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Joined: Aug 2000
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OP
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I need a laptop for work.
Some needs:
good battery performance
XP Pro
CD burner (data)
large monitor (widescreen)
medium sized HD (30 to 50GB)
fast processor
512 memory min
Wants:
dvd player (for those flights to Mexico)
Built in wireless
2+ USB ports (at least one on the side)
I have to keep it under $1500. I'm looking at a Toshiba Tecra A4.
Any other suggestions?
Semper Fi
"They've got us surrounded. Poor bastards." -Chesty
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Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,660
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,660 |
Who's paying, you or work (or are they one in the same)? Just trying to figure out if your budget figure is a max but would be better less or is a chance to spend $1500 when $1k would do...
I'm typing this on my 2-week-old Compaq R3000Z with 15" screen, AMD64 3000+ processor, 4 hour battery, CD burner, 40G HD, integrated wireless, Nvidia graphics card with 64MB dedicated memory, 3 USB ports, 1 firewire port, 5-in-one card reader, CD burner/DVD player. I paid less than $800 after rebates. A bigger capacity battery, XP pro, faster processor and widescreen were all options. You could max it out for about $1k. Of course, this was on sale the week I bought it. I'd suggest looking at Fatwallet.com and techbargains.com to see what the deals are out there.
Scott
Troll! '99 BMW 328i
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 4,140
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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IBM. I wouldn't buy anything but IBM or Apple right now. Too much low-quality stuff out there.
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 3,496
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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Our firm leases 30,000 + laptops each and every year. Every 2yrs we get a new one.
I am a beleiver in IBM's. Absolute no frill workhorse laptops that use only top-notch components. Used em for 4yrs.
I've had my HP Compaq NC6000 for 8-months and it has been bulletproof as well. So no complaints from me.
Everyone hates the Dells.
Centrino is a must! So amazing at how much cooler, quieter, and longevity of battery life is compared to my old PIII IBM laptop.
Money doesn't always bring happiness. People with ten million dollars are no happier than people with nine million dollars ~ Hobart Brown
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 1,710
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Dell ownes on pricing and features for laptops. IBM is way overpriced and apple is just for those anti microsoft snobs.
I would suggest a Dell Inspiron or Lattitude. You can get a very nice one for $1500.
- Tim
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Joined: Sep 2002
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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Originally posted by Fmr12B:
Centrino is a must! So amazing at how much cooler, quieter, and longevity of battery life is compared to my old PIII IBM laptop.
Agreed. I have a 15 inch screen, 512 megs of ram, 60gb hd, burner / dvd combo @ 4.5 hours battery life w/ word processing or web surfing with low screen brightness. Toshiba Tecra A2, its a really nice machine. Was about 1700 when I got it, but it came with XP pro and a 3 year warrenty.
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 3,143
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Originally posted by Trapps:
I need a laptop for work.
Some needs:
good battery performance
XP Pro
CD burner (data)
large monitor (widescreen)
medium sized HD (30 to 50GB)
fast processor
512 memory min
Wants:
dvd player (for those flights to Mexico)
Built in wireless
2+ USB ports (at least one on the side)
I have to keep it under $1500. I'm looking at a Toshiba Tecra A4.
Any other suggestions?
Screen size and a fast processor will eat your battery, so you have to decide where on the performance spectrum you want to end up.
Some things to keep in mind:
-Playing back a DVD will eat your battery more than just sitting there doing work or whatever as it has to keep the disc spun up.
-Anything larger than a 14" screen and you can't use it comfortably in a coach airline seat, depending on how much you fly this might or might not be a factor.
Take a look at the IBM thinkpad R-series. They certainly aren't the cheapeast thing out there but are worth the $$$. Apple also has some nice offerings and their customer service is top-notch. There are a lot of other brands out there but the list of brands I haven't known anyone who had a hardware problem with shrinks on a regular basis. IBM and Apple are still on that list, FWIW.
"Bros before Hoes" <-- More men need this mentality.
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Joined: Oct 2004
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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I just bought a hp pavilion ze4900 for $600 from best buy 2 weeks ago. It has 256 megs of ram but you can upgrade...I am going to use the reward zone points that I got to get it.  It has all that you wanted except a widescreen and "fast" processor...1.3 ghz. You can go to www.tigerdirect.com and check out the emachine (I know) laptop that they have for like $650 or $700. It has everything you want.
95 SE MTX
svt exhaust
intake
deer killer
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Highly Medicated Member
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OP
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Great info, Thanks everyone! I've been reading quite a bit this evening. I think I'll have to do a bit more research. For $1500 or less there are a ton of choices. The IBM's are a bit steep, but I understand paying for quality and I have no problem with that. The wide screen is not a need, but I think a 14" XGA would be. AS for speed, 1.0GHz is the min. I'd want. The cost is an employer expense, but i want to spend wisely. If I can get wat I want for $1100 thats cool too.
So far I like:
Toshiba Tecra A4
Sony Vaio S170B1
IBM T42 series (highest price)
IBM X40 series
HP/Compaq NC6000 (lowest price)
Compaq Presario V2140US
Again, thanks for the input.
Mark
Last edited by Trapps; 03/01/05 03:38 AM.
Semper Fi
"They've got us surrounded. Poor bastards." -Chesty
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 1,710
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 1,710 |
Inspiron 9200
$1328
Catalog Number / Description Product Code SKU Id
Inspiron 9200:
Intel�® Pentium�® M Processor 725 (1.60GHz/400MHz FSB) GBM16HN [221-6536] 1
Operating System:
Microsoft�® Windows�® XP Professional WPXP [420-4770][412-0689][463-2282][420-4928][420-5101][420-4830] 11
LCD Panel:
17" UltraSharpââ??¢ Wide Screen XGA+ Display 17XGA [320-3900] 2
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options:
1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr Technical Support ST111RR [950-9057][950-3337][950-3550][412-0361][960-2780] 29
Memory:
512MB DDR SDRAM at 333MHz 2 Dimm 512MB2D [311-4263] 3
Video Card:
128MB ATI'sââ??¢ Mobility Radeonââ??¢ 9700 ATI128 [320-4045] 6
CD ROM/DVD ROM:
FREE 24X CD-RW/DVD Combination Drive with Sonic RecordNow 24COMBP [463-4972][420-5111] 16
Hard Drive:
40GB Hard Drive 40GB [341-0969] 8
Primary Battery:
53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery 6BAT [312-0285] 27
Document Management:
Adobe�® Acrobat�® Reader 6.0 ADOBER [430-1048] 15
Dial-Up Internet Access:
6 Months of America Online Membership Included AOLDHS [412-0585][412-0625][420-3224][412-0687] 37
Wireless Networking Cards:
Intel�® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps) IP2200 [430-0996] 19
Productivity Software:
Productivity Pack including WordPerfect�® ICORELM [412-0714] 22
Security Software:
No Security Subscription NS [412-0755] 25
Digital Music:
Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software MMBASE [412-0741] 26
Dell Media Experience:
Dellââ??¢ Media Experience DMX [412-0751] 115
Digital Imaging or Digital Photography:
Paint Shopââ??¢ ProÃ?® Studio trial, Photo Albumââ??¢ Starter Edition DPS [412-0744] 38
Financial Software:
QuickBooks�® Simple Start Special Edition (limted to 50 contacts) QBSSP [420-5139] 83
- Tim
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