Laptop Shopping

[AppleIsEvil]

I will probably be purchasing a new laptop
towards the beginning of next year. I am looking
for suggestions on good companies and deals.


So far I've looked at,
*Powernotebooks Sager NP5660 ULTRA - $2519
Pentium 4 2.53B, 40gb 5400 RPM HDD, 1024mb DDR,
DVD/CDRW(16x), 15" UXGA, Radeon 9000, XP Pro, 3
year warranty.

*Alienware Area-51m - $2674
Pentium 4 2.4B, 40gb 5400 RPM HDD, 512mb DDR,
DVD/CDRW(24x), 15" UXGA, Radeon 9000, XP Pro, 2
year on-site warranty.

*Dell Inspiron 8200 - $2944
Pentium 4 2.0M, 40gb 5400 RPM HDD, 512 DDR,
DVD/CDRW(24x), 15" Ultrasharp UXGA, Radeon 9000,
XP Pro, 3 year on-site completecare.

*Toshiba Satellite 5205-S703 - $2599 @ Compusa
Pentium 4 2.0M, 60gb HDD, 512 DDR, DVD-RW, 15"
UXGA, Geforce 4 460 GO, XP Home, 1 year warranty.

*Sony Vaio GRX670 - $2499 @ Compusa
Pentium 4 2.0M, 40gb HDD, 512 DDR, DVD-RW, 16.1"
UXGA, Radeon 7500 (32mb), XP Home, 1 year
warranty.


So far the best deal seems to be the Sager and
the Satellite. The Sager has the best price but
the warranty is not on-site. The Satellite comes
with a DVD-RW in it! and the warranty could
probably be extended through the store which is
right down the road.
Any other suggestions/comments?

The computer will mostly be used for school and
gaming. Main games played will probably be Master
of Orion 3 and Starfleet Command 3. Possibly
Homeworld 2.

 

[Breadfan]

I like my Toshiba...its a Satellite 1.5ghz Celery with a 15" screen. I think the toshiba's have sweet looking screens, well, atleast the 15" mine has. Ofcourse, I can't compare to much else excpet my sisters compaq...

That Satellite does look like a nice deal. I'm just surprised by two things...DVD-RW and 60gb HDD?!?!? WOW! Thats a big hdd for a laptop!

The alienware's seem to get good reviews and is good for gaming, and people always seem to like the Dell's. The sony doesn't look bad but the 7500 isn't as powerful a graphic chip as say the Radeon9000

I'm not too familiar with PowerNotebooks though. I'd say the rest are all good choices, just decide which options you'd like more.

I need to send those specs to my friend's roommate. He's an Apple buff and was going on and on last week about how the new Apple powerbook had a DVDRW drive...now I can let him know you get twice the CPU and a DVDRW and twice the hdd for half the price! (Those powerbooks are over 3,000 bucks )

Mike

 

[kaltag]

I'd say go with the toshiba because you can get the screen protection at compusa for a pretty fair price and is a good investment $250 for 3 year screen protection or $1000 for a new screen, you decide. it's also unconditional which includes neglect. yes i work at compusa. yes i see broken screens quite often. no i don't recomend the comprehensive plan, just the screen protection. good luck whichever way you go.

 

[flyingember]

the powernotebooks use desktop processors and are not meant to be traveling systems. they get 1 hour, tops, off of battery.
they'll also run hotter because of this.
I'd avoid it if you can afford a true laptop.

look at the dell 8200. it's a popular system.

oh, and don't forget support options. 1800 number? they pay for shipping? repair at a local store an option? if you can get any of this, do so. it's worth it

 

[AppleIsEvil]

As I understood it there was no difference in heat between a Northwood and a Mobile Pentium 4. The only difference was that the Mobile scaled down to use less energy when a battery was being used. I'll have to look more into that....


Anyways, I guess the Powernotebooks system would be out due to warranty. Dell doesn't offer Completecare in my state (FL) either.
Looks like it'll be Toshiba or Alienware (especially considered Alienware just got the 3.06ghz P4 ...plus that Cameleon paint looks very nice).

 

[AppleIsEvil]

This sorta died fast....

New consideration found;

Fujistsu Celsius - $3699
1.9ghz Pentium 4-M
512mb DDR
60gb (5400rpm) HDD
Quadro4 500 Go GL (64mb)
DVD/CDRW
15" UXGA
XP Pro
3 year warranty + $200 for 3 year screen protection

So the question is, how good is the Quadro4 mobile? And is it worth the price? The computer is a bit pricey but looks really good right now.