My notebook

[Yzzim]

I've been looking for a new notebook now for a while. It seems like I'm always finding a notebook that looks good, but lacks just a couple things that I want.

Here is a list of specs that I'm looking for in a notebook. If anyone could tell me what notebook would best fit these specs that would be excellent!

Specs:

15.4" OR 17" widescreen display
~256mb memory (can always upgrade later, for cheaper)
~40GB hdd 5400rpm OR 7200rpm
Radeon 9700 w/128mb memory (at least)
DVD/CDRW
Speakers w/sub would be nice
Decent battert life (do i have to go with a Centrino then?)

One final question is, does any laptop offer the use of dual batteries anymore? It'd be nice to have the option to use dual batteries, especially with the bigger displays. I've read a ton of reviews but none of them talk about dual batteries.

Thank you soooo much!

 

[Dark54555]

Dell Lattitude D800 fits that, except they only offer Nvidia graphics. otherwise, the Go-L Hollywood Gold fits it.

 

[Yzzim]

Originally posted by: Dark54555
Dell Lattitude D800 fits that, except they only offer Nvidia graphics. otherwise, the Go-L Hollywood Gold fits it.

and how does Nvidia graphics compare to the radeon graphics?

<---- too lazy to read any more reviews right now

 

[biostud]

if you can settle with 9600 then there should be some options, the 9700 is not wide availbel yet. Centrino is the way to go for batterylife.

Here's one

 

[Frightcrawler]

Nvidia graphics is very subpar compared to ATI graphics in laptops.
Edit: To biostud666: While you are right that the 9700 hasnt been widely adopted yet, I find it strange that you recommended the 3:17 over the 5:6, which is centrino AND has the 9700. The only reasons I see that the 3:17 would be better is that the 3:17 is made by Asus, so the build quality might be better (5:6 is made by Compal). The other reason would be a cheaper price.

 

[Yzzim]

Originally posted by: Frightcrawler
Nvidia graphics is very subpar compared to ATI graphics in laptops.
Edit: To biostud666: While you are right that the 9700 hasnt been widely adopted yet, I find it strange that you recommended the 3:17 over the 5:6, which is centrino AND has the 9700. The only reasons I see that the 3:17 would be better is that the 3:17 is made by Asus, so the build quality might be better (5:6 is made by Compal). The other reason would be a cheaper price.

the 5:6 doesn't have a 15.4" widescreen display, correct?

 

[atsang]

acers travelmate 800 series has dual bays for a 2nd battery, and its only 1" thick. Its not widescreen though.

 

[Dark54555]

here's the winner, IMO:

http://go-l.com/laptops/hollywood_gold/features/index.htm

oh, and alienware has the 9600, they'll probably have the 9700 sooner or later.

 

[Abhi]

Ati 9600 w 128 mb + 15.4 inch screen + Pentium M (Good battery life) + Option for dual battery (Modular bay) = Dell Inspiron 8600

Ati 9700 w 128 mb + 15.4 inch screen + Pentium 4 (Not so good battery life... ) + Option for dual battery (Modular bay) = Dell Inspiron 9100

 

[Abhi]

btw... 9100 is fat and heavy... but VERY powerful...

 

[Abhi]

Graphic card comparison thread.... http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=51&amp;threadid=1297651&amp;enterthread=y

 

[imported_Puckmstr10]

No offense guys but there are a few notebooks which meet both of his main requirements. One I can think off is the hypersonic cx6. This same laptop is also sold by gamepc and hyperdata i believe. It has a 15.4 widescreen and the 9700 with 128 megs of memory. As an added bonus, it is fairly light and the processor can be upgraded. If widescreen isnt as huge a factor check out the velocity micro notemagix system. 15 in screen, 9700 all under 6 pounds and you can get it painted. BOth very nice systems. Hope I helped.