laptop

[willy lump lump]

i am starting to look for a laptop for my wife i wanted to know if any one has one and would care to input pros and cons or perhaps some info links my budget is around 1500 i have checked new egg, dell and alienware just wante dto get some input fellas. oh yeah i also got clearence for it be a gaming laptop as long as it will perform basic computer functions.

[cavalierlwt]

I would get one with an Intel Core 2 duo (Merom), great cpu, easy on the battery but still tons of horsepower.

One piece of advice though: decide whether you want this notebook to mobile (small and light) or a kind of a portable desktop (bigger screen,heavier, beefier specs)....don't compromise, go with what's best for it's primary function is.

[gowhitesox99]

good call cavalier, you can get the wife a nice LT for web, office, small to medium programs etc... for 1000.

For gaming, dont get a compact one, get a big dog, a nice thick laptop, it will still be portable just it will be a tad heavier but will handle gaming much better. That one will be more $$ prolly 1500-2000

[jfmaday]

I would go with the Dell. You will get ripped for an alienware. Besides Dell bought rights from alienware for their XPS laptops, but you still pay high prices for them. The configuration below is nearly the same Laptop I just bought from them(Dell) about a month ago but it has some upgraded things to suit your budget. My Laptop can handle 2142 just fine. Also its speced with a DISCREET graphics card and 2 Gigs of Ram which makes a big difference for it being able to handle games. Thats my suggestion... I know I am happy with my Laptop.


Inspiron E1505:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5600 (1.83GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB) KDM18HN [222-4672] 1

Operating System (Office software not included):
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 WMCE [310-7149][310-8617][412-0689][412-0911][420-4928][420-5476][420-5755][420-5769][420-5924][463-2282] 11

Upgrade to Windows Vista:
Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium from XP Media Center Edition VHPU32E [310-8571][310-8590] 201

LCD Panel:
15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen SXGA+ Display with TrueLife™ 15SXGAS [320-4652] 2

Memory:
2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM 2G2D6 [311-5783] 3

Hard Drive:
80GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive 80GB72 [341-3111] 8

Combo or DVD+RW Drive:
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability 8XDVDRW [313-3959][420-5901] 16

Video Card:
256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™ 256ATI [320-4655] 6

Sound Options:
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition SBAHD [313-4218] 17

Network Card and Modem:
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem INTNIC [430-0493] 13

Adobe Software:
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0 ADOBER [412-0917] 15

Processor Branding:
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor IC2DNB [310-8319] 749

Labels:
Windows Vista™ Capable VCN [310-8624] 750

Primary Battery:
53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery 6BAT [312-0404] 27

Wireless Networking Cards:
Dell Wireless 1390b/g (54Mbps) TM1390 [430-1913] 19

Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed):
No productivity suite- Includes Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD IWRK [412-0915] 22

Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed):
No Security Subscription NSNOR [412-0903] 25

Dell Digital Entertainment:
Trial pack- Basic and trial products from Corel and Yahoo SEP [412-0865] 399

Warranty and Service:
1Yr Ltd Warranty and At-Home Service S1OS [412-0360][950-3337][950-9797][960-2780][980-2870][985-3588] 29

Internet Access Service:
6 Months America Online Internet Access Included AOLDHS [412-0787][412-0934][412-0935][412-0938] 37

Total cost $1,573

[Major SONAR]

My best friend just bought a laptop from a guy on Ebay. He bought a tricked out Dell XPS for $1800. That may seem like a lot, but my friend configured a similiar LT on the Dell website and it cost $3600! I'm telling you this LT was LOADED!

Core 2 Duo, 2 Gb RAM, Nvidia 7900 video... it was awesome!

He met the guy here in Nashville and paid cash for the LT. The guy (and I don't know his name, but I can find out and get his email), said to send people his way. He said he can sell Dell Insperion's for about $500 (HALF price). After the purchase my friend called Dell to see if the LT was stolen... and Dell said it WAS NOT stolen, but it was purchased overseas. The Dell representative could not provide the country it was purchased in, as the information was not on his screen.

Here is the biggest downside to this deal... NO WARRANTY! The guy selling the LT did say he would give a 30 day guaranty, but that's it. If you purchase from Dell, you get whatever warranty they offer.

So that's my story. I will get that guy's info and post it here.

[slog]

I bought a laptop for my wife and daughter, both from dell. It's important to figure out what they will actually use it for.

My wife, for example, doesn't run a single 3D application, so spending 300 bucks on a high end graphics card would have been idiotic. Remember, this isn't your laptop, it's her's. She's probably not going to be sniping in BF2.

I endedu p spending 600 bucks at Dell. Things that you want: internal wireless, lots, of HD space, 3 year warranty (so you don't have to deal with the headache if it breaks) and 2 gigs of memory.


EDIT: Almost forgot, then you tell her it cost 1000 bucks and you buy your rig a new video card. Don't fool yourself into thinking you will ever be able to use her computer.

[cartboy519]

All good suggestions guys, my advice is never buy an MPC LT. The students at LTU where i go to college get a laptop with tuition and MPC's are crap, they are ok machines, but they just seem to have more faults than a LT should have!

Those are my 2 pennies

[Hat Rack]

Originally posted by slog

EDIT: Almost forgot, then you tell her it cost 1000 bucks and you buy your rig a new video card. Don't fool yourself into thinking you will ever be able to use her computer.

[CreepingCharlie]

I play on a Dell Latitude D820. Though its from school, it can run almost anything thats out now. Mine is the basic of the 820's.
I would try to get a mid-high Core 2 Duo (Mermon). Get at least 2 gigs of ram and a semi-good graphics for gaming. And as others said decide what you want it to be: light and mobile or big and beefy.

[willy lump lump]

i like what mayday is working with. of course i know it is her comp that is why i have to get another copy of bf2!thank you everyone i will let yall know the results in a few weeks again thanks

[willy lump lump]

i think i have narrowed it down to two.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834220099

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834220098


if anyone has input please post i want to make an informed purchase.

[jfmaday]

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=DM-AS-G2&c=pw

found this better price on that first laptop. Both laptops look like a pretty good setup and such. Another thing to check out is a higher capacity battery. If you ever need to truely go mobile without a power source then all the high specs put a faster drain on the battery. of course most laptops have settings for when its running on the battery but if you are running any active applications while only on the battery that is stock then it won't be lasting for a lengthy period of time. From here on the choice is now yours I would approve of either laptop.

[willy lump lump]

well we got it yesterday http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834220099
so if you guys see milly in game be nice thanks

[jfmaday]

Originally posted by willy lump lump
well we got it yesterday http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834220099
so if you guys see milly in game be nice thanks

Looks pretty sweet. Also if you ever want to squeeze more performace out of that thing in the future . Then upgrading the Hard Drive to a 7200 rpm drive will help in that aspect. I imagine for the time being that setup will be good for quite some time.

[gowhitesox99]

nice laptop, enjoy........