Whats the Top Notebook to buy atm ?

LETSGO · 20th September 2006, 7:35 PM

gday, im looking for an upgrade from my low-bat life, heavy as a rock dell notebook, i know heaps of new released all the time but from your experience is there a certain brand of notebook i should be looking for ??

i know toshiba is good with good bat life and not that hearvy ???

should i be getn a pentium 4 or what ??

im kinder a notebook newb so please be gentle.
any opionion is help

cheers

josh81 · 20th September 2006, 10:10 PM

Pentium 4 processors are generally reserved for "desktop replacements", cause the laptop is as powerful or similar to a desktop computer, and pretty much has everything a desktop PC would have.
Therefore it is very large and heavy (~3kg) and has poor battery life, so it will spend most of it's time sitting on a desk & chained to a power point.

You should go for a Core Duo or a Core 2 Duo, they are the newest portable processors on the market. Core Duo superceded the Pentium M (Mobile), which was the first Centrino processor. Centrino was created so laptops would be light, have long battery life, and have a wireless adapter (wifi).

So the Core Duo, which was recently replaced by the Core 2 Duo, is similar to the Pentium M, but it's 2 processors in 1, ie. Two Core's, ie. Duo Core. Which means you can run mutiple applications faster, 'cause you've got 2 guys sharing the work, where it used to be only one guy doing all the work.

You could go for the Pentium M, but it's outdated, and the Celeron processor is cheapo. But if your budget is under $1500, then you might have no choice.
$1500-$1200 you're looking at Pentium M. $1200-$800 you're get a Celeron for your money. $1500 and up are the Core Duo's.

MrSmith · 20th September 2006, 11:18 PM

As for cpu's, Core 2 Duo is the latest Intel. Core Duo just before that.

tgenesis · 20th September 2006, 11:30 PM

What do you want to use your laptop for? Desktop replacement? Or will you be carrying it around with you?

Kharn · 20th September 2006, 11:56 PM

Depends what you want to do with it and how much your willing to spend. Also it depends on your priorities: high gaming specs? light? well designed? cheap? easy to use? Buying a laptop today is a bit like buying car, they come in all shapes and sizes with plenty of different options.

lowdog · 21st September 2006, 7:43 PM

Core 2 duo for sure. How bigger screen do you want etc etc.

Look at the DELL XPS M1210 with the 12" widescreen, core 2 duo and the Nvidia Go 7400 TurboCache + 2gig of ram. Good battery life and portable to boot + grunt.

MrSmith · 21st September 2006, 7:48 PM

Alternatively to the M1210, There's the Insprion 9400, and the more expensive - more powerful XPS M1710

SLATYE · 21st September 2006, 7:55 PM

If you want gaming performance, the Inspiron 9400 and XPS M1710 are good options. If you want a lightweight laptop which can still run games reasonably well, the XPS M1210 is good. If you want pure mobility, consider the Latitude D420.

If the budget is an issue, the Inspiron 640M and 6400 are probably the cheapest Core Duo laptops available.

lowdog · 21st September 2006, 8:06 PM

I only mentioned the XPS M1210 because the op stated his "heavy as a rock Dell notebook"

My DELL i9300 is the 17" widescreen and I don't feel it's that heavy, would be the same weight as the current gen XPS M1710 and the op would probably reckon this was "heavy as a rock" as well. Depends on what you want. For a desktop replacement with gaming in mind you couldn't get better than the XPS M1710 but if weight is that much of an issue I'd look at the XPS M1210 but you'd be comprimising on gaming preformance.

MrSmith · 21st September 2006, 8:07 PM

There the good options ^^

I'd reccomend the Inspiron 6400 for everyone, It's in the middle - It's between lightweight low speed laptops and heavy highspeed laptops, It's got dedicated graphics capable of gaming, and a powerful CPU, and it's very upgradeable (bar the GPU), 15.4" widescreen, and It's cheap (~$1500)

josh81 · 22nd September 2006, 3:54 AM

The 6400 is still pretty heavy, like most 15.4" notebooks; around 3kg.
Here are the scales, generally speaking:

12" - 14"--------------15.4" - 17"
---------------------------------
-------------- /\
LIGHT-------------------- HEAVY

MrSmith · 22nd September 2006, 6:31 PM

2.8kg isn't too bad for a 15.4" widescreen with the lot. But, Dell's are a bit chunky.

Then again, if you want portability, you won't be looking at a 15.4" in the first place.

Varuna · 23rd September 2006, 12:24 AM

Lets start with a few simple questions.

1. How much money do you have?
2. What size screen/weight were you looking for?
3. Do you want to be able to play games on the machine?

oli · 23rd September 2006, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLATYE

If you want pure mobility, consider the Latitude D420.

How can you purchase these? They aren't available in the small business or home user sections of the Dell Australia website from what I can tell.

MrSmith · 24th September 2006, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oli

How can you purchase these? They aren't available in the small business or home user sections of the Dell Australia website from what I can tell.

There in the Small Business section.

View all Lattitudes > Ultramobile

20th September 2006, 7:35 PM	#1
LETSGO Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: NSW Posts: 206	Whats the Top Notebook to buy atm ? gday, im looking for an upgrade from my low-bat life, heavy as a rock dell notebook, i know heaps of new released all the time but from your experience is there a certain brand of notebook i should be looking for ?? i know toshiba is good with good bat life and not that hearvy ??? should i be getn a pentium 4 or what ?? im kinder a notebook newb so please be gentle. any opionion is help cheers

20th September 2006, 11:18 PM	#3
MrSmith Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: nor perth Posts: 2,393	As for cpu's, Core 2 Duo is the latest Intel. Core Duo just before that. __________________ [X2 4200+, Asus 8600GT Silent, 1gb, modded Antec Plusview2] [Dell i6400/1.83Ghz C2D, 1gb ddr2, 256mb X1400] [Middlesbrough FC, Fremantle Dockers, Perth Glory] [Myspace, trades] \|\|Dr. Pepper Club Member #001\|\|

20th September 2006, 11:30 PM	#4
tgenesis Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 541	What do you want to use your laptop for? Desktop replacement? Or will you be carrying it around with you? __________________ AMD Opteron 170 @ 2.7ghz, DFI Expert SLI-DR, Pioneer 109 DVD±RW, Nec 3540A DVD±RW, Seagate 250Gb 8Mb SATA NCQ, Sparkle 7800GTX, Team Xtreem Cronus PC4000 @ 2.7ghz (2x1gb), Antec P180, Enermax Liberty 500w Trades : finnigan, Locutus of Borg, Hazzak, rodgo, technoir, Latch, Harryzi, czaja74, jermaink, MorbosuS, crustydemon_r1, << J o Y i >>, karsa, seven7, dvs, Voltus, KrisT, rockuman_ex, toolgasm462, jackedin, Loop Goose, ERF, ummmz, Omarkp, EvilHomer, finnigan001, MMD, jaimem, alco23, Gouki

21st September 2006, 7:43 PM	#6
lowdog Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Hell Posts: 3,345	Core 2 duo for sure. How bigger screen do you want etc etc. Look at the DELL XPS M1210 with the 12" widescreen, core 2 duo and the Nvidia Go 7400 TurboCache + 2gig of ram. Good battery life and portable to boot + grunt. __________________ i7 950 @ 4GHz WC'ed (1.18v) 24/7 \| 12GB DDR3 \| Asus P6T-D \|2 X Sapphire 5870 CFX \| blah blah

21st September 2006, 7:48 PM	#7
MrSmith Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: nor perth Posts: 2,393	Alternatively to the M1210, There's the Insprion 9400, and the more expensive - more powerful XPS M1710 __________________ [X2 4200+, Asus 8600GT Silent, 1gb, modded Antec Plusview2] [Dell i6400/1.83Ghz C2D, 1gb ddr2, 256mb X1400] [Middlesbrough FC, Fremantle Dockers, Perth Glory] [Myspace, trades] \|\|Dr. Pepper Club Member #001\|\|

20th September 2006, 10:10 PM	#2
josh81 Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bellbowrie, Brisbane Posts: 2,414	Pentium 4 processors are generally reserved for "desktop replacements", cause the laptop is as powerful or similar to a desktop computer, and pretty much has everything a desktop PC would have. Therefore it is very large and heavy (~3kg) and has poor battery life, so it will spend most of it's time sitting on a desk & chained to a power point. You should go for a Core Duo or a Core 2 Duo, they are the newest portable processors on the market. Core Duo superceded the Pentium M (Mobile), which was the first Centrino processor. Centrino was created so laptops would be light, have long battery life, and have a wireless adapter (wifi). So the Core Duo, which was recently replaced by the Core 2 Duo, is similar to the Pentium M, but it's 2 processors in 1, ie. Two Core's, ie. Duo Core. Which means you can run mutiple applications faster, 'cause you've got 2 guys sharing the work, where it used to be only one guy doing all the work. You could go for the Pentium M, but it's outdated, and the Celeron processor is cheapo. But if your budget is under $1500, then you might have no choice. $1500-$1200 you're looking at Pentium M. $1200-$800 you're get a Celeron for your money. $1500 and up are the Core Duo's.

20th September 2006, 11:56 PM	#5
Kharn Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: See the world they said. So i bought a mac. Posts: 1,781	Depends what you want to do with it and how much your willing to spend. Also it depends on your priorities: high gaming specs? light? well designed? cheap? easy to use? Buying a laptop today is a bit like buying car, they come in all shapes and sizes with plenty of different options.

21st September 2006, 7:55 PM	#8
SLATYE SLATYE, not SLAYTE Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Canberra Posts: 21,040	If you want gaming performance, the Inspiron 9400 and XPS M1710 are good options. If you want a lightweight laptop which can still run games reasonably well, the XPS M1210 is good. If you want pure mobility, consider the Latitude D420. If the budget is an issue, the Inspiron 640M and 6400 are probably the cheapest Core Duo laptops available. __________________ Main system: Pentium-D 805 \| 1GB (2x 512MB) PQI DDR400 \| Gigabyte 8I865GMK-775 \| Xtreama Radeon 9800Pro with Zalman ZM-80HP-D \| 320GB WD SATA HDD \| Antec SmartPower 2.0 500w Laptop: Compal EL80 \| C2D T7200 \| 320GB Fujistu HDD \| 2GB DDR2-667 \| GF Go 7600

21st September 2006, 8:06 PM	#9
lowdog Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Hell Posts: 3,345	I only mentioned the XPS M1210 because the op stated his "heavy as a rock Dell notebook" My DELL i9300 is the 17" widescreen and I don't feel it's that heavy, would be the same weight as the current gen XPS M1710 and the op would probably reckon this was "heavy as a rock" as well. Depends on what you want. For a desktop replacement with gaming in mind you couldn't get better than the XPS M1710 but if weight is that much of an issue I'd look at the XPS M1210 but you'd be comprimising on gaming preformance. __________________ i7 950 @ 4GHz WC'ed (1.18v) 24/7 \| 12GB DDR3 \| Asus P6T-D \|2 X Sapphire 5870 CFX \| blah blah

21st September 2006, 8:07 PM	#10
MrSmith Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: nor perth Posts: 2,393	There the good options ^^ I'd reccomend the Inspiron 6400 for everyone, It's in the middle - It's between lightweight low speed laptops and heavy highspeed laptops, It's got dedicated graphics capable of gaming, and a powerful CPU, and it's very upgradeable (bar the GPU), 15.4" widescreen, and It's cheap (~$1500) __________________ [X2 4200+, Asus 8600GT Silent, 1gb, modded Antec Plusview2] [Dell i6400/1.83Ghz C2D, 1gb ddr2, 256mb X1400] [Middlesbrough FC, Fremantle Dockers, Perth Glory] [Myspace, trades] \|\|Dr. Pepper Club Member #001\|\|

22nd September 2006, 3:54 AM	#11
josh81 Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bellbowrie, Brisbane Posts: 2,414	The 6400 is still pretty heavy, like most 15.4" notebooks; around 3kg. Here are the scales, generally speaking: 12" - 14"--------------15.4" - 17" --------------------------------- -------------- /\ LIGHT-------------------- HEAVY Last edited by josh81; 22nd September 2006 at 4:00 AM.

22nd September 2006, 6:31 PM	#12
MrSmith Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: nor perth Posts: 2,393	2.8kg isn't too bad for a 15.4" widescreen with the lot. But, Dell's are a bit chunky. Then again, if you want portability, you won't be looking at a 15.4" in the first place. __________________ [X2 4200+, Asus 8600GT Silent, 1gb, modded Antec Plusview2] [Dell i6400/1.83Ghz C2D, 1gb ddr2, 256mb X1400] [Middlesbrough FC, Fremantle Dockers, Perth Glory] [Myspace, trades] \|\|Dr. Pepper Club Member #001\|\|

23rd September 2006, 12:24 AM	#13
Varuna Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sydneys Northern Beaches. Posts: 1,050	Lets start with a few simple questions. 1. How much money do you have? 2. What size screen/weight were you looking for? 3. Do you want to be able to play games on the machine? __________________ If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.