Question:
Budget choices
Hiya.
General Questions
1) What is your budget? I can't buy a laptop without the longest (Not necessarily best) warranty + accident protection, which is somewhere between $250 - $350 for different manufacturers. With that in mind, it would be really, really nice to spend only $800 on the actual machine, but I'd go up to $1000.
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook? Web browsing, word processing, some movie watching, some gaming. I'm not looking to play F.E.A.R., but it'd be nice to run something like WoW on crappy-mid settings.
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk? Around a university mostly, so not much movement.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games? My current machine is so crappy that I haven't been keeping up with newer games. It'd be nice to run HOMM5 and Civ4.
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like? Nope.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need? 2 or 3.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person? Nope.
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in? USA
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen? Wide, but it's not important.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Standard
a. XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.
Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Glossy I guess.
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you? Nope.
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last? As soon as possible. 4 years would be great, and I'm getting a sweet warranty.
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB? I'd settle for 60.
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive? DVD-CD/RW sounds awesome.]
I'm basically trying to decide between the Dell E1505 and the HP dv5000t. Thoughts?
Answer:
Re: Budget choices
Based on what you told me,the E1505 is the best choice for you.You could probably get a X1400 with a 1 gig of ram and atleast 80 gigabyte hardrive,it will definetly run wow on mid to high settings.
Answer:
Re: Budget choices
Latitude D520
Intel® Core™ Duo T2300E (1.66GHz) 667Mhz Dual Core
Operating Systems
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2, with media
LCDs
15 inch XGA LCD Panel
Memory
1.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
Hard Drives
60GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM
Module Bay Devices
24X CD-ROM Drive
Wireless LAN (802.11)
Dell Wireless™ 1390 802.11g Mini Card
Batteries
6 Cell Primary Battery
AC Adapter
65W A/C Adapter
Hardware Support Service
3 Year Mail-in Economy Plan
All this came in at $986
Answer:
Re: Budget choices
Another option
Inspiron B130 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 735 (1.70GHz/2MB Cache/400MHz FSB)
Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
LCD Panel 15.4in WXGA Display
Memory 1GB DDR2 SDRAM 2 Dimm
Video Card Integrated Intel® Media Accelerator 900 Graphics
Hard Drive 80GB 5400rpm Hard Drive
Integrated Modem and NIC Internal 56K Modem and Integrated Network Card
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Combo/DVD+RW Drives 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Wireless Networking Cards Intel® PRO 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) No productivity suite- Corel WordPerfect word processor only
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) No Security Subscription
Primary Battery 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (56 WHr)
Hardware Warranty 3Yr Ltd Warr,At-Home Service,and HW Warr Support plus Nights and Weekends
For $969
Answer:
Re: Budget choices
Hello,
If you want to spend no more then $800, my sister got this configuation on her B130.
Inspiron B130 Intel® Celeron® M Processor 370 (1.50
GHz/1MB Cache/400MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office
software not included)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
LCD Panel 15.4in WXGA Display
Memory 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 2 Dimm
Video Card Integrated Intel® Media Accelerator 900
Graphics
Hard Drive 40GB 5400rpm Hard Drive
Combo/DVD+RW Drives 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with
double-layer DVD+R write capability
Wireless Networking Card Dell® 1470 Internal Wireless (802.11a/b/g,
54Mbps)
Primary Battery 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (56 WHr)
Hardware Warranty 2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and
2Yr HW Warranty Support
Operating System
Re-Installation CD
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
re-installation CD
The total cost, including tax and shipping, was about $765, including the $300 off $999.
JC
Answer:
Re: Budget choices
Thanks for all your help! I ended up going with a nicely configured E1505. It was pricier than I wanted, but I think I'll be very happy.
Answer:
Re: Budget choices
Good choice, my brother has the E1505 as well.
JC