Laptop basics

M

Macanudo

2,500+ Posts
What do I need? How much power? Size? memory?

The machine will be used for basic browsing. I will be on the road for a month or so and need it to pay bills, keep track of some financial data, haunt Hornfans, etc. What do I need?
 
Get a small light one. 256MB of RAM would probably do you, as would a Celeron processor.

Probably something like this -The Link . I would've recommended model that's even cheaper than that, but it had NiMH batteries instead of lithium ion.
 
The Link

Because someone posted this last time I was ready to purchase a new pc...I got a fantastic deal from Dell.

Here's the specs from one of Dell's light weight laptops
It's a Dell 600m using the Centrino processor so it's got great battery life:
Inspiron 600m:
Pentium® M Processor 725(1.60 GHz/400MHz FSB) 14.1-in XGA w/32MB Video
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year At-Home Service plus Nights and Weekend
512MB DDR SDRAM 2 Dimms
30GB Hard Drive
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Microsoft Office Basic - Includes Outlook, Word, Excel
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)
Internal 56K Modem and Integrated Network Card

Price was $1721...currently $1421 w/ free shipping. The price would go down even more if you dropped the warranty upgrade, the office basic upgrade, cd burner, ram upgrade down to $899ish.
 
Compaqs are the bane of my existence. Even if you don't need a high powered machine, I would look at IBM Thinkpad first, then Dell.
 
Dell is running a 1/3 off sale on some Inspiron laptops right now. By the way, thanks for the 750 off tip, I got an Inspiron 6000 Centrino 2 Ghz with 512 of ram and a 15.4 inch screen with 3 year warranty for 1190.
 
Dell 1/3 Off Deals

Dimension XPS desktops
34% Off Instantly!
Dimension 8400, 4700C and 4700 desktops
25% Off Instantly!
Dimension 3000 or 2400 desktops
20% Off Instantly!
Inspiron 6000 notebooks
34% Off Instantly!
Inspiron 600m notebooks
25% Off Instantly!
Inspiron 9300, 700m or 2200 notebooks
20% Off Instantly!
Inspiron XPS or 1200 notebooks
15% Off Instantly!

Inspiron Deals of the Week, Outrageous Deals, and e-value or order codes ending in "syn" or "pc" are excluded from Instant Savings offer.
 
i have owned 2 laptops. compaq presario 2100 and a gateway m320x. the compaq worked great and was fast BUT it was heavy and the battery life was at most 2 hours.

i sold it on ebay for about $150 less than what i paid. not bad for a 1yr use.

i bought a gateway m320x. i really like it. it is 5.5 pounds which is really light. it also uses a centrino processor and that is amazing. battery life is like 4-6 hours. seriously. it amazes me. i have to admit, it was a pain even when surfing in the house or doing stuff in the living room, i used to either have to bring the charger in there with the compaq or when the battery got low run to my room to charge it up.

i have yet to even have to come close to doing that with the gateway even when working remotely for a few hours at a time.

so in summary, if you are getting a laptop, you have 2 questions. is this truly a desktop replacement? if so, then something like my old compaq is not bad. it was heavy and fast but that isn't bad if you aren't trying to be mobile.

if you want a laptop for mobility, you need to:

1) get a mobile or centrino processor.
2) get a laptop that is ~6 pounds or less.
3) get at least 512MB.

that's about it that i can think of.


Texas97
 
I ended up going with an HP (the dv4030.) I wasn't going to be able to log onto Dell's site for a deal and I could not afford to wait for one to be mailed to me while I'm in CA.

Here's what I got for 999.00 (after I mail in the rebates) + tax
Intel Pentium M Processor 1.6 GHz w/ Centrino
512 MB of DDR-SDRAM
100 GB Hard drive
DVD+/-RW
15.4 in 1200 x 800
4 USB 2.0 ports
Memory Stick Card Slot
XP Home Edition
6.5 lbs
 
I just ordered a new laptop to replace my aging Dell. I probably would have bought another Dell but I got pissed off last time they ran one of those limited time coupon promotions. I just got a 9200 configured how I wanted it and then tried to checkout only to find out they had just pulled the plug on it. Now I'm glad I didn't get the Dell.

I bought a HP z6000 from Costco online for $1050 + tax with free shipping, plus there is a $50 HP mail-in rebate.

Athlon 64 3200
512mb
80gb
15.4" WXGA w/BrightView
DVD RW
128mb ATI Radeon Xpress
XP Pro
WIFI
Bluetooth
6 in 1 cardreader

Stick another 512mb in it and it's pretty much what I have been looking for in a customized system for $500+ less.

Costco has a 6 month return policy to any store before the manufacturers warranty begins. Today is the last day on this online special if anyone is interested.
The Link
 
Forget what I said... CompUSA is going to suffer my wrath. They sold me a machine with only a trial version of MS Office. After talking with the sales guy and specifically telling him that I wanted a machine with the standard version loaded, I pulled out the disk to input the key #s and it's only the Trial version.

Lawrence at CompUSA is going to get an *** kicking of Hornfans proportions tomorrow when I go back in there.
 
I would def. go with a centrino model if I bought another one. I bought mine a few years ago before it came out. I hate running out of batteries, and having to plug it in every few hours. I wouldn't spend too much though as technology changes so rapidly. LCD's are supposed to go down in price by 66% in the next year, and toshiba just developed a battery that will recharge fully in like a couple of minutes.
 
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