laptop advice...

I ordered a lenovo t61 about a month ago and the ship date keeps on being pushed back (ordered july 7th estimated ship date september 26th). I'm rather fed up with them and I can't wait that long for a laptop. I've decided to cancel that order and pick up something different. I've narrowed down my choices to a dell xps m1330 and killernotebooks wakizachi sr. I'm not a large fan of dell but I can pickup the notebook at a discounted price through my university. I don't know that much about the wakizachi so I'm looking for opinions on it. The system configuration is basically everything I'm looking for (I'd want 2gb of ram instead of 1gb though). The battery life is good enough and so is the weight. What is killernotebooks' customer service like? Are they reliable laptops? And most importantly is it worth the extra $500 (this laptop NEEDS to last 3-4 years or more so I don't want to skimp on parts).

XPS Stats:
13.3" XPS M1330 (Vista Ultimate) + 3-year warranty

2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7300
13.3" widescreen WXGA display (LCD)
120GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm)
2GB 667MHz DDR2 on 2 Dimms
8x DVD-+/- RW slot loading drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g
integrated 10/100 Ethernet & modem
NVIDIA GeForce 8400M 128MB dedicated graphic
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate (32 bit)
6-cell lithium-ion battery (56 WHr)
3-year CompleteCare on-site accidental damage warranty

Price $1500+tax


Killernotebooks stats
http://killernotebooks.com/wakizachi_sr/wakizachi_sr_order_page.html

I will use their configuration but I'll have the 1gb or ram upgraded to 2gb

price $2099+tax (maybe +85 if I opt for the 9cell battery)


The laptop will be used at college this coming fall. I plan on carrying it around with me all day (about 8am to 12 noon). I'm used to carrying a heavy bag so the couple extra pounds doesn't really worry me much. The computer will be used primarly for typing reports/papers/laps, programming, and lmoderate/heavy gaming. Also, this laptop will need to last me 3-4 years.

Thanks alot for the advice. Lenovo really let me down with their sudden delivery date change and I don't have much time to purchase a laptop so I can't consider ordering a laptop through a manufacture (killernotebooks deliever in 10days max (or so they say) so that isn't a problem with them).

not much, but it's a start: http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Killer_Notebooks

dells are backlogged just as much as the Lenevo's

yeah all because of school, luckly i can wait till oct/nov

My school's computer store is getting a shipment of the m1330's in a week or so and I have one reserved ($25 dollar deposit that I can get refunded if I choose not to follow through). I'm leaning towards the dell at the moment. The smaller size and longer battery life are important to me (15" is the very largest I will go with). I got to test out of dell earlier today and the build quality on it seemed excellent. The keyboard was responsive, the touch pad worked well, the screen was great. As much as I don't like dell, I'm having difficulty justifying the extra $600-700 for the killernotebook's laptop. What is the build quality of killernotebooks like? Are they very solid the ibm's notebooks? I need something that will survive a dorm environment as well as being hauled around to classes all day.

BenF said:

As much as I don't like dell, I'm having difficulty justifying the extra $600-700 for the killernotebook's laptop. What is the build quality of killernotebooks like? Are they very solid the ibm's notebooks? I need something that will survive a dorm environment as well as being hauled around to classes all day.

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those killernotebook notebooks seem to be made primarily with performance in mind. If you just want a durable, portable laptop to carry around and don't need the extra performance, I see no reason for you to get their wakizachi; it's definitely not cheap by any means

Comparing Dell's excellent support and reliable build quality with Killer Notebook's 6 lifetime reviews on http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Killer_Notebooks I would vote to go with Dell. I know many people on this forum have Dells and have been very happy with them, myself included. My vote would be to go with the proven option. I also don't know of any company which will give you more laptop for your money than Dell.