Considering another laptop...

[SonnieP]

I've got one Dell i9300 that has been an excellent machine thus far and thinkin' about getting another.

The Pentium M processor (or something running as cool) is pretty much a necessity since it literally sits in my lap 99.9% of the time.

What do you guys think about this deal and is there anything out there comparable?

Inspiron 9300 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)

Operating System (With Back-up CD) Windows XP Professional

Display 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™

Memory 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm

Video Card 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800

Hard Drive 60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive

Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

CD/DVD Drives 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability

Wireless Networking Cards Intel® PRO 2200 and Dell 350 Bluetooth Internal Wireless Cards

$1300 shipped....??? (That's with a $750 coupon and almost free shipping)

Thanks!

 

[LaptopExtreme]

You put that giant thing on your lap?! Well if you like your first one that much, you should know what you're getting into. If I were you, I'd ask myself, why get the exact same thing? I'd look into a smaller setup since i've already got a big setup.

 

[SonnieP]

Yeah... it's really not bad at all because it fits perfectly in my lap. I don't know that I would be comfortable with anything any narrower because of the way my forearms rest on the edges to allow me to type. Plus with what I do the 17" widescreen is a must as well... it allows tiling two windows much easier to view.

One pet peeve I've had with the Dell is the number pad though... there is none. I think I may sacrifice a little above and actually spend more to get the number pad on an HP...

HP Pavilion dv8000z

* – XP Professional with SP2
* – AMD Turion 64 ML-37 (2.0GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
* – 17.0" WSXGA+ BrightView Wide Viewing (1680x1050)
* – 128MB ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M w/Hypermemory
* – 1.0GB DDR SDRAM (2x512MB)
* – 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
* – DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
* – 54g 802.11b/g WLAN w/125HSM/SpeedBooster

It will cost me $1378 shipped but my sister works with HP and may be able to get another 10% off for me.

 

[LaptopExtreme]

Well I think the HP's are great, especially their Business line. I would take that over a Dell any day. Not too many laptops have the option that you're looking for, so you're chances are pretty slim. The DV8000 is a great media platform (not gaming). Big and heavy, but a much better build than the Dell.

 

[SonnieP]

I bit the bullet and ordered the HP... well my sister ordered it for me that is. My sister works with HP and she was able to save me an additional $250 off the price... even after $150 ($100 instant + $50 mail-in) rebates from HP. $400 off total.

Here's the final setup I went with... only difference from above is the DVD writer... never owned one so I figured what the heck...

HP Pavilion dv8000z:

# XP Professional with SP2
# AMD Turion 64 ML-37 (2.0GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
# 17.0" WSXGA+ BrightView Wide Viewing (1680x1050)
# 128MB ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M w/Hypermemory
# 1.0GB DDR SDRAM (2x512MB)
# 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
# LightScribe 8x DVD+/-RW&CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer
# 6-in-1 Digital Card Reader
# 54g 802.11b/g WLAN
# 8.1lbs

Not too shabby marks either... the i9300 compared here in their test is equipped better than my i9300 that I have now so I should see some improvement in performance as well...