What Should I Get?

[Brainiac2000]

Looking for advice on getting a new laptop. I had a loaner from my school for the last two semesters of college, and I realized how much I used it.

Now, if i said money wasn't really an issue, although i'm semi-concious of how much i'll be spending, what would you suggest for a power-packed laptop? The extra consideration i've been having is reliability, and size. I dont want a laptop if it'd be easier to carry my desktop, if you know what i mean.

I've been looking at the Alienware area-51 series, and the Dell Inspiron XPS but i know there is more out there. Not knowing the current trends / advantages, I dont know what to get. What would you suggest?

Things I'd be doing:
Heavy Multitasking
Programming
Gaming
School work (duh!)

I also have a PC, you can check my rig below. I dont know what i'll need and what i'll not in a laptop. I guess you can call me thirsty with power or something, yeah.

Any advice / suggestions appreciated, thanks in advance

 

[kpd489]

Well it looks like you are looking in the $2000 and over range looking at the alienware and dell sites. Dell and Alienware like most manufactuers do not really make their own notebook computers. check out
http://mtwolfcomputers.com/laptopfacts.htm for some good information on who makes notebook computers. they also are dealers for jetta, sager and prostar. All of which are from the same manufactuers that make the Dell and Alienware systems but at a much better price. As to which processor to put in your unit - that depends on what you are going to do with it - if you are looking for portability and battery time - units that use the P4 desktop processors weight more and your battery time is much shorter. Centrino's are lighter and have much better battery life up to 5 hours note on centrino- a Centrino is not a processor they are Pentium M processors to be a Centrino they must have the folowing components A Pentium mobile processor -intel 865 chipset and intel pro wireless network connection- So Centrino is a technology not a type of processor. I have the jetbook 2400 3.0 pent m, 512 ram, cdrw, 15.4 in screen, ati 9600 pro 128 ddr, 40 gig 5400 hd and use a plug in card for my wireless the unit is thin weights very portable. I hardly ever use my desktop anymore. I highly recommened this unit paid around $1900.00 for it. support is top notch from http://mtwolfcomputers.com

 

[ShellGuy]

Brain,
I haven't heard much good about the Alienware stuff and as for dell i keep hearing horror storys abou there Q&A. There are alot of companys out there building better lappys for just about the same price as the ones you are lookin at.

cyberpower

xtremenotebooks.com

ibuypower.com

pctorque

powernotebooks

Those are just a few. It really depends on what you want. I am either lookin at goin the AMD64 route or the Dothan one. But i will get either the Radion 9600 w/128mb or the 9700 with 64 or 128. You will just have to shop around and see what you like. As for your question of what to get i will Suggest At least 512 ram MIN. Make sure ur sys can hold at least 1gb. You may want a DVD burner you may not Also I would suggest the B/G wireless cards as they will give you ability to hook up at higher speeds if they are aval. For what you are wanting to do look for the Higer processor speeds and L2 cash.. LOL.. But your ram expandablity should be a major factor as well.. If you want a AMD 64 lappy at a decent price pick up the Emachine 6809 and upgrade the ram to 1gb and the HDD to a 7200rpm drive. Alot to put in on this one. Sorry guys...

Will

 

[BeauJangles]

thanks for the links guys! I'm looking for a lappy too and this seems like a great place to start.

 

[dennisjai215]

those are some sweet prices fking alienware overprice each laptop by like 400-500 on the low end ones they make

 

[ShellGuy]

I try and keep up with what companys are makin what on the net now and again. If you have any more specific questions just ask them.



Will

 

[Kaido]

Things I'd be doing:
Heavy Multitasking
Programming
Gaming
School work (duh!)

I'm saving up for an eMachines m6809 laptop, currently eMachine's most powerful laptop. Costs only $1550 after the $100 mail-in rebate; available at Best Buy. Downsides: comes with Windows XP Home (not Pro); only has 64 megs of video ram. Also, I think the hard drive is only 4800 or 5400rpm.

Specs:
15.4" Screen @ 1280x800
Windows XP Home edition
Mobile Athlon 64 3200+ CPU @ 2Ghz w/ 1mb l2 cache
512mb ddr333
80gb hdd
CD/DVD burner
6-in-1 internal card reader
ATI Mobility RADEON 9600 with 64mb vram
56k modem
10/100 Ethernet
802.11g wireless @ 54mbps
Touchpad w/ vertical scroll zone
4 USB 2.0 ports
1 Firewire port
1 PCMCIA slot
VGA out
S-video out
Mic in
Headphone/audio out
etc. (see webpage for full list - battery, size, software, etc.)

 

[whuang]

Wine for Thought :wine:
looking for a Powerful laptop!
Try FOSA's

D870P
[INTEL® P4 PROCESSOR] Pentium® 4 800MHz FSB with HT Technology Extreme Edition Processor

[17" TFT w/ ATI 9700] 17" WSXGA+ TFT LCD is driven by ATI Mobility? Radeon? 9700 with/ 256MB DDR SDRAM

[Full size 101-key Keyboard] Full size 101 key with numeric keypad windows keyboard. The only one on the market.

[2 Hard Drives capability] Total 2 HDDs capability would allow set up Raid 0 or 1.

[Various powerful available] Build-in TV Tuner w/Remote, Integrated CMOS Camera, & 7-in-1 Card Reader.

If you are interested in detail specs, images and contact information E-mail me here: Wesley


:beer: :thumbsup: