Question:
3.5 lbs or less and 13" or bigger?
I am a public speaker and travel frequently both overseas and within the US.
For the last few years I've been using a Sony Vaio R505, which has served me extremely well (never required repairs). It's best features:
- a great keyboard
- a sharp LCD
- a built-in roller mouse on the track pad
- a very light travel weight (less than 3 lbs)
- long battery life (2 hrs+ with the regular battery, about 6 hours with the extended life battery).
- slimdock, which contains the optical drive (a DVD/CDRW) and lets me take the laptop off my desk without disconnecting my peripherals (I have 12).
However, the Vaio is starting to show its age - paint has rubbed off where my wrists rest when typing, some keys popped of the keyboard, it's only got USB 1.0, the hard drive is very slow. So I'm looking for the next one.
The new laptop should have all the features of my Vaio, plus:
- a USB 2.0 port
- a much faster hard drive
- a way to turn the speakers on/off before the operating system is loaded
And, as long as I'm looking, I wouldn't mind getting:
- a slightly larger LCD (maybe a wide aspect ratio?)
- a powered (6-pin) firewire port (for my iPod)
I've looked at the web sites for the Sony S and T, the IBM X40 and X31, the Dell Latitutde D400 and X300, and the Toshiba Portege R4100. (I also looked at getting a powerbook, but decided to pass, since they're much more expensive and heavier).
Unfortunately, the web sites are mostly pretty bad, and they don't give much detail on hard drive performance. Anyone here have any suggestions about which of these might suit my needs? Or are there others I ought to consider?
Thanks.
Answer:
Sony S Series is the successor to the R505 2 generations down the line. It has the sharp wide-aspect 13.3" screen you ask for and an option for an 80GB 5400rpm drive. If for some odd reason, you want to play the latest games on a tiny laptop like I do, there is a relatively cheap option to include a 64 MB ATI MR 9700 chip in there, something that's not found in ultraportables at all. :)
The T series is solid, but I don't think you want it if you care about screen size. It may be a little too portable for you.
I really don't know what to make of IBM right now. They just sold off the Thinkpad line to Lenovo, a Chinese company. I would personally avoid IBM until things stabilize unless you are willing to buy a computer and not worry about support and warranties. I live by that because I'm a lucky person, but the majority of people do have some sort of problem down the line.
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Compaq Presario 2800T
Pentium 4-M 1.6 GHz - 15" UXGA
512 MB RAM - 40 GB (5400 rpm)
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 64 MB
Answer:
The Fujitsu S6231 might be worth a look for you, it has a 13.3" screen and weighs 3.6lbs so it might be just ever so slightly bigger than you want. It's got a gorgeous screen though and a lot of nice features, plus good build and keyboard. If you go to Fujitsu to configure an S6231 you can opt for a 40GB 5400RPM hard drive.
http://www.computer-notebook.com/price/default.asp?productID=9995&productFamilyID=437&brandID=6&display=priceDetail
The Sony VAIO S270 is worth a look too, it has a 13.3" screen, but I think it might actually be a little heavier than the Lifebook S6231.
Answer:
I've been running a 505DL since new 3 years ago and have travelled internationally with it that whole time. How about upgrading to the new hitachi 60GB 7200 rpm drive for <$175 (www.hitachigst.com), throwing in the RAM so you have the full 384MB for <$100 (www.memoryx.net/sonvapcmem245.html), and getting a USB 2 and/or firewire PCMCIA card to updgrade the connectivity for <$75 (eg triple 6pin firewire at www.belkin.com).
The other option is what I'm looking at as a $3k replacement myself - fujitsu's P-7010D - with 80GB HDD, DVD writer, XP Pro, an inch and a bit less depth and the screen thickness less than the r505. I've played with this and think that this beats anything else out there even though it doesn't have every port you'll ever need. But I'm going to buy the modular battery so I can get the 4+ hours of work time.
Better build than the dells, slightly better operation than big blue(+DVD), definitely better screen than the tosh, and sadly more durable than the sony's (went into the store and played hard).
unprofessionally yours.....
the "un"professional
Answer:
Unpro: how hard is it to change out the drive? I googled for specific instructions, but didn't come up with any. There doesn't appear to be a drive case on the machine - would I have to remove the entire bottom casing of the machine to get to it?
The new Sony is too heavy for me (4.5 lbs or so). And I would prefer not to buy a machine without actually trying one out, which would make it difficult to get a Fujitsu.
Thanks.
Answer:
Upgrading the hard drive usually involves removing the a couple screws, sliding out the hard drive, swap the hard drives from the caddy, and put it back together. Then you have to re-install the operating system. If you download the manual of whatever machine you looking at, there should be instructions in there on how to take out the hard drive. You can get the 40Gb version of the Hitachi on Pricegrabber for about $115, the 60Gb version for $150.
I would second the Fujitsu option. It is a very good notebook. I would look at the s6210. It is last years model. Unless you are running CPU intensive apps, I doubt you'll notice a difference. It is priced between $1180-1270 on NewEgg which is about $500 less than the Vaio. Good Luck!
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=34-110-115&depa=0
I know things, things that could get me killed