Laptop

b0mb3r · Post by **b0mb3r** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:04 am

I am trying to get a laptop under a $2000 budget, just want to hear your opinions

XPS 1530: $1974.00

OS: Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
CPU: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9500 (2.6GHz/800Mhz FSB, 6MB Cache)
Screen: Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LED LCD (1440x900) & 2.0 M
RAM: 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms
Hard Drive: 250GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
CD Drive: Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
Video: 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
Wireless Card: Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
Mobile Broadband: Verizon Wireless built-in cellular mobile broadband (EVDO Rev A)
Bluetooth and Wireless: USB USBDell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
Battery: 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Sound: Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition
Features: Finger Print Reader XPS M1530

HP tx2500: $1283.99 (tablet pc)

OS: Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
CPU: AMD Turion(TM) X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile Processor ZM-82 (2.2 GHz)
Screen: 12.1" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen (1280 x 800) w/Integrated Touch-screen
RAM: 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
Hard Drive: 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
CD Drive: SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
Video: ATI Radeon(TM) HD 3200 Graphics
Network: Wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth
Battery: 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Feature: Imprint Finish (Echo) + Microphone + Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
Extra: System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)

Is either for me being artistic vs gaming power.

TheGiftedMonkey · Post by **TheGiftedMonkey** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:35 am

I would personally go with the Dell. Mostly because I dislike HP and have a preference for nVidia cards. The stats on both are nice and the HP is more cost effective, but as I said, I don't trust them.

My verdict: Dell XPS

Beware the talking cat · Mon Jul 21, 2008 12:40 pm

Funny, I was just about to look for a laptop myself(except in the $500 range).

Since it's more for complementing my desktop than anything else, all I am looking for is enough power to play HD h.264 video. I imagine 2-3GB ram and 1.6 GHz dual core processor(integrated video) would be enough for this?

Don't be afraid to buy a lesser known brand though; unless you can find an underpriced one from Dell or HP, there is no reason not to buy from a smaller company(and a few reasons not to buy from Dell and HP, locked BIOS for example).

Rectifier · Post by **Rectifier** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:00 pm

I'll tell you a couple things straight up about buying a computer, if you want one that will last for 4 years+ and still be affordable, get a Lenovo.

Heres a link for all their notebooks above $1350: shop.lenovo.com

ThinkPad T61 15 Widescreen

Spoiler! :

Cost of Notebook that I specced in about 5-10 minutes:

Retail: $2,446.00
Sale price: $1,893.74
Total savings: $552.26

^ Does not include shipping and handling.

Beware the talking cat · Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:33 pm

Okay, I've narrowed my search to two laptops as well, one just a bit more expensive than the other, and I'm trying to decide which one to get.

I really only care about which laptop is better, not including the difference in HDD capacity or price--they balance each other out.

Choice 1: $530
COMPAQ Presario F755US

Windows Vista Home Premium
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58 1.9G
15.4" WXGA
2GB DDR2
160GB HDD
DVD+-RW
Integrated Graphics
Modem, LAN and WLAN
14.06" x 10.12" x 1.20-1.55"
5.68 lbs.

Choice 2: $568
Acer Extensa EX5620-4020

Windows Vista Home Premium
Intel Pentium dual-core T2370(1.73GHz)
15.4" WXGA
2GB DDR2
250GB HDD
DVD+-RW
Integrated Graphics
Modem, Gigabit LAN and WLAN
14.2" x 10.5" x 1.2"
Weight 6.4 lbs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834107019
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834115491

Rectifier · Post by **Rectifier** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:07 pm

Compaqs are known for being unreliable and Acer has about the same quality as Dell, which is what the average consumer wants.

Although I'm going to tell you straight up, you get what you pay for; and trust me, if its a deal that seems too good to be true on newegg, then usually they aren't going to take care of it when they ship it. I know this because a friend of mine tried to get a terabyte external hard drive that was at essentially a bargain price per gig. It shipped broken or messed up three different times due to its cheap plastic casing and the delivery guys not giving a shit; thats when he decided to poke it and buy a smaller but stronger external.

*As a side note, those laptops BtTC listed look like last year's or even two year's technology driven down to a (much) lower price.

b0mb3r · Post by **b0mb3r** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:06 am

is it wise to buy a laptop, which is cheaper on ebay or..... not because of the being potentially rip and cheated and possible damages of the product?

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-HP-Pavilion-tx2 ... dZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-HP-Pavilion-TX2 ... dZViewItem

Rectifier · Post by **Rectifier** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:13 pm

Personally, I would prefer buying from an official website rather than Ebay for important purchases (such as a laptop), however, I know that plenty of things are traded on Ebay effectively.

In short, use your own judgement on the matter, because in the end, even if you do screw up and become unhappy from the result, you can't blame others and you'll gain valuable experience in the process.

P.S. I don't use Ebay, period.

onizuka-gto · Post by **onizuka-gto** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 5:18 pm

get a samsung. they look just as good as a mac,

good battery, good weight, 1.8kg.

only bad thing is that it got vista, 12.5in and the only good game i can play on it is swat4, T-72, Audio surf, Crescendo and Pick Me Honey!

meh.

not exactly desktop replaceable.

Rectifier · Post by **Rectifier** » Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:09 am

Ew....macs

Thats all I have to say.

jeromemmm · Post by **jeromemmm** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 1:43 am

*crawLs*
me... want... new... laptop.... *faints*

onizuka-gto · Post by **onizuka-gto** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 1:54 pm

well, i would generally agree with you about macs, but the fact that they can now run windows, have sensible hardware at competitive pricing compared to other laptop makers, it's not hard to see why people like them.

i mean if i was short on money and need a good performance and features, i'll go for a mac.

i'll certainly use it with windows xp, but you have to admire mac design fetures especially the in built battery indicator, the pull away power plug socket and best of all, the LED LIT KEYBOARD.

i have to admit i was incredibly envious seeing my work colleague work in the dark during a long presentation meeting, while i had to struggle to see the keyboard on my samsung. (can't quite flawlessly touch type on these small laptop keyboard)

mind you, i got my laptop at a kickarse price (2nd hand) its tiny, light and i don't have it as a desktop replacement so i ain't complaining that it's a bit slow.

Rectifier · Post by **Rectifier** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 10:50 pm

Uh, there should be small bumps on your "F" and "J" key for your keyboard; thats all you need to know in order to type in the dark or plain blind.

Beware the talking cat · Sun Aug 03, 2008 9:09 am

Rectifier wrote:Uh, there should be small bumps on your "F" and "J" key for your keyboard; thats all you need to know in order to type in the dark or plain blind.

Exactly.

onizuka-gto · Post by **onizuka-gto** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 3:51 am

Rectifier wrote:Uh, there should be small bumps on your "F" and "J" key for your keyboard; thats all you need to know in order to type in the dark or plain blind.

to quote myself.

can't quite flawlessly touch type on these small laptop keyboard

ばか！バカ！　馬鹿ー月！

Laptop

Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop

Re: Laptop