Which of these 2 Laptops (Dell vs Compaq) should i order?

[THELAIR]

Ive narrowed it down to just 2 laptops. Both are the same price (1,699 CDN$'s)

The Dell:

Inspiron 3800

Celery 600
128 MB of RAM
12.1 TFT LCd
5 GB HDD
8 MB ATI AGP vid
Win ME
MS Work Suite
24x CD-Rom(modular)
4 cell lithium ion battery

1699+100 shipping charge + 14 day wait period

The Compaq

Presario 12XL 320

Celery 633
64 MB of RAM
12.1 TFT LCD
6 GB HDD
4 MB 'cyberblade' video card
Win ME
MS Works 2000
MS Word 2000
8 cell lithium ion battery

Its advantage is its 33mhz faster and 1 gig more of hard drive space, but is half the ram and half the video card ram. However i can order it right now and there is no shipping charge.


So whats a guy to do? Compaq doesnt have that great of a reliablity rating on them, and everyone says "buy dell", but there are some price differences to keep in mind, plus i dont like waiting half a month for my new toy to arrive. In fact if i orderd it now it wouldnt be available till the next millenium (hehe)

any tips?

 

[AmdEmAll]

I would get the compaq. You wont notice the 33mhz more but $100 for shipping is bs. And I know its hard to wait for a new toy Just buy another 64mb of ram for the compaq and it should be good. I think compaq makes pretty good laptops. Its just there Presario Desktop line that is terrible.

 

[THELAIR]

any difference between a 4 mb video card and a 8 mb video card on a laptop?

whats the bennefit of a 8 mb card over a 4 meg card on a laptop?

 

[Gunbuster]

The compaq seems ok 1200, stay away from the 1700 series (flimsy screen)

Have you looked at the compaq armada line?

 

[Adul]

Yuck on their laptops. We went dell after that. Go with the Dell.

 

[Syborg1211]

The compaq's video card is pitiful. Do you plan to do any 3d or any gaming whatsoever? If you do, get the dell.

 

[THELAIR]

since ther eis no DVD-rom (i dont really want it) i wouldnt mind firing up a game of somthing or other... the dell guy said that Quake 3 can be played, he siad there were open GL drivers for the ati card on that model, now of course even playing it at 600x400 would suck its still playable...

im more RTS' so red alert, or Pharaoh etc would be more my bet than super framerate killer apps like Q3, HL, UT etc...



Although once i get the laptop im boosting the ram to 256, maybe 384.... try and use it as my main system as much as possible.

 

[R0b0tN1k]

IMO, they're both good. I work with both Dell and Compaq laptops and they are among the best. I'd say go with the Dell mainly because of the additional RAM and the higher quality video chipset. I don't think you'll miss the gig of HD space...just don't install too much junk.

 

[Eug]

Trackpoint is suck. The touchpad on the Dell is sooooooooooooooo much better.

OTOH, what concerns me more though is the Dell's crappy battery. It's only a 26.5 Watthour battery. I'd be surprised if you even made it anywhere near 2 hours on a charge. I'd look for a laptop with a better battery, esp. LiIon. Dunno how good NiMH batteries are though - they are found on a lot of cheaper laptops like the IBM i series or Acer TravelMate 200 series. All I know for sure about NiMH is it's heavy.

By the way, Notebook Universe where I ordered my Sceptre from is offering free shipping if you spend CAD$2000. They seem OK enough on the phone, but I haven't yet received the laptop so I can't really comment on them yet.

 

[chuckieland]

first ram is cheap
so get compaq
second boycut Dell for not have AMD system.

 

[Whitedog]

We bought a Fleet of Compaq laptops over the last several years (with 1 year warranty) and have been throwing them in the square file left and right here of late.

I have only had to throw away one Dell since I've worked here and have bought over 150 of them.

Oh, I just got a call today. Another DEAD armada. :|


BUY THE DELL!!!!!!!!

This guy that says "Boycut" Dell doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.

 

[Eug]

By the way, none of these companies make all their own laptops, so I've been told it's kind of hit and miss for quality depending on which specific model you're getting from a company.

For example, the company that makes some of the Sceptres makes some of the Dell Inspiron line:

Sceptre 69002 vs. Dell Inspiron 5000e

 

[Toolman]

Excuse me for being blunt, but if you need to ask "Dell or Compaq" for a laptop purchase, I seriously doubt you have the intelligence to follow the very advice you asking for!

 

[Pretender]

Dell makes some good laptops, and the Inspiron 3800 is very sweet. If only I could afford it.... *drools*

 

[StanG]

Did you check Dell's outlet store? You can get the same system, with the same warranty for several hundred $$$ less. Currently, they are running $200 off any notebook, free shipping, and your choice of free printer, scanner, or PC camera.
Definitely worth looking into!!!

 

[THELAIR]

"Excuse me for being blunt, but if you need to ask "Dell or Compaq" for a laptop purchase, I seriously doubt you have the intelligence to follow the very advice you asking for!"


as a first time laptop buyer and not having the ability to build it myself to my specs with my own sweat and tears, i came here to the great general hardware forum of anandtech to hear the words of other users.

I suppose if i didnt seek out others opinions on matters that directly affect me, in a purchasing decision, i'd too be considered "unintelligent" ?

bah humbug to you sir.

 

[Sunner]

<< Excuse me for being blunt, but if you need to ask &quot;Dell or Compaq&quot; for a laptop purchase, I seriously doubt you have the intelligence to follow the very advice you asking for! >>


Excuse me for being blunt, but a statement like this makes you look like an idiot.

As for laptops, I think older Compaq's get beaten by Dell's easially when it comes to reliability(cept for their really old one, pre P6, those rock), but lately, Compaq have done really well, their newer Armada's are very good.

 

[Toolman]

Dell or Toshiba, Dell or Gateway Solo, Dell or Winbook, infact Dell and almost anything but Compaq is worth considering. It struck me as stupid question and I was in a foul mood. I apologize Lair.

Sunner, he wasn't talking about older Compaqs.