I need advice on what notebook config to get

[Unseen]

I have been looking around for laptop for awhile and finally found the cheapest place them at:

<A HREF="http://www.discountlaptops.com/index.html" target="_new">http://www.discountlaptops.com/index.html</A>

Looked through brand names like dell and powernotebooks, but they were more expensive. Anyhow since I am on a budget of 1400 USD max, I need help on what config to get. What i really need in Notebook is combo CD-RW/DVD drive and intergated wireless. Also would like to keep to those 6.34 lb weight notebook since I will be walking like 1 mile + with my pack and my notebook all over the university campus!

Right now I am really trying to figure out if I should get a 15" and get lower performace part and/or get the 5 lb and also get lower performance part.

Anyone suggestion would be help! <b>Also any clue how much notebook price will go down by summer? <b> I only need a notebook for fall classes, its maybe $250 cheaper in the summer I would wait.

 

[Unseen]

oh yeah guess it might helpful to include what i am going to be using it for. Main reason I need to get one is because my computer science classes require it. So I will be compling program alot. Also probably just going to be suffering the internet and watching anime one it. Won't be playing any extreme games on it, I don't play or even have any game that is really hardware demanding. All of them run fine on my P3 866 comp.

 

[trooper11]

Well for compiling programs , the ahtlon 64 cpus usually score better then p4's, but i belive laptops that have the ahtlon 64 are out of your price range and weight limit. if wieght is a concern, then maybe a pentium-m set up would suit you better. It also gives great battery life then any other mobile processor. Most likely, youll have to get a 'Centrino' that combines the pentium-M and wireless, etc. It wont give you the best performance available for compiling but it showed be avialable in your price range and in a lightweight notebook. It looks like you can get a centrino notebook for 1100-1300 depending on options, while an athlon 64 will run more like 1600-1900. If performance isnt a nessesity then the centrino will do fine and give great battery life and do the things you mentioned you wanted it for, but definitly no gaming. If perforamnce is key, then you might have to deal with a bit heavier notebook and carry an extra battery around. But if you do need the performance, then id chekc otu the new eMachines M6807. It has an amd ahtlon 64 3000+ along with 512 ram and a dvd burner for 1550 after a 100 rebate. Now I know its eMachines, but this has actaully got good reviews, so id seriously consider it , plus it only wieghs in at about 9 lbs. You can check it out here:

http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_M6807


Ill say that youd be happy with either set up, it just depends on where youd rather put more focus, performance or portability, which would be battery life and weight.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I agree. Centrino is a good choice here.

As for performance, bear in mind that, depending on clock, Centrinos are truly very impressive chips. The 1.7Ghz is more than adequate for net and watching anime (depending on graphics card)... As for compiling, it should do fine.

Actually, what is a little surprising is that a 1.7Ghz Centrino platform is not too much slower than an A64-3000+ based one at all... It's slower, sure, but it's quite respectable. Extremely lightweight and powersaving.

One more quite important thing: we're about (in the next few weeks or so) to see Dothan-based notebooks. They're the next generation centrinos, with doubled caches and 90nm tech. They'll probably come in 1.7Ghz and 1.8Ghz speeds initially... I'm not suggesting that you get one of those, because they won't fit your budget when they're launched; however, I recommend you wait for their launch because most likely P-Ms based on the current Banias CPU core are going to get cheaper.

<i><font color=red>You never change the existing reality by fighting it. Instead, create a new model that makes the old one obsolete</font color=red> - Buckminster Fuller </i>

 

[P4Man]

If you want to save a few pennies on a P-M notebook, consider a Celeron-M; its P-M with its cache cut in half (so still 512 Kb) and without Speedstep (which as a pitty). I've seen a few benchmarks somewhere (don't recall where, sorry) that showed hardly any difference in performance between the Pentium-M and Celeron-M.

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[Spitfire_x86]

What about battery life? Does Celeron-M have similar battery life, though it doesn't have SpeedStep?

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[Unseen]

A64 is defintely out of my range. The emachine one ISN'T good at all. I check the specs and all you can get is 60 GB with only 4200 RPM HD. That TOTALLY kills the A64 performance.

Also, seems like the highest celeron-M is only 1.2 clocked speed. I can easily afford a 1.4 P-M. Also when is dothan EXACTLY coming out? I don't think it would imediately cut prices, migth take a week or 2 after it comes out to feel it affects.

Right now couple of configs on Chembook 2051 -C notebooks Here they are, which one do you think is best?

chembook 2051 are centerio all with 6.5 lbs or so, have combo CDRW/DVD, 64 MB Shared VRAM - Intel MGM Chipset , wireless, free case, and no OS.

config 1.) 14" display, 1.4 pentium-M, 60 GB 7200 RPM HD, 1 dim of 512 MB PC 2700 RAM for $1370

config 2.) 15" display, 60 GB 5400 RPM HD, 1.4 pentium-M, 1 dim of 512 MB PC 2700 RAM for $1380

config 3.) 15" display, 60 GB 5400 RPM HD, 1.5 pentium-M, 1 dim of 512 MB PC 2700 RAM for $1400

I MIGHT be able to spend $250 more and I would for sure get this:
15" dislpay, 1.6 P-M, 64 MB Dedicated Video Ram, Ati Radeon 9000, 60 GB 7200 RPM HD, cdrw-dvd, 512 MB PC 2700 for $1650.

 

[Mephistopheles]

These choices all look quite good.

Between configs 1, 2 and 3, I'd have to say avoid 1 and 2, just because they're like only $20-30 cheaper than the rather nice P-M 1.5Ghz.

However, choosing one of those two (choice 3 and going for $1650 price tag), that's harder and it ultimately boils to how much money you want to spend. Both will probably do the job quite nicely; I'd try to stick with the $1650 because of 7200rpm HD, ATi R9000 g. card and higher processor speed alone. This will make an impact - the 7200rpm drive in particular, as HDs are usually the bottlenecks in notebooks.

So, if you can, stick with the $1650 you mentioned; it's fully featured, quite fast, and very probably won't let you down at all. If you want to save that $250, config 3 is OK too...

<i><font color=red>You never change the existing reality by fighting it. Instead, create a new model that makes the old one obsolete</font color=red> - Buckminster Fuller </i>

 

[Unseen]

I have beening thinking hard and I think I will just save the $250 for new PC this summer. My P3 is kind of old and new desktop too would be nice. So the first 3 configs are left.

so you think the 1.5 ghz form a 1.4ghz CPU is better upgrade compared to a 5400 RPM hardrive to a 7200 RPM?

 

[trooper11]

I would lean more towards the 7200 rpm hd then the extra 100mhz in clock. Like has been said before, the hd can be the bottleneck alot of times in a notebook. I think youll be happy wiht iether though, but if it was me, id go for the faster hd.

 

[Mephistopheles]

No, I said there are 3 things that made your 3rd config much more interesting. These are:

1) Extra 100Mhz Clock;
2) Dedicated Video Card (ATi R9000);
3) 7200rpm HD instead of 5400rpm.

There is no doubt in my mind that the third item is the most impacting one. So, I'd get the 3rd config just because of the 7200rpm drive, let alone the rest! 3rd, for sure.

<i><font color=red>You never change the existing reality by fighting it. Instead, create a new model that makes the old one obsolete</font color=red> - Buckminster Fuller </i>

 

[P4Man]

My priorities would be:
1) large screen (at least 15")
2) fast harddisk
3) dedicated video ram (seriously, UMA videocards seem even slow in 2D)
4) fast cpu

As for Dothan, I think its to be launched in one of the next weeks, but it remains to be seen how long it takes before you can buy a notebook around it. Could be the same day, but it could take several more weeks as well. I also don't think it will be much faster than Banias; it seems cutting Banias cache in half hardly impacts performance (Celeron-M), so I doubt doubling it (Dothan) would make a huge difference. If you're not in a hurry you could wait and perhaps pick a Banias notebook for less..

One thing you didnt mention (unless I missed it) is how important battery life is to you. If its not an important consideration, you might want to have a look at AXP-M or even P4 notebooks, both of which are likely cheaper for comparable performance, at the expense of higher powerconsumption. If batterly life matters, go for a P-M.

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[Unseen]

Hmm think i will just get this config soon:

config 3.) 15" display, 60 GB 5400 RPM HD, 1.5 pentium-M, 1 dim of 512 MB PC 2700 RAM for $1400, integrated graphics

Defintely can't get anything better than that with $1400. Double integrated graphics would be worse than my geforce MX 440 with 32 Sdram on my current PC. Also those AXP and P4 seem heavier, didn't find anything cheap around 6 lb. Not mention my battery will dead soon with them. Anyhow, ty for the advices.