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Can't decide! Laptop for School.

post #1 of 67
10/16/05 at 3:02pm
Thread Starter 
Hey Notebookforums!

I have a major dilemma. I am in high school now, and I think I would highly benefit from having a laptop for my classes. Here are my reasons:

1.) Paper tears.
2.) I tend to write slowly and am very unorganized.
3.) I type very fast and, conveniently, typed text is much easier to read than my handwriting.
4.) I often (almost every weekend) go to my buddy's house to play WoW, and lugging my 35lb PC isn't fun at all.

So I was thinking of a Dell laptop, but I'm at a crossroads. I can't choose between the 9300 and the 6000D!
I want to:
1.) Do homework, go on the internet, listen to music(decent on-system sound)
2.) Play world of warcraft, and any game that comes out (albeit not on high settings) within the next 3-4 years.

I really like the 9300, but it's 17" screen may be a bit of an overkill. With the 6000D, no Geforce 6800 Go is offered.

What would you say? Should I even get a laptop at all? Also, I have been waiting a while, but is it impossible for another of those $750 off $1500 deals?

Thanks for everything,
Element
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post #2 of 67
10/16/05 at 3:12pm
If the question "Should I get _________?" arises when you think about buying a product, 99.999% of the time, you don't need it.

Now, it really depends. Are you using this in class? If you are, the 9300 will be a bit too big for the desks at school. You'd only be able to use your laptop and nothing else (??). Well, talking about listening to music, every laptop has crappy speakers. You're going to have to use headphones anyways. If you really want good internal sound, you're going to have to get a Creative Audigy Z PCMCIA card that plugs in to your laptop to get high quality sound. Doing homework, internet, and music..just about any laptop nowadays can do that. Well, this post is really poorly organized and constructed, but yeah, that is just my own blurb/rant/opinion on the situation. Good luck!
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post #3 of 67
10/16/05 at 3:20pm
get an asus z70Va or something like it. its smaller and lighter than the 6000, but it hax an x700 in it so its much better for gaming. it costs more thna a 9300 though...
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post #4 of 67
10/16/05 at 3:23pm
Thread Starter 
If it costs more than the 9300, I'm not intrested. Dell usually has deals that bring their prices way down, and I'm hoping a $750 off will come again soon.
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post #5 of 67
10/16/05 at 3:58pm
well its not too much mroe than a 9300. check it you at discountlaptops.com.

and yo udont have to sit around waiting for a coupon
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post #6 of 67
10/16/05 at 4:04pm
I bought the i9300 for the same reasons this topic creator did. I play BF2, FEAR, and practically any new game on medium to high settings on the 1440 x 900 resolution, or highest available. I also AutoCAD, use it to type up reports, and transfer data from CD-RW at the college to print things out.

The 9300 fits every need, but you will need to buy accessories, and be prepared for its large size. I bought a $80 case, and you have to be fairly strong to lug the thing around with books (thankfully I am ). Secondly, I only use the laptop out-of-class. I actually go into computer labs, and take up the space next to a computer just to hook up the 9300. Granted, the 6000D is smaller, but a difference of 2-3 inches still isn't going to make THAT much of a size difference.

If anything, go with the 9300. It gives you the option of an awesome video card, great specs, the $750 off or 30% off, and a 17" extreme resolution monitor. It's better than choosing the alternative which will be close to that price range (assuming you max the specs), but you'll be regretting not having top of the line hardware and the beauty of the LCD size.
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post #7 of 67
10/16/05 at 6:27pm
For in class an i9300 is huge! To big for most desks (at least at my school). I have an i6000d and even it is slightly too big for the 'average' desk. That said, I saw a i9300 up close at work yesterday and the glossy screen was absolutely beautiful. I got the WUXGA on the i6000, and it is nice, but nothing compared to the i9300 - and honestly, the small size of pics and text is a real hassle sometimes. If your serious about gaming and not too worried about size, I'd go for a the i9300.
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post #8 of 67
10/16/05 at 7:02pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks a lot, any more opinions?
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post #9 of 67
10/16/05 at 7:49pm
i have 6000, and take it to school all week long.

i would not want anything bigger. it suits my needs, and plays WoW great!

i have a desktop i can game on, with a 21" screen. and i dont need a nuclear power plant to power my laptop for 41 min and 32 sec (:

ive seen both laptops, i liked the screen on the 9300, but the 6000 best suited my needs. it sounds like my needs are very similar to yours!
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post #10 of 67
10/16/05 at 8:42pm
Thread Starter 
Only issue with the 6000 is it's life expectancy. An underpowered gfx card like it has will only last so long, for such a large investment...
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post #11 of 67
10/16/05 at 9:34pm
9300 is good. What about acer 8103 with X700??????????
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post #12 of 67
10/16/05 at 9:35pm
Or check out Lat. D810 and D610
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post #13 of 67
10/16/05 at 9:40pm
Fujitsu 10" laptop. True mobility. It is stable as a rock too. Build quality is wonderful. go to www.portableone.com
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post #14 of 67
10/16/05 at 10:33pm
Chose the 6000d over the 9300 even though the 9300 would have only costed me about $200 more.

Decided that the 17 inch wasn't worth having to lug around a chunkier and heavier object from one side of the campus to the other.
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post #15 of 67
10/16/05 at 11:19pm
I just got the i6000 as well and highly recommend it for a multi-purpose laptop. Check Dell Outlet too before you drop down money as great deals pop up every now and then.

The screen is among the best I've seen for a laptop (wsxga+) and the video card is strong enough for my likeness, while not too strong to drain the battery when not plugged in like the i9300 might do. Battery life is great with the 9 cell. I've never played with a 9300 so I can't compare. If casual gaming is your thing go with the 6000. With minimal overclocking (350/230) my x300 128mb actually performs better than my old laptop that had a mr9700 128mb with Unreal 2004 and Doom 3...haven't had time to try anything else.

I also agree with another comment someone made here, you should give a serious look toward the Asus z70va, I almost bought one last week. The i6000 I found was similar to an Asus with similar specs minus the x700 card and RAM which I'm upgrading anyway...the x700 wasn't worth the extra $500 to me.

Have fun and good luck!
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post #16 of 67
10/16/05 at 11:39pm
Do you know the parts the laptop needs ? Do you know what difference the video card makes ?
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post #17 of 67
10/17/05 at 2:12am
I can't imagine carrying a 17" computer around with me. My old dell 5150 was the same weight as the 9300 (just under 8lbs), and it was a Pain In the Ass to carry around. If I put it in my backpack, I couldn't put much else in there (one book maybe). Even though I really liked the computer, I eventually had to get rid of it and get a smaller/lighter computer. Now with my 5lb laptop, bringing it to class is no longer something I dread.

So, if you're carrying it around a lot, every pound makes a big difference. I guess it just matters how important gaming is to you. I don't know anything about gaming, and I don't know how much better the 9300 is at it. If you're going to be saying to yourself, every day, "man it sucks I can't play xx game," then go 9300. If every day you are going to be saying "this thing is so dam heavy, I really wish I had a lighter computer," go 6000. Which of these sounds worse to you?

You might be better off finding another computer, the size of the 6000, but with a better graphics card, though. If it's dell or nothing, my vote is for the 6000.
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post #18 of 67
10/17/05 at 11:38am
I just ordered my 9300 for reason similar to yours. The only difference is that I wanted to play WoW while on the shitter We shall see how bad lugging it around to school is but I dont think it will be too bad.
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post #19 of 67
10/17/05 at 7:34pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the responses! I'm going to keep looking around. Dell would still be preferable, those coupons are SUCH steal.
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post #20 of 67
10/17/05 at 7:47pm
Thread Starter 
Found something!
Ibuypower Battalion 101 ML-Turbo

15.4" screen size, and upgradeable graphics card. Sound good? If you could point me in the direction of a review or a good opinion, I'd love it.
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