James T Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 I'm seriously considering replacing my desktop with my laptop. I used to be big on upgrading my PC, but don't really care right now, so I'll be in the market for a top of the line laptop so I won't need to buy a new one for a few years. Stuff I'll be using it for are burning DVDs, some MS Office applications, mp3 storage, internet and very little games. I like the idea of walking into a Best Buy and picking one up, but I like the customizing idea at sites like Dell.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Monkey Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 The only Windows laptop I would buy based on my experience would be a Thinkpad. The thing is, I have no idea whether the new Thinkpad owners will hold up in quality like IBM. I think I'd go with Apple based on friends' recommendations or take a chance on the new Thinkpad maker (Lenovo, I think?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan FB Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 Definitely go with Centrino/Pentium M (Centrino is just a marketing name for a laptop with a Pentium M processor, Intel wireless, and Intel motherboard chipset). Centrino Duo (dual core Pentium M) has been announced, those should start showing up in February if you feel like waiting a bit. I really like my Dell 700m so far, and I'm pretty pedantic about computers. I don't know if Dell is still running coupons as good as they used to (there was some shuffle about how they were "price restructuring" so coupons would be different), but I got 45% off mine so while I could have gone with the base model I was able to spring for around $1k worth of upgrades and have it cost the same. It looks like they actually just came out with some today: Limited time offer beginning 1/18/06 6:00am CST through 1/26/06 5:59am CST or after 4000 redemptions (whichever occurs first)Save $650 on SELECT Inspiron notebook purchases $1999 or more: 4SK8F3M86KLGLK Limited time offer beginning 1/18/06 6:00am CST through 1/26/06 5:59am CST or after 4000 redemptions (whichever occurs first) Save $450 on SELECT Inspiron notebook purchases $1499 or more: 9RXNM$LQ2367TH Limited time offer beginning 1/18/06 6:00am CST through 1/26/06 5:59am CST or after 4000 redemptions (whichever occurs first) Save $300 on SELECT Inspiron notebook purchases $1299 or more: Q2KFCJ$0VD0G97 The only Windows laptop I would buy based on my experience would be a Thinkpad. The thing is, I have no idea whether the new Thinkpad owners will hold up in quality like IBM.I really liked the Thinkpads, but they're still priced like IBM's, and it's difficult to get a discount unless you happen to stumble across a good non-configurable student deal or can get ahold of an employee friend code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTello Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 Like Ryan, I also have a Dell 700m, and I love it. It a great speedy little laptop. It does all the tasks you indicated smoothly and quietly. It has a number of handy standard features like the DVD writer and SD card reader. It's extremely portable. And the widescreen is bright and crisp. A few things to note,... 1. Some people don't care for the glare on the screen. I did initally think it might be an issue, but after 1 year with the laptop, I can confidently say that it's definately even an issue. The beautiful color and clarity of the screen will be the only topics you'll bring up when discussing the screen. 2. Don't skimp on RAM with this or any laptop or deskyop. RAM is so cheap, and having plenty of RAM will maximize the lifespan and usefulness of the computer. ( I would also personally say the same philosophy applies for having a good sized speedy hard.) 3. Clean off every piece of crapware any manufacturer installs. (You may choose to do a clean install.) Dell puts a number of items on thier products, and once you clean that shit off, the performance is exponentially superior. 4. The 700m does have one sound issue, where if you use a microphone, it will pick up the harddrive spinning sound. (We found this out playing WOW and using Ventrillo.) (Yes, I use this Laptop to play WOW. I was playing last night at Panera Bread, as I was out of town for the night. :cool: ) You can call Dell and with a little communication they will give you credit to purchase a new sound card. I've yet to do this, but I've read threads on the subject. If you don't use a mic, it's a non issue, and every other aspect of the 700M is fantastic, and this would certainly not be an issue. Did I mention the 700M is a light, powerful and feature rich laptop? As Ryan mentioned, you can find deals. I purchased mine after I saw a deal posted on slickdeals.net. The total normally would have been $1550, and I got the laptop for $749. I would say it's easily one of the best purchases I've made, and certainly one of the slickest deals I've gotten. The only Windows laptop I would buy based on my experience would be a Thinkpad. I would have to wholeheartly disagree with the two former Thinkpad nods above. I work with an abundance of laptops from all of the various manufacturers on a daily basis. Percentage wise, I see Thinkpads most frequently. I would have to say the majority of Thinkpads are greatly under powered, lack luster, and if style and sophistication are even mildly relevant, Thinkpads are completely void of these traits. Only the absolute top of the line Thinkpads have desirable performance and features, and none of these top thinkpads out performs the best laptops from the other leading manufacturers. (I'm not talking based on reviews, but from hands on real world experience.) I will admit Thinkpads seems durable, but good durability hardly seems worth the premium you would be spending. Obviously doing research is key. Just about every manufacturer puts out a shitty laptop, and you need to be sure your educated enough to skip over those models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 How is the video card in the 700m? You mentioned you can play WOW on it -how does it perform? The "integrated Intel Extreme graphics with 64 MB" doesn't exactly sound sexy. Otherwise, I like the formfactor and price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitlope Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 I picked up a Toshiba Satellite M40 YPS (I think) last spring. It has a nVidia Go! 6600 128 Mb videocard, 1 Gb of ram and a Intel Pentium M 1.86 Ghz processer. It plays Bf2 and plays WoW especially well. Make sure that whatever you get it has decent manufacture video card driver support. Your at the mercy (as I learnt whith this toshiba) of the manufacturer, you want one that periodicly updates drivers available for download. I've got some minor issues with BF2 (blocky shadows) that I know are driver related but I'm stuck using the ones that came with the laptop because Toshiba hasn't made anymore available. I tried using modded drivers and even though I got them installed because this is widescreen and BF2 doesn't support widescreen these modded drivers wouldn't work. Just do your research and pick something with a good video card and make sure they have good driver support. Stay away from integrated graphics if you want to do any half serious gaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Zot Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 My wife runs her business off of her laptop and generally uses the shit out of it all the time (no gaming though.) We've had Dells, Compaqs, and an IBM Thinkpad. The thinkpad blows all the others away hands down. It's never had a single problem, ever. It's not a looker; just a thin blue/black box with a screen and keyboard. But it performs like a workhorse and never glitches or complains. There are also a lot of safety features that really work on the thinkpad that others don't have, it nice (but not absolutely neccessary.) There is a reason the thinkpad go for more money. You get what you pay for and they are the best IMO. Like robot said though, I don't know how good the new non-IBM units are though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starhawk Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 Why a 700m and not, say, an Inspiron 6000? Convenient smaller size only? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbert Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 I just bought my wife a Inspiron 6000 this weekend. Right combination of power/size/cost for her - she's replacing her desktop but doesn't need a killer games machine, which is the main bottleneck in power/size/cost for laptops as far as I can tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitlope Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 I don't know if it was here or at HTF but I remember reading a couple months ago about someone's dell laptop having some serious heat issues and it was a common problem too - it affected many owners of the particular model. Can't remember what it is though.... ahhh here it is http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=248005 Dell Inspiron 1150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan FB Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 Why a 700m and not, say, an Inspiron 6000? Convenient smaller size only?I had a larger 14.1" Sony that died (which Sony wanted $800 to fix) before I got the 700m. I decided I wanted something a little bit smaller with a little more battery life. I tried out some 10" laptops, but they were just too small, and 12" or so seemed to be about the sweet spot for me. After comparing technical specs and prices I checked out the 700m they had at the Dell kiosk in the mall to make sure it felt right. With the double-capacity battery the running time is amazing. Really though, laptop size and other such things are highly personal preferences. I'm also a complete stickler for the way the keyboard is laid out and there were some choices I barely even gave a second look because of key placement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelley Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 If you are looking for a gaming laptop without breaking the bank, look towards the Dell Inspiron 9x00 line. I have the 9300 and its fantastic for gaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenMonkey Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 I was seriously considering a deal on a Dell 9300 for quite some time. One of my coworkers has one that was fully decked out. It's got a ginourmous screen and is very hefty. Best bang/buck IMO you can get - especially with the Nvidia 6800-to-go in it For a while you could get one decked out for like $900 but the deals aren't what they used to be - nowadays it'll run about $1100 or so on a good deal. That said, I ended up with one of the black friday laptops from Walmart for $378. After a couple of cheapass deals on RAM, bumping it to 1GB, I got a great laptop that can play games - sorta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony G Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 The thinkpad blows all the others away hands down I second that. If I was in the martket for a laptop, that's what I would get. We have one in the lab that I brought to a conference and I thought it was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 The 9300 would be ideal if only wasn't as large as my tower PC. Dell doesn't seem to offer decent video card options in any of their sub-17" laptops. The Intel chipset (with shared RAM) appears to be the only option in all of their 12" to 15" systems. At least that's all I can find. Edit: I missed the 6000 series. They have better video options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy Bling Bling Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 If you're looking for a high end desktop replacement, the Sagers are pretty good. I've had mine for a year and it has absolutely no issues. The prices are pretty good although you might be able to beat them with a good Dell coupon deal. However, you do get a lot more configuration options with the Sager and it won't look silly like the Dell XPS does. If you're considering spending $2K+ for a laptop that will offer desktoplike performance, definately price a Sager out on a site like Discountlaptops.com and see how it compares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James T Posted January 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 I forgot that there's a Dell kiosk at my mall. I went to Best Buy today to browse around. I'm probably going to order one, instead of buying a store bought, since I want to customize it a bit. The Discountlaptops is a nice site to browse through, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy Bling Bling Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 I can definately recommend them. When I was pricing laptops last year, their prices were the cheapest, or only slightly above their cheapest competitor. You can also get a 2.5% cash discount. It was easy to get through to a person when calling, and their salespeople were friendly and helpful. The price on my config dropped $100 a couple days after I ordered and they mailed me a check for the difference without me even having to request it. I'm definately anal when I buy stuff, spending inordinate amounts of time looking for the absolute lowest price from a seller I'm at least somewhat comfortable with. This tends towards borderline obsessive-compulsive, and the amount of time I waste doing this is probably worth more than the marginal savings in cost. However, discountlaptops really won me over. For my next purchase, I'm just going to go there, config what I want, and buy it without a second thought. I generally complain about everything, but their service is really beyond reproach. http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1867.html http://www.resellerratings.com/seller3507.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derrik Draven Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 I bought a Sager 9880 through http://www.discountlaptops.com and haven't had a single regret except maybe that I should've went with a Pentium M instead of the full blown Pentium IV. It has the Nvidia 6800 Ultra in it and, it kicks ass at just about everything I throw at it. Even the resource hog F.E.A.R. runs well on my lappy with damn near everything turned on, at moderately high rezz. I also second the opinion on the "glare" type screens: they're gorgeous. Mine has the glare type with 1680 x 1250 resolution and, I wouldn't trade it for one of the dull looking non glare screens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbert Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 Edit: I missed the 6000 series. They have better video options. Yeah, the ATI Radeon Mobilities they feature aren't brilliant, but they're better than the basic on-board chipsets. It'll run Rolllercoaster Tycoon 3 & Solitaire which is all that really matters for this laptop... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 Yeah, the ATI Radeon Mobilities they feature aren't brilliant, but they're better than the basic on-board chipsets. It'll run Rolllercoaster Tycoon 3 & Solitaire which is all that really matters for this laptop... Good to know...but then if JTello is able to run WOW on the m700 (which has the Intel GPU) one would think one of the two ATI upgrades would perform better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbert Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 Ah, I didn't remember/know that's what the m700 had. I looked at that one online a few times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenMonkey Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 FYI The x300 chip in the Dells comes in a couple different flavors. Get the 128MB version - it is an independent video card and is way better than the 64MB version: the 64MB uses shared system memory IIRC. Intel integrated graphics suck in comparison. Hell, the shared memory Radeon Xpress 200M in my black friday laptop runs circles around Intel ExtremeSuck Graphics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTello Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 How is the video card in the 700m? You mentioned you can play WOW on it -how does it perform? The "integrated Intel Extreme graphics with 64 MB" doesn't exactly sound sexy. Otherwise, I like the formfactor and price. In James description of what he was looking for in a laptop, the last thing he said was " very little games." I would say the 700m would pass that requirment with no probelm. I never intended to play games on the laptop, as I'd forgone PC gaming for the consoles lately. Well, a friend talked up Wow, and I had to play. The old desktop I built years back had a processor heat issue that would kick the processor speed back to some safe mode level, thus Wow wouldn't run on it. So I gave it a whirl on the Laptop and I'm amazed how well it run and how good it looks. I did have a slow down issue in the Auction House area, but once I threw in a new 1GB memory stick that issue disappeared. Hence my earlier suggestion not to skimp on Laptop memory. I play wow right on the laptop when I'm out on the road, though when I'm home I plug in my 19" CRT. I'm happy to sa that the 700m is able to blaze through Wow impressively, and it looks great. Considering gaming was low games were on James requirements, he'd be happy with this computer. But definately try to get your hands on many different laptops as you possibly can, as everyone's taste and experiences vary greatly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James T Posted January 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 hmm...I took the Dell test to see which laptop I'm suited for and the 700m popped up as an option. Pretty good analaysis JTello. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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