mosha

Any thoughts or ideas on choosing between these two would be very helpful. I do not know too much about "M" processors.
#1
http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Brows...e=1&Sku=585267
#2
http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Brows...e=1&Sku=584058


Thanks in advance!

Moskie

Ditch the Celeron, get the Athlon.

That about sums it up

__________________
Greetings and salutations.

viper11885

What is your primary usage of a laptop??

I would personally recommend getting a P-M chip. It runs a lot cooler, good performer, and you get an increase in battery life. They usually are a bit more pricey than the athlons, but that depends on your budget that you have.

bendsley

I have a Dell D800 with a 2Ghz Pentium-M. It rocks. I absolutely LOVE AMD stuff, but they run hot, and in a laptop, heat does not do well. However, I do not like either brand, Compaq or Avaratec. I think you can get a much better laptop than either of those. Avaratec was dropped by Best Buy because of the amount of returns they got (I used to be a service tech at BBY part time, so I returned many of them). Also, Compaqs don't exactly have a good service record in anything the do except ProLiant stuff (servers).

I would recommend not going with either laptop unless you're just completely die hard on one or the other. If however, say someone held a gun to your head to make you buy one of those two, get the Compaq. Much larger company, more support for problems if you have any. Also, I think the Pentium-M in a laptop is quite nice.

Edit: I guess I missed where it said Celeron-M. Celerons, BOO! Please try to find another laptop.

__________________
"You hear the one about the fella who died, went to the pearly gates? St. Peter let him in. Sees a guy in a suit making a closing argument. Says, "Who's that?" St. Peter says, "Oh, that's God. Thinks he's Denny Crane."

Mzm

I agree with bendsley on not getting either laptop. I have also worked as a computer tech and the Compaq's were always the most problematic. Try to find one with a longer warranty life, like 3 years. Hate to have to plug a manufacturer, but would recommend Dell laptops.

lpj8

I think when you are purchasing a laptop it is important to buy one with a good history of reliability and customer support. I personally would never buy a Compaq, and I don't know much about the Averatec. PC World publishes a reliability and service support report each year. This years has yet to come out, but you can find last years report at PC World Reliability and Support Report

Of course PC World's information is aggregated data, and personal experiences vary, but I personally would want to maximize my chances of getting a laptop that lasts, and that if something did happen, it would get taken care of correctly and in a timely manner. Dells, Apples, and IBMs tend to do well on these reports year after year. I know that they cost more, but it may be worth it in the long run.

Your real question probably had to do with what computer specs to go with, and it depends on what you want to do with the computer.
Here is how I see it

Compaq - I see this computer mainly functioning for checking email, posting on TFP, and writing papers. The M processor simply means that its a Celeron "Mobile". Supposedly these processors use less battery power, and allow the computer to be lighter.
Pros
512 Ram
Wireless G included
DVD CDR Combo
60 Gig Memory
Fairly Light
Cons
Celeron Processor
Shared Graphics Card
Smaller Screen (You may like the smaller screen though)

Averatec - This is a much faster computer that would be more responsive, it also has a DVD burner which is nice. It has a nice screen which would be nice for watching DVD movies.
Pros
Relatively Fast Processor
512 RAM
60 Gig Hard Drive
DVD Burner
Good Software Package
Wireless G
Big Screen (15.4)
Cons
Heavier
Integrated Video Card
Doesn't specify what the battery actually is

This is just my opinion of course, and I hope you find this information helpful

mosha

Thanks for everyones input so far. I really value it. My main usage for the computer would really be for the fiance to have for grad school. Because of this it will need wi/fi, preferably built-in. I would also like to use it for watching DVD's on trips and such. Weight is a major concern for her and we are trying to find sub 6 pounds but battery life is also important given that there may be times where she has 3 hrs straight of classes.

Based on the above usage, is there something specific that you can recommend? Keep in mind, sub 6 pounds and sub $1000

Dragonlich

I'd get a laptop with a regular 15" screen, because these tend to be smaller (=lighter) than a 15.4" widescreen one. Perhaps a 14" screen is an option, if you can actually find it. I've worked in computer sales, and we had an Asus "Centrino" laptop with a 12" screen, which weighed less than 2 kilos; it also cost 2000 Euros...

The advantages of Intel's Centrino concept happen to be build-in WiFi, long battery life, and lower weight... so if you can, get a Centrino; if you can't, get a budget notebook with similar specs.

If you go below $1000, your choices are rather limited. Perhaps you should compromise on the demands, and look at what you *really* need. If it's long battery life, get a celeron-M or centrino (latter may be too expensive). The DVD playing isn't a problem for any laptop you'd buy today, whereas the battery life is.

bendsley

Dragon: the celeron-m would be considered Centrino technology. Anything mobile that combines the mobile processor, wifi and long battery life is considered Centrino. My D800 is a heavy bitch, but the pentium-m in it works great and the battery life is excellent.

__________________
"You hear the one about the fella who died, went to the pearly gates? St. Peter let him in. Sees a guy in a suit making a closing argument. Says, "Who's that?" St. Peter says, "Oh, that's God. Thinks he's Denny Crane."

lpj8

Mosha,
Have you considered getting an Apple iBook? They are light and small, and you can pick one up for under 1,000, DVD, CDR, and wireless built in. I have one and I absolutely love it. Apple is usually rated very highly for reliability and service. I know they aren't for everyone, as some people will only buy PCs but you may want to at least check one out. Amazon is running a great deal right now on iBooks through 12/18. If you're interested PM me and I'll send you a direct link.

Here are the specs:
899.99 After Rebate, Free Shipping, Tax only in KS, ND, WA
1.2 GHz PowerPC G4 processor with 133 MHz Frontside Bus
256 MB DDR SDRAM expandable to 1.25 GB
30 GB ATA/100 hard drive; 8x DVD Read / 24x CD-R / 16x CD-RW / 24x CD Read
12.1 inch TFT XGA display; ; AirPort Extreme built-in
Mac OS X version 10.3 Panther, Classic environment, Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Sherlock, Address Book, QuickTime, iLife (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD (5), GarageBand), iSync, iCal, DVD Player, AppleWorks, Mac OS X Chess and more

mosha

imacs look great but im not a mac guy.

lpj8

Fair enough,
If you like PCs, I'd take a look at Dell, Toshiba, and IBM. Sometimes, you can get really good deals on Dells off of their website. I'm sure they all go on sale in cycles. When I buy a computer, I usually take a while and shop around till I make a decision. I decide what brands that I will buy (Dell, IBM, Toshiba) and what brands I wont buy. I think will decide how much I'm willing to spend and then I write out what specifications are most important to me. Keep in mind that smaller laptops tend to cost more. You pay for the convenience of a lightweight laptop. Waiting for a good deal is the hard part. I literally waited 3 months before I bought my iBook.
I hope this is helpful

mosha

yeah i agree with the waiting being the hard part. i know now is also a great time to buy so i will just have to see what comes along. thanks to everyones opions thus far.

Baldylocks2

I wouldn't recommend either. I just picked up my first laptop for $899 that seems more feature-loaded than either one of these:

Mobile AMD 64 3000+, Mobility Radeon 9600, 60 GB 4200 RPM HDD, 256 MB RAM (only shortcoming, but is expandable), 15.4 inch WXGA display, integrated WLAN 811g adapter, etc...

The thing works awesome, and while battery life is just a tad on the short side at about 2.5 hours, and it does get a bit warm, I don't think you can beat the performance for that price. It's a Gateway, BTW, which have gotten fairly good service scores for notebooks, and I got it from CompUSA last week.

In any case, I would strongly argue against Celerons.

mosha

that is a really good deal. what is the average price for laptop RAM? I have never had the need to search for some but i do notice most of the deals are for 256MB Ram, i would def want to start with at least 512

Baldylocks2

I think 512 megs go for about $70+ or so when they are on sale - not too bad really.