New Laptop.

[DarkAmeba]

Ok i'm a PC desktop hardware expert, but I am somewhat clueless when it comes to laptops. I will be buying a laptop for college in early August and I have a couple questions before I buy. I've been looking for a Dothan based notebook with a nice widescreen display. The notebook will be primilary used for typing/surfing and DVDs. I looked at the apple options, and i really liked their designs, However, I think that the Mac OS limits what I can use the laptop for too much for it to be worth the money. I hate Dell, but they seem to have the best laptops with what I am looking for, so have looked mostly at them. I tried some sagers, but was disappointed with their display options.

I have been focusing on widescreen notebooks with the idea that I could playback DVDs on them and they would fill the entire screen like they would on a widescreen TV. Then I realized i'm not so sure this will work. Will DVDs fill the whole screen on a widescreen laptop??

I have been looking at the Dell Inspiron 8600 and the 600m. The 600m is nice and small, but no widescreen. I really wish the 8600 had the 9700m with upgradable graphics. Then the choice would be easy. Which of these two would you recommend?

If the answer to question #1 is no, I don't care if the laptop is widescreen anymore. If the answer is yes, I want a notebook with at least a 15.4 widescreen display. I'd prefer a 17" but i can't find a Dothan based 17" anywhere. What laptop brands/models would you recommend I look at? All suggestions are welcome.

Is the difference between XGA, SXGA, and UXGA worth the price?

Finally, when is the new Dothan revision with the faster FSB supposed to come out? Should I be waiting for that? (remember i'm not buying till August an any event)

Thanks for the help!

 

[Connoisseur]

answer to question #1: Yes if you get a software player that stretches the image. If you were to play a dvd with default settings on a widescreen, you'll still get the black bars albeit a little smaller. however, a player like PowerDVD and WinDVD have an option where the image is stretched to fit the entire screen. Note that since you would have a widescreen, this stretching doesn't produce any noticeable distortion wheereas if you were to pan and scan on a regular screen you can notice some distortion of dimensions. And yes, I do know what i'm talking about. I have a laptop with a Widescreen WXGA and widescreen DVD's by default still leave bars. I just use PowerDVD to fit to screen.

Also, my WXGA screen is plenty fine for my 15.4" widescreen. I really can't imagine going much smaller without getting eyestrain. Images and text are crisp and clear. However, some ppl prefer WSXGA and higher. You really have to see for yourself.

 

[DarkAmeba]

aweseome! that helps a lot thanks. Anyone have any recommedations.. after looking around all last night I see you guys don't like Dells. What do you think about this one??
http://pctorque.com/3760.php
Any other suggestions?

 

[OdiN]

I've owned 2 Dell laptops (still own one) and have been very happy with them. They were excellent machines and had no problems. My dad also has one and no problems with it either. I have a 600m right now. Excellent machine so far. I don't see what isn't to like. They have the best keyboard layout for the most part, have good warranty service if you buy the extended warranty (which you should) and well...they run good. Of course, with any laptop I would immediately wipe the hard drive and reload windows without their restore CD's, etc. so you don't have their overload of useless programs. Dell has good driver support too for laptops. A bit better than most I think...definitely better than Toshiba....they suck when it comes to drivers.