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  • #1

    Help Me! Laptop Edition

    I'm looking to buy a new laptop within the next 4 months or so. I'm not in need of an ultraportable, .5 oz laptop; nor am I wanting to carry the Hulk in my pack. I'm not buying it for gaming (I doubt anything more than Civ2, Rebellion and other older games would wind up on the hard drive) so I don't need a graphics powerhouse. I'd use it primarily for the Internet, college work, etc. The features I really want is to have wireless capability, with no need for protruding USB devices that can break off; I'd like to be able to just pull out my laptop, turn it on, and access the nearest wireless station(when applicable, of course). I'd also like to avoid brands with a poor track record.

    Here's what I'm looking at:

    Apple iBook G4 (12'')




    • 256MB DDR266 SDRAM (built-in)
    • 30GB Ultra ATA drive
    • Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
    • AirPort Extreme Card
    • Bluetooth Module
    • Keyboard & Mac OS X - U.S. English
    • 12-inch TFT XGA display
    • 1.2GHz PowerPC G4
    • ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 w/ 32MB DDR video memory

    (Also a plus: almost all reviews rave about the actual battery life of the iBook, which is much longer than the alleged life of other laptops. I also like the look of it, very pleasing.)

    Price: 994.00 + tax

    Dell Inspiron 8600 (15.4'')



    Intel Pentium M (1.60 GHz)
    RAM installed-- 256 MB DDR SDRAM
    40 GB IDE
    DVD-ROM
    Weight-- 6.6 lbs
    15.4 in TFT active matrix
    Max resolution-- 1280 x 800
    Video RAM installed-- 32 MB
    Video output-- AGP 4x
    Audio output-- Sound card
    Network adapter
    56 Kbps Fax / modem
    Battery installed-- 1 Lithium ion
    Mfr estimated battery life-- 4.5 hour(s)
    Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
    1 year warranty

    Price: ~ 1,450 $




    Sony VAIO B Series



    Intel Celeron M (1.3 GHz)
    256 MB DDR SDRAM
    30 GB IDE Internal
    DVD-ROM
    5.1 lbs
    14.1 in TFT active matrix
    56 Kbps Fax / modem Internal PCI
    Battery installed-- 1 Lithium ion
    5 hour(s) estimated battery life
    Microsoft Windows XP Professional

    Price: Starting at 999$

    Toshiba Satellite A65-S126


    256 MB DDR SDRAM
    60 GB IDE
    CD-RW / DVD-ROM combo
    7.7 lbs
    15 in TFT active matrix
    56 Kbps Fax / modem
    Battery installed-- 1 Lithium ion
    Microsoft Windows XP Home

    Price: ~800+



    I checked out IBM, or at least what they have that's within my price range, which was the R Series. I wasn't all that impressed.


    I've also heard bad things about HP/Compaq - should I even bother looking at them? Have you guys had any good/bad experiences with the ones I listed above, or want to point out one I didn't?
    Tags: None
  • #2
    From those Dell 8600

    + CPU
    + TFT

    Though I'm sure that with 1450 $ You will get something much much better from Acer for example...
    Que l’Univers n’est qu’un défaut dans la pureté de Non-être.

    - Paul Valery

    Comment

    • #3
      Out those three, the Dell.
      "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
      Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

      Comment

      • #4
        For example I just bought Acer Travelmate 4002WCLi for 1150 €
        It had P-M 725
        512 mb
        60GB
        DVD+-RW
        Ati Radeon 9700 64 mb
        15'4 1280*800
        Que l’Univers n’est qu’un défaut dans la pureté de Non-être.

        - Paul Valery

        Comment

        • #5
          The Dell Inspiron 700M looks like a decent buy, too. I just found it.

          Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home
          Processor Class: Pentium M
          Processor Speed: 1.8 GHz
          RAM: 512 MB
          Hard Drive Capacity: 60 GB
          Hard Drive Speed: 5400 rpm
          Graphics Memory: 64
          Primary Optical Drive: DVD+RW
          Wireless: 802.11g
          Screen Size: 12 inches
          Screen Size Type: widescreen
          System Weight: 4 lbs
          Type: Mainstream, Multimedia, Ultraportable

          PC Mag gives it 4/5 stars, with "no Bluetooth, poor battery life" being some of the cons.

          EDIT: It's going for 999 right now, but that's only after rebates. It's real price is closer to 1400, which puts it on the fringe of affordability for me.

          Comment

          • #6
            If you are thinking about a mac, I'd go for the 12 inch powerbook for the same price as the Dell.

            Compact and much more powerful than the ibook, and will retain value for when you want to sell it on.

            $1,499.00



            Estimated Ship: 1-3 business days
            Free Shipping

            Combo Drive
            12.1-inch TFT Display
            1024x768 resolution
            1.5GHz PowerPC G4
            512MB DDR333 SDRAM
            60GB Hard Drive
            NVIDIA GeForce FX
            Go5200 (64MB DDR)
            Full size keyboard
            10/100BASE-T Ethernet
            FireWire 400
            Analog audio in/out
            Mini-DVI out

            $1500 bucks and a lot sexier than the Dell.
            Only feebs vote.

            Comment

            • #7
              "Sexier"? It's far slower and has far less applications available for it with far worse battery life, with a smaller screen with a crappier resolution...
              "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
              Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

              Comment

              • #8
                A couple of my students have them. They are sweet machines.
                Attached Files
                Only feebs vote.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Originally posted by Agathon
                  If you are thinking about a mac, I'd go for the 12 inch powerbook for the same price as the Dell.

                  Compact and much more powerful than the ibook, and will retain value for when you want to sell it on.

                  $1,499.00



                  Estimated Ship: 1-3 business days
                  Free Shipping

                  Combo Drive
                  12.1-inch TFT Display
                  1024x768 resolution
                  1.5GHz PowerPC G4
                  512MB DDR333 SDRAM
                  60GB Hard Drive
                  NVIDIA GeForce FX
                  Go5200 (64MB DDR)
                  Full size keyboard
                  10/100BASE-T Ethernet
                  FireWire 400
                  Analog audio in/out
                  Mini-DVI out

                  $1500 bucks and a lot sexier than the Dell.
                  Please ignore the above....

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Verto
                    The Dell Inspiron 700M looks like a decent buy, too. I just found it.

                    Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home
                    Processor Class: Pentium M
                    Processor Speed: 1.8 GHz
                    RAM: 512 MB
                    Hard Drive Capacity: 60 GB
                    Hard Drive Speed: 5400 rpm
                    Graphics Memory: 64
                    Primary Optical Drive: DVD+RW
                    Wireless: 802.11g
                    Screen Size: 12 inches
                    Screen Size Type: widescreen
                    System Weight: 4 lbs
                    Type: Mainstream, Multimedia, Ultraportable

                    PC Mag gives it 4/5 stars, with "no Bluetooth, poor battery life" being some of the cons.

                    EDIT: It's going for 999 right now, but that's only after rebates. It's real price is closer to 1400, which puts it on the fringe of affordability for me.
                    Much better choice than any of theother three
                    "Just puttin on the foil" - Jeff Hanson

                    “In a democracy, I realize you don’t need to talk to the top leader to know how the country feels. When I go to a dictatorship, I only have to talk to one person and that’s the dictator, because he speaks for all the people.” - Jimmy Carter

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      That Inspiron 700M spanks the PowerBook in every conceivable way...
                      "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                      Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        As I've been checking out the websites for these competiting companies, the one thing I've noticed is that, of all that I visited, Apple proved superior in allowing me to easily select the computer I want, add the upgrades and see the price, while taking into account Student discounts, etc. I felt more compelled toward their computers than when I visited, say, Dell - their website just seems...cleaner, easier to see the specs and options.

                        Just a sidenote, not wanting to spark another Apple-MS war.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Except when it comes to memory....and GPU
                          Que l’Univers n’est qu’un défaut dans la pureté de Non-être.

                          - Paul Valery

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            "Sexier"? It's far slower and has far less applications available for it with far worse battery life, with a smaller screen with a crappier resolution...


                            If you say so...

                            it also has a superior operating system and comes with better multimedia software, has a higher resale value, is virus free and can run most major appllications (Office, Photoshop, etc.). But we could squabble about this all day and I can't be bothered, since it's all relative according to you anyway.

                            But if Verto is thinking about a mac, I'd suggest the Powerbook over the ibook for the reasons given above.

                            If he wants advice on a Windows laptop, I'm not going to offer any.
                            Only feebs vote.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              There is no Apple-PC war. A winner is clear for notebooks.

                              Notebook Finder.
                              "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                              Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

                              Comment

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