laptops

[Kazy]

I've found 3 laptops with the same specs and the same price. It comes down to Sony, Compaq, and Toshiba. Which brand would be the best? Also none of the three have a video card I am familier with, the Sony has an Intel and the other two have ones I have never heard of. How hard is it to put a new vid card in a laptop or can you even do that?

 

[eyez]

I have had good luck with Sonys. But don't count on tech support though. The new Toshibas are awesome.

 

[apoppin]

Sony probably has "shared graphics" (the worst).

Name the other two . . . we might know. If you are a gamer you want a separate videocard with at least 8MB dedicated DDR-SDRAM. It is not easy or practical to add a video card to most notebooks.

And what processor are they running? There is a big performance difference between Celeron, PIII, PIII-M and mobile Athlon or Duron.

 

[Damascus]

Sony probably uses the I815E integrated video with shared memory. The Toshiba
Satellite Pro 3000 series has the Geforce2Go while the 1800 series mostly carries
Trident... I'm not sure what the Compaq's have... by far the GF2Go is the
highest performing part of them all.

Added note, the GF2Go in the Toshiba 3K series have 8MB DDR memory I think
(or was it 16MB?)

 

[Gunbuster]

My General thoughts about the brands:

Sony for style
Toshiba for high quality
Compaq for price and wacky options like dual optical drives

 

[bcterps]

I've been pretty happy with my Toshiba laptop (2805-S402), had it for about 6 months now, runs rock solid, but battery life could defnitely be a bit better. I doubt that they all have the exact same specs, especially when it comes to video cards. I would go with the Toshiba or Sony, the Sony one might be lighter and have a better battery life, its hard when you dont list exact models though.

--Ben

 

[Shalmanese]

from general Internet NG's DO NOT GET A SONY. They have terrible support and crappy build.

If you are a gamer, get at least a 16MB ATI Mobility Radeon and preferably a Radeon 7500 (from dell) or GF2 Go

I have an IBM being shipped to me as we speak becuase IBM generally have a far better build quality and support than other brands but for more $$$ but both compaq and toshiba a decent. I think toshiba would be the slightly better out of the 2 though.

Dell is also worth having a look at

 

[Kazy]

The Toshiba did have a Trident.. it that decent? I won't be playing to many games on it, but it would be nice to be able to do so. Although I will be using it to watch DVD's on road trips.

 

[apoppin]

decent . . . well, acceptable would be a better word.

It will play 2D games and some of the older 3D games. It is, however, better than shared memory. I have heard good things (consistently) about Toshiba Notebooks.

BTW, what are you paying for it (and what is its configuration?)?

 

[Kazy]

Here's the specs on the Toshiba.. its on sale for around $1250-$1300.


Specification
Toshiba Satellite Series Notebook Computer
Warranty:Months
Labor/Parts 12/12
Processor Brand Intel®
Processor Type Pentium® III
Processor Speed (MHz) 1.1GHz
RAM (MB) 256MB SDRAM
RAM Expandable To (MB): 512
Hard Drive Maximum Capacity 20GB
Frontside Bus Speed (MHz) 100
Level 2 Cache (KB) 256
Type of Drive DVD/CD-RW
Maximum CD/DVD Speed
1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive Internal / Integrated
PC Card/Expansion Slots 2 Type II or 1 Type III PC Cards, 2 Internal Memory Slots
Screen Size (Inches) 15.0
Screen Type TFT Active Matrix
Maximum Screen Resolution 1024 x 768
External Monitor Maximum Resolution 1600 x 1200
Video Memory (MB) 16MB external UMA VRAM video memory
MPEG Playback
Graphics Type Trident CyberAladdin-T graphics controller
Audio Ali M1535 Sound Chip, AK4543 Codec Chip
Inputs/Outputs Video-Out port, Composite TV-Out (NTSC/PAL output), Microphone Port, Headphone Port
USB Ports 2
IEEE 1394 Port NO
Parallel Port 1 ECP
Serial Port 1
Ethernet Port YES
Infrared Port YES
Other Ports RJ-11 modem port
Built-In Modem YES
Modem Speed 56Kbps
Modem Type Integrated V.90 High-Speed Modem
Pointing Method Touchpad
Battery Type Lithium-Ion
Replacement Battery PA2487URG
Weight With Battery 7.0
Software Bundle Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition, Lotus® SmartSuite Millennium Edition, Intuit Quicken Basic 2001, Norton AntiVirus 2002, AOL, Microsoft® Internet Explorer

 

[apoppin]

It looks pretty good. . . . . Isn't this the one that showed up recently in Hot Deals? (There were some recent Toshibas but I stopped paying attention since I bought a Dell.)

It looks fine . . .

Note, however, this is the older 1Ghz PIII - not the SpeedStep Mobility .13micron die - you might consider an extra battery.

The videocard is adequate . . . you might consider a Dell Inspiron 4100 - it is the same price range (I paid $1200 for mine shipped - look for coupons in the Hot Deals Forum for current threads) and will have newer technology and a better videocard.

Whatever you buy, consider buying it with VISA Gold (or a similar card) which gives you an EXTRA year warranty at no extra charge.

 

[Kazy]

I configured an Inspiration from Dell.. Specs are
1ghz
14.1 SXGA+ Display with the 32 meg GF2 Go
256 meg ram
20 gig HD
8x DVD
59 Hour battery
1 yr support (Trying to save money, this may be a mistake)
the Works Suite (lowest software bundle possibly)

With these options my price came to $1457. With free shipping of coarse. This is a little bit out of my price range, so I'm looking for other options to trade...
My options are:
- to go from a 1gh to a 866 ghz (which this is only a $20 difference so its pointless..)
- go from a SXGA to a XGA (how much does this effect the display? this will save $70)
- go from a 59 hr battery to a 27 hr (saves $49.. never had a laptop, so I'm not sure how fast the battery life seems to drain..)
- go from the 32 meg GF2 to the 16 meg ATI Mobility Radeon video card ( saves about $90)


So basically I guess I'm asking how much difference the SXGA-XGA will make, and will the video card make that much of a difference between the two. Also would it be advisable to go with the longer battery?

Also apopping what specs did you have for $1200?

 

[apoppin]

I got mine last month.

It is a PIII866M/16MB DDR Mobility Radeon - good for ALL the current games/14.1" XGA TFT/10GB HD - I am not giving up my desktop/DVD-ROM/Xtra battery - configure it with the 27 hour (-$49) and add 59 hour (+$99)/128MB PC-133 (I DID get 256MB Crucial PC-133 for an extra $44 so I am running 64+256=320MB total for Win2K)/minimal Dell programs.

It was $1235 total shipped (not counting 2% ebates rebate). I also got the free Fuji FinePix camera with it.

Check Hot Deals - there is a $50 coupon and another one - I think for $25 - that will take $75 off your total.

I WOULD have got the 1Ghz but it was $90 more last month. That ATI card is NICE . . . no trouble with Serious Sam SE Demo or RtCW (@800x600 and all details maxed at 32 bit color) or Max Payne (at 1024x768 and 32 bit color with details set to mid). However, if you really need a better card, the GeForce is AWESOME.

The XGA is plenty for a 14" screen (1024x768). It will be a strain on even the GeForce at a higher resolution.

The Dell IS a nicer system than the Toshiba because of the videocard and .13 micron PIII (bigger L2 cache, data prefetch, cooler, longer lasting battery with the SpeedStep).

With the coupons and ATI Radeon it looks like your system is just under $1300. Don't forget to use VISA Gold to DOUBLE the Dell warranty!!!

 

[apoppin]

I just went to Dell and configured YOUR system:

Inspiron 4100
$1,289.00


Pentium®III Processor,1.0 GHz-M 14.1 XGA TFT Display ATI 16MB Video
Memory: Special! 256MB,2DIMMs for the price of 128MB,2DIMMs
Hard Drives: 20 GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive 20GB
Floppy Drive: Modular Floppy Drive
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition¹²
Network Card: Integrated Network Card INTNIC
Modem: Internal 56K Modem
Modular CD/DVD Drives: 24X Max Variable CD-ROM Drive 24XCD
Bundled Software: Microsoft®Works Suite 2002 with Money 2002 Standard
Norton Antivirus®: Norton Antivirus® 2002, 90-day introductory offer
Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MusicMatch 6.0 for XP
Batteries: 27 WHr Lithium-Ion Battery with ExpressCharge?
Service and Support Options: 1Yr Ltd. Warranty- 1Yr Mail-In Service + 1Yr Phone Support
Internet Access Service: 6 Months of DellNet® by MSN Internet Access Included
Digital Imaging Software: Image Expert® 2000 for XP, Dell Edition
Additional Battery: 2nd 59 WHr Lithium-Ion Battery with ExpressCharge?
Cables and Accessories: Inspiron 4100 Floppy Drive Cable

Get the 2% ebate rebate and use a couple of coupons and it drops further.

EDIT: OopS! I missed the DVD-ROM for $79 more . . . if you need a CD-RW, the external ones are now less than $100 (I got a Philips) . . . but still with coupons and DVD for around $1300 and no tax unless you live in Texas. OR, knock off the extra battery - get the BIG one anyway - for about $50 less -$1250.

 

[Kazy]

I looked on hot deals.. I didn't see any coupons.. I saw the advertisement for the free shipping.. thats about it. Where exactly are they?
Thanks for all your help btw.

 

[apoppin]

Dell Home Laptop Deal 14"/866/256/DVD/30GIG for $1275

Read carefully between the lines. You will see Tschbargains as a place to get the coupons. We can't - by the rules of the forum post most coupons here. If you need to PM me, I will be back on in an hour or so.

 

[Damascus]

Kazy, that must be some 59 hour battery!