What would your preference be in a laptop?

[ThaGrandCow]

I just recently bought myself a very sweet Gateway 3450 laptop after much consideration. It's one of the superslim laptops, only about 3/4 of an inch thick if you take off the base station with the floppy and DVD drive, and only about 3 pounds. I was thinking about one of the 9550 laptops too. That one is the exact opposite of the 3450. It's like 8.5 pounds, has a 15.7" screen, and basically is meant to sit on a desk all day, not be carried around like I do with this one.

My question is, if you had the choice (assuming you already have a high-end gaming desktop system) would you have bought the powerhouse/really heavy laptop (it had the 32 meg Geforce2Go card in it), or bought the smaller one and enjoyed the major weight difference? Please no comments on buying any other companies laptops, I got a fairly major discount from Gateway that made it a no-brainer to pick one up from them.

 

[n0cmonkey]

One of the reasons I bought my iBook was because of the fact its small and light. Id definitely go for the smaller/lighter machine.

 

[ThaGrandCow]

I guess some specs would be in order...

For the 3450, its:
P3 750
192MB RAM
20 GB HD
12.1" screen (very sharp looking)
8MB (integrated/ dedicated memory AGP graphics)
Almost full size keyboard (I got used to this in about 20 minutes)
base station that sits directly under the laptop with the DVD and floppy drive
With the base station: 5lbs/ 2" high
Without: 2 pounds/ 0.75" high

The 9550 is a bit different
P3 1.1GHz
256MB RAM
30 GB HD
15.7" screen
32MB Geforce2Go graphics chip
Full sized keyboard
DVD (I dont need a burner on the laptop, I've got a 12x on my high end system already.
About 8.5 pounds/2" high (this guy is HEAVY)
On both, I did add a case and a wireless 802.11b wireless card and access point (if I'm gettin a laptop I'm not gonna be connected to ANY wires at all)

The 3450 has been absolutely incredible so far, I have no compaints (except I could be playin Quake3 on the road with the other)

 

[Nefrodite]

weight definetly. if you aren't kidding yourself. you probably should be doing work on that laptop.. meaning very little power needed. whether your typing or programming doubt ppl do heavy video editing/3d rendering on laptops occasional gaming.. lower priority. me? i have a z505 sony slim of course

 

[ericb]

The weight is more important if you actually take your laptop with you to travel. 5 pounds is a huge difference after standing in line for yet another hour at the airport for the third time in a week And there are always other games besides FPS.

 

[Nefrodite]

yup civ 3 for a recent example playing action games using the touch pad is a no no anyways.

 

[DnetMHZ]

My laptop rarely if ever leaves my house so I went with the big heavy model (Dell Inspiron 8000), mostly for the larger display (15.4 inch)

DnetMHZ

 

[vegetation]

I have two laptops -- an older sub 3lb Acer and an 8lb Dell Inspiron 8000. The Acer only has a 12" screen (most smallish laptops have this size) with a smaller keyboard layout, no room for a cdrom/dvd device, only 1 usb and pcmcia. Dell has a nearly full size keyboard with a huge 15" screen with dvd/cd, 2 usb ports, 2 pcmcia, and an additional drive bay. Guess which one I like to use more? When you look at the weight, look at what features are offered, especially when it comes to screen size as small screens don't work so well with windows. Suffice to say, I only take the Acer when on vacation, trying to escape the IT world, but am forced to check in with email and such. Otherwise, I use the Dell

 

[yakko]

I would go for power.

 

[RoninRXN]

Size...as I said in my thread. NO BRICKS!

I even though about getting a Picturebook. The new MRX model kicks ass! Bluetooth and 802.11 built in. Only available in Japan though...but I could import it easily. Waranty would be a problem though.

Right now, I'm looking into getting a Vaio SR17.

If I wanted something that huge...why bother with a notebook? A desktop is cheaper and more powerful. Notebooks are meant to travel.

 

[RossMAN]

If I wanted a powerhouse laptop, I'd pick the Dell Inspiron 8100. That's a no brainer.

Otherwise I wouldn't go for a superslim laptop but I'd pick the "meat and potaotes" of laptops, the Dell Inspiron 4100 or IBM ThinkPad T/R series.

If you received a substantial discount on a Gateway, then that's the way I would have gone also. Otherwise Dell or IBM make great laptops.

 

[Brix13]

I would go with the lighter one, due to the fact that I have a small viao PCG-SR17K that has comes in handy on a daily basis for when I am at work and/or school or my girlfriend's house who's computer is older than dirt , I would think that you would want to play games in the comfort of your home. Really depends on whe you use the laptop for, if you play a lot of games and can't live without playing PC games where ever you go then the bigger more powerful one would make sence

 

[apoppin]

I DID pick the Dell Inspiron 4100 - a compromise solution. Since I will only be flying with it twice a year (maybe) the weight is not a problem.

I don't need a desktop replacement . . . I am keeping my home machine. However my 14.1" TFT is sufficient and ATI 16MB DDR Mobility Radeon plays the latest games.

If I wanted a desktop replacement, I'd get the Inspiron 8100 with the Radeon 7500 . . . . If I traveled constantly, I'd get a superlight.

It all depends on NEEDS.

 

[dionx]

i would get nothing bigger than the sony RJ505. thats what my gf has, but even then, i think would still prefer an even smaller sony notebook like the picturebook with that 8" something widescreen TFT. after having a bulky laptop, i dont ever want one of those again. i dont need builtin floppy or cd. just builtin ethernet for convenience. i can always dock it with peripherals or via network for transferring of stuff so i have no probs there.

i just like small notebooks since my uses for it would be word, internet, and aim.

 

[ThaGrandCow]

:Q
Wow, I was really expecting the opposite answer from most people here. Most people I work with were ragging on me for not getting the bigger (read: future back problems) laptop. I figured that would be the general consensus here too. That was a shocker. I was wondering if I had made the right decision when I bought the 3450, but since I recieved it it's been incredible. The funny thing is I use it more than my power computer now, I dont think I've used my Athlon system in almost a week now (except the 10 minutes I spent burning a cd)

I guess the best part will be when I start taking classes again next semester... Apparently the whole campus here is set up for 802.11b wireles access (no charge for it either )

*EDIT* for a few spelling mistakes

 

[hans007]

i'd go smaller lighter. one of my friends has a dell inspiron 8100, like 14 inch screen, p3-866 and geforce2 go. but the thing weighs like 7.5 pounds and is huge and bulky. i got one of the 3 pounders, sure its only got a p3-600 and a s3 savage, but its much more mobile, and i actually take it places. hence its actually a portable . i dont use cdroms that much, and i still have a 1inch super slim pcmcia cdrom. and i have a dock bar when i use my laptop at home. plus with 802.11b coming out on campus next year, i can just pullit out of my backpack. i cant even fit a inspiron 8100 in my backpack. i thinkin a yeah i might want to get a new slim laptop though, hopefully they have super savage or geforce2 go 100's or something by then. i have a s3 savage ix now and its got well tnt2 m64 class speed.

 

[ThaGrandCow]

<< i thinkin a yeah i might want to get a new slim laptop though, hopefully they have super savage or geforce2 go 100's or something by then. >>



That was the one thing I really was waiting for with this one, but I wouldn't hold your breath for it. At least for the next year or two.
I don't know about most super-slims, but with mine it only came with a 4-cell Li-ion battery. I immediately bought the 8 cell for the better battery life, but as long as they are coming with smaller batterys (for the weight I would assume, batterys are hella heavy) it wouldn't be smart to put in a high performance/high battery drain graphics chip into it.

Oh well, theres always my constant urge to spontaneously spend cash on new hardware... Knowing my self control as soon as they come out with a real graphics chip for the slimline's I'll be first in line to blow the checking account on it

On the other hand, I can play starcraft and other RTS games on the Savage IX chip... even Metal Gear Solid plays on it! I know it's an old game, but it's still one of my favorites of all time. The only thing is the chip chokes when the ninja comes out in the stealth suit. With all those effects at the same time, my laptop basically turns into a picture viewer since I'm only gettin about 2 frames per second until I disable that effect

*EDIT*

The next step is to throw on an emulator for old SNES games. Haven't gotten around to it yet, but if they work thats all I'll need for a few years at least.

 

[ThaGrandCow]

Have you guys that own a laptop noticed that you are happy with their current configuration for a lot longer than a desktop? My dad was using an old IBM Thinkpad until this summer when the dog ran over the power cord, pulling it off the counter and breaking the LCD screen. With my desktop and even his, we both had the urge to "bring it up to spec" every 6 months or so. With the laptop, even until the end I could sit down at it and never even think about how slow it was or what I could do to upgrade it.

I guess it was a subliminal thing, knowing that there wasn't much I could do with it in the first place. I dunno though, I just never got the feeling that I needed to upgrade it from the P3 300/128 megs of memory in it. The funny thing, my dad does the same stuff on the laptop that he does on his home computer. He doesn't do any video editing or games at all, but right before the laptop broke he got the urge to upgrade his home system to a P4 1.9. Guess what he does with it? Email, stocks, internet, and logging into his work computer. I don't even think he uses the CD burner in it. With the laptop he was totally content, it did everything and he never thought about upgrading it, but it was the same speed as the desktop he replaced.

Go figure

 

[SsZERO]

I went for a Dell Inspiron 8100 (see sig, second bullet)...I came fully loaded with the GF2GO 32MB card for $1650...that deal was a no brainer. For what it offers, 8 lbs is not that heavy. I Got a nice aluminum case for it, and if I ever take it somewhere, I don't have a problem. It's not something I'd lug around in a backpack, however. IT's more of a portable system that you take with you and set it up, rather than a system that you can use "on the go".

I do have the urge to upgrade it, as with anything that can be upgraded. THere is not much to upgrade, however. I put 512 megs of crucial mem in it, that's about it. When I can get my hands on a Mobility Radeon 7500, that's going in there too and the GF2GO will be up for sale.

-= SsZERO =-

 

[RoninRXN]

Sweet merciful crap! An entire campus wired for 802.11?! That's frickin' sweet! I wish my university would do that. I doubt it. They have ethernet jacks everwhere...but 802.11 would be cooler.

 

[Burnt]

I guess it depends on whether or not you use the laptop as your main computer or if you have a desktop too. I have an athlon desktop...pretty much a power gaming machine, and I use my laptop for watching dvds and for when I go home for vacation

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

What would your preference be in a laptop?

Whichever one my company is providing at the time.

 

[ThaGrandCow]

<< Sweet merciful crap! An entire campus wired for 802.11?! That's frickin' sweet! I wish my university would do that. I doubt it. They have ethernet jacks everwhere...but 802.11 would be cooler. >>



Yep, I'm pretty psyched about it. I'm halfway tempted to take my system over there now, start driving around, and see what I can find. I've got a feeling that they turned them all off for the holidays, but who knows. In fact I think I may head over to campus tomorrow and see what I can see.

 

[RoninRXN]

Can anyone find me a store in Canada or an online store that ships to Canada that sells the Sony SR17K for $1250US or less (which is the suggested retail price)?

Either that or a R505 or SR33? Speed isn't much of an issue but hopefully it'll be $1250 or less. I should be able to get a Cel650 R505 for that much. The SR33 should be around $1k. I'll take refurbished ones if the waranty lasts at least a year.

 

[compudog]

My company's owner said to get myself a laptop. He wasn't overly concerned with price. The lappy had to be a desktop replacement (replacing a PII-350) and be portable for the occasional trip to the production floor for programming PLC's and machine controls. I got the Dell dimension 4100 (1.0GHz, 256, 20GB, DVD, 14.1 UXGA.) I have taken it home a few times but have yet to use it on the production floor. I guess for my work situation, this was the perfect machine. I can game with it, it's portable and light enough, and works great as a desktop replacement. If I were buying one for personal/home use, I wouldn't buy a lappy.