Laptop Suggestions

[Away]

Was looking for a laptop I could drag around campus and play various RPG's. Would prefer something under six pounds and around $1500 or less. I am not concerned with an OS or software because I will be installing my own. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dennis Travis]

I would suggest at least looking at an IBM Thinkpad. They are great for getting work done and very reliable. Not sure about with RPG's though but they should be fine. I have had the best luck with Thinkpads over the years.

 

[wisdomtooth]

The Thinkpad T41 in my sig I got during the last year of my grad-level work. It was awesome. Light, long battery life, great WiFi performance, well-built, got it with a great discount through my school's educational discount (saved $400).

Definitely give Thinkpads a look.

HTH.

 

[Away]

Any other suggestions?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

HP NC6000.

There are 3 laptops I'm very familiar with. 1) Dell 600m (i have this), 2) IBM T41 (my uncle's laptop), and 3) HP NC6000 (my mom's).

They are all 14.1" screens with Dothan/Banias. IMO, the 600m is a really cheap build. While Dell support is fast, I don't like how my HD and mobo failed. Furthermore, I hate the cheap plasticky hollow feel of my laptop.

IBMs are good quality, but my uncle has had it fail before completely and had to send it back. I don't like how they're not really aesthetically appealing, and have old skool keyboards/design. Otherwise, its all good.

Dell uses cheap DDR266 while IBM uses 333/400 modules. Both comps have Radeon 9000s. I believe you can get a 9600 with a T42 nowadays.

My mom's NC6000 is just sexy. I love the build. It's solid, and has no cheap feel to it. I like the design and it's high quality. It has integrated Bluetooth (something I could use with my Motorola V600) and a Radeon 9600 (which I could use as well for gaming). It's slightly heavier than my Dell because of the build I guess. The plastic is thicker so you can't feel its hollowness, and the whole cover is just more solid. My cover is all scratched up, but my mom's laptop is just nice.

I wish I could trade, although I like my SXGA screen and my faster Dothan.

My opinion is that 15" screens are huge. 14.1 is as small as I would go. Any smaller, the keyboards get ghetto and the screen is too small for my eyes. I like SXGA, so 14.1 works. Furthermore, these are all 5 - 6 lb laptops. Thin and light. Not ultra thin, but portable. My laptop weighs in around 5.3 lbs and the T41 is like 5.5? The NC6000 is closer to 6 lbs. You can tell which has the better build just based on these specs. At roughtly 1.3 - 1.35" thick, these laptops are easily carried around. Forget your 15.4" widescreens. My friend's Dell 8600 is like 7 lbs w/o DVD drive and battery? Throw that in and you're close to 7.5. Lame.

The only downside of the IBM and HP are that they are a bit expensive. If you can find employee discounts, that would be awesome. This HP laptop is no cheap crap. It's not the nubby ZE or ZV lines. NC lines are business/office lines (like the Dell Latitudes), and are high quality. Inspirons are nubby. Yes and I say that to my 600m.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

At the risk of sounding like a jackass, you won't have time to play video games in grad school. I know, I know, they said the same thing about undergrad and they were (very) wrong, but... This time they're (we're?) right.

 

[Away]

I would just like to thank everyone for their suggestions. If anyone else has any advice please post it here.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Ok, I'll give some real advice, hehe. Two of the other students in my grad program bought emachines with widescreens & mobile ati 9600 video cards so they could play WoW. Neither are pleased with their notebooks. One has had the wireless card crap out, and has had four keys pop off (she glued them back on but now the keys have to be smushed down to register a stroke). The other has also had his wireless card crap out, and his combo optical drive sounds like it's on its last legs. So if you're looking at an emachines as a good deal with some ability to game, I suggest you look elsewhere. Hope that helps.

Btw, what will you be studying?

 

[Away]

Masters in Criminology. I agree with Emachines being crap. My friend had one that he kept asking me to fix. I finally built him a new computer so I wouldn't have to work on his anymore.

 

[dcdude]

ibm thinkpads have long been THE laptop to buy to get s.hit done

 

[Away]

I'm seeing alot of suggestions for IBM. Should I assume their transition to Lenovo will not decrease the quality in any way?

 

[wisdomtooth]

Originally posted by: Away
I'm seeing alot of suggestions for IBM. Should I assume their transition to Lenovo will not decrease the quality in any way?

Thinkpads up to the T43 are true-blue IBM. After that the product line will become Lenovo-designed-and-built.

So if anyone is thinking of buying a Thinkpad, now is the time to do it.

IBM will still be doing tech/warranty support for Thinkpads though.

 

[IAteYourMother]

IBM ftw

 

[Excelsior]

I know many people like IBMs..but from the two people I know who have T42ps, they have experienced a lot of trouble. If it wasnt for IBMs fairly good support/warranty, I wouldn't consider them.

 

[bocamojo]

I would suggest a Dell Inspiron 2200. They have some deals going on through the 12th. My brother in law just bought one for 1,167 incl. shipping and tax, and this is the configuration:

15in screen
Pentium-M 1.6GHz
60GB 4200RPM HD
512MB RAM
8X DL DVD Burner
Built in wireless-g, and 56k modem (I don't remember if it comes with bluetooth, or you have to pay a little extra for it)
Decent 9 cell battery (should get between 3 and 4 hours on average)
ATI 9000 built in video graphics

And with a Dell, you can add more if you have a little extra to burn, so you could increase the amount of RAM, or add a carrying case, etc.

I don't think it's under 6 lbs, but it's probably close, as I have a Dell D600 and it's very similar to the 2200 in terms of size.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Lenovo or not its all OEM in the end...

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: wisdomtooth

Originally posted by: Away
I'm seeing alot of suggestions for IBM. Should I assume their transition to Lenovo will not decrease the quality in any way?

Thinkpads up to the T43 are true-blue IBM. After that the product line will become Lenovo-designed-and-built.

So if anyone is thinking of buying a Thinkpad, now is the time to do it.

IBM will still be doing tech/warranty support for Thinkpads though.

Wrong to a degree. Lenovo aquired 18 months of product plan as of May 1st when the aquisition became final. There are ThinkPad refreshes and new models already in plan that Lenovo will be introducing that were designed and planned under IBM...

Keep in mind that Lenovo also got all the PC Division employees , including the ThinkPad and ThinkCentre design teams.

The "New" global Lenovo is also under the leadership of most of the upper management of the former IBM PC Division, and the CEO is Steve Ward, former general Manager.

So... Lenovo will continue with the ThinkPad tradition. ie; quality, durability, innovation.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: Away
I'm seeing alot of suggestions for IBM. Should I assume their transition to Lenovo will not decrease the quality in any way?

See my comment above... Very little to worry about.

 

[Away]

I just wanted to thank everyone again for their advice. I decided to go with a IBM Thinkpad T42. I found one on Newegg for $1500 that met my expectations. Can't wait to test it out.