Help buying notebook

[skuba]

Guys,
It's been 3 years I've been with the same notebook. It is fine, but not excellent. I do web design, use several apps open at the same time like photoshop, dreamweaver, outlook, windows explorer, several browsers, etc... I have even done video editing for web with my current notebook. Let me list the setup:

Dell Inspiron 8100
PIII 1.1ghz
512 Ram (2 Dimms)
30GB HD (probably 5400)
15" SXGA

I had minor problems like AC adapter and Dell send me new one in 2 days.

I want to spend some money on a new set, but I want to feel the upgrade. I don't want just a new system.

So, I will tell my requirements range, and you guys can make suggestions of what I could change to lower price or to make it have a better value. I want a good system, but I don't have millions to spend. (isn't that what all of us want?)

Brand - you tell me?
CPU - Pentium M 2.0Ghz (ideally) or a correspondent AMD - I noticed that each 0.1 Ghz added to CPU speed makes it a lot more expensive, so I am open to suggestions like "Why go with a 2ghz, you can go with a 1.7ghz an dwon't even feel the difference, as long as you have 1GB of ram" that kind of suggestion would be great.
Memmory - 1GB
HD - 60GB or 80GB (7200 rpm ideally)
Screen - 15" HAS TO BE SXGA or UXGA (I need high resolution)
Internal Wireless modem
IEEE 1394 - Would be great to have it built in, since I do video editing. But I could use a pcmcia card too.

At first I was going for a P4. But a lot of people told me to go PM. what do you think???

Guys, I know I wrote a lot here, but I am just trying to break it down for you. I know there a lot of experts here that can give me good advice.

Important issue for me is: Warranty and Customer Service - I like extended warranty

Thanks a lot guys,
I appreciate.

 

[xcrunner51]

A IBM Thinkpad T42 2373-DXU sounds like it suits your needs. Just up the ram to 1gb and it meets every requirement but the firewire and you'll have a badass comp. Add in the firecard and maybe a Audigy 2 ZS Notebook and you'll have one sexy laptop. IBM's are renoun for their built quality and service. Whoa, apparantly they changed the 2373-DYU model number to a T42P. In that case go with a 2373-DXU and up the warranty to 3 years

 

[trungthiendo]

always the alternative with a mac ibook/powerbook if you feel like going that route

as for window based, a Centrino package is a Centrino package you get wireless, pentium M and the chipset...just depends on the quality of the laptop itself

if you can wait then i would wait till the newer chipset for the pentium are in stores

the new generation of laptops should be out soon with the 533 fsb and other goodies...wait if you can

 

[skuba]

I can't go apple, since most program I need are for windows.

I have been looking at the Dell 8600 and the HP below:
Compaq Presario R3000Z customizable Notebook PC
- Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
- AMD Athlon(TM) 64 3200+ 2.00 GHz
- 15.4" WVA WSXGA+ (1680x1050)
- 64MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(TM) 4 440 Go + 1394
- 512MB DDR SDRAM (1x512MB)
- 60 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support
- 54g(TM) Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth
- 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Works/Money
- hpshopping in-box envelope

I wound't have the 7200 RPM HD, but all the rest that I need. for a good price $1300

The Dell would go for $1,445.00 and would carry:
Module Description Product Code Sku Id
Inspiron 8600 Intel® Pentium®M Processor 745 (1.80GHz/400MHz FSB) 15.4 WSXGA+ LP18NHN [221-4651] 1
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home WHXP [412-0408][412-0689][420-4766][463-2282][420-4928][420-5101] 11
Memory Free Upgrade! 512MB DDR SDRAM 2 DIMMs(From 256MB 1 DIMM) 512M2FP [463-1676] 3
Video Card 128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY® RADEON? 9600 PROTURBO ATI128M [320-2902] 6
Hard Drive 60GB Hard Drive at 7200RPM 60G7200 [340-9766] 8
Power Adapter AC adapter - 65w, 19.5v 65W [312-0176] 9
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem INTNIC [430-0493] 13
Document Management Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0 ADOBER [430-1048] 15
CD ROM/DVD ROM 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability 8XDVDRW [313-3090][430-1050] 16
Wireless Networking Cards Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps) IP2200I [430-0916] 19
Productivity Software Productivity Pack including WordPerfect® ICORELM [412-0714] 22
Security Software No Security Subscription NS [412-0755] 25
Digital Music Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software MMBASE [412-0741] 26
Primary Battery 72 WHr Primary Battery ADDBATT [312-0066] 27
Limited Warranty, Services and Support 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr Technical Support ST111RR [950-9057][950-3337][950-3830][412-0361][960-2780] 29
Internet Access Options 6 Months America Online Internet Access Included AOLDHS [412-0585][412-0625][420-3224][412-0687] 37
Digital Imaging or Digital Photography Paint Shop? Pro® Studio trial, Photo Album? Starter Edition DPS [412-0744] 38
Wireless Personal Networking Card Dell? TrueMobile? 300 Bluetooth Internal Card TM300I [430-0407] 71
Dell Media Experience Dell Media Experience? DMX [412-0751] 115


What do you think?
Any other suggestions?

Do you guys think that those prices will be going down soon?

Thanks

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: skuba
I can't go apple, since most program I need are for windows.

I have been looking at the Dell 8600 and the HP below:
Compaq Presario R3000Z customizable Notebook PC
- Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
- AMD Athlon(TM) 64 3200+ 2.00 GHz
- 15.4" WVA WSXGA+ (1680x1050)
- 64MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(TM) 4 440 Go + 1394
- 512MB DDR SDRAM (1x512MB)
- 60 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support
- 54g(TM) Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth
- 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Microsoft(R) Works/Money
- hpshopping in-box envelope

I wound't have the 7200 RPM HD, but all the rest that I need. for a good price $1300
This isn't a bad notebook, but battery life will be mediocre (2-2.5 hours avg) & performance will be excellent. If you go with this model, I would drop to the smallest HDD and put in your own 7200RPM drive (100GB models coming out this fall). Also, this will be pretty heavy, around 8 lbs. Do you need it to be very mobile?

The Dell would go for $1,445.00 and would carry:
Module Description Product Code Sku Id
Inspiron 8600 Intel® Pentium®M Processor 745 (1.80GHz/400MHz FSB) 15.4 WSXGA+ LP18NHN [221-4651] 1
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home WHXP [412-0408][412-0689][420-4766][463-2282][420-4928][420-5101] 11
Memory Free Upgrade! 512MB DDR SDRAM 2 DIMMs(From 256MB 1 DIMM) 512M2FP [463-1676] 3
Video Card 128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY® RADEON? 9600 PROTURBO ATI128M [320-2902] 6
Hard Drive 60GB Hard Drive at 7200RPM 60G7200 [340-9766] 8
Power Adapter AC adapter - 65w, 19.5v 65W [312-0176] 9
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem INTNIC [430-0493] 13
Document Management Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0 ADOBER [430-1048] 15
CD ROM/DVD ROM 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability 8XDVDRW [313-3090][430-1050] 16
Wireless Networking Cards Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps) IP2200I [430-0916] 19
Productivity Software Productivity Pack including WordPerfect® ICORELM [412-0714] 22
Security Software No Security Subscription NS [412-0755] 25
Digital Music Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software MMBASE [412-0741] 26
Primary Battery 72 WHr Primary Battery ADDBATT [312-0066] 27
Limited Warranty, Services and Support 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr Technical Support ST111RR [950-9057][950-3337][950-3830][412-0361][960-2780] 29
Internet Access Options 6 Months America Online Internet Access Included AOLDHS [412-0585][412-0625][420-3224][412-0687] 37
Digital Imaging or Digital Photography Paint Shop? Pro® Studio trial, Photo Album? Starter Edition DPS [412-0744] 38
Wireless Personal Networking Card Dell? TrueMobile? 300 Bluetooth Internal Card TM300I [430-0407] 71
Dell Media Experience Dell Media Experience? DMX [412-0751] 115

This seems like a MUCH better model. I'm not a fan of Dell's personally, but the config is nice. The video card is much better if you plan on playing the occasional game. The Pentium M will still be very powerful, but will run much cooler. I would look at AT's recent article on the Pentium M and see how it scores in the benchmarks. They probably have some apps that you use & thus it would be valuable for you to see how it does in those; the P-M DOES have some performance weak spots. Did you configure this under Small Business? anyone can buy a notebook thru that section and it is usually quite a bit cheaper. Also, check Hot Deals forums & other hot deals sites for the latest Dell sales; there are a LOT of good prices out there with Dell; you just have to find them.

What do you think?
Any other suggestions?

Do you guys think that those prices will be going down soon?

Thanks

From these two choices, I would go with the Dell.
In regards to the IBM, I do love IBM build quality and their support cannot be beat IMO. But they lack some of the bells & whistles that HP & Dell offer. Also, it seems as though you would benefit from a widescreen and the WSXGA+ should be very nice on the Dell. IBM's 15" SXGA+ isn't very suitable for having a lot of apps open IMO, but the UXGA screen would be ok. Again tho, no widescreen.
Hope this helps

 

[skuba]

Thanks fbrdphreak.
I can't afford paying more for IBM. Because I will already buy extended warranty. So let's say I buy Dell, there is an extra $215 for 3 years warranty. What I don't get is that for 2 years it just $100, but to get 3 years i smore than 100% more expensive. ????

I saw some benchmarks and the Pentium M performs very well for most applications.
See here

And it shows that the AMD Athlon 64 also performa excellent!

Doesn't this Athlon 64 run like a Pentium M (in terms of running cools and battery life)? Isn't it like the comparable model from AMD to Intel?

I tried doing the small business search on Dell, but then they don't offer the 8600 option. Only the Dell 6000 would offer kind of the same, but for more. Warranty looks more expensive for small business too $250 for 3 years.

As far as deals, that price that I got the Dell 8600, was actually with a $600 off coupon. Dell was already giving $400 off, so the coupon gave me an extra $200 off. That's how I got the $1445 price.

I think this one looks really good. I notice the new systems don't have serial ports usually. But thats fine. I guess most peripherals now are USB.

Also, what do you think of adding the bluetooth support for $50? a waste?

Also, mobility is not a big issue for me. Even battery life is not that big of a issue. I have several ACs around the house, so I can plug in power everywhere. Yeah, but thats'how I screwd my current inspiron battery. I never used, so it just can't hold power anymore. heheh

Anybody wants to say something??? Thanks for all the help.

 

[fbrdphreak]

If you don't care about mobility or power, go with the Athlon 64. It will give you better performance in general and cost less. The A64's run a lot cooler than the Pentium 4's and run a little hotter than the Athlon XP's; but everything runs a lot hotter than a Pentium M. As I said, the A64 dissipates about 3-4 times as much power as a Pentium M. P-M's don't run the least bit hot when you let it vary its own clock speed (between 600MHz-full speed). A64's get warm even when underclocked
If you've already got good prices off of the 8600, that sounds like a winner. Don't worry about the serial ports; almost nothing uses them nemore and you can get a docking station from Targus that offers serial ports.
Bluetooth is your option. Cell phones & PDA's use bluetooth, but that's about it. you can always get a USB bluetooth adaptor later, its up to you!
In regards to the warranty, get whichever one gives you the longest cover/$. It sounds like the 2 year is your best bet. Accidental damage coverage is something to consider too. if its not going too many places, I wouldn't worry about it.
Hope this helps

 

[skuba]

Hi,

Why do you say that the Athlon 64 would give me more power than the Pentium M, if the overall benchmarks shows even a PM 1.8Ghz on top of a A64 2Ghz?

Also, what's the deal with the AMD XP? Is it more advanced than the 64s?

Thanks

 

[fbrdphreak]

The A64 supports newer features (SSE2, DDR400, etc) than the Pentium M does and I think overall it will perform faster. Also, changes are you would get a 2-2.2GHz A64 if a notebook and the added clock speed + faster bus speed will give you better performance. P-M's are very fast in general, but they severely lack in some area's (see Anand's P-M article) and the A64's are still better in gaming.
The Athon XP is the predecessor to the Athlon 64, considered a budget CPU these days. I don't think this should fall into one of your categories.

 

[skuba]

Bought!
I didn't want o miss the 34% discount. I placed the order, but I can cancel if I judge necessary.

I would like to hear your opinions.

I added a promotional 4 years warranty for $244 but I will get a $100 rebate back.
They also charged me taxes (I am in CA, 3 years ago there was no taxes when I bought a notebook).

The system came to about $1440, plus like $244 for warranty ($100 back later) and $150 for taxes.

Inspiron 6000
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 (1.86GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB), Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Qty: 1
Unit Price: $2,554.00
Inspiron 6000D Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 (1.86GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)

Display 15.4 inch UltraSharp WUXGA LCD Panel

Memory Save $50! (Savings included in price) 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 1 Dimm

Video Card 128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY? RADEON X300 PCI Express x16 Graphics

Hard Drive 60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive

Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home

Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0

Combo/DVD+RW Drives 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability

Wireless Networking Cards Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915 Internal Wireless (802.11 a/b/g, 54Mbps)

Bundled Software WordPerfect®, Powerful Word Processing

Security Software No Security Subscription

Digital Music Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software

Battery 6-cell Lithium Ion Battery (53 WHr)

Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options SAVE $100 (after rebate) 4Yr Ltd Warranty, At-Home Svc, and Tech Support

Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months EarthLink Internet Access Included

Digital Imaging Paint Shop? Pro® Studio trial, Photo Album? Starter Edition

Bluetooth Wireless Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal(2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)

Dell Media Experience Dell Media Experience?




Dell Home Customers: Save 34% off Dell Inspiron 6000!
Expires on 2005-02-24 05:59:59 - $868.36


My total cost was like $1850, and I will get $100 back.

What do you think?

Thanks

 

[fbrdphreak]

:thumbsup:
I would maybe upgrade the battery if you want it to be very mobile. I have a 48WHr 6-cell on my Thinkpad and I never get more than 4 hours of battery life, usually 2.5-3. Otherwise, you have a great notebook. It will be very powerful, it has non-integrated graphics so you won't have that tying up system performance, and you've bought into some of the best new technology (Sonoma Centrino). Congrats!