Looking at new notebooks

[SunDancer]

I will be getting a new notebook/laptop later this summer as my birthday present from my family, and will prolly chip in some money myself. I do not want an Apple system with MAC system. I know I can receive a 10% discount on Dell systems through my mom and her place of employement at the school district.

Any suggestions on what to look for? I am not familar will the specs of notebooks as I am will desktop systems.

I would love to get a notebook capable of playing the soccer franchise, FM 2005, but I got a feeling the specs to do that would be pretty expensive.

Any suggestions or advice?

[SunDancer]

Wanted to bump this, maybe I can get some feedback.

[lighthousekeeper]

I think this might be the best notebook for you.

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

I think this might be the best notebook for you.

WTF?

[jeff061]

hxxp://www.p-p-p-powerbook.com/ ???

In any case, I liked a lot of the Toshiba's I've gotten(the 15" versions, not a widescreen fan), IBM's are nice also. Dell's are plain and simply, but they are decent.

What price range are you looking at?

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by jeff061

hxxp://www.p-p-p-powerbook.com/ ???

In any case, I liked a lot of the Toshiba's I've gotten(the 15" versions, not a widescreen fan), IBM's are nice also. Dell's are plain and simply, but they are decent.

What price range are you looking at?

I asked because I am going to a laptop later this summer, and I will take it with me to college, and besides using it for the Internet, Word Processing, and I want to get FM 2005. It's the only game I would play, and would only thing I would have installed on my system. I'm just trying to figure out the specs of powering all the leagues in Spain, England, Scotland, Italy, Germany, France, Netherlands-all leagues I consider "premier" leagues with top clubs). Pretty much besides that game, the internet, and word processing, its all I would want it for.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

I think this might be the best notebook for you.

I was going to suggest a Trapper Keeper, or something from mead, but I think you win...

[finkenst]

Originally Posted by SunDancer

I asked because I am going to a laptop later this summer, and I will take it with me to college, and besides using it for the Internet, Word Processing, and I want to get FM 2005. It's the only game I would play, and would only thing I would have installed on my system. I'm just trying to figure out the specs of powering all the leagues in Spain, England, Scotland, Italy, Germany, France, Netherlands-all leagues I consider "premier" leagues with top clubs). Pretty much besides that game, the internet, and word processing, its all I would want it for.

Wait...

you're going to go to college and play FM2005? These are mutually exclusive events.

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by finkenst

Wait...

you're going to go to college and play FM2005? These are mutually exclusive events.

Haha....I only got one more year left more. I may have to take two more courses for a third semester to meet my graduation requirements, but I am not too worried about.

[PilotMan]

I am laptop shopping as well. My price range has gone from 2k down to the 1k range. I travel quite a bit so portability was an issue. I have been looking at new Dell Inspiron 600m's on ebay that come with a 3 or 4 yr warranty and are in the $1050-1150 range. This seems to be my best bet, as they are low voltage and have at least 60gig's with 512 mem. The warranty is a fairly big deal, since I don't want the thing quitting after a year and be out all the money. Anyone esle who has found a good deal with some of these specs feel free to let me know. Thanks.

I guess the main thing is what price range do you think that you will be in?

[cartman]

I've been happy with my Toshiba Tablet PC that I got back in November. It's small, lightweight, pretty powerful, and it has a high "cool factor". The Microsoft One Note app has made me forget about ever carrying a seperate notepad for meetings ever again.

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I am laptop shopping as well. My price range has gone from 2k down to the 1k range. I travel quite a bit so portability was an issue. I have been looking at new Dell Inspiron 600m's on ebay that come with a 3 or 4 yr warranty and are in the $1050-1150 range. This seems to be my best bet, as they are low voltage and have at least 60gig's with 512 mem. The warranty is a fairly big deal, since I don't want the thing quitting after a year and be out all the money. Anyone esle who has found a good deal with some of these specs feel free to let me know. Thanks.

I guess the main thing is what price range do you think that you will be in?

I'm not sure really...I prolly could go up to $2k if I put some money towards it, but I trying to figure out specifications that I would like, then look from their. I'm prolly look to get something decent and something that be solid for a few years, so I dont have to replace it.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SunDancer

I'm not sure really...I prolly could go up to $2k if I put some money towards it, but I trying to figure out specifications that I would like, then look from their. I'm prolly look to get something decent and something that be solid for a few years, so I dont have to replace it.

I recommend getting a Pentium 4 with at least 512 MB, particularly for FM.

[PilotMan]

If I had the money in my budget I would go with a Sager. The computers meet the specs that I like, and the systems seem to be put together very well.


http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.html

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I recommend getting a Pentium 4 with at least 512 MB, particularly for FM.

Thanks. Any suggestion on te GHz or the Hard drive? I look at the pc specs for the game, but it doesn't do much when looking at the tops.

[Eaglesfan27]

Well if you want good speed, I'd go for at least 2.2 Gigahertz. As far as the hard drive, 40 GB should be fine since you aren't planning on putting many games on it.

[SunDancer]

dola...

I will prolly go with Dell. I like the customization, realiablity, and they are pretty good deals. My mom I think gets like a 10% discount as well through her employer.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm really happy with my Inspiron 8500. They might have a better line now, but you can get a good computer there that will run FM quite well for under 2,000 dollars.

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Well if you want good speed, I'd go for at least 2.2 Gigahertz. As far as the hard drive, 40 GB should be fine since you aren't planning on putting many games on it.

Thanks. I will check it out. I don't download or upload any music or anything. Outside of FM, it will be just my digital camera program, and the other purposes, which are already on it.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by SunDancer

Thanks. Any suggestion on te GHz or the Hard drive? I look at the pc specs for the game, but it doesn't do much when looking at the tops.

If you are going for a big desktop replacement, I would look at something in the 2.5-3.0+ range for ghz. Pick the biggest HD that you can get, but if you have to choose between 60GB at 7200rpm or 80 at 5400rpm, go with the faster HD. It will be worth it.

Try and get a good video card that will take some of the stress off the proccessor and the memory. For memory you want at least 512, more of course, if you can afford it.

Personally, I like the newer displays, like the SXGA. They seem to be worth the money, since you are staring at it the whole time. And will be nice for watching movies.

This is based on some of the research that I have done. Hope is helps. If you want something a little lighter with more battery life, look for a centrino type. They are 1.5-2.0 ghz, but that is comparable to the p4 2.2-2.7, again from what I have read.

[SunDancer]

Going off of EF's suggestions along with the others here, I put together a Dell laptop:

Inspiron 8600

From $2,259
Now from
$1,807

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 755(2GHz/400MHz FSB) 15.4 WXGA
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
3Yr Ltd Warr,At-Home Service,and Tech Support plus Nights and Weekends
512MB DDR SDRAM 2 DIMMs(From 256MB 1 DIMM)
128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY® RADEON™ 9600 PROTURBO
8X Max DVD ROM
60GB Hard Drive
72 WHr Primary Battery
Floppy Drive for Modular Bay
Dell Media Experience
Paint Shop™ Pro® Studio trial, Photo Album™ Starter Edition
AC adapter - 65w, 19.5v
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Microsoft Office Basic - Includes Outlook, Word, Excel,
Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software

How does this sound?

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by SunDancer

Going off of EF's suggestions along with the others here, I put together a Dell laptop:

Inspiron 8600

From $2,259
Now from
$1,807

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 755(2GHz/400MHz FSB) 15.4 WXGA
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
3Yr Ltd Warr,At-Home Service,and Tech Support plus Nights and Weekends
512MB DDR SDRAM 2 DIMMs(From 256MB 1 DIMM)
128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY® RADEON™ 9600 PROTURBO
8X Max DVD ROM
60GB Hard Drive
72 WHr Primary Battery
Floppy Drive for Modular Bay
Dell Media Experience
Paint Shop™ Pro® Studio trial, Photo Album™ Starter Edition
AC adapter - 65w, 19.5v
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Microsoft Office Basic - Includes Outlook, Word, Excel,
Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software

How does this sound?

Sounds like the computer that I want.

[SunDancer]

Thanks, hopefully EagleFan can chime in with the thoughts for FM play, or someone else can.

Now, 8X Max DVD ROM, is it differenet from the 24x DVD ROM CD Burner? I don't need a burner, so I figure the 8x would be fine.

[sabotai]

I'd up the RAM to 1 GB if you plan on playing with leagues from several nations. It all depends on how many you want to play with. Will it just be the top divisions of several nations, or do you plan on including the rest of the divisions as well?

And if you don't need a burner, don't bother. 8x DVD ROM is fine.

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by sabotai

I'd up the RAM to 1 GB if you plan on playing with leagues from several nations. It all depends on how many you want to play with. Will it just be the top divisions of several nations, or do you plan on including the rest of the divisions as well?

And if you don't need a burner, don't bother. 8x DVD ROM is fine.

I prolly play the use all leagues of England, Spain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands France and Scotland.

[sabotai]

Then you'll want more RAM. 1 GB would be best. If you don't want to go any higher pricewise, then it'd be safe to pull back on the hard drive space and processor a little bit. A 1.8GHz computer with 1 GB RAM will perform better than a 2GHz computer with 512 MB RAM.

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Then you'll want more RAM. 1 GB would be best. If you don't want to go any higher pricewise, then it'd be safe to pull back on the hard drive space and processor a little bit. A 1.8GHz computer with 1 GB RAM will perform better than a 2GHz computer with 512 MB RAM.

Thanks, I might go with Dell's XSP line, or whatever, the top line. I usually don't spend, but I want to get a good laptop that will last me a while for a few years that will be strong, so I figure I might as well invest more in that. And invest in something I actually use and am interested in. I can also Pentium 4 Processor (prolly thinking either 2Ghz or. 1.8GHZ at the min), the 1GB RAM, and the 60GB Hard drive.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'd also highly recommend the 1 GB of memory for all of the leagues you want to run.

[SunDancer]

I will look at the best option...

[SunDancer]

Inspiron XPS

From $3,115
Now from
$2,492


Pentium® 4 Processor 3.40GHz w/ HT Tech, 15.4-in WUXGA
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr Technical Support
1GB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
256MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9800 AGP 8X Graphics
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
80GB Hard Drive
96 WHr 12-cell Primary Battery with Subwoofer
Modular 3.5 Floppy Disk Drive
Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software
Dell Media Experience

Would love to get that.

[SunDancer]

dola...

How would those specs work for FM I posted in the previous post?

[sabotai]

The 3.4GHz w/ 1 GB RAM specs? It would work great.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SunDancer

Inspiron XPS

From $3,115
Now from
$2,492


Pentium® 4 Processor 3.40GHz w/ HT Tech, 15.4-in WUXGA
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr Technical Support
1GB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
256MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9800 AGP 8X Graphics
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
80GB Hard Drive
96 WHr 12-cell Primary Battery with Subwoofer
Modular 3.5 Floppy Disk Drive
Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software
Dell Media Experience

Would love to get that.

Wow. Sweet looking computer.

[SunDancer]

Not saying I would get it for sure. But it could be a possibilty. I just hate for the price of that computer, You have to upgrade Dell's warranty deal from 1-year, and it isn't cheap. Also, can you get a cheap case? Dell has a backpack for like $90!

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by sabotai

The 3.4GHz w/ 1 GB RAM specs? It would work great.

For all of the leagues of Italy, England, Spain, France, Germany, Scotland and the Netherlands, should work just fine then? Would it be underpowering (could I run smooth with more leagues?), and or would it be pushing it?

[sabotai]

I think that comes out at about 25 leagues. That's around what I run in my game (in my Norway LLM game) and I have specs not quite as good as those. So I'd say it wouldn't be underpowering, but you could probably run the game comfortably (Maybe add a couple more). Also depends on how large of a database you would be running with the game (I use normal I think). .

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by sabotai

I think that comes out at about 25 leagues. That's around what I run in my game (in my Norway LLM game) and I have specs not quite as good as those. So I'd say it wouldn't be underpowering, but you could probably run the game comfortably (Maybe add a couple more). Also depends on how large of a database you would be running with the game (I use normal I think). .

Sounds good. I may play a career in a lower league in country like Ireland or something, but I choose the countries of Scotland, France, Germany, England, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain is they are prolly the big-level countries with the premier clubs. Not sure if any other country in Europe boosts that.

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by SunDancer

Inspiron XPS

From $3,115
Now from
$2,492


Pentium® 4 Processor 3.40GHz w/ HT Tech, 15.4-in WUXGA
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr Technical Support
1GB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
256MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9800 AGP 8X Graphics
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
80GB Hard Drive
96 WHr 12-cell Primary Battery with Subwoofer
Modular 3.5 Floppy Disk Drive
Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software
Dell Media Experience

Would love to get that.

Looks like a very good possibility of getting it.

[MikeVick7]

Originally Posted by sabotai

The 3.4GHz w/ 1 GB RAM specs? It would work great.

I just got a new desktop last week with those exact specs and I'm running 22 total leagues from 6 or 7 different countries and I'm having no problems running FM. Works like a charm.

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by MikeVick7

I just got a new desktop last week with those exact specs and I'm running 22 total leagues from 6 or 7 different countries and I'm having no problems running FM. Works like a charm.

Sweet...How many could you run possibly? How many countries are in Europe (play in the Champions League, UEFA Cup, ect..Euro Tourney and the WC Qualifying)

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by MikeVick7

I just got a new desktop last week with those exact specs and I'm running 22 total leagues from 6 or 7 different countries and I'm having no problems running FM. Works like a charm.

Just curious, how many countries are in Europe in the game (By Europe, I mean teams that play in the UEFA tourneys and Europe's nation tournaments (Euro and the WC Qualifiers, ect).?

[SunDancer]

How good is Alienware?

I can get a similar system at around the same price.

Is it worth it to go from a 1GB DDR PC-2700 at 333MHz - 1x1024 SO-DIMM, for $327 more for 2GB DDR PC-3200 at 400MHz - 2x1024 SO-DIMMs?

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by SunDancer

Inspiron XPS

From $3,115
Now from
$2,492


Pentium® 4 Processor 3.40GHz w/ HT Tech, 15.4-in WUXGA
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr Technical Support
1GB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz
256MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9800 AGP 8X Graphics
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
80GB Hard Drive
96 WHr 12-cell Primary Battery with Subwoofer
Modular 3.5 Floppy Disk Drive
Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software
Dell Media Experience

Would love to get that.

Alienware's similar system

2-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
Area-51m 5500 Case with 15.4" WideSXGA+ 1680x1050 LCD Display
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor w/ HT Technology 3.4GHz 800MHz FSB w/ 512KB Cache
SiS648FX + SiS963L AGP8X Chipset
1GB DDR PC-2700 at 333MHz - 1x1024 SO-DIMM
Area-51m 5500 NVIDIA GeForce™ FX Go5700 Module with 128MB DDR or Area-51m 5500 ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9700 Module with 128MB DDR
Sound-Blaster Pro Compatible 3D Audio
80GB 5400 RPM ATA100
24x10x24 CD-RW / 8X DVD Combo w/Software
USB Floppy Drive
Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet NIC
56K Modem with V.92 Technology

$2,404.00

[SunDancer]

Wanted to bump this, hear some responses.