Choosing Laptop- Assistance Appreciated.

[Lance]

Fellas, I'm about to purchase a laptop, And i'm seeking your advice before i do.

The Laptop, would just be used for School right now untill i graduate in a few months, and hopefully work after that.

so mainly Word process, A few games (by no means a gaming rig), Music downloads etc. Basically a multi-tasker.

Well the first place i checked was dell

Came up with this:

Components
SYSTEM COLOR Graphite Grey with Black Trim edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1 edit
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5800 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache) edit
LCD PANNEL Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800) edit
VIDEO CARD 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 edit
MEMORY 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 edit
HARD DRIVE Size: 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive) edit
KEYBOARD Standard Keyboard (included in the price) edit
WIRELESS NETWORKING CARD Dell 1510 Wireless-N Card edit
INTEGRATED WEBCAM Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam edit
BATTERY OPTIONS 56 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell) edit
SOUND OPTIONS Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ Advanced HD Software Edition edit
FINGER PRINT READER Integrated Finger Print Reader edit
Accessories
PRODUCTIVITY Microsoft Works edit
ANTIVIRUS & SECURITY McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 36-months edit
ADOBE SOFTWARE Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 edit
Services & Software
SUPPORT SERVICES 1 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 1 Year NBD On-Site Service edit
Also included with your system
BLUETOOTH OPTION Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0)
Extended Service INTERNATIONAL PROCESSING
Modem External 56K USB Modem


So far the listed price is $1,048.

My question, Is this a good price?

could i get something similar for a lesser price elsewhere?

What's not good in this PC, what should be changed?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Mark Divr]

What is your budget????
any particular brand in mind?

the battery could be an 8 cell
the hard drive could be a 7200rpm
finger print reader is not necessary
56k modem is not necessary(unless u still using dial up)
not necessary to buy those software from the company..since you can dload it

other than those things.. seems pretty fair!
i was shopping for 1 also last week ..and came across the hpdv7-1025nr ..i needed a 17" screen though..US$1200 @ best buy...good luck hoss!

[Lance]

Point noted on the battery as well as the hard drive.

Everything else was standard on the unit.

i particularly wanted a 15'' so it could fit in my book bag comfortably.

the budget is around where i got that quote, $1100

[Rahtid]

Point noted on the battery as well as the hard drive.

Everything else was standard on the unit.

i particularly wanted a 15'' so it could fit in my book bag comfortably.

the budget is around where i got that quote, $1100

remember shipping is a next price eh,since they use bigger boxes to pack yuh stuff

[eitech]

and anyting with vista is tata..buh yuh cud sort dat out after d fact

[Lance]

Point noted on the battery as well as the hard drive.

Everything else was standard on the unit.

i particularly wanted a 15'' so it could fit in my book bag comfortably.

the budget is around where i got that quote, $1100

remember shipping is a next price eh,since they use bigger boxes to pack yuh stuff

I have shipping covered,

Consider $1100 the price of the Laptop alone.

[Rahtid]

and anyting with vista is tata..buh yuh cud sort dat out after d fact

tru eh,,i had vista,laptop came wit it,,but i changed it

[God Bless the Black Top*]

8 cell batteries from dell DO NOT last long. I maintain a few in my office; they fail after the 1 year warranty, and need replacing. hence the reason why the 3 year warranty is necessary.

also another problem is that the 'high-end' video cards for their laptops cause overheating issues, compatibility issues etc... i had users complain about their laptops shutting down when working with AUTOCAD due to overheating, or the computer screen just turning white.

it really is a disposable computer.

good value, good service (under warranty) for max of 3 years.

if you want a good laptop, and can afford, it go Lenovo. it is a better investment.

[Rahtid]

8 cell batteries from dell DO NOT last long. I maintain a few in my office; they fail after the 1 year warranty, and need replacing. hence the reason why the 3 year warranty is necessary.

also another problem is that the 'high-end' video cards for their laptops cause overheating issues, compatibility issues etc... i had users complain about their laptops shutting down when working with AUTOCAD due to overheating, or the computer screen just turning white.

it really is a disposable computer.

good value, good service (under warranty) for max of 3 years.

if you want a good laptop, and can afford, it go Lenovo. it is a better investment.

tru dat,daz y i stopped usin autocad,lol,

MAC anybody?

i find using macs much better,NO crashing problems,NO freezing,etc.and the programs i use,need a lot of memory,etc...



lance if u cud afford it dawg,,,,buy a mac.

[xtech]

$819.00 Free Shipping to my skybox in Fl.
Dell
Inspiron 1525 colour Bunch O Surfers
Intel Core 2 Duo - 2100
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
15.4 inch LCD
320 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
4Gig DDR
DVD/RW with Bluray-ROM
Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
56k modem
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini Card

Last week i buy a brand new HP Laptop for $356 AMD chipset GeForce VGA 15.4inch I love it

I import MAC books to eh

[Rahtid]

$819.00 Free Shipping to my skybox in Fl.
Dell
Inspiron 1525 colour Bunch O Surfers
Intel Core 2 Duo - 2100
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
15.4 inch LCD
320 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
4Gig DDR
DVD/RW with Bluray-ROM
Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
56k modem
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini Card

Last week i buy a brand new HP Laptop for $356 AMD chipset GeForce VGA 15.4inch I love it

I import MAC books to eh

best buy rite thurr

[God Bless the Black Top*]

fyah fi bun MAC

[Lance]

8 cell batteries from dell DO NOT last long. I maintain a few in my office; they fail after the 1 year warranty, and need replacing. hence the reason why the 3 year warranty is necessary.

also another problem is that the 'high-end' video cards for their laptops cause overheating issues, compatibility issues etc... i had users complain about their laptops shutting down when working with AUTOCAD due to overheating, or the computer screen just turning white.

it really is a disposable computer.

good value, good service (under warranty) for max of 3 years.

if you want a good laptop, and can afford, it go Lenovo. it is a better investment.

Chances of me Running Autocad is Almost Zero. the most might be a game or two.

I'm looking into the Lenovo's as well.

Any particular ones you will recommend?

[Lance]

came up with this one

System components



Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2) 25W

Genuine Windows Vista Business

13.3" WXGA LED Backlight

NVIDIA GeForce 9300M 128MB

2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)

UltraNav without Fingerprint reader

250 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm

DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer

Integrated Bluetooth PAN

Intel WiFi Link 5100

Integrated AT&T Mobile Broadband (3G)

6 cell Li-Ion Battery ( 2.4 Ah )

Country Pack North America with Line cord & 90W AC adapter


$1,139.00

[God Bless the Black Top*]

Lance, i'm just using AUTOCAD as a reference, suppose you were playing say any new game (FIFA 2009 for example) you will get these similar issues.

Thinkpad R61i, T61 and the IdeaPad Y510 (bess imo)

[God Bless the Black Top*]

some Y510 Specs

* Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 Dual Core Mobile Processor
* 4GB PC2-5300 DDR2 Memory
* 250GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
* 8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner
* 15.4" WXGA (1280x800) Wide LCD with 1.3MP Webcam
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS Graphics with 256MB Memory
* v.92 56Kbps Modem, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g Wireless, Bluetooth 2.0
* Three USB 2.0, One FireWire, ExpressCard/54, 6-in-1 Card Reader
* 14.3" x 10.3" x 1.4" @ 6.4 lbs.
* Windows Vista Home Premium


it's well priced too over the net, take a look

[X_Factor]

wat about the Dell XPS?

my cuz recently bought one from best buys and its one sweet laptop!!
she paid 1050USD

[Lance]

i'm seeing this one

Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 - 77583FU

Description Part number Unit price* Quantity Price*
Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 - 77583FU
Edit 77583FU $1,099.00 1 $1,099.00
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5750 ( 2GHz 667MHz 2MB ) 1
Operating system: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 1
Display type: 15.4 WXGA TFT with integrated camera AntiGlare 1280x800 1
System graphics: NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GTS 256MB 1
Total memory: 4 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz 1
Hard drive: 320GB 5400 1
Optical device: DVD Recordable (Dual Layer) 24X Max 1
Bluetooth: Bluetooth Version 2.0 + EDR 1
Communication adapter: Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN 1
Pointing device: Industry Standard Touchpad 1
Weight: 6.59 lbs 1
Battery: 6 Cell Lithium-Ion 1
Warranty: One year parts and labor (system battery: one year) 1

[God Bless the Black Top*]

you can validate the warranty down here with TSL

[Raziel]

the best Laptops (I work for a company that has tens of thousands and has been through many OEMs) bar none is the Lenovo Laptops. Personally I would go with the ThinkPad models (not ideapad).

Overheating will not be an issue (that was some early laptops, not Lenovos, that had bios issues), I presently have a 256Mb card w/4 Gb Ram and I run games and Virtualization scenarios on it .. no issue. Vista will also be no issue, the driver problems were sorted out months ago, and if fact you will probably want to make sure you get 64bit Vista.

Laughing at the Mac comment ... the man said he had a budget

[God Bless the Black Top*]

i hate macs... personally... fork dem

the ideapad is just an affordable option for him, it's well priced for what you get, thinkpads are a lil bit over-mark but worth it you can afford.

[Raziel]

i hate macs... personally... fork dem

the ideapad is just an affordable option for him, it's well priced for what you get, thinkpads are a lil bit over-mark but worth it you can afford.

ThinkPads actually start at under $500, T Series at around $900, and Lenovo usually has 15-25% sales quite regularly.

[God Bless the Black Top*]

well that's even better, so it should reach his budget on his specs?

[Raziel]

well that's even better, so it should reach his budget on his specs?

Depends on the sales, if I was buying something now, I'd wait for the friday after Thanksgiving, it's usually referred to as BlackFriday, you get the best sales (even online). If the T Series isn't cheap enough then, he can go with the IdeaPad.

[1NZ-FE Powered]

I just got a new Macbook two weeks ago and after three weeks of using the Mac, I don't think that I want to go back to a Windows machine again. The good thing is if there is a particular app that I need to use in a windows environment, i i can simply use Parallels Desktop and run that app on a virtual machine.

The Mac ROCKS!!!

[Lance]

Thanks for the advice God Bless the Black Top* and others, i will be guided accordingly.

[skylinechild]

why buy a dell......dell has no contract agreements with any company in trinidad and tobago.....if u look up on their website and click on find a retailer for your country, they say there's none in trinidad..!!

also yes batteries do give out after ONE year, they tend to over heat and stuff....

i would recommend an HP instead....i recommend buying one with a FAST DUAL CORE PROCESSOR and TOP VIDEO CARD......other things like RAM and Hard drive can be easily changed locally by yourself for more larger sizes when the need arises...

also anything with vista is crap...so, if u going with HP they wont give u xp pro but a choce between vista home 32bit and 64bit...i recommend 64bit.....it's better than vista 32 bit plus it can adress more ram than the 32 bit counterpart.....

you can elect to have 32bit..doesnt really matter, but if you decide to get one and u wanna downgrade to xp......let me know...

[xtech]

buh nuttin not wrong with vista.
Only time i does remove it is if d system came with it but really not capable to run it an can only do basic mode slowly.
Once d system is a fast dualcore with plenty ram an you got a legal copy of Vista instal all d updates to get out d bugs, remove all d bloatware that comes installed with HP,DELL,Toshiba and others remove norton trials an instal a lighter antivirus program.

U wont miss XP

[Raziel]

buh nuttin not wrong with vista.
Only time i does remove it is if d system came with it but really not capable to run it an can only do basic mode slowly.
Once d system is a fast dualcore with plenty ram an you got a legal copy of Vista instal all d updates to get out d bugs, remove all d bloatware that comes installed with HP,DELL,Toshiba and others remove norton trials an instal a lighter antivirus program.

U wont miss XP

Actually interesting that Sony has an option that's called "fresh start" that actually does that, ships you the laptop without the extra sheit that bogs it down, wish all the others would follow suit.

I always scrub OEM builds anyway, so it never affects me.

[SR]

you can get a dell shipped to your door for less than 1k us with everything u need for school