Buying a laptop

[Racer]

I am looking to buy a new laptop. I am wondering if I should take advantage of the current deal being offered by Dell or if Dell is likely to offer a better dell later this summer. I want to buy a computer capable of playing newer games, but I don't want to spend more then $1,000 on a labtop and anti-virus protection combined. I don't download music so I probably don't need an enormous hard drive.

Right now this is the computer I am looking at:

Dell Inspiron 600m Compact Design

-Pentium® M Processor 725(1.60 GHz/400MHz FSB) 14.1-in XGA w/64MB Video
-Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
-512MB DDR SDRAM 2 Dimms
-60GB Hard Drive
-24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
-6-Cell Lithium Ion Battery (53Whr)
-Corel WordPerfect word processor only
-No Anti-Virus Subsciption (I could buy 15 months of Norton through Dell for $79, but I think I can buy Norton's anti-virus program with a 12 months on Norton's website for $50.)
-Free Shipping and handling
-Corel WordPerfect word processor only

This would cost me $857 not including Norton Anti-Virus protection. I am a college student, so I will need a decent word processor. Will Corel WordPerfect get the job done, or will I need to buy Microsoft Word seperately?

Are these specs good? Is there anything I should upgrade? Should I go cheaper anywhere (for example, getting a 32 MB Video instead of 64 MB Video)?

[RPI-Fan]

WordPerfect is tough sometimes for college, if nothing else because it doesn't convert to and/or from MS Word very well.

[NoMyths]

Didn't realize you were a scientist. Why is your lab open-air?

[Airhog]

Word is the better program.

[JimboJ]

Originally Posted by NoMyths

Didn't realize you were a scientist. Why is your lab open-air?

Personally, I prefer my labs topless.

[CraigSca]

While Googling, I found another student in a similar situation. Souinds like an untapped market if you ask me.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/nyc/5261432.html

[Draft Dodger]

yeah, you'll probably want to go with Office instead - as a student you should be able to get a nice deal on it.
I personally am not a big antivirus guy, but I hate to see you pay $50 for Norton when you can get Grisoft's AVG for free (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1). It's a good program, and is worth checking out before you plunk down money for Norton or McAfee.

my only other thing is memory - you're probably going to want to update it down the road, but since both slots are filled with a 256 it'll be less cost effective to do that than if you started off with one 512 chip.

[Racer]

Went to bed shortly after posting this, so I didn't realize until now that I mispelled laptop not once, but twice.

[Celeval]

Every few weeks, Dell will run a $750 off any laptop (or most laptops) of $1500 or more - I'm not sure what this configuration prices out to be, but you may want to watch for that. Typically is announced late the night before, starts at 9am EST and will close by about 9:45 or 10:00. If you're willing to check daily and move quickly when it's on, that may be a better deal. My wife got her new 700m through that, and paid about $850 for it, with a similar configuration but better processor, upgraded battery, and I /think/ the DVD burner upgrade plus two years of Dell Service (was required at the time).

Watch hxxp://www.gotapex.com/ or hxxp://www.slickdeals.net/ for when they show up.

[Racer]

I haven't bought a laptop yet and was interested to know about how other brands such at Gateway, Toshiba, and specifically HP Invest compare to Dell.

One particular configuration I'm interested in at HP Invest is a zv6000 series PC.


Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2AMD
Athlon(TM) 64 3200+ (2.0GHz/512KB L2 Cache)
128MB ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/Hypermemory(TM)
512MB DDR SDRAM (2x256MB) (Could buy 1X512 for $25 more)
60 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
Integrated 56K Modem + 10/100 Ethernet LAN
8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
No Extended Service Plan.

for $799.00

Also, for $25 more, I could buy 60 GB 5400 RPM instead of 4200 RPM. Would that be worth it?

I should say that besides writing papers, I plan to use my laptop mostly for games such as OOTP6 and FOF2004 and I possibly might buy a game such as Halo or Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.

I already read the thread for the computer processors on the differences betweeen Athlon and Pentium Processors. For what I am planning on doing, would it be better to buy a Pentium or Athlon? Thanks.

[Logan]

Missed this thread before, but just wanted to mention that I picked up the Dell 600m last week, and I received it yesterday. Haven't had an opportunity to mess around with it too much, but so far I'm very happy. The screen is awesome.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Racer

I haven't bought a laptop yet and was interested to know about how other brands such at Gateway, Toshiba, and specifically HP Invest compare to Dell.

I've started watching this show on CNBC called Mad Money. It's a stock investment show hosted by Jim Creamer. He's also talking about "Best of Breed" for stocks. I'd say that philosphy pretty much applies to everything. I'd say you should stick with getting a Dell.

Also, for $25 more, I could buy 60 GB 5400 RPM instead of 4200 RPM. Would that be worth it?

First off, as far as the processors go, it doesn't matter if you get Athlon or Pentium.

Secondly, if you will be playing games on this laptop, then yes, upgrade to the 5400 RPM hard drive. That's pretty important for playing games (more than most people realize).

I want to buy a computer capable of playing newer games"

Define "newer". Are we talking games release 2-3 years ago, or are we talking games released this year?

[Racer]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Define "newer". Are we talking games release 2-3 years ago, or are we talking games released this year?

I want a laptop that will simulate games on FOF2004 and OOTP6 quickly. I want it to also be able to handle games like Sim City 4 and Rise of Nations.

I am also interested in purchasing Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic and Halo for it since I don't have an X-Box. However, if having a laptop that can play games like this raises the price of the laptop significantly, then I would rather save the money since I already own a PS2 and Gamecube.

[Racer]

When I say significantly I mean I don't want to spend more then an additional $50 so that it can play games like Halo.

[Philliesfan980]

My recommendation is to wait a little longer and save up about another $400. Get $1400 together and get a Sager laptop - http://www.pctorque.com - everything I've read about them have been fantastic (they are esentially desktop replacements - plenty of horsepower). Now that they are using the Pentium M series, you can certainly get 4-5 hours of gaming out of a laptop, with plenty of kick. My next laptop will be one.

Right now I own a HP. To be honest, they take short cuts and don't always use the best components (ram,hdd,etc). You normally get what you pay for, and a sub $1,000 laptop might not be a great idea.

[MizzouRah]

I'm not sure about the rest of the recent Dell laptops, but personally, I would go with an IBM thinkpad or an HP. Compaq's not far behind either.

I know laptops break, but I can't count on my hands and feet how many times I've replaced a Dell D600 system board or crashed HD. Dell just seems like they've went the way of cheap when it comes to their components.

Word is probably the most widely used word processing program worldwide, especially in schools.

[dawgfan]

I've had my Dell laptop for about a month now - so far, no complaints. I got a refurbished Inspiron 9300 from the Outlet part of the site. This makes the 3rd personal computer I've bought from Dell from the Outlet, and I haven't had any complaints (I had a hard drive go tits-up on my last desktop, but that was after 2+ years so I figure it wasn't too out of the ordinary).

I would suggest going with an M processor - it's designed for laptops, i.e. doesn't run as hot and doesn't suck up as much power.

And if you can spring for it, get the top of the line screen, the UXGA I believe they're calling it - fantastic brightness and the angles at which you get a good view of the screen are tremendous.

I would also say good things about Toshibas - they're supposed to be quite good and my dad and brother both have recent models that they're very happy with.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

I've had my Dell laptop for about a month now - so far, no complaints. I got a refurbished Inspiron 9300 from the Outlet part of the site. This makes the 3rd personal computer I've bought from Dell from the Outlet, and I haven't had any complaints (I had a hard drive go tits-up on my last desktop, but that was after 2+ years so I figure it wasn't too out of the ordinary).

I would suggest going with an M processor - it's designed for laptops, i.e. doesn't run as hot and doesn't suck up as much power.

And if you can spring for it, get the top of the line screen, the UXGA I believe they're calling it - fantastic brightness and the angles at which you get a good view of the screen are tremendous.

I would also say good things about Toshibas - they're supposed to be quite good and my dad and brother both have recent models that they're very happy with.

What are the specs and how much did you pay for it? I've seen some pretty good deals on the outlet site.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I'm not sure about the rest of the recent Dell laptops, but personally, I would go with an IBM thinkpad or an HP. Compaq's not far behind either.

I know laptops break, but I can't count on my hands and feet how many times I've replaced a Dell D600 system board or crashed HD. Dell just seems like they've went the way of cheap when it comes to their components.

Word is probably the most widely used word processing program worldwide, especially in schools.

That's why you spend 3 grand and get the XPS2.

FWIW: I use it more than my desktop now. Desktop plays FM and that's about it.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by TroyF

That's why you spend 3 grand and get the XPS2.

FWIW: I use it more than my desktop now. Desktop plays FM and that's about it.

Wow, you got the XPS2? Very jealous here. What specs?

[Rich1033]

I just checked gotapex.com and this may help you out.

HOT!! DellHome - $750 off $1499+ Specially Configured Inspiron Laptops Started! (Posted by: Brian)
The coupon just started, so HURRY!! I am sure you guys have heard of these crazy $750 off coupons by now, and Dell just brought back the $750 off a $1499+ purchase (use code: TZT85TH32SMG0B) off of 6 specially configured Inspiron laptops, and we have the information early. This coupon expires 7/18/05 5:59am CDT or after 10000 uses, which should go fast, but with the limited configurations, may last a little longer. DELL $750 OFF INSPIRON LAPTOP CONFIGURATIONS

• Inspiron 700M for $1501 - $750 coupon = $751 shipped! You get a 1.6Ghz Pentium M 725 processor, 512MB DDR2 SDRAM ($75 upgrade), 60GB HD ($49 upgrade), 8x DVD+/-RW with dual layer write capabilities($99 upgrade), Dell Media Experience with Remote Control ($10 upgrade under Dell Media Experience on page 2), Intel 2200 802.11b/g wireless, and 1 year warranty included! INSPIRON 700M DEAL
• Inspiron 6000 for $1555 - $750 coupon = $806 shipped! You get a 1.6Ghz Pentium M 730 processor (with 2MB Cache and 533mhz FSB), 512MB DDR2 SDRAM ($75 upgrade), 60GB HD ($49 upgrade), 8x DVD+/-RW with dual layer write capabilities($99 upgrade), 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X300 PCIe x16 graphics ($69 upgrade), Intel 2200 802.11b/g wireless, and 1 year warranty included! INSPIRON 6000 PENTIUM M DEDICATED GRAPHICS DEAL
• Inspiron 9300 for $1528 - $750 coupon = $778 shipped! You get a 1.6Ghz Pentium M 730 processor (with 2MB Cache and 533mhz FSB), 17" UltraSharp Wide Screen XGA+, 256MB DDR2 SDRAM, 40GB HD, 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive, Intel 2200 802.11b/g wireless, and 2 year warranty included! INSPIRON 9300 DEAL
• Update: Dell Small Business has an extra $100 (total up to $360 instant savings) off Selected Latitude Notebooks for TODAY ONLY! DELL SMALL BUSINESS LATITUDE NOTEBOOKS DEAL

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Philliesfan980

Wow, you got the XPS2? Very jealous here. What specs?

2.13 M processor, 100GB Hard drive, 1 GB memory, Internal wireless and bluetooth, DVD burner.

I got a nice raise from work and had always wanted a high powered laptop. Got my wish and it's everything I've ever dreamed of. Battery life sucks, but I'm rarely away from power for long anyway.

Like I said, the sucker hums. Plays Half Life 2 at the highest video setting without flicker or slowdown. Also does a great job for my work related things (like having 8-10 spreadsheets and 5 word documents open at once with Outlook and other misc. apps in the background)

[Easy Mac]

I think the question we would all like answered is... how does pron look on it?

[Racer]

Thanks to Rich1033 on telling me about the deal.

I took advantage of the $750 off any laptops over $1500.

Here are the configurations:

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 (1.86 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
Display 15.4 inch WXGA LCD Panel
Memory 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 2 Dimms
Video Card 64MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON X300 PCI Express x16 Graphics
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Combo/DVD+RW Drives 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Wireless Networking Card Intel® PRO 2200 and Dell 350 Bluetooth Internal Wireless Card
Security Software No Security Subscription ($79 for Norton Anti-Virus seemed steep to me, I will buy this seperately)
6-cell Lithium Ion Battery (53 WHr)
1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr At-Home Service, and 1Yr Technical Support


After Shipping and handling, the computer cost me $791.42. I would have liked to bought 1 GB of Memory, but that would have cost be an additional $375 which would have put the system well out of range of what I wanted to spend.

My family already has Microsoft Office that I can put on my computer so that's why I didn't buy Microsoft Word.

[finkenst]

Originally Posted by Racer

My family already has Microsoft Office that I can put on my computer so that's why I didn't buy Microsoft Word.

Licensing... You might not be able to use it legally.

As a student, you should be able to get a fairly deep discount on MS Office, anyway.

[Cringer]

Stay away from HP is my advice.