Looking for help with choosing a laptop

[jacque26]

Well, before you scream "IBM" because of their quality, I wanted to give you a rundown. I'm selling my eMachines m6811 because I want something portable, but I don't want an ultra-portable. I've narrowed down my choices to either an IBM T42 or a Dell 600m. With the Dell, it seems I can get a lot more for the money than the IBM, but I know that with IBM, I'm paying for the name.

With the Dell, I can get a 1.8 ghz P-M, 1 gig of ram, 64 mb ATI 9000, 80 gig hd, and 3 year warranty plus 3 years of accident protection, all for around $2000.

With IBM, I can get a 1.7 ghz P-M, 512 mb ram, 64 mb ATI 9600, 40 gig hd, and just 3 year warranty (no accident protection) for about the same price. IBM doesn't offer the accident protection warranty in my state.

So, what would you recommend? Would the Dell, with "bigger" components and more warranty be better than the IBM? Or is the IBM alone worth it just being an IBM?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks for your input....

P.S. anyone looking to buy an eMachines m6811 that's only a week old with a 3-year BB warranty, let me know!

 

[MuffD]

I'm again going to say IBM. I've seen people with Dell 600m's crap out on them right after the warranty runs out. You will hardly ever see that on an IBM Tseries notebook.
I have both and the 600M just feels cheaper. I would rather get a slower notebook that will be more reliable. It will last you the duration of the warranty period and then some (IBM).
Search around here for all the Dell/IBM comparisons. You'll find alot of information in helping you decide what's best for you.

 

[Abhi]

Ibm laptops are MUCH better built than dells. No question. I own an IBM t42 and inspiron 8500.
Both laptops are approximately 10 months old...
The inspiron has had its hard disk, battery, optical drive and keyboard changed. All were changed by Dell without much fuss. Dell's service is not very good, but if you learn to handle them, you can get things done pretty easily.
The T41 has never had a problem.

My next laptop will definately be IBM.

 

[balapavan]

I would go with IBM. Especially with the new EPP price of $1299, for a T42, you could customise it and get all you want for the 2k you are planning to spend. Or goto OfficeDepot, buy a T42 for 1599, if use a coupon it would be much less. I would buy it using an AMEx card (if you have one) that matches the Manufacturer warranty (if the warranty is stopping you from buying an IBM).
IBM looks, feels, works like a charm than any other lappy i worked with. I recently bought a T23, for $700 upgraded the RAM to 764, (its a P3 1.3), put new battery. It works like a new laptop and weighs only 4.7 lb.
Hope that helps.
PM me if you have any more questions.

EDIT:
here is the OD link
http://www.officedepot.com/ddS...7_SC_1702012_SK_714896
IBM link: (you have to have an employee login to see the product page)
https://www-131.ibm.com/content/home/store_eppus/en_US/epplogin_2.html

 

[stateofbeasley]

You're paying for better build quality of the case, a better keyboard, a vastly superior trackpoint/trackpad system, and better service.

Originally posted by: jacque26
I know that with IBM, I'm paying for the name.