Thinking of getting a laptop

[JE78]

I'm pretty new to laptops so I have a few questions. This is the laptop i've been looking at getting. The things I'll be using this for is internet, e-mail, movies, and maybe some light gaming.

The other thing I was wondering about is how hard they are to upgrade the RAM, and hard drive and other components? I have a desktop that I built so I know my way around that but i'm new to laptops and don't know how hard upgrading them would be.

I've also been looking at Dells. It seems you don't get much bang for your buck but since I work at UPS I get 16% off, plus any other discounts I might find. Well if anyone could point me in the right direction that would be great. My price range is right around $1000. Thanks.

**EDIT**
I just went to Dell and customized a Inspiron 6000 with the following specs:

Inspiron 6000 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 725 (1.60GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
Display 15.4 inch WXGA LCD Panel
Memory 512MB Shared DDR2 SDRAM 2 Dimms
Video Card 128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY? RADEON X300 PCI Express x16 Graphics
Hard Drive 80GB 5400rpmHard Drive
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Combo/DVD+RW Drives 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer

The total with S&H and Tax and my UPS discount came to $1,090.98 Is that a good deal or should I keep shopping around? Also I didn't know they could change you tax, $80 for tax?? Doesn't seem right.

Oh and it says I get a Free Dell Color Printer 720

 

[mdahc]

Inspirons generally don't have very good build quality, so if you're more inclined towards Dell, I'd go for a Latitude (a bit pricier, but far superior build quality). The HP looks great on paper (for your usage), except for the fact that its battery life won't be anything to admire b/c of the DTR Mobile Athlon64. In addition, I've had many people tell me of their dissatisfaction with HP Pavillion laptops. If you're more inclined towards HP, I'd go for one of their business notebooks. For example, the HP Compaq NX6125 is an exceptional value at Newegg (and that's with no discount and a 3 yr. warranty).

 

[JE78]

Thanks for the info. I like the looks of the HP from Newegg but the HDD is small and video card memory is shared, how important is that? I've also been looking at this Acer. The only thing i'm not sure about is the graphic card and the shared memory and how important that is.

 

[mdahc]

Originally posted by: JE78
Thanks for the info. I like the looks of the HP from Newegg but the HDD is small and video card memory is shared, how important is that? I've also been looking at this Acer. The only thing i'm not sure about is the graphic card and the shared memory and how important that is.

Based on what you described as your usage, the shared memory won't really make a difference. In terms of the HDD, are you going to store a lot of data like video? Also, I've seen that Acer at CC, and it seems like it's a solid machine. I suggest you go to your local store and check it out.

Lastly, as far as upgrading is concerned, most laptops (except for iBooks, in my experience) allow easy access for HDD, memory, and mini-PCI (i.e. WiFi) upgrades. CPU and graphics card upgrades are quite a bit more involved, especially graphics card upgrades since actually finding a decent mobile GPU upgrade can be difficult, not to mention that there's no guarantee the GPU's cooler (i.e. from another laptop) will fit your laptop. So there are a few more consideratons with laptops.

 

[JE78]

Is there anyplace that explains the shared and dedicated memory options? I looked at the Acer at CC a few weekends ago and its a nice laptop. I will probably have a few movies on the HDD at a time along with some games.

 

[mdahc]

Originally posted by: JE78
Is there anyplace that explains the shared and dedicated memory options? I looked at the Acer at CC a few weekends ago and its a nice laptop. I will probably have a few movies on the HDD at a time along with some games.

In terms of what exactly (i.e. how much system memory is allocated, how much dedicated RAM comes with the GPU, etc.)?

For the Radeon Xpress 200m, you can look at ATI's Web site (or the notebook manufacturer's site). For the Acer's integrated SIS Mirage graphics core, you can refer to SIS's Web site (or Acer's Web site).

 

[cheesehead]

SIS' products and the ATI x200 use system memory. System memory is much slower than graphics card memory, and it's using it over a seperate bus. As a result, integrated graphics, as a rule of thumb, are lousy.
Dedicated memory, on the other hand, is usually coupled with more powerful cards. The x300 (which is in many ways like the ATI Radeon 9200 that preceeded it) will outperform any "integrated" graphics option on the market. The 6200 is better still.
A more powerful graphics card will let you run games much better. In addition, integrated graphics options use some system memory, which can create something of a performance hit.

EDIT:
Dell should be avoided. Their tech support is abysmal. The Latitude line is nice enough, but for the price, you can do better.
Acer makes good stuff. However, I've been hearing that their low-end products have many corners cut.
IBM(leonovo) is hard to beat. The stuff they sell is just plain awesome from a quality standpoint. However, they're not cheap.
JNCS.com sells Asus laptops made from barebones. They're nice, but expensive; in addition, you're dealing with a small company, so delays might be a bit longer for RMAs.
HP also looks to be good; my relatives own two HP laptops, and both work very well.