Picking out a notebook

[m1ldslide1]

This will be mostly for my wife, who is finishing her degree. She'll be surfing the web and using office 2007. I will occasionally use it for consulting work, most of which is text based, and so horsepower isn't necessarily a concern. That said, nothing frustrates me much more than a slow computer - I like the OS to be snappy. It looks as if I'm going to get Vista on whichever one I choose, and so I'd like to have a machine that will run it well for a few years. My price range is going to make out around $850, and I'd really like to spend less.

First off I went to Dell's website, and priced out an Inspiron 1525. I have a 1520 at work which I like just fine, which has beefier specs than this one, but here it is:

C2D T8300 (2.4ghz / 800 / 2MB)
2GB DDR2-667
x3100 integrated gpu
120GB 5400rpm HDD
Vista SP1 Home Premium
One year standard mail-in warranty

Grand total: $826 (or $25 a month)


Then I went to newegg and found this acer:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834115493

C2D T7500 (2.2ghz / 800 / 4MB)
3GB DDR2-667
x3100 integrated gpu
150GB HDD
Vista Business

$699


So I'm kind of excited about the acer, but I've only ever used Dell (employers always buy them). I hear that Acer makes pretty decent products though, and I would assume that I would get some sort of similar hardware warranty with the purchase.

I'm also wondering if Vista Business edition will be more up my alley - less flashy and therefore less of a resource hog I would think???

I'm happy to hear any and all opinions about these two, and also alternate suggestions.

THanks much..

 

[xSauronx]

im gonna keep suggesting thinkpads. R500 starts at $748 with 2.26/1gb/80(5400rpm)/home basic/15.4"

make it 2gb and have a 100gb(7200 rpm) and its still only $816. faster fsb on the cpu/ram in the R series than what you were looking at, as well.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

Yea, thinkpad if she doesn't play games.

 

[Parasitic]

I'd recommend a smaller laptop, like a 13.3" or 14". But whatever floats your boat.

That Acer does look exciting though, with those specs.
Another choice is the Dell Vostro line - it's under small business. They have a different chassis and shell casing than the Inspiron line and they're built slightly tougher too I think.

For ~$800 you can get the following 1510 (15" screen):

My System Details
Intel® Core? 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz, 3MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium, Service Pack 1
Microsoft® Works 9. Does NOT Include MS Word
1 Year Basic Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service
15.4 inch Widescreen WXGA LCD Anti-Glare Display
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
8X DVD+/-RW with double-layer DVD+/-R write capability, with Roxio Creator
Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
160G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Wi-Fi Internal Card
Free Upgrade! Integrated 1.3 mega pixel Web Camera and Digital Microphone
No UPEKM ® Fingerprint Reader
Service
6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
No Anti-Virus/ Security Software
Free Microsoft Office Live Small Business
Adobe® Reader 8.1
My Services & Warranties
No Online Data Back Up Installed
No Dell Automated PC Tune Up Installed
Purchase is Not Intended for Resale
Also Included
High Definition Audio 2.0
No Customerization LCD Option
Intel Core 2 Duo Label

 

[boomhower]

For OS snappiness you want memory and lots of it. This isn't bad. 4Gb's, Vista 64, 250GB HD, and wireless N for $680. Here is the same system in the a 14.1" screen.

 

[Ultralight]

What boomhower said: With Vista you want memory. My niece and my mom bought new laptops this past week that are virtually identical. Both are HPs and both run Vista but with one difference, my mom has 3 gigs instead of two gigs that are in my niece's laptop and I noticed a difference in load times.

 

[coolVariable]

Dude, get a Dell.
Also buy lots of memory from a place like newegg.