Question:
Dell D820, E1505, HP dv8000t, or ?
I'm going to college next year and they reccomend that I get a gateway tablet, but the only software that they will be using that takes advantage of the touch screen is Microsoft One note, and I can type way faster than I can write by hand, so I decided that I dont really want to get it and I'm going to go for a traditional laptop. My budget is around $2000-$2500. I would like a good warentee (3 or 4 years, 4 perferably and I dont need accidental coverage) If I buy a Dell I can get some extra discounts through www.dell.com/epp because my dad gets a discount through his work.
I would really like a core duo (dual 2.0GHz or dual 2.16) and 2GB of RAM. The laptop I've got right now is a 14" Dell Inspiron 1100 that weighs like 7.6lbs and I dont think its that bad weight wise, lighter is always better but its not a huge issue. I need decent battery life, so at least 3:45-4:00 min (Either way I'd probably get a second battery just incase). I dont travel around too much and dont need a lot of portability/battery life but I'm going to need to take it to at least some classes next year. A real graphics card is always a must. and I really hade extended batterys that stick out the back or front.
I think I've narrowed it down to the Dell D820 15.4" with dual 2.0/512MB GPU/2GB/120GB or the HP dv8000t 17" dual 2.0/256MB GPU/2GB/240GB dual HDs. The dell can apparently get insane battery life when you have the 9-cell battery+media bay 6-cell battery. The HP is supposed to get around 3:45-just over 4 hours when you have power saving settings on. The other option is a Thinkpad Z61m (15.4" dual 2GHz core duo) but I looked on their site today and they dont have the core duo as an option anymore, just the Pentium M... all three of these laptops speced the way I want are around $2400. and there is also the E1505 for a bit less, but its got kind of poor battery life for its performance...
I watch a lot of movies and I really like the media center stuff but I dont need it, its just a nice thing to have (a big plus for the HP espically with the dual HDs) what would people reccomend, and I'm totally into other options as well, I would like to be able to game but I'm not a huge gamer so its not a huge deal, I just need at least 128-256MB dedicated this time around.
Thanks! and this is my first post here!
Answer:
Re: Dell D820, E1505, HP dv8000t, or ?
The HP has defenitely much better build quality than teh Dell. I would go with HP,mainly because of the build and I've heard that HP support is better than Dell(I may be wrong,but that's what I heard). And performance wise they perform pretty much the same. If there's any reason for me to get the Dell,it'd be EPP
Answer:
Re: Dell D820, E1505, HP dv8000t, or ?
Hav u ever considered the Dell XPS M1210? wif 2000$+, i think u could get a option maxed out m1210. It ll last u for 3 years or more, i think. If u dun like small screen, then just go for the M1710(the lower end model). And if u would like the just ok type screensize, guess it s a asus w3j then. U could look up in Asus forum and see how ppl say bout the w3j.
Answer:
Re: Dell D820, E1505, HP dv8000t, or ?
well the M1710 gets really bad battery life (people I know get around 2-2.5 hours which is not enough at all. I was also looking at the dv5000t from HP which looks pretty nice, and I called HP and I can get a 6-8% discount for being a student as well.
Answer:
Re: Dell D820, E1505, HP dv8000t, or ?
Batterywise i would suggest u a Sony SZ, they hav bout 5.5 hour of usage time. Quite impressiv wif a dedicated 7400go (but achieved by using the intergrated gpu). Although they hav lousy support, but it suits u the most. Check the review here.
Things that affect battery life:
The more powerful processor u hav, the less battery time u hav.
Dedicated GPU sucks more power.
Faster harddrive (7200rpm) use more power than a 5400 ones, u ll notice a 15 min difference.
Answer:
Re: Dell D820, E1505, HP dv8000t, or ?
Actually D820 has a better build quality and support than hp consumer line(hp business line is great though).
Answer:
Re: Dell D820, E1505, HP dv8000t, or ?
well Looking at a review sledgehammer did, it looks like the dv800t will get around 4 hours of battery life just doing basic office stuff (maybe a bit more if I lower screen brightness and power settings) which would be plenty
Answer:
Re: Dell D820, E1505, HP dv8000t, or ?
if you're looking at hp, i would consider the hp nc8430. good gpu, decent battery life, and good durability.