Technology laptops: bulky and powerful or tiny and slow

[stoic]

As I begin the search for a new laptop, I'm trying to decide between getting a "desktop replacement" that weights 8 or 9 pounds or a smaller model that is more portable but less powerful.

Basically I need at least a 14 inch screen, the ability to multi-task with things like word, power point, outlook, a web browser, and IM.

Battery life is also important.

Thoughts?

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[Spartacus]

pc or mac preference?

 

[Spartacus]

you should take a look at the dell 600m or the dell inspiron 8600 series (a bit more expensive). my brother has a 8600 and he works as an applications engineer and he says it's a very nice computer. toshiba also makes nice computers but they're kind of spendy.

 

[stoic]

PC vs. Mac... that's another question I've been debating.

I'd go mac if I was 100% sure that office files would always work when tranferred between mac and PC.

Also, will AVI files written on a PC be readable on a mac?

 

[Spartacus]

PC vs. Mac... that's another question I've been debating.

I'd go mac if I was 100% sure that office files would always work when tranferred between mac and PC.

Also, will AVI files written on a PC be readable on a mac?

You shouldn't have a problem with any office files transferring. Not sure about the AVI files but I'll check. I'm planning on getting a new Apple PowerBook G4 sometime in the next month or two. They are sweet. You should check them out at an Apple store if there is one nearby.

I have always been a PC user, but I've been doing a lot of research on the PowerBooks and have used them lately and they are just amazing. Also, you should check with where you'll be going to school just to make sure they don't have some kind of preference. Most schools support both equally, but I
have read that there are a few schools that have preferences.

Oh yeah, and you also get a student discount of like $200 which is pretty nice.

Cheers

 

[globalism]

As I begin the search for a new laptop, I'm trying to decide between getting a "desktop replacement" that weights 8 or 9 pounds or a smaller model that is more portable but less powerful.

Basically I need at least a 14 inch screen, the ability to multi-task with things like word, power point, outlook, a web browser, and IM.

Battery life is also important.

Thoughts?

If a person thinks a laptop has to be bulky to be powerful then they don't know what they're talking about.

I have an IBM thinkpad T40, it wieghs less then 5lbs and is quite fast (and the battery lasts 4 hrs).

Get a laptop with a pentium-m or centrino processor (not pentium-4-m), 5400 rpm hard drive, at least 512mb ddr ram and you should be good.

 

[mward04]

It sounds like I'm in the same boat...buying a laptop for less than a grand. Usually I can find a pretty sweet deal but nothing is really grabbing my attention right now.

So far the 600M is looking pretty sweet but CNET hasn't been entirely thrilled with its performance.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_Inspiron_600m/4505-3121_7-20906173.html
With student pricing you can get it for about $1084 before the bells and whistles.

Any other thoughts?

 

[Caverject]

You shouldn't have a problem with any office files transferring. Not sure about the AVI files but I'll check. I'm planning on getting a new Apple PowerBook G4 sometime in the next month or two. They are sweet. You should check them out at an Apple store if there is one nearby.

I have always been a PC user, but I've been doing a lot of research on the PowerBooks and have used them lately and they are just amazing. Also, you should check with where you'll be going to school just to make sure they don't have some kind of preference. Most schools support both equally, but I
have read that there are a few schools that have preferences.

Oh yeah, and you also get a student discount of like $200 which is pretty nice.

Cheers

I own a powerbook and tower. Let me tell you, I will never switch back. My macs have been wonderful. As far as office files, I have yet to run into an issue and the new Office 2004 for mac is suppose to be the best version of Microsoft Office ever for Mac or PC.

 

[exgatr]

Get a mac. I didn't realize how great they really are until I had to go back a PC for more than 30 minutes. There are no annoying errors, no popups (with safari), and no viruses.

Office is 100% compatible with windows.

 

[kwakster928]

i just do not see the point of having a laptop weighs 8 or 9 pounds. i had an old inspiron man that this was HEAVY!!. after that i would never buy a heavy laptop. there is no reason to buy state of the art laptop either. you cannot upgrade it. it is better to buy mid to low end replaces it once it gets outdated. in my opinion. any good website i can check the apples at? besides www.apple.com

 

[flighterdoc]

i just do not see the point of having a laptop weighs 8 or 9 pounds. i had an old inspiron man that this was HEAVY!!. after that i would never buy a heavy laptop. there is no reason to buy state of the art laptop either. you cannot upgrade it. it is better to buy mid to low end replaces it once it gets outdated. in my opinion. any good website i can check the apples at? besides www.apple.com

I just gave away my last tower (2.4 G P-IV, 120 GB HD, 1 GB Ram, yada-yada). I'm using a toshiba satellite laptop as a replacement. When I replace it (later this year) I'll get a lighter weight one and continue to use this one as a desktop analogue.

 

[mward04]

I just gave away my last tower (2.4 G P-IV, 120 GB HD, 1 GB Ram, yada-yada). I'm using a toshiba satellite laptop as a replacement. When I replace it (later this year) I'll get a lighter weight one and continue to use this one as a desktop analogue.

Price on the toshiba?

 

[Garuda]

I just ordered a Dell 600M. Extremely good value. It's portable and powerful. Check Techdeals.net for weekly coupons.

I saved money by not ordering Microsoft Office. I already have that on my main computer. For my laptop, I think I'll just install some free office software, like Open Office, for taking notes in class.

 

[John Deere Gree]

I don't understand why everyone complains about how heavy laptops are. I recently bought a Dell 9100 that weighs around 8 pounds. Big freaking deal, I've lugged around books that way that much along with other junk. So far i'm quite pleased, but then again I'm just glad I have a laptop that can do everythign better than my current desktop.

Whenever you buy a computer online be sure to go to yahoo.com or google.com and in my case I did a search for "Dell Coupon" and ending up getting over $400 in savings and free shipping. Do the same if you buy from compaq, apple, etc.

 

[KaBlamO]

i just got a fujitsu s6210

 

[BubbleBobble]

I don't understand why everyone complains about how heavy laptops are. I recently bought a Dell 9100 that weighs around 8 pounds. Big freaking deal, I've lugged around books that way that much along with other junk. So far i'm quite pleased, but then again I'm just glad I have a laptop that can do everythign better than my current desktop.

Whenever you buy a computer online be sure to go to yahoo.com or google.com and in my case I did a search for "Dell Coupon" and ending up getting over $400 in savings and free shipping. Do the same if you buy from compaq, apple, etc.

The point of getting a light laptop, in my opinion, is that when you're *already* carrying all those heavy books, you don't want a huge laptop as well. Naturally, if all you've got is a laptop, 8 lbs is no big deal.

 

[BubbleBobble]

As I begin the search for a new laptop, I'm trying to decide between getting a "desktop replacement" that weights 8 or 9 pounds or a smaller model that is more portable but less powerful.

Basically I need at least a 14 inch screen, the ability to multi-task with things like word, power point, outlook, a web browser, and IM.

Battery life is also important.

Thoughts?

The 14" iBook sounds perfect for you! You'll get 4-6 hours of battery life and easily be able to run all of those programs at once.

You can pick one up at the Apple Store for $1199 (1 GHz), or better yet, $1399 for a 1.2 GHz that comes with 20 extra GB of disk (up to 60) and built-in 802.11g.

Add a half GB of RAM and you'll be good to go.

 

[mward04]

The 14" iBook sounds perfect for you! You'll get 4-6 hours of battery life and easily be able to run all of those programs at once.

You can pick one up at the Apple Store for $1199 (1 GHz), or better yet, $1399 for a 1.2 GHz that comes with 20 extra GB of disk (up to 60) and built-in 802.11g.

Add a half GB of RAM and you'll be good to go.

problem is...it's a mac! you can't find any software for it and when you can, it's super expensive!

 

[BubbleBobble]

problem is...it's a mac! you can't find any software for it and when you can, it's super expensive!

For med school, what do you need? Office is the same price. Photoshop and the like are the same price (if you use them).

Software shouldn't really be a problem. Unless you play games. And even then, most new games have Mac versions.

 

[mward04]

For med school, what do you need? Office is the same price. Photoshop and the like are the same price (if you use them).

Software shouldn't really be a problem. Unless you play games. And even then, most new games have Mac versions.

Aside from the MBA part of my education, I routinely do graphics (yes this is conducive to a mac), database administration, software development and much more. Problem is, I do so much on my PC that a lot of times there aren't versions of the programs I want to use for my PC or instead of being free, they cost something.

Plus there are more peripherals and ancillary software for PCs.

I love Macs. I used to be a mac guy, but I just don't have the $$$ to shell out for one (Including the ongoing cost of software).

 

[BubbleBobble]

Aside from the MBA part of my education, I routinely do graphics (yes this is conducive to a mac), database administration, software development and much more. Problem is, I do so much on my PC that a lot of times there aren't versions of the programs I want to use for my PC or instead of being free, they cost something.

Plus there are more peripherals and ancillary software for PCs.

I love Macs. I used to be a mac guy, but I just don't have the $$$ to shell out for one (Including the ongoing cost of software).

Fair enough. I imagine that your needs are more complex than the average medical student's. I don't really see why you couldn't do database admin and software development on a Mac (since it's based off a UNIX core), but that's cool.

But since I doubt the average medical student needs a computer for more typing notes and checking email (such were the needs of the original poster), a Mac works great.

 

[John Deere Gree]

The point of getting a light laptop, in my opinion, is that when you're *already* carrying all those heavy books, you don't want a huge laptop as well. Naturally, if all you've got is a laptop, 8 lbs is no big deal.

Oh my gah..grow some muscles already.

I'd rather spend money too boost the computer rather than spend money to make it lighter.

 

[mward04]

Fair enough. I imagine that your needs are more complex than the average medical student's. I don't really see why you couldn't do database admin and software development on a Mac (since it's based off a UNIX core), but that's cool.

But since I doubt the average medical student needs a computer for more typing notes and checking email (such were the needs of the original poster), a Mac works great.

for an average student that doesn't have a lot of tech needs, I think the Mac would work great.

Apple I Book $1,099.00
12 in. screen
1GHz PowerPC G4
512K L2 cache @ 1GHz
12-inch TFT Display
1024x768 resolution
256MB DDR266 SDRAM
30GB Ultra ATA drive
Combo Drive
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory

Dell Inspiron 1000: $699
Intel Celeron 2.2 GHz processor
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
14.1" XGA Wide Display
256MB 266MHz Shared DDR Memory
24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
Starting at 6.37lbs

However, it's tough to argue with a $400 price difference...

 

[Mr Reddly]

I say go with LIGHT and LEAN!

I have 2 laptops: a compaq 2 GHz heavy mofo and a nice light 233Mhz P2 Latitude ($300 off of e-bay). Because the little latitude (14 inch? maybe less) is light and easy to take with me everywhere, it tends to win out. Office, photoshop, Visual Studio (programming), WWW all run fine. The only time I really need the big laptop is when I want to play a game, watch a movie, or make a new avatar That's when I need the horse power. When I carry around the big guy too much though, my neck starts to hurt from carrying it around.

So, I vote for light.. Then, get a powerful desktop for home and 802.11 to link the two together!

 

[mward04]

I have 2 laptops: a compaq 2 GHz heavy mofo

What does your Compaq weigh?

 

[Mr Reddly]

What does your Compaq weigh?

I just stepped on the scale (digital).... 182.5 for me... 189 for me and the laptop Close enough or just TMI(Too Much Info)?

I carry it in a leather satchel bag along with a second battery, power supply, wacom tablet, headphones, etc...

 

[kwakster928]

http://www.sonystyle.com/intershopr...5.html?DCMP=CNET_media&HQS=X505launch_ros_sky

see me drooling yet?

 

[Echinoidea]

I'm getting a 15" Powerbook. I love my Macs - i used to be a PC user, but I switched about 3 years ago. One of the best decisions I've made.

 

[Amy B]

I love my Dell D400. It is so lightweight. It has a great rating from CNET.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_Latitude_D400_series/4505-3121_7-21207517.html

You can keep the docking station plugged into the printer and anything else at home and just dock the laptop in and you are ready to use it as a desktop.

Here is the review
'''''Dell's new Latitude D400 is one of the fastest and best-equipped ultraportables we've tested. It's a wise addition for companies looking to upgrade their ultralight fleets. '"""""

 

[microTAS]

I got a Compaq Presario R3000: (desktop replacement)

Athlon XP-M 2800+ (1.6 Ghz on Centrino basis; ~2.6-2.8 on P4 basis)
60 Gig HD
256 MB RAM + 256MB manually installed -> 512 MB
DVD Drive
Wireless integrated
15.4" Widescreen monitor
GeForce Graphics Card w/ 32 MB RAM
3 side USB 2.0 ports, most ports

Here's the best part: $860!

 

[microTAS]

oh yeah, I know a lot of people don't trust Compaq, but PC Mag rates it 4.5/5

 

[Mr Reddly]

How loud is your Compaq?
I feel bad taking mine into a library where people are quite... They can hear my laptop

 

[microTAS]

It hardly makes a noise. If I have it on my lap though, it heats up and the fan goes on. Yet you still can't really hear it a few feet away. Oh yeah if you're thinking about buy one, read this to see how to get make it cheap: http://www.x1000forums.com/index.php?showtopic=5099

The X1000 is about the same except it is +~$100 and thinner in thickness.

 

[exia80]

As I begin the search for a new laptop, I'm trying to decide between getting a "desktop replacement" that weights 8 or 9 pounds or a smaller model that is more portable but less powerful.

I have the same problem...the 12 inch laptops are sooo cute but they are at most 1gig...i mean come on!!!!

 

[exia80]

If a person thinks a laptop has to be bulky to be powerful then they don't know what they're talking about.

I have an IBM thinkpad T40, it wieghs less then 5lbs and is quite fast (and the battery lasts 4 hrs).

Get a laptop with a pentium-m or centrino processor (not pentium-4-m), 5400 rpm hard drive, at least 512mb ddr ram and you should be good.

errr...........that laptop is a 1.6G speed....that is no that fast....one of reasone i am most likely not getting the light laptops...with desktops you can upgrade processor but with laptops it si very hard and a pain to do so

also do not get the centrino as they are not as good

 

[Mr Reddly]

Ya, but the question is "What do you need the laptop for?"
if it's for word processing and surfing the net, even a 233MHz is plenty fast enough. It's alot lighter, lasts longer, and is cheaper too.

As I said above, I get more use out of that little POS 233 of mine than my Presario. I toss it around, I leave it on the table at a coffee shop, I don't worry about it. It's small enough, light enough, and cheap enough that I can take it with me anywhere and use it without worrying. I just don't expect it to be a replacement for my desktop. For me, I don't need a desktop replacement... I have 3 desktop computers, 1 flat panel, and a KVM to switch between the computers (yes, I'm a nerd)

Just something to think about.

 

[youngin]

I read that Pentium M processors although most are clocked within the 1-2 ghz range, perform at a much higher level (kinda like the amd). But do you guys know wat a 1.6ghz Pentium M for example would be equivalent to in terms of performance to a pentium 4 in a desktop? I want an idea just so i can determine how many ghz i will need since I am also lookin for a laptop rite now.

 

[mward04]

I read that Pentium M processors although most are clocked within the 1-2 ghz range, perform at a much higher level (kinda like the amd). But do you guys know wat a 1.6ghz Pentium M for example would be equivalent to in terms of performance to a pentium 4 in a desktop? I want an idea just so i can determine how many ghz i will need since I am also lookin for a laptop rite now.

I've been told that a 1.5Ghz Centrino (Pentium M) chips clocks at around 2.7-2.8Ghz. Any idea why it's rated at 1.5 Ghz then??? This is the same thing with the Apple laptops as well, correct?

 

[Garuda]

I've had my Dell 600m for a couple of days now, and it's very good

It's fast, powerful, and lightweight. The screen and speakers are high quality. I highly recommend it. Mine was 1.6Ghz, 512MB memory, 60GB hard drive, DVD drive, a/b/g wireless, shipped for $1320.

 

[canadagirl]

I've been told that a 1.5Ghz Centrino (Pentium M) chips clocks at around 2.7-2.8Ghz. Any idea why it's rated at 1.5 Ghz then??? This is the same thing with the Apple laptops as well, correct?

It's rated at 1.5 Ghz because that's its clock speed, that is, the number of processing cycles per second that it can run. But clock speed alone isn't a good indicator of how fast a computer is because it doesn't take into account how many operations per cycle the computer can do. So P-M's do more per cycle than P4's, and so they are faster than their clock speed would indicate. This also gives them longer battery life, because power usage is tied to clock cycles.

My computer is a 1Ghz P-M and it can handle everything that I throw at it perfectly well.

Here's an article that basically says the same thing as what I wrote above: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci211799,00.html . You can also do a google search and get tons more info about why clock speed doesn't always correspond to performance.

 

[mward04]

It's rated at 1.5 Ghz because that's its clock speed, that is, the number of processing cycles per second that it can run. But clock speed alone isn't a good indicator of how fast a computer is because it doesn't take into account how many operations per cycle the computer can do. So P-M's do more per cycle than P4's, and so they are faster than their clock speed would indicate. This also gives them longer battery life, because power usage is tied to clock cycles.

My computer is a 1Ghz P-M and it can handle everything that I throw at it perfectly well.

Here's an article that basically says the same thing as what I wrote above: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci211799,00.html . You can also do a google search and get tons more info about why clock speed doesn't always correspond to performance.

Great article, thanks!

 

[mward04]

I've had my Dell 600m for a couple of days now, and it's very good

It's fast, powerful, and lightweight. The screen and speakers are high quality. I highly recommend it. Mine was 1.6Ghz, 512MB memory, 60GB hard drive, DVD drive, a/b/g wireless, shipped for $1320.

Yea, they just came out with the 700M, that's probably why they're making the 600M more affordable. Is the harddrive that you got 4200rpm or 5200rpm? How come you chose not to get a cd nor dvd burner?

 

[Garuda]

I just saw the specs for the 700m. If I was buying today, I would still go with the 600m.

I'm not sure how fast the hard drive is. It's probably 4200.

There was no point in buying a CD writer, because I have a 1 and half year old computer which has that. I also didn't order MS Office for the same reason (I have that on my main computer). On the laptop, I've installed some free office software that should be sufficient for taking notes in class and occasionally looking at Word files.

 

[microTAS]

update: after finding a better rebate, the laptop price is now $790. Unbelievable.

I got a Compaq Presario R3000: (desktop replacement)

Athlon XP-M 2800+ (1.6 Ghz on Centrino basis; ~2.6-2.8 on P4 basis)
60 Gig HD
256 MB RAM + 256MB manually installed -> 512 MB
DVD Drive
Wireless integrated
15.4" Widescreen monitor
GeForce Graphics Card w/ 32 MB RAM
3 side USB 2.0 ports, most ports

Here's the best part: $860!

 

[Jagleaso]

If you are into processing power, then look to sager (www.pctorque.com)

My dad got one of their biggest models, much to large for my liking but here are its stats:

Pentium 4 3.2 gHz HT (800mHz FSB)
1 gig ddr3200 ram
ATI Radeon 9600 mobility

Built in tv tuner
Built in mp3 player (portable mp3 player that fits into the laptop until you want to jam with it somewhere else)

Drive:
80 gig hd
cdrw
dvd-r/rw
All of this at a reasonable price too.
Im sure theres alot more but i really cant remember.

Im just happy with my Fujitsu lifebook.

 

[Domitian]

I don't own a laptop. I just carry my desktop with me. I use a mule. It's OK, as long as you can get used to Juan Valdez jokes.

 

[dankev]

I was planning on getting my 4th Dell (prob a 600m), when I decided to look in Circuit City just for fun. I walked out with an Averatec 3225. 12" screen, 1.5 Gig Mobile AMD Athlon, 512RAM, 40HD, b/g wireless, cd burner, dvd. It is just a shade over 4 lbs and was $800 after rebates. It has been plenty fast so far, and I have no complaints. It was much less expensive than an equivalent Dell would have been.

 

[toothcaries]

If you are into processing power, then look to sager (www.pctorque.com)

My dad got one of their biggest models, much to large for my liking but here are its stats:

Pentium 4 3.2 gHz HT (800mHz FSB)
1 gig ddr3200 ram
ATI Radeon 9600 mobility

Built in tv tuner
Built in mp3 player (portable mp3 player that fits into the laptop until you want to jam with it somewhere else)

Drive:
80 gig hd
cdrw
dvd-r/rw
All of this at a reasonable price too.
Im sure theres alot more but i really cant remember.

Im just happy with my Fujitsu lifebook.

i have a sager desktop replacement also...
...and i am very pleased.


that said,
i do wish it were lighter.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

I just purchased a Dell I 600M. I went with a lighter machine rather than a desktop replacement because I already have a nice desktop computer. Previously, I had an I 7000, which weighed a ton!

I've decided that if a laptap weighs a ton, then it'll be truly a desktop replacement because I'll never carry it on trips and the battery life sucks. The top of the line Dell desktop replacement laptap has a battery life of 60-90 minutes!

Determine if you want a laptap to use on-the-go, or if you want a compact, desktop-equivalent that will sit nicely on a desk.

 

[globalism]

I worked as a System Administrator in Silicon Valley, CA (I was a dot-commer) so I know a few things about computers.

A user only needs a really fast pc (2ghz or more) for 2 things: 1) file encoding/compression or 2) intense 3D video games (in which case you also need a good graphics card). By file encoding/compression I mean when a user wants to convert a whole audio CD into mp3's or wants to convert a DVD movie into a smaller, compressed format (such as DIVX).

If you don't plan on 1) encoding/compressing files or 2) playing 3D games like Doom3, Call of Duty, Max Payne 2 then a lighter laptop with a Pentium-M/Centrino processor is just fine (and they usually weigh less with longer battery lives).

Also for windows users out there, learn how to use 'Task manager'. It can be accessed by hitting 'Ctrl + Shift + ESC' at the same time. The 'processes' tab of Task manager shows all the processes the pc is running, here is where you can identify which application(s) are hogging up your cpu capacity (and then you can subsequently kill the application). Task manager is very, very useful.

ps- someone above mentioned hard drive speed- this makes a big difference. Try to getting a laptop with a 5400rpm or 7200rpm hard drive. They're much quicker than ones with 4200rpm hard drives.