Laptops

Post by **Jackal** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 6:37 pm

Ok, since I'm working this full time job and still have classes to finish up I am now in the market for a laptop. I figured I may as well run this by you folks and see what kind of input you could give me.
I'd like to keep the price relatively low (below $2000, but even cheaper would be better).
I need to be able to play/burn cd's and dvds.
It needs to be a fairly good media machine. Not a monster gaming rig but something that I can show demos on while I'm on the road and be able to play games like WoW.
It needs to be wireless enabled.
and I think that's about it.
The thing to remember is that I'm canadian and would therefore like to buy something in-country so that I don't need to deal with exchange rates. Also if they have a payment plan, that would be a huge bonus.
Any help would be appreciated.

Post by **Massive Quasars** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 6:41 pm

I'll PM you.

Post by **Jackal** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 6:43 pm

thanks man.

Post by **phoq** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 6:50 pm

I advised Fury in T&T to get the Acer 3020, but the post was lost in the restoration of the database.

Here are the specs of the one I bought for around 1000 euro.

Acer Aspire 3023WLMi

AMD Sempron XP 3000+, Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition SP2, 15.4TFT WXGA (Acer CrystalBrite), 512MB RAM (2x 256), 80GB HDD, Dual DVD-RW, 8-cell LiIon, 56K modem, Wired Gigabit & wireless Lan 802.11b/g, no FDD, IEEE, S-video, FIR, ATI X700 128MB, 6 in 1 card reader

The thing is thin, pretty light, has a good battery life (around 2 1/2 hours average during normal use) and has a pretty decent laptop video card (capable of running doom 3 with a decent framerate).
The downside is the fan gets pretty loud when you're doing more demanding things on it like playing games etc.
There's a lighter version available as well with a smaller hd and an ATI X300 (the 3022WLMi).

See if you can find it anywhere in a store nearby, perhaps you can try one out. Link: http://global.acer.com/products/notebook/as3020.htm

Post by **Jackal** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 6:55 pm

thanks again. keep em coming folks

Post by **Pext** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 7:05 pm

Massive Quasars wrote:I'll PM you.

me 2 plz - i'm searching for something myself.

Post by **Underpants?** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 7:06 pm

For cheap but decent hardware I've never been burned by ebay. The last 5 laptops I've purchased have all been lattitude C610-640s with a valid OS license (usually win2k but one had XP Pro), all have at least one year left on the warranty and most come with a bag and dvd ROM. You should be able to find similar for no more than $430.

Post by **Massive Quasars** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 7:09 pm

Jackal wrote:thanks again. keep em coming folks

Gotta add, look at the specs closely. I upgraded the laptop to a 9-cell battery (slightly heavier, same size, not any hotter than the default model), and they added a nice extra-large nylon carrying case (I chose it over the smaller leather one). The clock speed on the Centrino may be misleading, the chip is apparently very fast.

phoq nice system.

Post by **Jackal** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 7:13 pm

thanks MQ. looks good.

Post by **Massive Quasars** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 7:16 pm

Pext wrote: me 2 plz - i'm searching for something myself.

done.

Post by **Deathshroud** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 7:35 pm

This looks mint for a cheap laptop...

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... ode=265229

Post by **Dek** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 7:49 pm

I just got a sweet tc4200; great for artwork... much better then my old gateway m275..

Only drawbacks where I had to purchase a mutibay unit and multibay dvd/cdrw combo for it.. other then that its sweet; also not a big gaming machine but Maya and Photoshop & SketchpadPro work great!!

Post by **o'dium** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 7:57 pm

Dek that laptop is shit.

How the fuck are you supposed to type and look at the screen?!?

Post by **Massive Quasars** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 8:44 pm

Jackal wrote:thanks MQ. looks good.

I noticed you wanted a payment plan, Dell offers one.

I chose the specs with longevity in mind. I've had good experiences with Dell in the past. The chip is the fastest affordable one imo.

I just checked out the Inspiron 6000d customize page and they have new free deals, while other free deals have expired. I still recommend you call them up though, as I explained earlier in the PM.

Post by **Pext** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 9:05 pm

Massive Quasars wrote:
Pext wrote: me 2 plz - i'm searching for something myself.
done.

thx a lot :icon14:

currently, it looks like i'll get maybe a fujitsu or sony notebook for ~1400€=~2000$. that's mostly because i love their displays.

Post by **Massive Quasars** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 9:34 pm

Their displays are good, but I'm pleased with the Dell displays. I believe I've already mentioned that the prices were in canadian dollars, but you're probably better served looking for a laptop from a european site.

The Inspiron 6000d comes with 15" wide-screen.

Post by **Pext** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 9:38 pm

i just wanted to get an idea of what the current spec's are like

Post by **Pext** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:41 pm

Here's what i currently think of getting:

Asus A6000V
* Mobile Intel Centrino 1.86 GHz (Color-Shine/533FSB)
* 15.4” WXGA Color-Shine Glare Type, max 1280x800
* 1024 MB DDR2-RAM PC2-4200
* 100 GB HDD
* 128 MB ATI Mobility Radeon X700
* DVD+-RW Double Layer Laufwerk (8x/4x/16x/10x/12x/24x)
* Wireless-Lan
* Bluetooth
* Web/Videocam integr. 1,3 MP
* 4 x USB 2.0
* 4in1 Card Reader (SD,MMC,MS,MSP)
* Audio DJ Funktion (?)
* 2.9 kg
* Microsoft Windows XP Home

1400€

Post by **Don Carlos** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:50 pm

Pext wrote:Here's what i currently think of getting:

Asus A6000V
* Mobile Intel Centrino 1.86 GHz (Color-Shine/533FSB)
* 15.4” WXGA Color-Shine Glare Type, max 1280x800
* 1024 MB DDR2-RAM PC2-4200
* 100 GB HDD
* 128 MB ATI Mobility Radeon X700
* DVD+-RW Double Layer Laufwerk (8x/4x/16x/10x/12x/24x)
* Wireless-Lan
* Bluetooth
* Web/Videocam integr. 1,3 MP
* 4 x USB 2.0
* 4in1 Card Reader (SD,MMC,MS,MSP)
* Audio DJ Funktion (?)
* 2.9 kg
* Microsoft Windows XP Home

1400€

Intel? *shakes head*

Post by **Pext** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:50 pm

care to elaborate?

Post by **MKJ** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:53 pm

its cool to have amd

Post by **Jackal** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 1:00 pm

Here's what I think I'm going to get on tuesday:

Toshiba Satellite A70-RW1 Intel Pentium 4 3.06GHz Laptop
Processor Type Intel Pentium 4 Processor 532
Screen Size 15.4"
RAM (Preloaded / Maximum) 512MB DDR RAM
Hard Drive 80GB
Optical Drives DVD Super-Multi Drive
Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP
Average Battery Life Up To 2 Hours
Product Weight 3.6 kg
Audio Type 16Bit Stereo, 3D Sound
Battery Type Lithium-Ion
Cache L1 Cache 12KB/8KB, L2 Cache 1MB
Fax/Modem 56K V.92
I/O Ports See The Features Section
Included In Box See The Features Section
Network Card Built-In 10/100 Ethernet LAN Network
Other Software See The Features Section
PC Card Slots 1 x Type II, Supports CardBus
Pointing Device Touchpad
Preloaded Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Processor Speed 3.06GHz
Product Dimensions 36.5(W) x 3.9(H) x 27.5(D) cm
Removable Storage Info Not Available
Screen Type WXGA TFT With TruBrite
Speakers Realtek ALC250
System Bus 533Hz
Warranty 1 Year Limited Parts & Labour

More Information

FEATURES:

* Interfaces: 5-in-1 Multimedia Port (SD Card Slot, Memory Stick, SmartMedia, MMC xD-picture Card, Memory Stick Pro), Parallel, FIR, 3 x USB 2.0, 1 x RJ-11, 1 x RJ-45, IEEE 1394, External Microphone Port, Headphone Port, RGB, S-Video Out
* Included Software: Toshiba ConfigFree, Microsoft OneNote 2003, Norton AntiVirus 2004 90 Day Subscription, InterVideo WinDVD Creator 2 Platinum, Sonic Record Now!
* Included In Box: A/C Adapter, Power Cord, Recovery CD, Manual

Post by **Don Carlos** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 1:13 pm

MKJ wrote:its cool to have amd

Nah i just heard that AMD have better batery life...

Post by **JulesWinnfield** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 1:35 pm

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=4025846

Post by **Azer** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 2:44 pm

Don Carlos wrote:
MKJ wrote:its cool to have amd
Nah i just heard that AMD have better batery life...

Pentium Mobile's (the CPU's in the Centrino platform) are actually known for their awesome battery life and great performance.