Laptop Decisions... Can I get your help?

[shadware]

I recently graduated, and as a graduation present, along with some of my own money, I am getting a laptop. I have found some good deals at XtremeNotebooks.
The three laptops I have been looking at are:

ProStar 5684V (Mobile P4, Mobile Radeon 7500 64mb)
ProStar 5694 (Regular P4, .2ghz faster then P4M's, Mobile Radeon 7500 64mb)
Xtreme XE-77 (Mobile P4, Geforce4Go 32mb

I would upgrade the XE-77's ram and hard drive. Over all, about all 3 systems will cost about the same.

How does the mobile P4 compare with the regular P4 in both battery and performance? I will definantly want to be gaming with this computer also. How is that Geforce4Go in comparison to the Radeon 7500? Overall, which would you choose? Or, Do you have another place you would order from that has better deals? Thanks for your input!

-Shad-
AIM: shadware

 

[ElFenix]

the only difference between mobile and desktop is energy use. mobile runs at lower voltages. the desktop one will suck the battery down. gf4go is faster in similar configs, but 64mb may be more important... we're already seeing quite a few games that perform better on the radeon LE 128 than the retail 64, despite the slight clock advantage of the retail. so 64 will probably beat 32 in otherwise vary similar performers.

holy crap that prostar weighs almost 9 lbs! if you're ever carrying the thing around, go for the xtreme

 

[macius]

with my experience for the toshiba laptop i just recently purchased, i wish i had waited one more month for the mobile p4, as for the processor, i have a 16mb ati and hasn't faultered for me in any games except for gta3. Then again, I'm using a max resolution of 800*640. Honesly, I urge you to opt for the geforce hence due to driver issues ati is plauged with.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: macius
with my experience for the toshiba laptop i just recently purchased, i wish i had waited one more month for the mobile p4, as for the processor, i have a 16mb ati and hasn't faultered for me in any games except for gta3. Then again, I'm using a max resolution of 800*640. Honesly, I urge you to opt for the geforce hence due to driver issues ati is plauged with.

sounds like you got the mobile radeon, not the mobile radeon 7500. they're different.

 

[shadware]

Thanks for your input. Still trying to decide, but I think I will be going for one of the big ugly ProStars. Anyone have any idea of what the battery life would be on those? Thanks. I will probably be taking this laptop to LANs and such, so I dont mind the weight. Smaller size isnt worth the lower quality for me. Though still not sure about Mobile Radeon 7500 vs that GeForce4Go 32mb, since any benchmark I has found is Radeon 7500 vs the 64mb more expensive ones... Which would you guys choose of the three?

 

[MWink]

Of the ones you have listed I would go with the Xtreme XE-77. It looks pretty good but I would still go with an Inspiron 8200. ProStar's are made by Sager and are very unreliable in my experience. I would not touch one. I also would not buy a laptop with a desktop CPU. I've used one (made by Sager) and it gets unbelieveably HOT! Much hotter than my Inspiron 8200 and the Sager has the fan running all the time.

As for GeForce 4 Go vs Radeon 7500, I would get the GeForce 4 Go. As I understand it the GeForce 4 is a lot faster with some things and the same with others. I have the GeFroce 4 Go 64MB and it is VERY fast. I can run most games at the max resolution (usually 1400x1050) without noticeable slowdown. I get a score of 4700 in 3D Mark 2001 SE! About the drivers, I would go with ATI if you want good drivers. I personally have not had problems with ATI's drivers. I can't say the same for Nvidia's. The GeForce 4 Go drivers have some major bugs (playing full screen video in media player causes the system to crash often).

Just out of curiosity, have you even looked at the Dell Inspiron 8200?

BTW, whatever you do decide to get, make sure you get a good warranty (at least 3 years). I know some people who regret not getting longer warranties.

 

[Dudd]

I'd go with the ATI based system if it's between the 64 mb Radewon and the 32 mb Geforce 4 Go. If you can get the 64 mb version of the Geforce 4 Go, I'd recommend that instead. I have one in an Inspiron 8200, and everything I own runs great at 1600x1200 (GTA3, Morrowind, and others) However, I seem to remember seeing a review of a Toshiba with a 32 mb Geforce 4 Go, and it couldn't beat the Radeon 7500. No link, sorry.

 

[filmore crashcart]

I had recently posed a similar question about the xtreme series laptops. MWink responded with similar advice and, after reading what others have said about the Inspiron 8200, I'm going to spring for that one after I get the funds up. I couldn't find any real reviews of the xtreme laptops and I would rather have a mobile processor than a desktop processor. I'm definitely going with the Geforce4 440 with 64 megs. Just got to get those funds up.

 

[shadware]

As a matter-of-fact, I was just at the dell website looking at the Inpiron 8200 before coming to check if anyone responded to this... Dell is great and all, but expensive. My dad had bought a dell desktop about 5 years ago, then gave my sister a dell desktop for her graduation. I was first to build my own desktop... Anyways, I know dell is very reliable, but their upgrades are expensive. If I wanted a 30gb hard drive over a 20gb, it costs like $99! They are the only company I have found that will upgrade to the better geforce 4's, since the 32mb isn't as fast as the 7500 from what I have heard. Mtech Laptops make mock dell systems, but no geforce 4... I'm still seeing how I can configure the inspiron 8200... Also depends how much money I get from other relatives for graduation Thanks for your input so far.

 

[aceO07]

Do you know how fast the harddrives in those extreme laptops spin at? I would recommend getting a drive that goes at 5400rpm.

 

[dirtboy01]

These laptops you are looking at are actually made by Clevo in Taiwan and rebranded as Prostar, Alienware, and Sager. Check PowerNotebooks and look at the Sager 5620. If you are like me (and it sounds like you are) your laptop just needs to be a portable desktop, so you won't be running it off the battery very often. The P4 desktop chip would be right. This company seems to have the best support from the few comments I have been able to find on google groups, and the prices are insanely low, and they correctly list the memory as pc2100 memory instead of pc200 memory.

I see no reason to get a cd-rw if you have one at home. Use the laptop to get the files you need, and tranfer them to your desktop. Otherwise, get an external USB drive for storage, it cost a lot less.

One thing I notice as suspicious on the Xtreme site is they list every one of the processors as "superfast", no matter the clock speed. Either they aren't very good at English, or the person doesn't know what they are talking about. One strike against them either way in my book, but I could just be too nit-picky.

 

[shadware]

Heh, I always feel the same about the CDRW thing. I hate it when places force you to buy DVD/CDRW combos and an OS, when, although I want a DVD player, a CDRW and OS are pointless. Thanks for the link, I'm checking it out now I will be going on battery once in a while I suppose, but that would be if I were flying or something, and that doesnt happen much. I am thinking about getting one of the cigarette to AC power adapters, so won't use battery in cars

 

[MWink]

These laptops you are looking at are actually made by Clevo in Taiwan and rebranded as Prostar, Alienware, and Sager

CLEVO??!!!!! AHHHHH...
/Runs away screaming.

(yes the Sager I had trouble with WAS a Clevo (It says Clevo on it)).

How to save money on Dell laptops!!!

Yes at first glance the Dell's look very expensive but if you are willing to do a little work you can get a Dell just as cheap as other brands. The main thing is to get the memory and HD from other sources (Newegg, GoogleGear, Crucial). You can get a 40GB IBM Travelstar for $150 at Newegg (even cheaper at Google Gear). Dell wants $200 to upgrade from the 20GB to the 40GB. You can also get the memory a lot cheaper at Crucial (especially if the hot deal is still going). Doing this can save you quite a bit if you want a Dell.

 

[dirtboy01]

Alternately, it looks like powernotebooks.com also has ebay auctions for every day. You can check the company's reseller ratings here. I can't say anything about the performance or fan noise, but many people who have bought them have really liked them.

For battery power operation, the laptop will let you store another battery in the 2nd optical drive bay. Also, with the money you save by buying a Sager, you can purchase an N-charge to prolong your uptime.

 

[shadware]

Yeah, that feedback page helps show how well they work with you. .

What do you guys think about the PowerPro? It's alot nicer looking then the Sager's, and is lighter too...