Notebook opinions and suggestions.

Syn · Post by **Syn** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 2:45 pm

So the wife and I are about to buy our first pair of notebooks.Now I do not know that much about these things but I found these two that I like.Thinking of getting the Inspiron 300m for the wife and the 8600 for myself.

Is there anything I need to know about these models or Dell notebooks in general before we take the plunge?I'm open to suggestions on other notebooks but would like to stay in the price range that those two models are in.

Thanks in advance.

DaMaN · Post by **DaMaN** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 6:33 pm

dell support is good but remember, no matter how fast a processor you get, the bottleneck on lappys are with the HD's rpms. most models are 4200 or 5400 if you are lucky. In comparison to the one's in our mighty desktops (7200 -10,000 - 15,000rpm) you will notice the difference. Also another thing to look at is the needs for the user. For example, if you do not game or do multimedia, battery life is all important all the lappy Dell offer will do office and IE & Email with ease so you want great battery life (i.e. centrino and P4m) where as the gamers/video DVD Junkies need more ram(512+), fastest vid card and fastest HD you can get / afford. If you want take a look a the SAGER laptops. They are basically laptops that are on the level of desktop specs. I had one and loved it although it weighed a ton (~9lbs)

smb · Post by **smb** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 2:21 pm

get the complete care warranty for your Dells. It's worth it.

I have a dell Inspiron 2650 and have been very pleased with it. I just ordered another one,
an Inspiron 5650, more power, bigger screen, etc...etc. I've not had any problems at all.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 8:12 pm

Specify the 5400 rpm drive if you have the option. DO NOT settle for a 4200.

Get the warranty that includes ON SITE service (if you can afford it) otherwise you have to mail in the laptop.

Dell's on my shit list lately because they're tech support is getting worse (it's based in India BTW). Crap shoot - sometimes you get someone nice that's intelligible and sometimes you get an a-hole with a terrible accent.

I bought an Inspiron 1100 a few months ago with a 5400 rpm drive and I'm very happy with it. Whopping 4 hour battery life. Nice bright screen (even on battery I can read it outdoors in daylight).

The nice thing about Dell is they load very few background apps and uneccesary crap in the system compared to most other manufacturers.

BTW: If you want to save a few hundred, consider a refurb. Dell still gives you a one year mail-in warranty with an option to extend it or to make it an on-site warranty. This 1100 is a refurb and I saved $200 on it plus I got it with a WiFi card thrown in for free (make sure to read the system details on the refurbs - they resell them with whatever they were sold with and sometimes you get nice bonuses like WiFi cards and cases).

Go to the Dell Outlet: http://www.dell.com/html/us/outlet/redi ... p_icon.htm

Syn · Post by **Syn** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 1:28 am

Thanks for the advice guys I'm gonna do some more shopping around before I plunk down the cash.That i8600 with a WUXGA display and 128MB Radeon 9600 Pro is on the top of the list though.

DaMaN · Post by **DaMaN** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 1:58 am

Make sure you come back to this thread when you decide and let us know!