Laptop choice and dilemna. Suggestions needed.

[radarnbo]

I am starting law school soon and we are required to purchase a laptop. In addition, we are only given two choices and they are exact models, not a specs requirement or a brand requirement. One choice is the Dell Latitude C840 and the other is the IBM Thinkpad A-series 2652D5U. You are allowed to get an exemption, but I don't want to feel like a non-conformer. Anyway, a couple of years ago I started law school and had to drop out due to a family emergency. I had a laptop then and I did not use it at all except for exams. My brother has that laptop now and I could probably get it back from him.

My dilemna is that I spent $3000 on a laptop a couple years ago and didn't even use it. I have been offered laptops at work also, but I just prefer a desktop. If I have to get a laptop I would just rather have one I want and neither of the two options above is anywhere near my list. The one "desktop replacement" laptop that I might consider would be the Alienware Area 51m, but I haven't found any real reviews of it. Can anyone direct me to one or let me know what they think about that computer? Otherwise I prefer the lighter, more portable laptops with the 14" screens. Any suggestions or personal experiences would be great here.

As of this minute I plan to apply for the exemption, see what happens as school starts, and then get a laptop if necessary. I could see some use this time because I plan to stay on campus for most of the day. The last time I would go to class, then I would have to run off for meetings and such downtown. It wasn't even worth my time to lug the laptop around just to take notes a couple hours a day. I do better re-entering them at night.

In summary, I guess I am just asking for laptop people's opinions on the laptops I mentioned and if anyone has been in my shoes, that would help also. Also, my laptop that my brother is using is a Dell Inspiron 5000, PIII 750, 256 RAM, etc. It is still fine, but definitely not top of the line. Thank you in advance for any help and suggestions. I start school in two weeks.

One more thing, even if I did get a new laptop, I would have to wait a couple weeks to order. We are trying to buy a townhome this week and I can't have anything on my credit change until that is all settled. Thanks again.

 

[gf4200isdabest]

If you decide to go for an exemption then I recommend you get the Dell Inspiron 8200. It is a very nice desktop replacement. You will be able to use it for anything you use a desktop for including 3d gaming. It will perform on par with the Alienware but will be much cheaper (~$500-$800). Plus it has that nifty trackball in the middle of the keyboard which is the only way to go if you you're using a laptop without an external mouse. Dell has by far the best reviews for their laptops of any manufacturer.

If you want to go the lightweight route then say so and I can try to give you some advice there but I think that if you can handle the weight of the Dell Inspiron 8200, then it will be worth your money.

 

[SteelCityFan]

Well, the good news is that you can get away for a lot cheaper than $3000 now. I bought the one in my sig for $1579 last November. The upgrade to the GeForce2Go (16MB to 32MB) was free, and the upgrade to the DVD was also free.

I would make sure you get a good screen. The old XGA screens are horrible compared to the newer SXGA and UXGA screens.

For daily use on campus, I am not sure I could reccomend a 8200/C840 or any heavyweight for that matter. My 8100 can be a beast to carry around. I think I would go lightweight.

One plus for a Dell 8100/8200 would be that their video cards are upgradeble, and I think the CPU's are too... as long as Dell has a bios for your model that supports that upgrade. When the 64MB ATI cards came out, I think they were around $175 from Dell Spare Parts... they even have a document explaining how to take the laptop apart for replacing parts.


It really seems odd to me that they have a "requirement" at all. I could see maybe requiring >800Mhz or Requiring a certain OS since I can see them wanting to keep people from picking up a P90 from a local yard sale, but why force people into a certain brand? It should be your choice unless they are servicing them on campus for you.

 

[radarnbo]

Steelcityfan, when I spoke with the Dean, the reason for the specific model requirement is for on-campus support. He said that they had given the specs requirements in the past, but they still had some computers come in and have problems with the school software. If we buy one of the two models, the school (and the manufacturer) will make sure that the computer will run all of the school software and be supported for the full three years. Personally, I don't see it being that difficult to get the software working on any Windows laptop, but maybe I am wrong. The school software includes a handful of Novell stuff, the exam software, and a few other things. Nothing that seemed too critical.

The price isn't the issue. Both of the required computers start at about $2200. They give us "exact" model specs. You can do some slight changes, but mostly in peripherals. You can upgrade from the bottom line and that is what I was doing to get near the $3000 mark. When I matched the specs to the Alienware, the prices pretty much wash out at $2800 or so. I just think that if I "have" to get a desktop replacement type computer, I would want a true desktop replacement and I like the Alienware. I have always wanted an Alienware, so that just kind of fuels the fire. However, the Aurora DDR is much more to my taste than any laptop.

At work we have the Inspiron 8xxx computers and they are nice, but just not something I would like to personally own. I guess if my office gave me another computer, then I wouldn't care much, but from my past laptop purchase, I just don't think I am that great a candidate. Maybe I should try to find one of those little tiny desktop computers and just set that up and my desk? I saw a few like that the last time I was in school. I would much rather spend money on a flat panel screen then a laptop.

I apologize that I am so indecisive. I have no problem spending money on things I want, but a laptop is just not high on my list. I guess I will just have to start school and see what happens. I know it would be nice to have a computer at my desk that I can work on between classes, but I think my old Inspiron would suffice. The thing does not have to be ultra portable. It will go to school in the morning and home at night. I do not plan on taking notes with it in class. It will just stay locked in my carrel during class. If I get a new keyboard I could just use my PDA to take notes like the laptop. Otherwise paper works just fine.

Thanks for the two suggestions. I will keep watching for a couple days and see what others think. Maybe I will try to get one of the new Inspirons for the office and play with that for a month. I just can't see myself using it much. When I was in school last I would bring the laptop home, dock it, then go sit at my desktop and just use the files I needed from the laptop. That was it. I spent more time dusting it than using it. Thanks again.

 

[Chau]

those are both the the slim laptops for ibm and dell aren't they?? if you're gonna be using it at school and in class, and carrying it around school, i'd reccomend getting either their choices or check out the toshiba portege or sony r505 models since those are slim laptops too, 1inch or less thick... i dont really think u'd want to be carrying around a desktop replacement laptop..they get pretty heavy and really thick

 

[MWink]

I would recommend you stay away from the Alienware laptop. They are manufactured by Sager and I have had a bad experience with them.

I recommend you go for the Dell Latitude. IIRC the Latitude C840 uses the same motherboard as the Inspiron 8200 (I could be wrong about the Latitude model but I know one of them does). If that is true I would go with that one. I have an Inspiron 8200 (using it as a desktop replacement) and I am extremely happy with it.