New on forums.. help with laptop Dell Inspiron 3800 purchase!

[Paddington33]

I'm new to Anandtech, joined at the suggestion of a friend who is an avid fan for this site... I'm in the market for a "economical" (aka cheap) laptop and have been looking at the Dell Inspiron 3800. Is this a good buy for the price? (about 1350)... Does anybody have any suggestions over what to look for in a laptop? This is my first "tech" purchase.. not really sure what I should be looking for..

 

[NOX]

Well, I'm looking at the latest issue of DELL4me catalog, looking at the 3800. Looks like a good buy, the monitor seems a bit small at 12.1" SVGA TFT. You could upgrade to a XGA 14" for $199. If you're going to be using this for word processing, browsing the web, writing e-mails etc?this should be more then adequate. You may want to check out Sony?s, Toshiba?s offerings, and maybe even Gateway, but I would rather buy a Dell lappy (just my opinion). Is 5GB big enough?

 

[Paddington33]

the 1350 price I quoted is with a 10 GB HD ($50 dollar upgrade) and a 14.1 monitor..

You are not the first person who said "I'd rather buy a Dell" at the risk of sounding like a tech-virgin.. why?

 

[NOX]

<< at the risk of sounding like a tech-virgin.. why? >>

LOL...that's funny!

DELL makes kick a** laptops, plain and simply. My brothers company has gone through many brands, Toshiba being the latest brand. 3 months ago we ordered 3 5000e?s for his business, and we were very impressed. Many features and the quality of the unit just looks better then others. Trust me, no techies would be ashamed to owning a DELL notebook.

[EDIT]

The price of the 3800 w/10GB HD, and 14&quot; TFT I have in the November issue of DELL4me is $1899. If Dell is quoting you that 1350 over the phone I would buy it in a sec.

 

[Guilty]

I've got an Inspirion 3800, it preforms very well for my standards and is attractive visually. I would suggest to get the 14.1&quot; display because 12&quot; really wont cut it. As for the HD, get at least 10Gigs, because you cant just add in a second drive if you need more space.

 

[KDOG]

I JUST bought a new 5000e a few days ago, its worth it. Of course mine cost 2500 bucks, but I think the reason people buy Dell lappys is that they are kick ass. The highest quality, features, etc. I would ask why not go for a little higher model though, I assume its the $$$.
Anyway, get it!!!

 

[RossMAN]

I would buy the Inspiron 4000 instead of the 3800, I did a lot of research before getting my $1,596.80 Inspiron 4000:
Intel Pentium III/700 MHz CPU
14.1&quot; LCD Display
MS Works Suite 2001
64MB RAM
10GB HD
8MB ATI
Tahoe Blue QuickSnap Color Insert
53 WHr Lithium-Ion Battery with ExpressCharge
Internal 56K Capable V.90 + 10/100 Mini-PCI Combo
3 Yr Next Business Day International On-Site Parts &amp; Labor
Microsoft® Windows® Millennium (Windows Me)
Norton Antivirus® 2000 for Windows Millennium
AOL 1-Year Internet Access Service
Deluxe Nylon Case
Free $100 off (now $150 off)
Free Upgrade! 8X Max Variable DVD Drive (ended)
Free Ground Shipping (ended)

If you want a truely budget laptop then consider the
IBM ThinkPad i1340 for $899 with free shipping.