Please recommend a laptop

This is not to be insulting, but first off a notebook with a P4 and a high end graphics adapter will be: bulky, heavy and hot.

I would suggest something that is less powerful which will make it smaller, lighter and produce less heat. A notebook with a low voltage PIIIm or a Celeron using a 14" display will be nice and compact. It will be easy to carry around and will produce less heat. If you are going to be transporting your notebook frequently you will want to get one that is well constructed because even small bumps and vibrations tend to shorten the life of notebook.
I would suggest getting a notebook with a good warranty. It seems like everytime I read about a person who sends a notebook in for repair needs a new motherboard or a new display, etc.
As for the wireless cards, I have never used one. I like built in nic's. I have heard the reception with the newer built in wireless cards is getting better. The only problem with the external wireless card is when you pack up your laptop you have another item to disconnect and put away.
When it comes to LCD's their native resolution is the best viewing resolution. If your display is designed to display 1600 X 1200 it is best to use that resolution for maximum quality. Selecting a lower resolution tends to result in a lower quality image. That's what I have heard.
I have used both XGA and SXGA LCD's and both had better resolution and picture quality than any CRT monitor I have ever seen. When I go from my notebook to my desktop I really notice how fuzzy the CRT monitor is.
The best piece of advice I can suggest is don't skimp on the hard drive. If you are going to shell out a pile of money for a top of the line desktop replacement notebook get one with a 5400 rpm hard drive. The majority of notebooks use 4200 rpm hard drives and they are the biggest system speed bottlenecks. Getting a P4m notebook with a GeForce4 video adaptor and 512MB of 266 DDR SDRAM and a crappy old 4200 rpm hard drive is like buying a desktop with a P4 Celeron, on board graphics, PC133 SDRAM....insane.



<font color=red><i>Doctor Hooter</i></font color=red> <A HREF="http://www.page3.com/" target="_new"><b>(·Y·)</b></A>

zpyrd: Thanks for the great reply. After thinking about it some more, I've reconsidered certain criteria.

First of all, I've come to realize that portability is much more important to me than I initially suggested. I'm now strongly considering the IBM Thinkpad T30 based largely on the fact that it's only 5.1 pounds. After I realized that the 7-8 pound Dells and Toshibas weigh about as much as two full-sized textbooks, I started considering lighter options.

I believe a 14.1" screen would be better for me than a 15". I'm also considering 12.1" options, but those models tend to skimp on other features that I'd prefer to have such as a touchpad and integrated optical drives. In fact, I would strongly consider IBM's X series machines, if it weren't for the fact that they lack a touchpad.

Also, I'm no longer hell-bent on getting the fastest processor available. Most of the time, I'll be doing programming on this laptop. I'd like a reasonably fast video subsystem to play a game or two, but fast performance in Direct3D/OpenGL stuff isn't necessary. In other words, I don't need a GeForce 4.

I've heard a lot about the high quality of IBM's Thinkpads. When I started shopping around, I looked at their top-of-the-line A series, which fell outside my price range. The T series, on the other hand, look to do everything I need them to do.

Taking my new criteria into account, do you have any other laptop suggestions? I'm leaning heavily toward the IBM T30 Thinkpad.

Thanks again for your help.

I have not had the opportunity to use an IBM notebook.
I have had a Dell Inspiron 4000 and I now have a Dell Inspiron 8100. Both are good machines. The 8100 feels like a full power desktop system.

I think you may like this configuration on a Dell Inspiron 4100. It's a medium size notebook that weights in around 5 pounds and has the power of a desktop.

Intel® Pentium® III Processor at 1.13GHz - M w/14.1" SXGA+ Display & 16MB ATI Mobility™ Radeon
512MB SDRAM (2 Dimms)
40GB Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
8X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
Internal 56K Modem
Internal Network Card
Microsoft® Windows XP Professional (English)
Microsoft® Office XP Small Business Edition (English Only)
1 Year Express Depot Warranty with Complete Care, 24x7 Phone Tech Support, 365 days a year.
8-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery
Dell Nylon Backpack
LOGITECH Optical USB Mouse
Lightweight Floppy Disk
Symantec Norton Antivirus 2002 OEM Package, English, 90 Day Trial Version
APC® Notebook Surge Protector (Sku 112064)
Targus Defcon Cable Lock (Sku 165141)
Dell Jukebox Premium poweredby MusicMatch (90 day Trial Radio MX service)


This configuration retails less than $3500 Canadian Dollars. I would recomend getting the three year complete care warranty because it covers everything. Including if it gets run over by a bus!


<font color=red><i>Doctor Hooter</i></font color=red> <A HREF="http://www.page3.com/" target="_new"><b>(·Y·)</b></A>

I would definately suggest checking out the Sony Vaio VX and GRX series notebooks. They ave huge clear screens, they're really light and they have powerful CPUs. They have just about everything you could want integrated (like WiFi) and they're decently cheap for what you get. www.sonystyle.com should have some good info for you.

Peace,
D

I agree with the Dell reply. You should visit Dell's web site at dell.com. They have hands down the best quality notebooks on the market today. Plus, when you purchase a Dell notebook you are automatically given a web page specifically designed for your name and notebook. On that web page you will find all the drivers, updates and infos specifically for your notebook only. And remember, have fun with the thing.....