help needed with laptop decision

[coxsackie]

Hey guys-
I'm looking to buy a laptop for school, but with all the choices out there, I thought I'd look to a more expert crowd. The specs that I'm kind of going for are:

no less than a PIII 850Mhz
128 MB
10-20GB
14.1 TFT display
CD-RW drive
I can afford around $1800

I was thinking about buying a fujitsu 6631 that has more than what I need, but I don't know much about fujitsu. I was also looking at DELL which I know makes a good computer, but is it worth the extra cash? Basically, I want to buy a decent, higher end, computer now that won't become extinct come next year.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[sohcrates]

i would definitely go for a dell inspiron. you can easily get a loaded one for around your price. i've worked on many of them and they're very nice machines, and dell's got very good support.

 

[dowxp]

i'd spring for IBM if price is not a factor

 

[jschuk]

The Toshiba Satellite 3005 series fits that bill just fine.

 

[toant103]

DELL

 

[Jiggz]

Sony, the best there is when it comes to display and size.

 

[sciencewhiz]

The best advice regarding laptops I ever heard is, if you have the money get an IBM; if you don't have the money, get a Dell.

 

[LikeLinus]

Dell Inspiron 8100 (Free Shipping and Free CD-RW upgrade right now)

1gig P-3M
128mb Pc133 (you can upgrade via Crucial, cheap)
20gig HD (you can downgrade to 10gig to save money if you dont need space)
15.1" SXGA+ TFT (1400x1050, SWEET LCD screen)
Floppy
16Mb Geforce 2 Go (can upgrade to 32mb)
8x8x24 CDRW
WinME w/ XP coupon
10/100 & 5k modem

Out the door (no shipping) for only $1,852.00

OR if you want to save more money.

P3-M 866mhz
20gig
14.1" SXGA TFT (1400x105) (only a $50 upgrade to the 15.1" screen!)
Floppy
16Mb Geforce 2 Go (can upgrade to 32mb)
8x8x24 CDRW
WinME w/ XP coupon
10/100 & 5k modem

All out the door for only $1,574

I've got an Inspiron 8100 (1.13, 15.1 SXGA, CDRW, DVD, Floppy, 32mb Geforce, everything) and i absolutely love it. Not a better desktop replacement out on the market, hands down.

 

[bacillus]

you may also get a higher spec dell for less if you buy a refurbished model which also comes with a warrantee!

 

[daddyo]

I just bought the following from Dell's Refurb Outlet

Inspiron 8000
PIII 900
128 mb RAM
15" UXGA TFT
DVD
16mb Geforce 2 Go
Can't remember the hard drive, but it was at least 10gb.
1 year warranty, 2 with my AmexBlue

I paid $1235. I could easily have gotten one with a CDRW for the same price.

For a laptop with the Geforce 2 Go, that's a damn good price.

Check the outlet a few times a day for a few days, and you'll find a good deal for sure.

 

[coxsackie]

another question...I've been hearing mixed reviews about combo drives (DVD/CD-RW). What do you guys think about them? Also, please forgive me if this is a really stupid question, but what exactly is the difference between a 1 DIMM vs. a 2 DIMM slot (sorry, but I'm relatively new to the computer world)?

 

[contra53]

the dimm slots are for ram memory. say you buy your computer with 128MB ram and the motherboard has only 1 dimm slot. in order for you to go to 256MB ram memory, you would have to buy a 256MB dimm. if the motherboard has 2 dimm slots and you buy it with 128MB memory, in order to get to 256MB you would only need to buy a 128MB.

i guess you just need to check out memory prices for the laptop and see if the additional expense of a laptop with 2 dimms would be a better deal than buying a larger memory module.

 

[LikeLinus]

The dimms is the slot where the Ram is. So if you have (2) dimm slots you can put two sticks of ram. The 8100 Inspiron has 2 dimm slots. I have a 128mb stick in one...and a 256mb stick in the other. It's much better to have 2 slots for upgrading than not.

I have seperate DVD and CDRW drives, because it was less expensive that way. I haven't heard anything bad about the combo drives though? But i have no hands on experience.

Since the I 8100 has 3 bays (one is fixed, my CDRW) and 2 that are free (one for battery and the other for anything else) i keep the floppy in one, battery in the other and CDRW is fixed. I then change the floppy out and put in the DVD when needed. This is great cause i can copy from CD to CD on the fly. I had to do it the other day and i was VERY happy. It copied the CD (from the DVD drive to the CDRW) at 8x flawlessly. These bays are hot swappable, so you can just yank one and stick in the other without rebooting! Nice stuff indeed.

 

[LikeLinus]

If you do purchase a Dell, they have (2) Dimms. Purchase the LOWEST amount of ram you can (128mb in 2 dimms). Then go to crucial.com and purchase ram. It is VERY cheap compaired to Dell. Dell wants the upgrade from 128 to 256 for 100$. So thats $100 for 128mb ram. I purchased 384mb or ram from Crucial for 90 dollars w/ FREE 2nd day shipping!

 

[coxsackie]

Thanks for the DIMM info, and the RAM upgrade tip, very helpful. I looked at the dell 8100 recommendation, and very tempting. For that price, I think I can even get a dvd player too, which brings me to ask you if I decide to get a dvd player for the dell computer, should i go with dell's, or look around for others?

 

[joohang]

Sony VAIO FX All-in-one series.

$1799
AMD Athlon 1 GHz
256MB RAM (You can get 256MB SoDIMM modules for $47 each at Crucial to get 512MB)
20 GB
15" XGA
DVD/CD-RW


$1709
Intel PIII 900
128MB RAM (Upgrade from Crucial)
15GB
15" XGA
DVD/CD-RW

 

[LikeLinus]

Oh no, definately get the Dell. You will get it cheaper than buying from somewhere else, plus it works perfect. You'd have to get an external DVD player otherwise. I wouldnt advice doing that. I purchased the CDRW as my "Fixed" drive...and the DVD is my optional drive w/ the floppy. So i can interchange them. I use the CDRW more than i do the DVD, but it's great for trips and software that comes on DVD.

 

[joohang]

BTW, go with Sony for design.

Or go Dell for higher res screen and gaming.

 

[LikeLinus]

Nothing wrong with Sony, but the screen has lower resolution (XGA vs SXGA+) and isn't nearly as pretty as Inspiron screens (they have a few sonys at work, so i've seen them side by side). Also the Athlon 4 is MUCH slower than the New Intel P3-M (which is what the Inspiron 8100 is), so dont get an AMD mobile, yuck. In the new PCMag the Athlon 4 1 gig scored a 151 while the P3-M 1 gig scored a 19X!!! Thats a huge difference. Also you get a Geforce 2 Go card with the Dell. Also the CS is better at Dell than Sony.

 

[coxsackie]

here's what i could get

$1762 (before tax)
DELL 8100
PIII-1GHz
15in SXGA-TFT
128MB RAM 2 DIMM
16MB GeForce2
20GB
8X CDRW on fixed drive
8X DVD on 2nd drive (so, that the removable drive right?)
Question- is the customer service really good that i should upgrade the warranty?

What do you guys think?

 

[joohang]

Looks good.

Considered UXGA, though?

Yeah. Customer Service would definitely be worth the extra bucks.

 

[Quixfire]

I would recommend a Sager Notebook, I've had one for two years and it's still running strong.
Here are some specs & price similar to what you requested:
Model Number NP2280-S
14.1" Screen
PIII 1.2 Ghz
258MB PC133 SDRAM
30 GB Hard Drive
6X DVD/ 4X4X24 CD-RW Combo
Internal Fax/Modem
Intergrated 10/100 Ethernet LAN
Windows 98SE
One Year Warranty
Price: 1675.00
Shipping is from 35 to 90 depending on how fast you want it.

Plus one note on performance, my machine has only 4MB of Video memory and it out performs my desktop with 8MB. Plus it play 3D games very well for a laptop.

 

[coxsackie]

oh ya, just one more question. the biggest reason i'm excited is that my school provides wireless networking, but i need a wireless ethernet card. my school told us to get a ORiNOCO PC Card. i don't know if that is exactly what i have to get, or if that's just a suggested brand, and maybe i can get something else. regardless, does anyone have any suggestions on where to pick one of these up?

 

[LikeLinus]

Personally i went with the SXGA+ screen cause i felt the 1600x1200 was way too small for a 15" screen, but that is personal preference. I also went with a 1yr warranty, but again thats personal preference, i just figured i'd save money. If something is going to go wrong, it would go wrong in the first 3months to a year. I've had my Dell Inspiron 7500 for 2 years and never a problem, so no biggy.


coxsackie The DVD will be removeable and you can interchange it with the Floppy for whenever you need it.


Sager notebook? And it can play 3d games on a 4mb card? coughbullshitcough. Do you work for them or something? I'd never buy some generic offbrand no name laptop. Yuck


I've never heard of that wireless company you are talking about. Find out if they are wanting a IEEE 802.11b (DSSS) 2.4GHz-compliant NIC. IF thats the case you can get one directly from Dell that will be installed in your laptop so you dont have to buy one seperately. You need to ask that and find out.

 

[coxsackie]

o.k. thanks for all your help. LikeLinus01 you really been a BIG help, i appreciate it.