAlarm and AntiVir. Office can probably be purchased at your daughter's college for a huge discount (I got Office Pro for $25 through my university computer shop).

IMO, 15.4" notebooks are still on the large side. If your daughter plans on carrying a notebook around with her, 14.1" should be the maximum size you look at.

And I seem to do it a lot, but you may want to check out Newegg or Proportable.com for their selections of Asus notebooks. Asus makes some top-quality notebooks (particularly the W and V series) that are within your budget.

Click links for more specs, all come with 2 year warranties:
W7J - $1450 - 13.3"Widescreen, 4.3lbs
W5F - White (Proportable Link) - $1400-$1500 - 12" Widescreen, 4lbs
W5F - Black - Same price as the white one
 
Schadenfroh

Schadenfroh

Elite Member
Mar 8, 2003
38,416
4
0
I own a P105 S921

Like it, but the 4200 RPM hard drive sucks badly, if you get one, grab a Seagate 7200 RPM and drop it in there.
 
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alimoalem

Diamond Member
Sep 22, 2005
4,025
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Originally posted by: gorbs
lol i visit NewEgg almost every day i love that place. i could spend myself into the poor house real quick there. i spent 3 hrs online last night looking at asus, abs, hp, dell and have it narrowed down to a 14 widescreen in size. here is the Asus i was looking at

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834220104

its out of stock currently.
Click to expand...

that is an amazing deal. i don't know if it'll get back in stock but if it does, tell me cause i'm thinking of getting a new laptop :p

in case it doesn't get back in stock, will your daughter be gaming? cause the NVIDIA 7400 Go or MR X1400 are more than enough for her needs if she doesn't. i'm just saying it so you could look for a cheaper alternative if this doesn't get back in stock.

something worth noting is the asus you've linked comes with bluetooth, a webcam, microphone, and accessories. if you're considering another laptop, check to see if it has any of these and then make your selection
 
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gorbs

Senior member
Mar 22, 2004
240
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alimoalem,

as of yesterday it was still out of stock. i ended up making a good bargain with Dell for an inspiron e1505. i told them i could get more for the same price from the competition and they asked me what i wanted, so i told them.

they gave it to me so i said yes i will take it. i purchased a 700M for my oldest girl 2 years ago and have had no trouble with it so i dont fell bad about giving them more of my cash. they gave me the upgraded core 2 duo @667 mhz, a carrying case and a microsoft student software package.

3 yr warranty, 3 yr accident / protection, well lets say they made me happy so i signed on the virtual dotted line lol.

hope that Asus i linked comes back in stock for you.
 
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tommytran

Senior member
Nov 10, 2000
291
0
0
I would rather have the Dell Inspiron 1401 (lightweight,bright display,wide screen, elegant, enough power for normal office/home use)
 
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gorbs

Senior member
Mar 22, 2004
240
0
0
tommytran,

they were not running the same special for the 1401 and it has to do with even spending by 'dad' on both girls. its a sad but true reality that keeps me from having the fastest gaming rig for myself lol but, i am proud to spoil them as they made it through their formative years with no jail, drugs, pregnancies, tickets, etc,etc and a 3.8 gpa so i wont go broke when college money comes up !
 
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tommytran

Senior member
Nov 10, 2000
291
0
0
Great job. I am happy for you and congrat. on your daughters. College is really tough on the last year ... and not many people make it through easily. BTW, I have just check again on the ASUS laptop and it is back on stock. Hurry up.
 
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gorbs

Senior member
Mar 22, 2004
240
0
0
crap that figures lol. i sign the deal with Dell and NewEgg gets the Asus back in stock. i did want to go the unconventional route and get her something that none of her friends probably had.

maybe i will ask for one when i get my Comptia A+ certification and tell my wife i will work off the charge by doing PC repairs lol.

if you get one post your thoughts about it.
 
A

AirForceElite

Senior member
Nov 8, 2004
268
0
0
Originally posted by: gorbs

but i am proud to spoil them as they made it through their formative years with no jail, drugs, pregnancies, tickets, etc
Click to expand...

lol........haha funny
anyway, grats on laptop
3 year complete care is awesome. she can spill as much juice on it as she wants

p.s. post pics of your daughter(s)
 
A

alimoalem

Diamond Member
Sep 22, 2005
4,025
0
0
Originally posted by: AirForceElite
Originally posted by: gorbs

but i am proud to spoil them as they made it through their formative years with no jail, drugs, pregnancies, tickets, etc
Click to expand...

lol........haha funny
anyway, grats on laptop
3 year complete care is awesome. she can spill as much juice on it as she wants

p.s. post pics of your daughter(s)
Click to expand...

i'm guessing you're still in high school
 
corkyg

corkyg

Elite Member | Peripherals
Super Moderator
Mar 4, 2000
27,370
240
106
Take a look also at the new Dell release - in the XPS series, the M1210.
 
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gorbs

Senior member
Mar 22, 2004
240
0
0
air force elite,

lol, i just lurked back over here and read your post about sending pic's of my daughter's. thats too funny !
 
A

AirForceElite

Senior member
Nov 8, 2004
268
0
0
Originally posted by: gorbs
air force elite,

lol, i just lurked back over here and read your post about sending pic's of my daughter's. thats too funny !
Click to expand...

You should post though..
not like something is gonna happen if do you.
 
F

Frugal1ty

Member
Aug 10, 2005
164
0
0
lol what's that girl gonna do with a 512MB geforce card? you can tell there are a buncha guys here. anyway you say you sold out to dell? that kinda stinks. i hate to see someone else go down that road. i didn't see what you went with, what are the specs on that thing (dell). i guess this would depend on how resposible your daughter was, but my issue with dell is that they sort of encourage computer ignorance and frvilousness (a la mac). instead of applying yourself and trying to figure something out > you call tech support (i know this, being the resident techy in my family (i play ignorant at college so i don't get that same lable) i cant tell you how many silly things my sister called me at home about when she was at college *all streed sounding* "my sound's not working". . .three hours later "oh, i just found out my roommate put it on mute"). also those kind of warrenties encourage people to be frivilous with their equipment," spill juice" on as my laptops as you want but don't worry they'll be replaced. i think that's a lil bit of a waste (the other side of things is with movements like the "thin and light" craze, eletronics dont have quality to em, and you almost HAVE to protect yourself with warrenties and junk (thier plan no doubt) either that or be faced with buying another laptop quicker than you'd like). if you had her work and save up for that thing see just how long it lasts. i know i never used to appreciate stuf until i had to work for it. . . but eh, i've said enough.
piece
ds
 
G

gorbs

Senior member
Mar 22, 2004
240
0
0
i got em to upgrade from dual core to core 2 dual, 3 yr full coverage protection, 128 bit graphics card, carrying case, and a boatload of software for school, word,excel etc. i went with them cause i've had great luck with their products at work and home. so i guess it was a peace of mind that swayed me in the end as they agreed to what i wanted. i was ready to get the ASUS if they gave me the bum's rush though. maybe next time.i have confidence building my own desktops, i just finished one for our den this past weekend but laptops are something i would rather have pre-made for now. the 15 inch widescreen is huge, glad i did not go with the 17 inch.

machine repair by trade but a staunch build your own gaming pc enthusiast, and aspiring A+ technician by hobby. :) cya !
 
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