Need some help choosing my first lappy...

[Insane3D]

I just got a new job that will have me travelling to to od installs a few times a year, and I'm looking to get a laptop so I will have something to use when I'm travelling.

I've been pretty much looking at the Dells since I figure I can get a decent deal on one...

I'm tempted by one I found this morning...it's $1800, but I found a $650 off coupon, so it would be ~$1200 shipped.

It's a Inspiron 9300...specs are..


Inspiron 9300 - Intel? Pentium? M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)

Operating System - Genuine Windows XP Professional

LCD Panel - 17 inch UltraSharp? Wide Screen XGA+ Display

Memory - 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm

Video Card - 128MB ATIs? Mobility Radeon? X300

Hard Drive - 80GB Hard Drive

Network Card - Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

Optical Drives - 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability

Wireless Networking Cards - Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)

Primary Battery - 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (53 WHr)

TOTAL:$1,170.00

There are some other deal for around $850 for other inspirons with smaller screens, etc...

I know some of the lower inspirons are sucky...but I'm wondering if the highest end is decent. It's not going to be a hardcore travel system getting lots of abuse...pretty much just a personal system I'll t ake with me when I travel...

Any other suggestions? Are there any good A64 lappies? My budget is as close to $1k as possible...

 

[Philippine Mango]

I've got a suggestion, how about you get a different laptop? Like an IBM.... T42 here, got to say it's much better than that laptop, build quality for one thing.

 

[VTHodge]

I don't think you want a 9300 if you are going to be traveling. I fly all the time and my 15" laptop gets very heavy. Spec out a 700m. The size difference will make it much easier to travel.

 

[Insane3D]

IBM's are expensive...I'm not looking for a hardcore busines lappy that will get beat on...

I'm just going to use it mainly on the few trips I travel a year as my personal system...I don't need a lappy that can take a beating..etc.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: VTHodge
I don't think you want a 9300 if you are going to be traveling. I fly all the time and my 15" laptop gets very heavy. Spec out a 700m. The size difference will make it much easier to travel.

Well, weight doesn't bother me. It will just be in my backpack...I'd rather have a decent one with a large screen that is heavier, than a light one with a smaller screen.

I should add I'l probably be travelling maybe 4 times a year..tops.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Insane - I have the 6000 and the weight bothers me a little bit. I used to use a Latitude D505 and that thing was perfect, even if it had a smaller screen. Not only the weight but the size/thickness.

At the current office we've been buying mainly Toshiba/Fujitsu laptops and I have to say, those are fairly slick. I actually like them better than my Dell, not that this is a bad laptop or anything at all. I'd see if you know a few people with the Dell 6000/9300 series, play around with it, then go to Frys/Best Buy and play with the Toshibas. You don't want to limit yourself.

 

[skyking]

Do you need a serial port? Many of the newer ones do not come equipped that way, especially the IBMs.
I use them all the time for terminal emulation in switches, phone systems, voicemail systems. I would really like IBM to put one back in the new machines

 

[Insane3D]

I think I'm pretty set on the 9300...

skyking -

It would be nice to have a comm port as we use them at work, but I'm comfortable with not having any legacy stuff. I will have 6 USB, so that should be fine...

I pricd out a similar 9300 that was customizable, and I could only get a similar price if I cut the memory down to 512mb, the DVD-RW to a CDRW/DVD combo, the XP Pro down to XP MC, and the 128mb X300 down to 64mb..

I found this site thanks to Rossman, and it seems that pretty much everything is upgradeable...including the X300 to a 6800 GO Ultra...and the CPU...

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?p=762373#post762373

Also, does Dell have a similar return policy on lappies as their LCD's? IE 21 days no questions asked, and they will have it picked up?

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Insane3D
I think I'm pretty set on the 9300...

skyking -

It would be nice to have a comm port as we use them at work, but I'm comfortable with not having any legacy stuff. I will have 6 USB, so that should be fine...

I pricd out a similar 9300 that was customizable, and I could only get a similar price if I cut the memory down to 512mb, the DVD-RW to a CDRW/DVD combo, the XP Pro down to XP MC, and the 128mb X300 down to 64mb..

I found this site thanks to Rossman, and it seems that pretty much everything is upgradeable...including the X300 to a 6800 GO Ultra...and the CPU...

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?p=762373#post762373

Also, does Dell have a similar return policy on lappies as their LCD's? IE 21 days no questions asked, and they will have it picked up?

NotebookForums.com is an excellent resource

 

[Insane3D]

Pulled the trigger on it...pretty psyched.

 

[Philippine Mango]

Originally posted by: Insane3D
Pulled the trigger on it...pretty psyched.

Congrats I guess but Dell laptops generally have poor build quality and tend to fail for no reason/exhibit problems for unknown reasons like running REALLY slow for no reason. I know, I've got quite a few dells and not just desktops... If your goanna get a dell, learn from my mistakes and get a latitude, they're half decent since they're the business line.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

Originally posted by: Insane3D
Pulled the trigger on it...pretty psyched.

Congrats I guess but Dell laptops generally have poor build quality and tend to fail for no reason/exhibit problems for unknown reasons like running REALLY slow for no reason. I know, I've got quite a few dells and not just desktops... If your goanna get a dell, learn from my mistakes and get a latitude, they're half decent since they're the business line.

I wouldn't put the 9300 in the same league as all other inspirons...

All the reviews I read were positive, and mentioned that the build quality was good.

Sure, an IBM might be nice..but I doubt I'd get anything near what I got for that price, and I can upgrade it to my hearts content. You can even drop a 400mhz P4-M in there and have it overclock and run the 533FSB.

I guess I'll just start a countdown until it falls apart ok?

Also, seems to be quite a popular laptop in the places I've seen...

I'm sure it will suck though...

 

[Philippine Mango]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

Originally posted by: Insane3D
Pulled the trigger on it...pretty psyched.

Congrats I guess but Dell laptops generally have poor build quality and tend to fail for no reason/exhibit problems for unknown reasons like running REALLY slow for no reason. I know, I've got quite a few dells and not just desktops... If your goanna get a dell, learn from my mistakes and get a latitude, they're half decent since they're the business line.

I wouldn't put the 9300 in the same league as all other inspirons...

All the reviews I read were positive, and mentioned that the build quality was good.

Sure, an IBM might be nice..but I doubt I'd get anything near what I got for that price, and I can upgrade it to my hearts content. You can even drop a 400mhz P4-M in there and have it overclock and run the 533FSB.

I guess I'll just start a countdown until it falls apart ok?

Also, seems to be quite a popular laptop in the places I've seen...

I'm sure it will suck though...

Did you customize this laptop or did you choose one of their models? You might not want to "customize" it because it costs significantly more and you're likely to find a model on their site that may fit your needs. Yuo should also get the laptop with as little ram as possible because manufacturers overcharge for ram considerably.

When I was getting my T42, I got it with 512MB ram because it was the cheapest laptop for the video specs and what I needed. When I got the laptop, I went to frys and got my self some ram which was MUCH MUCH cheaper than configuring the laptop with 1GB of ram.

 

[Insane3D]

Yeah, I was actually pretty locked in with most of the hardware choices. There was a $650 off $1700+ coupon, but it was only for "ready to ship" models. That configuration I listed above was the set configuration, the only thing I did was drop McAfee AV for the -$79 it offered. I originally wanted the true life 17" screen, but if I went and configured a similar 9300 with the better screen, it was way more. I even made a custom 9300 that got as close to that price as possible, and I was able to select the better screen, but lose the DVD burner, get 1/2 the ram, smaller HD, and XP Media vs XP Pro.

Another consideration, as far as memory goes is that I believe this chipset is dual channel since there was no 1 dimm options, and if I got 512mb now, then later on down the line 1GB might only be another $100 or so, and my old memory would be wasted unless I bothered selling it. THe nice thing about this lappy imo, is the fact if I wanted to, I could just pick up a 6800GO, or even the 6800UltraGO (with mods) and drop it in, as well drop in a 1.6Ghz Dothan and run it @ 2.16Ghz, as well as the normal upgrades like a 7200 RPM HD...

Is it the best laptop out there...probably not. Is it a decent one for my first lappy and a good deal...yes IMO.

 

[Philippine Mango]

I don't know if you know about this, but if you own some shares of dell, you could get a discount on the computer if you let dell know (IIRC). This worked for me when I purchased my IBM laptop from IBM (duh) and it turns out the shareholder's discount is as much as the employee discount. If you don't want to bother with that, you can call dell and let them know your a student a get a discount that way, they can help you with that but you likely have to call them and have the website up inorder to get the student discount which is IMO pretty good for any company.

 

[Insane3D]

Thanks for the tip, but I have no Dell stock, and I haven't been a student for years...