Laptops - Page 2 - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Maveric · 05-31-2003, 05:37 AM

i'm still not sure if I want to get wireless because I'm not sure what it exactly does...

does it work like a cell phone?
(allows you to connect to internet without a phone jack)

or

does it just allow you to use nearby peripheral devices without hooking them up directly to the laptop?

or

another way i'm not familiar with?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, aside from the wireless aspect, what are the differences in types of laptop displays?

(I see different types like WUSXA, SGWA, WUSA+ etc etc (or something like that) but have no clue what the differences are? I know with regular monitor's the lower the dot pitch the better the quality but i'm clueless when it comes to laptops...)

Ashton · 05-31-2003, 02:06 PM

I have the Toshiba Satellite, 2.5 mhz.... 60 gig hard drive.... 512 Ram, and a 16 inch screen. It's pretty nice

hotzot · 06-01-2003, 11:58 PM

so's the girl.

Jolt · 06-02-2003, 10:16 PM

ok..."Centrino" is NOT a processor, folks.

It's one of Intel's marketing ploys.

A "Centrino" laptop includes three things:
Mobile Pentium 4-M CPU
low-power-consumption chipset
integrated wireless ethernet.

802.11(a/b/g) are wireless ethernet standards. they are designed to offer an alternative to traditional wired networks.

If you want to be able to run around town while surfing the net, you'll need a cellular modem; the most popular technology presently is known as CDPD and runs about the same speed as a traditional dialup.

Maveric · 06-03-2003, 12:32 PM

thank you very much for the info on Centrino, I don't think it's what I'm looking for...

I'm a few days away from making my purchase... Most likely a Dell Inspiron 8500 Series.

I plan on spending between $2,000.00 to no more than $3,000.00. I don't want to have to upgrade for a long time. Can anyone recommend some of the options from the link provided above?

I am unfamilar with the difference between these displays, which is better?

UltraSharp Wide Aspect UXGA
UltraSharp Wide Aspect SXGA+
UltraSharp Wide Aspect XGA

I've also notice these abbreviations noted on different processors, should I make sure that they correspond/ match?

redman · 06-03-2003, 07:29 PM

Okay, here's some stuff.

I bought a Dell well over 3 years ago, and it's still a champ. Before that I had an NEC Versa (486) that I still find useful. The Dell is an Inspiron and is definitely a full on desktop replacement.

If I had to buy a desktop replacement today, I'd probably go VAIO or Hpaq. The VAIO are sleek and usable. The new HP though seem to be sporting AMD chips and you can get a 16 inch screen, good RAM and hard disk and still stay in your budget, at least the ones I've looked at recently. Oh, and the 17 inch iBook is definitely a consideration.

Whoever said that G4's are the right way to go in a laptop are spot on. The ATI Mobilities can be a little painful if you're going to do something fringe like Linux.

BTW, I've been running Linux on my laptop since day one.

Warranties: The 2 times I've shipped my laptop off to Dell for repair, it was their policy that you take out the harddrive (simple) and only send in the shell. I never really had to worry about what I had on disk being an issue. Your vendor may vary. Dell was always good about turnaround as well.

shakran · 06-03-2003, 08:45 PM

just adding another voice to the mix:

If you don't like win XP stay away from HP's because they can ONLY run XP now. Fun eh?

Also, don't say you don't want centrino yet. There's a big advantage to that setup - battery life. The pentium M processor can be throttled back when heavy processor use isn't needed, and it can get you amazing battery life.

Take a look at the Toshiba Satellite 5205 series. http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/t...lite&pmod=5205

you can get it for around $2,600. I was playin' with it the other day in a geek store and it is a BEAUTIFUL laptop. The display is the best I've seen in a laptop (and it rivals most desktop displays to boot), the layout is good, considering how loaded it is the weight is very reasonable. 64mb GeForce graphics card, 60gig HD, 512mb PC2100 RAM, DVDmultidrive (combo of DVD-R/RW and DVD RAM), and integrated wired and wireless networking. It's an impressive toy. If I had a spare 2600 lying around I'd snap it up.

Maveric · 06-09-2003, 08:01 AM

This is the System I currently have on order -

Inspiron 8500: Mobile Pentium® 4 Processor,2.2GH
Display: 15.4” WUXGA Wide LCD Display
Weight: 6.9lbs
Memory: FREE UPGRADE! 512MB,266MHz,DDR, 2DIMM (from 256MB,266MHz,2DIMM)
Video Card: 64MB DDR NVIDIA® GeForce™ 4 4200 Go AGP 4X Graphics
Hard Drives: 60GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
Modular Internal CD/DVD Drives: FREE 24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive Upgrade! (from DVD)
Primary Battery: 72 WHr Primary Battery
Limited Warranty, Services and Support: SAVE $100(rebate off price listed) 4 Yr Ltd Warr plus 4 Yr At-Home Service
Mail-In Rebate Offer: SAVE $250 with mail-in rebate! System price shown before rebate
Additional Battery: 72 WHr Primary Spare Battery

It should arrive by the end of the month

Scipio · 06-09-2003, 08:30 AM

No $$$$.

Screw the laptop.

I'm getting one of these:

Shuttle XPC

sweeze · 06-09-2003, 10:03 AM

i'd say ibm and apple make the highest quality laptops on the market. unfortunately, they both know this, and price accordingly :-\

06-01-2003, 11:58 PM	#43 (permalink)
hotzot We're having potato pancakes! Location: stalag 13	so's the girl. __________________ The Bully Boys are here!

06-03-2003, 12:32 PM	#45 (permalink)
Maveric Insane Location: Houston, Texas	thank you very much for the info on Centrino, I don't think it's what I'm looking for... I'm a few days away from making my purchase... Most likely a Dell Inspiron 8500 Series. I plan on spending between $2,000.00 to no more than $3,000.00. I don't want to have to upgrade for a long time. Can anyone recommend some of the options from the link provided above? I am unfamilar with the difference between these displays, which is better? UltraSharp Wide Aspect UXGA UltraSharp Wide Aspect SXGA+ UltraSharp Wide Aspect XGA I've also notice these abbreviations noted on different processors, should I make sure that they correspond/ match?

06-09-2003, 08:01 AM	#48 (permalink)
Maveric Insane Location: Houston, Texas	This is the System I currently have on order - Inspiron 8500: Mobile Pentium® 4 Processor,2.2GH Display: 15.4” WUXGA Wide LCD Display Weight: 6.9lbs Memory: FREE UPGRADE! 512MB,266MHz,DDR, 2DIMM (from 256MB,266MHz,2DIMM) Video Card: 64MB DDR NVIDIA® GeForce™ 4 4200 Go AGP 4X Graphics Hard Drives: 60GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive Modular Internal CD/DVD Drives: FREE 24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive Upgrade! (from DVD) Primary Battery: 72 WHr Primary Battery Limited Warranty, Services and Support: SAVE $100(rebate off price listed) 4 Yr Ltd Warr plus 4 Yr At-Home Service Mail-In Rebate Offer: SAVE $250 with mail-in rebate! System price shown before rebate Additional Battery: 72 WHr Primary Spare Battery It should arrive by the end of the month

05-31-2003, 05:37 AM	#41 (permalink)
Maveric Insane Location: Houston, Texas	i'm still not sure if I want to get wireless because I'm not sure what it exactly does... does it work like a cell phone? (allows you to connect to internet without a phone jack) or does it just allow you to use nearby peripheral devices without hooking them up directly to the laptop? or another way i'm not familiar with? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, aside from the wireless aspect, what are the differences in types of laptop displays? (I see different types like WUSXA, SGWA, WUSA+ etc etc (or something like that) but have no clue what the differences are? I know with regular monitor's the lower the dot pitch the better the quality but i'm clueless when it comes to laptops...)

05-31-2003, 02:06 PM	#42 (permalink)
Ashton PORNHOUND Location: California	I have the Toshiba Satellite, 2.5 mhz.... 60 gig hard drive.... 512 Ram, and a 16 inch screen. It's pretty nice

06-02-2003, 10:16 PM	#44 (permalink)
Jolt Insane Location: Over here	ok..."Centrino" is NOT a processor, folks. It's one of Intel's marketing ploys. A "Centrino" laptop includes three things: Mobile Pentium 4-M CPU low-power-consumption chipset integrated wireless ethernet. 802.11(a/b/g) are wireless ethernet standards. they are designed to offer an alternative to traditional wired networks. If you want to be able to run around town while surfing the net, you'll need a cellular modem; the most popular technology presently is known as CDPD and runs about the same speed as a traditional dialup.

06-03-2003, 07:29 PM	#46 (permalink)
redman Upright	Okay, here's some stuff. I bought a Dell well over 3 years ago, and it's still a champ. Before that I had an NEC Versa (486) that I still find useful. The Dell is an Inspiron and is definitely a full on desktop replacement. If I had to buy a desktop replacement today, I'd probably go VAIO or Hpaq. The VAIO are sleek and usable. The new HP though seem to be sporting AMD chips and you can get a 16 inch screen, good RAM and hard disk and still stay in your budget, at least the ones I've looked at recently. Oh, and the 17 inch iBook is definitely a consideration. Whoever said that G4's are the right way to go in a laptop are spot on. The ATI Mobilities can be a little painful if you're going to do something fringe like Linux. BTW, I've been running Linux on my laptop since day one. Warranties: The 2 times I've shipped my laptop off to Dell for repair, it was their policy that you take out the harddrive (simple) and only send in the shell. I never really had to worry about what I had on disk being an issue. Your vendor may vary. Dell was always good about turnaround as well.

06-03-2003, 08:45 PM	#47 (permalink)
shakran Tone.	just adding another voice to the mix: If you don't like win XP stay away from HP's because they can ONLY run XP now. Fun eh? Also, don't say you don't want centrino yet. There's a big advantage to that setup - battery life. The pentium M processor can be throttled back when heavy processor use isn't needed, and it can get you amazing battery life. Take a look at the Toshiba Satellite 5205 series. http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/t...lite&pmod=5205 you can get it for around $2,600. I was playin' with it the other day in a geek store and it is a BEAUTIFUL laptop. The display is the best I've seen in a laptop (and it rivals most desktop displays to boot), the layout is good, considering how loaded it is the weight is very reasonable. 64mb GeForce graphics card, 60gig HD, 512mb PC2100 RAM, DVDmultidrive (combo of DVD-R/RW and DVD RAM), and integrated wired and wireless networking. It's an impressive toy. If I had a spare 2600 lying around I'd snap it up.

06-09-2003, 08:30 AM	#49 (permalink)
Scipio Mencken Location: College	No $$$$. Screw the laptop. I'm getting one of these: Shuttle XPC

06-09-2003, 10:03 AM	#50 (permalink)
sweeze Tilted	i'd say ibm and apple make the highest quality laptops on the market. unfortunately, they both know this, and price accordingly :-\