Hi,
I hate to tell you this, but the ideas of not spending much money and "good picture quality" are mutually exclusive in notebook computers. Large, high resolution, high contrast (e.g. TFT / active matrix) LCD displays still cost a bundle, though the cost has been abated somewhat by recent improvements in manufacturing yields. Also, the video subsystems on notebooks tend to not be much of a gamer's perfect solution, too.
I use a Dell Inspiron 7500, PIII 500 MHz, 133 MHz FSB, 12 gig drive, 6X DVD-ROM, 128 MB RAM, SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) TFT screen with an 8 MB ATI Rage Mobility P video card running W2K Pro as my personal system. All system functions are fine from a workaday standpoint, but I wouldn't call it a gamer's delight. The screen is beautiful, and does as fine a job of displaying text and static images as anything I've seen. The only games I play are adventure games like Myst, Riven, ZGI and Zork Nemesis, so I have little idea of the problems the system might present to someone who plays games that require high frame rates. If memory serves me, the system cost me in the neighborhood of $4,000 about a year ago. It has been reliable, once I got rid of the OEM disk image and updated the drivers. It's big for a notebook, and it's kind of hard-edged and ugly looking. The ergonomics are poor, but I did adapt to them eventually. The keyboard has a large palm rest area with a relatively sharp edge at the front which requires me to remove my watch before typing, and it hits a pressure point for my wrists that I have finally learned to work around. The "touchpad" is something people either love or hate. If you hate it and want to use another pointing device, you're in for a tough time getting the touchpad to stop pestering you unless you use a PS/2 device. (A USB device won't be detected during POST, so the touchpad comes up raring to go. I've read mixed reports on the use of serial-connected pointing devices.) It's heavy for a notebook which is not a problem for me, but is for some. Don't expect to use one of these things on your lap, unless you use a lap board. The faster ones run way too hot to hold on your lap, and some of them even require a flat solid surface underneath if you're to avoid overheating of the system.
In the Dell and IBM lines there are several systems which have SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) and UXGA (1600 x 1200) 15+" screens. They are drop-dead gorgeous, like the one on my notebook. But they are expensive, and big. I'd recommend that you look at the Dell I8000, an new release. It is available with UXGA, 32 MB ATI graphics (not sure if Radeon or not), big hard drives, internal DVD-ROM and / or internal CD-RW. But it is expensive. IBM has similar offerings.
One last note for the new notebook computer buyer. These things get obsolete FAST. I know that we're all used to a vicious replacement cycle, but my I7500 was first released this time last year. It was the top of Dell's portable line, and it was advertised as a "desktop replacement". (Will marketers ever stop with the total BS? Okay, maybe it's a replacement for a SLOW desktop.) It is no longer offered for sale, and I can see that driver and utility updates for use under Windows and Linux are dwindling to the vanishing point already. That means that I may not ever see any later variants of these operating systems running on this machine. (You should see the people who bought another model, the I7000, whose lifespan preceded this system's by just a couple of months. They can't even run W2K with an ACPI HAL, and they're not ever going to be able to do so. Kind of a moderately crummy deal for someone who has spent 4 Gs on a system, don't you think?)
So do go into this purchase with your eyes wide open and with no false expectations. I love notebooks and have used many more of them as personal machines than I have desktop systems. But they are not the be-all and end-all of the computing experience that the sales doods would have you believe. If you order one of these babes, get it from someone who has a 30-day no questions asked return policy. If you don't absolutely love it, considering the price of the bloomin' things, return that sucker! Consumers need all the pressure that can be brought to bear to make the manufacturers toe the line on value for the bucks!
BTW, you can't try a Dell out ahead of time unless you know someone who has one they can make available to you. You can at least try out the IBMs and Toshibas (another excellent brand, just a bit behind the curve performance-wise, but usually the best ergonomics and industrial design).
Have fun!
Regards,
Jim
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