Laptop Choices

[drunkenpanda]

I'm still considering buying an laptop. I want to spend no more than 1500. I want it to come with a video card that is 256mb. So far I have considered: E1505 , E1705 , and the m1210

I'm leaning towards the e1705 due to it's capabilities, but I'm thinking it's too bulky? how bad is the laptop battery life w/ a 7900

I'm thinking about the m1210, but I think the screen is much too small for me. Does anyone know the max res on it?

I was also looking at Acer laptops, but al ot of them are out of my price range. any suggestions thanks


also when is vista coming out? should i wait for its release?

 

[winuxgeek]

Im using an XPSM170 with a 7800GTX as a desktop replacement and it has decent battery life. With speedstepping enabled I get about 2.5 hours doing normal tasks. Dont expect to game off the battery tho.

 

[film]

I'm leaning towards the e1705 due to it's capabilities, but I'm thinking it's too bulky?

if bulky is a concern, then i assume you plan on lugging the laptop around. for that you can forget about the e1705. that thing is a monster! of course the upside of the e1705 is you have a much better vid card option.

was in a similar situation as you and just bought an e1505 two days ago (after having a chance to physically try all 3 up close). the vid card on it sucks (x1400), but realistically i dont see myself doing much gaming on the tiny 15.4" screen anyway, (althought the 1680x1050 res does match the vx2025wm on my main comp)

i think the m1210 is way too small. my gf just bought one, she likes the small size, says it goes great inside one of her Louis Vuitton bags....lol women.. go figure...

 

[ilkhan]

only res on the M1210 is 1280x800.
GMT950 (whatever) graphics, or the 7400go. The go is 64 onboard and 192 of the main memory space.

Im seriously considering getting one because how often do you want to game while not at a desk? It makes no sense. And when at my desk Im going to have my cordless desktop and 20" screen hooked up.

When on the road/mobile, screen size isn't an issue, space and weight at the primary concerns. Would I rather it be a 13.3" screen? Sure. But its not, and its enough for basic usage, presentations, surfing, etc on the go.

The point is to have one computer that can do everything, and that little bitch can do just that. Get the EVDO card and almost never be without internet. Thats just plain sweet. Not going to get it, but Ill grab the A/V package and record my classes with this bad boy Also with the core duo you will be able to upgrade to a merom when they come out. Double the cache, better battery life, and faster speed. *w00t*

And as a hint for any dell laptop, its nearly as much to get the extended life primary battery as it is to *add* an extended primary battery. So get the standard + the extended for much better life.

Dead bat/hibernate/swap/boot/go.

 

[Spetsnaz Op]

only res on the M1210 is 1280x800.
GMT950 (whatever) graphics, or the 7400go. The go is 64 onboard and 192 of the main memory space.

Im seriously considering getting one because how often do you want to game while not at a desk? It makes no sense. And when at my desk Im going to have my cordless desktop and 20" screen hooked up.

When on the road/mobile, screen size isn't an issue, space and weight at the primary concerns. Would I rather it be a 13.3" screen? Sure. But its not, and its enough for basic usage, presentations, surfing, etc on the go.

The point is to have one computer that can do everything, and that little bitch can do just that. Get the EVDO card and almost never be without internet. Thats just plain sweet. Not going to get it, but Ill grab the A/V package and record my classes with this bad boy Also with the core duo you will be able to upgrade to a merom when they come out. Double the cache, better battery life, and faster speed. *w00t*

And as a hint for any dell laptop, its nearly as much to get the extended life primary battery as it is to *add* an extended primary battery. So get the standard + the extended for much better life.

Dead bat/hibernate/swap/boot/go.

Have you considered the asus w3v? It is a good option and the prices on these are being dropped like they are at high temperature because of the w3j release (which is an updated version with an x1600 + other upgrades). The screen is a 14 inch widescreen - and also has an x600 which will play games and more importantly run vista more smoothly then the xps.

http://c9tech.com/buy/nfoscomm/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_35&products_id=56

still pricier but a good buy imo, I like the idea of being able to bring a gamepad along and play some GTA or NFS at the airport. It is Pentium M though, so there is a tradeoff.

I just wish asus made that chassis in 15.4 format as barebones the Z96J is not as high quality build-wise

i'll remember that battery tip for the dells though...I haven't decided what I'm getting for next fall (KOLLEGE!!!! OMG) but the E1705 is in the running thanks to the coupons and high res screen. E1505 would be if the video wasn't so weak.

 

[ilkhan]

anything with a pre-yonah cant be upgraded to a merom, which is something I plan on doing. And I refuse to run single core any more. Dual core smoothness FTW! 14" still seems to big, but I really need to find one and take a look. The paper sized M1210 just seems perfect.

 

[rmnoon]

Get an Asus S96J barebones from mwave, drop in a T2400, 2 x 512 or 2 x 1GB, and buy the necessary odm stuff (optical drive, wireless), and get a decent hdd from newegg and you've got an X1600 256mb, a dual core yonah, and a 15.4" WXGA for under 1200...

There's no way you can beat that. I don't know why no one on this forum knows about the S96J. Kinda makes you wonder. Is everyone afraid of building a barebones notebook?

 

[ilkhan]

If I was gonna build a 15.4", itd be *at least* WSXGA+, if not WUXGA. But mobility is better when you have outside peripherals to run while not mobile, as well as (will have) a SFF for primary LAN use.

 

[rmnoon]

Resolution on a notebook is highly overrated, IMHO. I mean, if you're doing programming, that's one thing, but I've seen so many laptops where the resolution is just ridiculously high, and to run at anything lower would be unsatisfactorily blurry, or scaled. I don't know about you, but having the taskbar be 1/8" high doesn't really appeal to me.

If you're thinking about gaming, WXGA is the way to go, because you can run a game at that resolution with the x1600 and actually have some FSAA or AF on, and it will look good. The x1600 is great, but its not a pair of 7900GTX in SLI, trying to run a modern (or forthcoming game) at WUXGA or WXGA+ is going to be a lot tougher, and you'll hate the results of running it at a scaled res.

That's just my $.02

For 1266 I recently pieced together a notebook with a 2.0ghz core duo, the x1600, dvdrw, 2 gb Corsair, and a 100 gb Seagate perpendicular drive. I'd like to see Dell beat that price/performance.

 

[rmnoon]

I just wish asus made that chassis in 15.4 format as barebones the Z96J is not as high quality build-wise

First of all, the Z96J isn't really available yet. Second of all, since when is something ASUS not a high quality build? True, it's not bright green and glowing like an Alienware, but head on over to notebookforums.com and you'll see plenty of people adoring their S96J, which is the Z without bluetooth and WXGA+

 

[Spetsnaz Op]

First of all, the Z96J isn't really available yet. Second of all, since when is something ASUS not a high quality build? True, it's not bright green and glowing like an Alienware, but head on over to notebookforums.com and you'll see plenty of people adoring their S96J, which is the Z without bluetooth and WXGA+

1. Saying something is not as high quality is not the same as saying it isn't high quality

2. I never mentioned that the Z96J was avaliable for immediate purchase

3. Alienware laptops aren't really built like tanks either.....


You are not seriously going to argue that the *96J (S or Z) is built to the same standards as the W3 series.....it just isn't possible - we're talking plastic versus aluminum and carbon fibre.... S/Z96J is a fine choice that I might end up purchasing but let's not kid ourselves....the W3 series is superior from a materials and construction standpoint - and I'd MUCH rather have a 15.4 version of the W3 then the S or Z96J because of this (and I bet every single S/Z96J owner would agree). Personally I will look into the Z96J because I really don't think I could stand going from a 1600x1200 19" CRT display to a 1200x800 15.4" LCD....I'd like some real screen real estate

 

[ilkhan]

Personally I will look into the Z96J because I really don't think I could stand going from a 1600x1200 19" CRT display to a 1200x800 15.4" LCD....I'd like some real screen real estate

Exactly. Im far too used to having 16x12 available to work with to try and live within a 1280x800 screen and still multitask/not have any secondary screen available. Although now Im reconsidering the M1210 simply because 12.1" is a tiny ass screen. What are some alternatives in a 13.1-14.1"?