Which laptop to get?

[CPerret]

Hello all,

I'm interested in getting a laptop but am having a hard time finding one that has everything I want. Here's what I'm looking for:

Screen: 15" TFT XGA or UXGA
Video: Nvidia GeForce 2 Go/4 Go or ATI Mobility Radeon 7500
Memory: at least 256MB
Hard Drive: at least 30GB
Optical Drive: CD-RW/DVD combo
Weight: less than 7.5 lbs
OS: XP Pro (preferred, but XP Home is OK)
Processor: would like a P4-M, but a 1.2GHz P3 is acceptable
Touchpad pointer (no eraser-tops)

I've looked at the Dells, Toshibas (5005-S507 and 5105-S607 look really good "on paper"), Sony's (only 1024x768 screen), Compaq (too expensive relative to others). The new Gateway 600 is too heavy (almost 9 lbs! are they kidding?!?!).

Are there any others I should be looking at? I haven't checked out the HPs yet. Should I bother?

Any recommendations for brands/models and good places to get them would be appreciated.

CPerret

 

[killmeplease]

Try the Sager. It appears (looks-wise) to be the same model as Alienware is marketing at a lower price.

 

[daddyo]

15" SXGA+ Active Matrix LCD
Pentium® 4 1.8GHz with 256KB on-die Cache
256MB DDR
30.0GB HD
8X Max. DVD-ROM & Software MPEG II
10/100Mbps Ethernet
Internal V.90 Fax/Modem
Smart Li-ION Battery

$1,695.00
Order Now

That's the price on the Sager with a Radeon 7500. Nice price for the config. Sager makes a good notebook, very popular overseas. My dad has one and he has had no problems with it. Be aware, it's more of a desktop replacement for occasional travel than something you want to lug around all day.

You also might want to check out the IBM A31 Thinkpad, although you'll pay $700-800 more for a similar feature set.

 

[ScottyB]

This place ratesin the top 10 at resellerratings and has good prices. http://www.powernotebooks.com/index.php3

 

[d9175a]

I think Dell 8200 or Compaq Presario 2800 are the best in that group. Toshiba's battery life is too low. IBM is too expensive. Sony's just doesn't feel right. Gateway's too heavy. HP maybe ok, but haven't seen any omnibook vt6200's yet and it looks like those will be pricey.

Dell's on the big side, but the screen is awesome. Compaq is a little pricey, but it ways 5.5 or so pounds with weight saver.

***
by the way, who has the best UXGA monitors?
My roomate bought a dell 8100 with UXGA and it has an excellent screen. You can view it from almost all angles and still see clearly (whereas the other manufacturers don't seem to have as good of a screen). The other monitor's I've seen at Fry's or CompUSA just don't seem to be as good as Dells. Any comments please???