Vaio GRV680 or Dell Inspiron 8500 or Toshiba Satellite 5205-S703?

[Allie]

Hi! Someone wants to sell me a new Vaio GRV680 P4/2.6GHZ/60GB/ for $800.

Does anyone know if that is a good model? I've been trying to research notebooks on the web, but I'm new at all this and it's very confusing. You guys seem to know a lot, so I thought I'd try to ask.

My other two options (for the same price) are a new Dell Inspiron 8500 Pentium or a new Toshiba Satellite 5205-S703.

I would be so so grateful for any advice. Thanks!

Here are some specs:

SONY Vaio GRV680 P4/2.6GHZ/60GB/:

Processor Intel Pentium 4 2.6 GHz
> Installed Memory 512 MB (DDR SDRAM)
> Maximum RAM 1 GB
> Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home
> Bus Speed 400 MHz
> Display Size 16 in. TFT active matrix
> Max. Resolution 1280 x 1024
> Hard Drive Type Portable
> Hard Drive Capacity 60 GB
> Controller Type IDE / EIDE
> Installed Cache Memory 512 KB
> Read Speed 24x (CD) / 5x (DVD)
> Write Speed 16x (CD) / 1x (DVD-R) / 2x (DVD+R)
> ReWrite Speed 8x (CD) / 1x (DVD-RW) / 2x (DVD+RW)
> Installed Video Memory 64 MB
> Audio Output Type Sound card
> Battery Technology Lithium ion
> Average Run Time 3.5 Hour(s)
>> Weight 8.6 lb.
> Warranty 1 year



DEL INSPIRON 8500:
Processor Intel Pentium IV Processor at 2.0GHz
>Hard Drive 30GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
>Memory 512MB DDR Memory 266MHz
>Optical Device 24x CDRW / DVD Combo Drive with Roxios Easy CD CreatorR
>Display 15.4" WSXGA TFT Display (1680 x 1050 Resolution)
>Operating System WindowsR XP Home Edition
>Networking Intergrated 10/100 Network Card
>Video Memory 32MB DDR ATI MOBILITYT RADEONT 9000 4x AGP 3D Video
>Battery 72WHr Lithium Ion Battery
>I/O Ports IEEE 1394 integrated port (FireWire)
>2-USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 compliant 4-pin connectors
>S-Video for TV-Out for S-video, composite video, and S/PDIF
>etc.

 

[BeauJangles]

My dad has the new 8500 and what pisses me off most about it is the trackpoint and trackpad.

The pad sucks, period. You can't do nice things like tap on it to left mouse click, or use the sides of it to scroll. It also has a nasty problem of locking up completely.
The trackpoint is terrible too. Once you use an IBM trackpoint, this one pales in comparison.

I also find it to be rather flimsy and I don't like the keyboard that much.

I guess I'm just a thinkpad kinda guy.

 

[linclee]

At $800 I will buy the sony even though I don't like them, the Screen on the 8500 is alot sharper than sony but at $500 difference I think I can live with that, You can scroll with a touchpad with no problem just hold the left button I do it all the time on my Dell