Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 21:24:47 -0800 (PST)
From: David Chien <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [LIB] HELP: Laptop Advice
> She plays a lot of games, DVD movies, and loves coffee shops (wireless
> internet); I can only spend around 2,000.00
> I would sincerely appreciate any and all advice, on this system, or any
> other out there.
>
> I'm considering buying this system:
>
> Inspiron 8600, Intel Pentium MProcessor 725 (1.6GHz), 15.4in WUXGA
0) Keep in mind that laptops, like most other computer components, depreciate
AT LEAST 50% PER YEAR or MORE! In other words, you can expect to buy a new
Inspiron 8600 for about 1/2 the price you are paying for it this year, or about
$900 next year.
This also means if you're smart and spend less, you can use the money you
have left over to upgrade to a new system next year -- rather than spending a
whole bunch this year, and not being able to upgrade next year, or the year
after that as well.
This is often times the 'smart' way to stay ahead of the game while
spending a smaller amount each year.
1) The cheaper deal that would run rings around this baby would be the
eMachines Athlon 64+ laptops. They've benchmarked very high in 3dMarks as well
as standard office apps, and although not the ultimate highest in these marks,
among the fastest available laptops for a really good price of <$1400. Even PC
Magazine rated it as the fastest notebook they've ever tested earlier this
year, and you can get lots of tips on tweaking this notebook on the eMachines
forums.
http://www.dexplor.com/phpBB2/index.php?sid=b626ba12cf1057831610a500feb04728
http://reviews.cnet.com/eMachines_M6811/4505-3121_7-30994117-5.html
http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_M6810
Benchmarks on one guy's M6805 goes 11,000+ 3dmarks03/3100+ 3dmarks03 --
pretty awesome for a notebook w/o spending over $1400!
(for comparison,
GPU cooling (100°C->75°C)* Inspiron 8600 * 1.8ghz Pentium M * 128 MB Radeon
9600 Pro Turbo (337/242 -> 400/300) * 2x256 MB DDR2700 SDRAM * Aquamark 3:
24058 * 3DMark'03: 3404 * 3DMark'01 SE: 13120)
Use the difference and save it towards another laptop for next year! Or a
Gameboy DS + PSP!
2) Better get at least a 3 year warranty + complete care if you're going the
Dell route. Their laptops have dropped =significantly= in terms of reliability
from the 2002/2003 to the 2004 year. See PCMag.com 2004 Reliability Survey.
http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image/7/0,1311,sz=1&i=77230,00.gif
Here, ignore the 'subjective' ratings, and look closely at the column that
says : percent needing repair - 24%!!!
I don't know about you, but 1 out of 4 notebooks from Dell.com being bad is
no good in my book. Even Toshiba at 17% or SOny at 16% are far better deals.
Then again, if you're cheap, nothing like giving your sister a bad notebook
that'll have a good chance of breaking =p
3) BLACK FRIDAY! BLACK FRIDAY! BLACK FRIDAY!!!!!!
Some of the very hottest sales are coming up in a few days, and the day
right after Thanksgiving is usually the one loaded with the hotest Friday &
weekend prices around! (eg. last year, brand-new Toshiba notebook for $499
after rebates!!!!) Expect killer sales for those that wake up early (yes, you
MUST BE IN LINE at BestBuy and most other places by 3AM or else you will not be
able to buy the hot items! Just too many people reading
www.fatwallet.com/forums/ -> hot deals -> search "black friday" for the
numerous posts already up on all of the hottest deals & steals).
IF you're smart, you will take advantage of the usual Sat or Sun.
Microcenter.com in-store sales, and make sure you do this right -- 1) get in
line early, 2) scout out the store the day before for open-box deals and put
them on hold if possible 3) sign up for the in-store Microcenter.com credit
card, and take $100 off the purchase, including all sale prices!!!
Yes, you can get a new iBook open-box for $999 usual, $899 open box, $699
after $300 in rebates, $599 after $100 credit card rebate = $599 for a $999
iBook like me last year. Excellent eBay resale, naturally, for some needed $.
4) Avoid anything with Celeron in them like the plague -- very poor battery
life, and bechmarks on a 2.8Ghz Celeron are so slow, you might as well throw
away your money.
Pentium M CPUs typically run about 1.5x to 2x faster than they're rated,
so a 2Ghz P-M is similar to a 3.0-3.4Ghz P4 (depending on application) in a
laptop environement for the top end notebooks.
BUT just like the recent PCMag.com review found in their annual notebook
review, not all same-speed P-M CPU notebooks run as fast! So watch the
benchmarks (here pcmag.com, www.cnet.com and other sites usually have lots of
benchmarks), will give you a solid idea what you're buying.
5) As for wireless, if you get the cheaper eMachines, you can spend the
rest on a Merlin G100 GPRS card (<$100 on ebay.com) or usual aircard 555 from
TMobile.com, then sign her up for a free year of service (you pay $29.99/mo
unlimited 24/7) as a gift, and she can then surf and game anywhere in the USA
where there's cell coverage by TMobile.
Yep, HalfLife2 in the bathtub!
Also, cuts the silly coffee shop cord and she can now go anywhere,
beach, park, library, etc. and still be online at any time w/o being leashed to
the wifi range of several dozen meters.
6) Forget about "extremely serious" gaming on a notebook for now -- they
can't even do 3dMarks05 well, and simply won't be able to handle them for a few
more months/years until they get a graphics subsystem out that'll handle the
demands.
7) Dell 8600 review:
http://notebookforums.com/archive/index.php/t-16235.html
=====
adorable toshiba libretto
The latest news and information for the Toshiba Libretto owner.
http://www.silverace.com/libretto/
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