I'm seriously considering doing this... - Page 2

i had this exact idea the other day.

i currently have an i6000 with a 1.6 PM which is fine for what i want.

im moving out, but will need something to use when i come back home.
exact situation u are in. i have decided to stick with the i6000 until dual core is more common, then ill base my decision then on whats out, and what sounds best.

i only spent about 1000$ on my laptop, and it has been more than fine for an everydayer.

thats like suggesting a good 2000 to 3000 dollar car (brand new), truthfully they dont exist.

an inspiron 9400 (the 9300s are discontinued) would have a 7800 go card that can play anything you can throw at it as far as games are concerned, the same cannot be said of the e510's graphic card options which are low end, if you buy an e510 for gaming, you will need to upgrade the graphics card for an enjoyable experience especially with the latest titles.

The best thing for you to do whatever you buy is go 64 bit, not all the latest offerings from intel are 64 bit so be careful, no all the dual cores as i recall like the 800 series? I could be wrong........are not 64 bit.
If you can wait, WAIT, dual cores are emerging in the market for laptops and desktops, the intels seem to be a bit buggy, thats to be expected, hold off until the late summer/fall of 06 if you can. Vista has been postponed until December of 06 now, this isnt a good time to pull the trigger on a new laptop or desktop for that matter, best to see how these dual cores mature and see what vista and 64 bit will bring to the table, lots of folks have 64 bit processors but very little software is 64 bit and with no operating system out yet, its hard to say just how well the current 64 bit processors are going to fare with VISTA. As for dual cores, there's not much to take advantage of the extra core, no software to speak of or hardware, or operating system for that matter.
Sorry Im rambling but I think you get the picture non???


I do agree that having a desktop and then a notebook as a compliment to that desktop is a good idea, using a notebook as a sole desktop replacement is not a good idea for many reasons, cost, lifespan, lack of standardized form factor and ease of upgrade and the possibility of theft make notebooks a poor choice in my opinion as one's sole computer plus gaming is far more comfy at the desktop.

why in the world would you ever need 4gb of ram? Save that money and put it towards a laptop. Keep in mind, that most school only allow you to use one computer on the dorm network. They are pretty tricky about it too. I have found away around the one in my dorm, but there are some that you can't. So just be aware that you might not be able to use both a laptop and a desktop on the network in your dorm room.

go 2001FP..20 inch

wow your still around commish....

If I had just a penny, just one penny, for everyone who said something like that I would be very wealthy indeed. Most people who get laptops end up using them more than their desktops.

I do agree that a laptop is a good compliment to a desktop, but in your situation, the dorm room, one or the other would be better and maybe a laptop would be best for your very specialized situation due to space and budget.

You dont need a desktop you have a keyboard and LCD.

Gonna be tough

It's gonna be tough to find something in that price range, never mind soething good.

if your going to get a desktop, why buy from dell? get it custimized from those computer shops, NOT THE ELECTRONIC BIG NAME RETAILERS. that way, you aren't paying big money for brand name mark ups. reason why i chose dell laptops were because you can customise it to your desired likings

I'm getting a good laptop for college for $1600, including 4 year premium warranty.. I'd recommend that. THere's still a day left for the $750 off $1999+ select dell laptops. If you have the extra $ to spend, you could get a really kick-butter laptop with that coupon.

Although if you do want to stick with your two-computer idea, I'd definatly recommend getting a used/old laptop off ebay or a refurbished off of dell or some other site, or some local electronics show/event (such as the hamfest, which is where i bought my old laptop for $200 from some german dude... and it lasted me two years)
I dunno too much about desktops, except that all three or four of mine (my family's) really suck.. and my old gateway 2000 solo laptop is better than at least any two of them combined. I'd offer to sell that one to you real cheap ($50), but it's somewhat thick and heavy, and i'm giving it to my sister.

Ugh, that e510 is at an outrageous price (tho thats a couple months old now I realize). An old p4 chip, even one at 3.4ghz? A x600 video card? Ugh, what crap. If you want a decent desktop to play a majority of games, build it yourself or go to a custom shop locally. Or buy a lower end dell that can have the graphics card upgraded easily by you. You can build a custom system yourself with a kickarse geforce 7900 or ati x1800/1900 with decent specs all around for 1200 easy.

As for college... go with what your budget provides but a couple of caveats. Depending on space, the laptop wins. However, a desktop is a lot harder to steal compared to a laptop in a dorm room. Dorms are not generally known for their security.

I had the same answear when I said I wanted a cheap computer...
The question is...How?

I am taking "PC systmes" in my high school next year (senior year)
---yes I am in high school---

...so I might know how...but it will be too late..

HOW ABOUT 7 FAMILY MEMBERS SHARING 1 LAME COMPUTER!!!


ITS REALLY ANNOYING...THATS WHY I JOINED THIS FORUM- TO BUY A NOTEBOOK....

Despite appearances its not hard to put a PC together from parts. Use the net and look for guides/how-to's and read, read, read.

Ok....I will...

Starting...next week ....lol

You're kidding, right? A "good" "$200-$300" laptop?

Man, I'd buy the E1705 with a 7800GTX. You're at about 1700 with a 17inch true life. Then you could even buy a nice keyboard, mouse and 19inch LCD and use it more ask a desktop in the dorm.

Not to be an ass or anything...but this thread is nearly 2 months old. I could have sworn that he picked up a XPS M140 from the outlet (pretty cheap, too).