Question:
Dell E1505 or Asus S96J (or other) for college?
Hi there, I'm going to college this August and need a good notebook. I expect I'll be doing a fair amount of traveling around campus and such, so a decent battery life and reasonably portable size / weight are considerations. Gaming capabilities are another issue, though not the most major one: I play the occasional game of CS:S or Call of Duty, and would like to be able to at least run current and future games.
Other than that, I'll be doing a lot of word processing, audio software, Photoshop, DVD watching, etc. I also need to connect an M-Audio firewire box to the notebook, but so long as it has a firewire port it should be fine, right?
The two notebooks I'm considering right now are the E1505 and the S96J. They would both meet my needs, I think. The Asus seems to have the advantage in terms of video card, RAM speed, less junkware, and possibly price. The Dell may have a better battery life, though.
Also, my mom will be paying for this, and she's definitely more inclined to purchase the Dell because they're the bigger company, and because buying through Dell's site allows payment over a six-month period, while a different online retailer may not.
I'm not committed to either notebook, though, so I'll take any other suggestions into consideration.
Anyway, here's my FAQ answers. Thanks a lot for your help!
==========
General Questions
1) What is your budget?
Around $1500, though less is always better.
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
A 15" would probably be a good tradeoff between viewability and mobility.
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Typing, using fairly intensive audio and graphics software, some gaming, watching movies, other basic stuff.
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Taking it around campus.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Occasionally; current / next-gen FPS mostly.
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Whatever works.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
Not sure... I need a few hours at least.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
That's fine.
9) What country are you buying this in?
USA.
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Standard? Not sure.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
The highest possible.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Once again not sure... probably glossy (that's better for images, right?)
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Once again, whatever works.
14) How long do you want this laptop to last?
~4 years.
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
80 GB, 7200 rpm
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
Yeah, a CD/DVD reader / burner.
==========
Answer:
Re: Dell E1505 or Asus S96J (or other) for college?
well, i think the asus s96j would have the edge. the x1400 struggles already with the new-gen notebooks....imagine how it will perform a year down the line. you might also want to check the sony fe with the 7600go, though they dont have options for a 7200 rpm hd.
Answer:
Re: Dell E1505 or Asus S96J (or other) for college?
the asus will give you better quality and places like powernotebooks has 3 year warranty on the s96.
I've configured a pretty nice set up of about 2gb of RAM and 80gb 7200 rpm w/ wireless for about $13xx.
for dell the e1505 i've configured the same thing + 9-cell battery and bluetooth with 3 year warranty for about $2000 - $750 coupon = $1250
so i guess in price dell is a bit less but i think most of the people will agree that asus' build quality and better GPU is worth the extra $100.
As for the payment plan thing, i have no idea about other smaller websites but a lot of the owners are on this forum and are very helpful in answering questions.
Answer:
Re: Dell E1505 or Asus S96J (or other) for college?
Asus is a very well respected company and is the world's largest motherboard manufacturer. They aren't exactly a small company, just relatively unknown in the US as system manufacturers.
Answer:
Re: Dell E1505 or Asus S96J (or other) for college?
Sorry, i meant that the resellers of the asus are smaller companies such as gentech and powernotebooks. I am not 100% sure but i don't think they have a payment plan of any sort. I think it's a pay all at once kind of thing.
Answer:
Re: Dell E1505 or Asus S96J (or other) for college?
Sorry, i meant that the resellers of the asus are smaller companies such as gentech and powernotebooks. I am not 100% sure but i don't think they have a payment plan of any sort. I think it's a pay all at once kind of thing.
Sorry, I was addressing that to twon's mom ;)
Answer:
Re: Dell E1505 or Asus S96J (or other) for college?
Sorry, I was addressing that to twon's mom ;)
It's all good =o). I've actually used that same argument to my parents hahahah.