I need recommendations for two different laptops

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Samjham

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Feb 8, 2002
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Laptop #1:

This laptop will be used for travel a lot, so relatively small size and lightweight is important. Not too small though because the user has big hands and can't use a tiny keyboard. It will not be used for games at all, just basic business and Internet/email. The user is not that computer literate, so a laptop that is reliable and has good customer support/tech support services would be nice.

So far I'm looking at the Dell Inspiron 700m for this machine.

Laptop #2:

Size and weight isn't quite as important. This laptop will be used for CAD (Solidworks) mainly, and also business applications and Internet. Maybe some light gaming, but that is not it's main purpose. The most important thing is that it can handle CAD.

I really don't know what laptop to get, but I'm guessing that it would be good to get one with FireGL card in it.

I've heard that Sager makes good notebooks, but I really don't know much about them. What would you recommend? Thanks!
 
no 700m for 1st one, keyboard is tiny...perhaps like a T42/43 for that from IBM? very light weight, and good size

for the second, perhaps dell M70 with nvidia quadro...I hear good things about it...otherwise a T42 with the FireGL would work nice
 
I agree with the sentiments about the M70, but csan also say that I love my Sager. I have an M70 froxm work which has 2Gb of memory and a 15.4 screen. It is not bad for most things, but I think that the CPU is a bit underpowered (has a 1.8 Mobile). I recently picked up a Sager NP 9880 and, while it is HUGE, it is fantastic for a desktop replacement. It has a 17" screen (1920x1200), TV Tuner, 2 SATA 80Gb HDDs (RAID 0), room for 2 DVD Burners and is running 570J, oh yeah - and a 6800 Ultra.

I would recommend either of those machines for CAD work, but I think that the Sager would be preferred, with the larger screen, and opt for the Quatro card.

Check out http://www.powernotebooks.com
 
Ahem, the people who complain about the keyboard on the 700m never seem to actually own one. It's a 90% keyboard and easy to adjust to, I'm writing this on one now. :D It's a spectacular uberportable and I don't know anyone who actually owns one that doesn't think it's in a class by itself.
 
lol, I have used one...and I think it would be fine for me...but the dude said the guy has big hands and such...why take the risk?
 
Thanks for the advice. The 700m may not work, but maybe the person who will be using it could try it out at Best Buy or something? I don't know who would carry it locally, but we have BB, Comp USA, Circuit City and plenty of other local vendors. I'd want him to try it out before I buy it to make sure that the keyboard won't be annoying to him.

The CAD machine will be my portable work machine. I have a powerful desktop workstation for when I'm at the office, so this machine will mainly be for when I'm visiting clients offsite. I like the Sager np3880. The other Sagers look nice too, but the only thing I was a little wary about is that they all use P4's and I was afraid the battery life would be pretty bad. Another thing that may need to be considered is that the AC adapter be able to work in countries like China, Korea, and Japan.

What kind of battery life could I expect on a machine like the Sager NP 9880 or 7620? What about the NP 3880? Mostly I'd be using it with the AC adapter, but some of the plane rides to my clients can be 10+ hours and I was hoping to have something that I could do a little gaming on while I was bored on the plane ;) .
 
check out the local malls...the usually have dell kiosks...and if you're lucky one of them will have a 700m...there doesn't seem to be any standard as to what machines they have out, so its kind of hit or miss
 
My Sager 9880 gets roughly 65 minutes to a battery - and the battery is screwed in, so a secondary batter may not be the best thing in the world. I have mine plugged in all the time when I am actually using it. The only time that it is unplugged from a power adapter is when I carry it somewhere else to use it.

I can tell you that it is fast as hell....
 
The Sager 9880 looks nice, but the Dell XPS 2 would interest me more (other than the, IMHO, stupid LED lights all over the thing) mainly because it uses the Pentium M and has longer battery life, plus it is lighter and I would imagine not as hot either. 65 minutes isn't bad though for the hardware the 9880 is running.

Thanks for the advice. I still have to think about this one...
 
A couple of things to keep in mind when comparing the 2 platforms:

The Sager has 2 HDDs (either SATA or PATA) with RAID 0 or 1 options
The Sager has 2 opticals
The Sager has a TV Tuner
Both models have the same screen - but the Sager has the option for the non-glare version if you want that one.
The Sager that I have is quiter than the M70 when both are sitting there.
The Sager is much hotter (than the M70) to the left of the keyboard (exhaust fan there) when running games, but still seem quieter than the M70. The left palm rest gets warm - but it is not as warm as the left palmrest on my old D600 Dell.
The Dell comes in a bit lighter (~9 lbs vs 12.5 lbs). It is a lot when you are holding it out in front of you, but can't feel the difference when everything is in their respective bags on my shoulder.
The Sager utilizes Dual Channel memory and if you want 2Gb of RAM the Dell site is going to gouge you for that upgrade.

I like the Pentium M and would gladly use it for a better battery life - but I believe that the battery life on that machine is only roughly 1:30 and that is because they dial back the settings on ACPI to conserve power. I don't use my laptop that way. I may carry it from location to location, but it always plugged in. Even on long flights - there are usually outlets.
 
Is the M70 you are mentioning the same thing as the XPS2? Sorry if that's a dumb question, I'm really not that knowledgable about laptops, but I'm trying to get as much info as I can to make a good purchase. If not, how would you compare the Sager 9880 to the Dell XPS2?

I really like Sager and am still considering one, and yes the one thing I absolutely hate about Dell is that they gouge like crazy for the RAM and HDD upgrades.

The other laptop that was suggested to me on another website was the Boxx Tech. It certainly looks nice, but also looks like a power hog as well. I really don't know anything about that company either as far as build quality, customer service/support, and how well they warrant their products. Any ideas on that one?

Thanks again for all the advice.
 
The box tech is the same thing as the Sager - they are all on the Clevo D900T chassis.

On my comparison above - I was comparing my Sager to the XPS Gen 2 - I do not have one though to compare and contrast minute details like screen contrast - I do have an M70 and a D600 (Both Dells) that I can compare mine to directly.

When I researched my gaming laptop purchase I directly compared the XPS Gen2 and the D900T (which is sold as the Area 51M from Alienware, VooDoo PC high end laptop, Falcon-NW, etc).

It really depends upon what is more important to you. From what I understand the XPS Gen2 runs cooler (Pentium M) and will run a bit longer on battery - but on the Clevo you can pick up a 570J or a 670 EMT64 now - also dual HDDs, etc... If you run unplugged really often - get the Dell. If you will be plugged in most of the time and want the utmost in performance - pick up a D900T from your vendor of choice.
 
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