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Alternatives to Dell XPS M140 [aka Inspiron 630m]

post #1 of 12
2/3/06 at 10:37pm
Thread Starter 
I think I've finally decided on the laptop that would be best for me it's been a lot of research, with a lot of help from you forum-members! Thanks for that!

That laptop is the Dell XPS M140 (also known as the Inspiron 630m)

The only thing I'm looking for now is if there's something I overlooked, some better deal. Are there any alternatives that have such a great value for money factor? Let me just give a quick run-down of the specs:

Most importantly, the price: $1,008.00 US dollars
Intel ® Pentium® M Processor 750 (1.86GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
Windows® XP Home Edition
14.1 inch WXGA TrueLife™ LCD Panel
1GB Shared DDR2 SDRAM 2 Dimms
Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (I wouldn't mind having a dedicated graphics card, but don't plan to do any gaming other than emulation)
80GB 5400rpm Hard Drive

Those are the basics, anyway. Now's the part where you suggest alternatives (please ). Is there really a laptop I could find that would offer me a lower price for the same specs? I've read reviews and everything, and the build quality is at least satisfactory, it has good battery life, everything seems fine - but I just have so much doubt that I've come to the right decision, after waffling for so long (was considering an ASUS Z63a before, thinking that it was a good deal, but now I realize it's just too fancy for my budget, after having seen much better deals elsewhere)

Thanks for your help
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post #2 of 12
2/3/06 at 11:33pm
well like what are you looking for battery life,portability,fast gaming....
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post #3 of 12
2/3/06 at 11:37pm
Thread Starter 
Not gaming, but I do need alot of power.

Portability is important, as I will be taking it back and forth to class and on the road (I suppose) and such, and battery life should be as good as possible but is not a HUGE issue (at least 2 hours, 4 hours is about as much as I will need).

Sorry that I didn't specify more!
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post #4 of 12
2/4/06 at 1:11am
look at the alienware area 51 5500.it is powerful and light
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post #5 of 12
2/4/06 at 1:50am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the suggestion!

When I heard the "alienware" name, I assumed it would be extremely expensive and high quality (just from what I had heard), but after looking into it, they really aren't THAT much more expensive! Still, the 5500 IS more expensive and has worse battery life, and I wouldn't exactly be thrilled to be walking around with such a stylized case (it's semi-cool, but also semi-tacky, and also kind of screams "steal me"... plus I'll bet it would creep me out at night).

Thanks for the suggestion, it was much less expensive than I expected still going with the Dell 630m/XPS m140 so far, though.
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post #6 of 12
2/4/06 at 11:43am
Check out the HP dv1000t. It will run you a little more but has core due, a slightly better GPU and a heap of multimedia features to boot.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...computer_store

If the damn thing had a dedicated gpu, even a Radeon 200, I'd own it already.
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post #7 of 12
2/4/06 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rellik
Thanks for the suggestion!

When I heard the "alienware" name, I assumed it would be extremely expensive and high quality (just from what I had heard), but after looking into it, they really aren't THAT much more expensive! Still, the 5500 IS more expensive and has worse battery life, and I wouldn't exactly be thrilled to be walking around with such a stylized case (it's semi-cool, but also semi-tacky, and also kind of screams "steal me"... plus I'll bet it would creep me out at night).

Thanks for the suggestion, it was much less expensive than I expected still going with the Dell 630m/XPS m140 so far, though.
all aleinware's are expensive.. many haven't figured out that they could buy the same ODM notebook from elsewhere as Alienware doesn't make any of its notebook. The Area 51 M5500 being thrown is really a Uniwill 259EN3.. go look for some resellers that don't add in an alien head on the lid and a hundred (or couple hundred with other models) to the price tag.
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post #8 of 12
2/4/06 at 1:59pm
I'm actually getting a m140 almost the same as yours. Compaqs v2000 series notebooks are like m140s. http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...computer_store
You should be able to find a v2000 compaq at a local store like costco or bestbuy if you just want to look at it.
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post #9 of 12
2/4/06 at 5:35pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bossy573
Check out the HP dv1000t. It will run you a little more but has core due, a slightly better GPU and a heap of multimedia features to boot.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...computer_store

If the damn thing had a dedicated gpu, even a Radeon 200, I'd own it already.
Thanks for the suggestion - unfortunately, it does happen to run more than "a little more", pricewise but it does look very nice. I'm not entirely sure going with a core duo would be worth it, but I'll look into it - good suggestion, and I appreciate it, but I wouldn't call it a better deal.

Looked at the Uniwill - was kind of hard to find, actually. Anyway, I didn't see that it was that much less expensive than the Alienware - I've heard bad things about Uniwill itself, as well (as in, you wouldn't be able to get parts for any of their laptops if their laptops are discontinued). Don't know if this is true, will look more into it - thanks for the suggestion!

The v2000 IS a pretty good deal! I'll have to find out more about its build-quality/battery life. Thanks for the suggestion!
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post #10 of 12
2/4/06 at 6:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rellik
Looked at the Uniwill - was kind of hard to find, actually. Anyway, I didn't see that it was that much less expensive than the Alienware - I've heard bad things about Uniwill itself, as well (as in, you wouldn't be able to get parts for any of their laptops if their laptops are discontinued). Don't know if this is true, will look more into it - thanks for the suggestion!
The Alienware is Uniwill. Most of their laptops are either Uniwill or Clevo models and yes its true that you can't get parts after its discontinued.. meaning it is ultimately up to the reseller to stock up on them. uniwill resellers include: rjtech.com, xmeld.com, rawpowerpc.com.
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post #11 of 12
2/6/06 at 6:41am
The Z63 is a better machine, but you won't find anything that beats the Dell for that price. That's an amazing price for that fast of a computer. I'd go for it.
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post #12 of 12
2/6/06 at 7:30am
here's one for about $400 hundred more but its dual core. I suppose if you did it yourself (bought parts from pricegrabber or somewhere...the price dif would be more like $200 for a much better system)
http://www.rkcomputer.net/store/inde...1/prevstart/0/
I myself am waiting for the right amd 64 bit dual core with dedicated graphics...
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