Question:
Faq filled - looking to get laptop
General Questions
1) What size notebook would you prefer?
a. Ultraportable; 12" screen or less
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
2) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Word processing, internet browsing, typical school work / light gaming
3) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
yeah. Want no more than 5.5 lbs
4) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Light gaming - starcraft, hl2 maybe, warcraft3 at low resolution is fine
5) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
no gateway, averatec, apple
6) How many hours of battery life do you need?
up to 4 hours (extended battery not a problem)
7) What is your budget?
$1300-$1500
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
no. However, I'm looking for one that does not have many common reliability problems. Bought an averatec, never buying one again. Especially no overheating.
9) What country are you buying this in?
USA
Screen Specifics
10) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Widescreen preferably and any resolution will suffice, most preferably wxga and above.
11) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
glossy, crystal display
Build Quality and Design
12) Are the notebook’s looks and stylishness important to you?
somewhat, but not as important as budget
13) How long do you want this laptop to last?
at least 3 years, no overheating
Notebook Components
14) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
40 gb 5400rpm
15) Do you need a DVD, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-R drive?
cdrw/dvd is sufficient but dvdr will be nice if within budget
Also, lack of OS, productivity suites are no problem. Prefer a 512 mb ram, 128mb shared video or better, 40gb 5400 rpm hdd or better, 1.7 ghz or higher.
Thanks. I have been looking at some laptops. 700m, xps m140, compaq v2000z, asus z63A-s from agearnotebooks.com, powerpro 12:2 ultra from powernotebooks.com.
Any help will be much appreciated.
:noisyfan: :overheat:
Answer:
Re: Faq filled - looking to get laptop
Check out the Compal 2030 as well.
Also the Fujitsu s22xx(I think? The 13.3 with 200m) may be of an option in addition
Answer:
Re: Faq filled - looking to get laptop
I guess I'm cheaper than I like. My budget would be more around $1200 or less best. I mean if I can get everything I want for as low as possible, like $1000, I will kiss my grandmother. I think I could manage $1300.
Answer:
Re: Faq filled - looking to get laptop
Compal EFL 30 (aka Chembook 2030) and MSI 1022 by all means! 5lbs, almost 4 hours (more like 3-3.30m), and a dedicated GPU!
if you wait till February, Asus should hopefully have the Asus Z62j.. a 14 widescreen with a GPU..I believe its the Nvidia 7300
Answer:
Re: Faq filled - looking to get laptop
PowerNotebooks is a great place to get a notebook - it's where I ordered mine. The PowerPro 12:2 won't be good for games, since it has the GMA900 integrated graphics - check out this model, it will be much better. It's the same notebook as the Compal EFL-30 (lol coriolis - it's the Chembook 2030 ;)).
Yes - the Fujitsu S2110 is the 13.3" notebook, with the AMD Turion and Radeon Xpress 200M. Should do for very light gaming.
Another option is the MSI-1022.
Answer:
Re: Faq filled - looking to get laptop
The chembook looks like a great fit. It's competitibely priced and has decent specs and looks good. However, gaming is not really a priority and so is there another older chembook that mirrors the 2030 except for the video card?
Fujitsu's are overpriced in my book and configuring a s2110 with a 40gb 5400 rpm hdd costs 1300 as opposed to around 1100 for the chembook. but I can't find anything on the MSI 1022.
Answer:
Re: Faq filled - looking to get laptop
brrip - on www.RawPowerPC.com, they offer the MSI-1022.
For your budget, you can also get the Asus Z63A. It does not have a dedicated graphics card, but may be a bit pricey.
Answer:
Re: Faq filled - looking to get laptop
The chembook looks like a great fit. It's competitibely priced and has decent specs and looks good. However, gaming is not really a priority and so is there another older chembook that mirrors the 2030 except for the video card?
Fujitsu's are overpriced in my book and configuring a s2110 with a 40gb 5400 rpm hdd costs 1300 as opposed to around 1100 for the chembook. but I can't find anything on the MSI 1022.
http://www.msicomputer.com/NB/produc...?model=MS-1022
There's a where to buy link there. You should also consider PMing unleaded, maybe he has them.
Answer:
Re: Faq filled - looking to get laptop
Thanks for all your help you guys.
I'm pretty much deciding on the compal and the ms 1022 after your suggestions. On rawpower.com, they're the exact same price with the same configuration but with 768 mb for compal vs. 512 for ms 1022.
It's such a hard choice, both look good, although I'm leaning for the msi in that regard. But the compal can be configured with more memory and has a camera. But the msi has bluetooth.
specs: 1.86ghz, 40gb 5400rpm, dvd/cdrw combo drive, std 1yr wty, (512 vs 768 ram).
Prices end up being 1248 for msi vs 1250 for compal.
Is there somewhere cheaper I can get these laptops? and what would you guys choose or consider worth upgrading over these specs? I have a external 2.5" 40gb hdd so hdd capacity is not a problem.
Answer:
Re: Faq filled - looking to get laptop
I was looking at the dell 700m and it can be configured with 2ghz, 80 hdd, 1gb ram and a similar configuration to the ms-1022 configured with 40gb hdd, 1.86ghz, 1gb ram.
It ends up being 1307 with 400 discount compared to 1301 for the msi from rawpower.com. I need a reason to choose the msi over the dell. My dad wants me to get the dell but too many people have it and the MSI has a dedicated graphics card. Help me.
dell has 80gb hdd vs 40gb hdd for msi
msi has bluetooth
msi is 1.86ghz vs 2ghz dell
msi has dedicated graphics
That's as far as I got.
:base: :decision: