Caveman days of the laptops.

[mjl1717]

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Can someone tell me if this a good deal for going to medical websites and using dvd's and cd's for USMLE. This saleman will sell me a Toshiba laptop for about $975. It has an intel celeron M processor 370, 1.5GHz DVD-CDRW, Reads DVDs, read/write CDs. 15.4 " screen, 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM memory. 60GB Hard Drive. Built in 802.11g Wireless. Upto 128MB Shared Video Memory.
Approx. 6lb. 3 USB Ports. Dicontinued model. He's a reputable dealer and the price includes a 2yr parts and labor and "screen smash warranty. Also if Im not satisfied I can return it within 14 days for any other computer. Im not that computer savy. [laptop-$700, screen mash warranty-$200, tax-$75=approx $975.] Thank you.

 

[masterMood]

spen the extra 200 dollars for a better laptop. Heck, you could get a brand new laptop for that price including the warranty.

check this website out and do your research

www.notebookreview.com

 

[billclinton]

Can someone tell me if this a good deal for going to medical websites and using dvd's and cd's for USMLE. This saleman will sell me a Toshiba laptop for about $975. It has an intel celeron M processor 370, 1.5GHz DVD-CDRW, Reads DVDs, read/write CDs. 15.4 " screen, 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM memory. 60GB Hard Drive. Built in 802.11g Wireless. Upto 128MB Shared Video Memory.
Approx. 6lb. 3 USB Ports. Dicontinued model. He's a reputable dealer and the price includes a 2yr parts and labor and "screen smash warranty. Also if Im not satisfied I can return it within 14 days for any other computer. Im not that computer savy. [laptop-$700, screen mash warranty-$200, tax-$75=approx $975.] Thank you.

You are going to want to avoid intel celerons. Because that computer has a celeron, it is probably actually only worth like $600-700 (that is what i have been seeing them go for). They are bottom of the line processor- they are the Ford Escort of processors. Everything else looks okay. The processor you want to go with is the Pentium M (centrino technology). The pentium M is faster and uses less power. There is also a new one out.. pentium duo or something like that. I am not sure how that compares... perhaps it's better and maybe someone on here will be able to offer some advice.

With that said, IBMs are the best made computers. They will last the longest and are of high quality. However, they are also the most expensive. The cheapest thing to do would be to ditch the sales guy and order online. Dell is the probably cheaper way to go- the best bang for your buck. They have deals going on all the time (check out www.slickdeals.net). It might be a good idea to go with a 2-3 year warranty with the dell. I have personally never had any problems, but I have heard stories on this forum of those who have. Another tip: if you have to deal with their customer service, do it through email. Good Luck.

The notebook review site listed above is good. Definately check that out.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

celeron M ain't worth sh8.

don't pay the 975. The going rate for celeron M with dvd/cdrw is $499 or less.

don't be a sucker. any cheap laptop you see in office depot, office max, circuity city, best buy advertisements will more than suffice for med school.

why pay $200 for a "screen warranty" when the cost to replace it is just that much? Why give him free money for damage that hasnt happened yet? No one is likely to smash their screen.

 

[heyjack70]

why pay $200 for a "screen warranty" when the cost to replace it is just that much? Why give him free money for damage that hasnt happened yet? No one is likely to smash their screen.

Actually, you can find some aftermarket screens for around $400-500, depending on the brand of computer that you must self-install, not $200. If you go back to the manufacturer, you are going to be looking at between $700-1000 for the exact same screen and you'll have to put it in yourself. For some, the $200 dollar replacement plan is good, if you know you don't want to hassle with a broken screen repair yourself....But...

The $200 dollars for a screen replacement is probably a bad deal for most people because it's half the price of a replacement "if" by chance you break your screen. I don't know what the odds of this are. But I think this year in school, one student's screen broke, along with the rest of his computer, in a car fire. So it isn't very likely.

I would also be wary of a "screen breaking warranty." I would want to see it in writing that it covers all damage to the sceen. Don't buy it if it only covers manufacturer defects in the screen. Most screen breaks happen when a pen/pencil is left on the keyboard and the notebook is shut, not defects in manufacture. The big warning for the $200 dollar service plan is: most salesmen offer extended service plans because they are purely profit, most customers do not have problems. If the customer does have a problem, it is usually from user abuse which is not covered. Many salesman will say, "I can offer you a service plan on the notebook for the next three years for $200 dollars. Sure, it will cover screen damage." And then you buy it, and the screen damage part of the sales pitch was a bit of a white lie, or a total lie. Like I said, service plans are sold as pure profit, so just be wary and read the warranty agreement because $200 dollars is a lot of money. Long post on screen warranties, my apologies for being off topic.

 

[mjl1717]

Guys thanks for the quick responses. I resurrected this thread to ask.- lf I go with a Dell laptop.- Which one would be efficient and cost effective for the above? {medical websites and using it for usmle CDs and DVDs.} Thank you in advance.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

Guys thanks for the quick responses. I resurrected this thread to ask.- lf I go with a Dell laptop.- Which one would be efficient and cost effective for the above? {medical websites and using it for usmle CDs and DVDs.} Thank you in advance.

the cheapest one will suffice. make sure you pick the cd/dvd option if it isn't selected already

$499 laptop after $200 discount

you can even get $399 laptops sometimes if you look in weekly ads

 

[fun8stuff]

Guys thanks for the quick responses. I resurrected this thread to ask.- lf I go with a Dell laptop.- Which one would be efficient and cost effective for the above? {medical websites and using it for usmle CDs and DVDs.} Thank you in advance.

don't go with a celeron! they suck and will take longer to load anything... go to dell an customize the smallest laptop you can get. it sucks to carry a big old laptop around... most people don't think of this when they buy one. here is what i would go with (pretty much what i have):
intel pentium M 1.6+ ghz
500+mb ram
dvdrw/cdrw
9 cell litium battery
less than 5-6lbs

These are the main things to go for. The Dell XPS's are nice, as well as the 700m/710m. Just go through and first pick something that is the rigth size, then pick other stuff.

 

[cdql]

You can also check around as there are a lot of websites out there that have coupons for Dell laptops. They usually aren't significant ($200 off $1500) but every little bit helps!

 

[rup47]

Just for comparison, I just bought a toshiba s2716 (not comp. sure about model number) for 1075 after rebates from circuit city. It has the intel centrino (pentium M) processor, 1 Gig RAM, 100 gig hard drive, 4 usb's, fire wire, media card reader as well as the other standard stuff you get with computers these days.

I think its about 6lbs so its not too heavy and it has a 15.4 inch widescreen. I'm guessing you can still find that laptop around for a similar price (comp was a brand new model when I bought it in January). IMO toshiba makes some of the better laptops out there and they are reasonably priced.

 

[n3ur05ur930n]

Guys thanks for the quick responses. I resurrected this thread to ask.- lf I go with a Dell laptop.- Which one would be efficient and cost effective for the above? {medical websites and using it for usmle CDs and DVDs.} Thank you in advance.

I used to have a "desktop replacement" laptop (it was big, 17" screen, Dell Inspiron 8000) and though it took up less space than a tower, it really defeated the purpose of 'notebook portability' because it was so huge and heavy.

I recently (about 6 months ago) purchased the new Dell Latitude X1 because of the price per feature ratio, which was much better than other laptops in the "ultra-portable" category, which is what I wanted. I thought that the screen might be too small at 12.1" but it is a widescreen and frankly I don't even notice the screen size. I absolutely adore this laptop. It is totally silent (no CPU fan, though this does result in it running pretty hot), feather light, and will fit into a small purse. Due to it's size however, the optical drive is external. I decided to go with this because I wanted an ultra-light ultra-portable system and I have absolutely no regrets. The only time I ever use the optical drive is maybe a couple times a year when I install new software, and it is hot swappable. I couldn't be happier with it and the centrino and bluetooth will be indispensable as campuses go wireless. I would advise not to go with the cheapest option because first of all technology advances so rapidly and cost drops so quickly that in a year your laptop will be a dinosaur. You want a good balance between buying the most top-of-the-line machine that will not be worth the price point and buying a system that will be too slow or unable to fill your needs with its capabilities a year or two from now. If you are going to make that kind of an investment I recommend looking ahead a bit and buying something that will serve all of your needs four years from now (which is about length of time that you should demand from it before it becomes outdated and/or your needs outgrow it).

Just my opinion. If you have any questions about this particular notebook I'm happy to answer them.

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/latit_x1?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_Latitude_X1/4505-3121_7-31320873-2.html

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2283

 

[mjl1717]

Anyone else want to chime in?

 

[anubus]

I've worked with Dell laptops at my IT job for the past 6 years and love them. I also own a Dell Latitude D600, which I regularly take to the med school library and I love it, too. I've had no problems with reliability, however some people have experienced otherwise. I think one plus about Dell laptops is that they offer some great online coupons, which sometimes make their laptops a steal. You can check out some coupon sites here and here. In case you don't know, Dell has a few lines of laptops: Inspiron (Home user, generally more consumer level), Latitude (business-class, fast and more dependable), XPS (part of Inspiron series, but made for high performance and video games).

No matter which brand of laptop you purchase, make sure it includes a good support plan (at least 1 year and hopefully 2 or 3 years warranty with at least mail-in support).

For general specs, I recommend the following:

CPU - Pentium M 1.6 GHz or higher
RAM - 512MB or more
Hard drive - whatever size you want, but try to get a hard drive with 5400 RPM spindle speed (7200 RPM if you can afford it)
Video card - I'm assuming you're not going to play 3d video games, so any one will do
LCD size - again up to you. My d600 is 14" and I think it's great while my brother has a 700M with a 12" screen and he loves it.
LCD resolution - XGA is the base resolution (1280 x 800), SXGA+ (1680 x 1050), UXGA (1920 x 1200) - My d600 has the SXGA+ resolution and I find it adequate. Also, the higher resolution, the smaller the font will get. Keep that in mind when choosing a resolution. Note all of these resolutions are for wide screen laptops. Laptops with a non-widescreen 4:3 aspect ratio will have slightly different resolutions, but the premise will be the same.

Good luck