Help on purchasing new laptop... - Page 2

have you managed to take a look at a dell 8600 up close? it's pretty nice, from the layout of the keys to the latching system.

both my buddies have a dell 8600, and both use it for different reasoons: programming, 3D modeling... both though use it to game a LOT - and it looked great when we were playing battlefiend nam.

I'd definitely go with the dell 8600... it seems that if i see a nice looking PC laptop, it's usually that dell 8600. Saw a guy with a dell 8600 and a lava skin option for it... very nice!

if dell is gonna match the price, that'll be great! get a WSXGA+ (1600 x 1200) , i dont think the top of the line screen is best... since the LCD is not that large to begin with.

if you get a nice good running computer and one that looks good at the same time, then you wont regret it and will use it till its day's end.

Do you really tihnk that when the Dothan comes out prices will drop dramatically ?

If you want a nice looking screen w/ higher resolution, go with the SXGA. Figure that you're going to be looking at that screen for several years to come, so you want something that's going to make you happy.

Here is link to my screen size measure page:

http://www.hut.fi/~tgustafs/screensize.html

Just reorganized it and updated to include CRT screen measures, too.

SXGA+ offers almost double space (see no. of pixels) compared to XGA. That is why people usually are very satisfied with it. Sure, text is 27% smaller (117 PPI vs. 85 PPI in a 15" screen), but it doesn't matter in office work where you can zoom at will.

Cheers,

Tommi

http://www.tomshardware.com/mobile/20040421/index.html

this is a recent article about the 8600 on tomshardware. you can get it now with a 9600 "pro turbo" so it's pretty fast. they do note about the creaking case issues which this particular dell model is known for... if you haven't picked one up, find someone with a dell 8500/8600/M60 and hold it (same cases), it does creak a fair amount for a laptop (if that bothers you, I don't know, but it bothers me).

The 9600 Pro Turbo is old news. The 8600 has been shipping with it for a while now.

the 8600 creaks - full of plastic yes... lacks a LPT and serial port - guess that's getting phased out. But really, i think it's a wonderful all around machine, nicely built, and well presented. you can't find much of it like that. The fact htough that it only has two usb ports erks me a bit... my laptop has 2 usb ports, but it has 2 firewire ports as well, so that makes up for it.

Anyways, get what you think you need at the right time... i swear, when you buy it, it'll be replaced with a better deal within a week! just get it and be happy.

You can wait forever, and it may not work out for you. For example, it is heavily rumored that RAM prices are about to go up. That could negate processor price drops. If you are not buying the fastest Pentium-M, then the drops will be less, and may take many months to funnel down to the manufacturers. Chances are, the Dothan will be the CPU's that are highly inflated to begin with.
Andrew
Austin, TX

nicely built? the fact that it's creaky leads me to believe that build quality is not a top priority with dell...

Don't you also have to keep in mind that the higher resolution screen will make text look smaller?? Can't screen choice can depend on the quality of your eyesite to some degree??
Andrew
Austin, TX

Definitely aamsel. I guess I should've been a bit more specific. Sorry about that. I've got an 8790 and a lot of ppl are holding off on buying it because it's not SXGA or UXGA. Well, the current one is 1440x900 stock. I don't have a problem w/ it. I'm not so sure I'd be real happy w/ a WUXGA screen. I'd be squinting to read the icons. So yes, what resolution one picks is definitely tied to what one wants to size-wise on the screen.

I was lookin at a Dell 8600 recently also, and I can't argue that it's not a fair deal, but a few things bugged me enough to go with an Asus M6N. Firstly, it's comparatively huge and heavy, and the build quality is less than stellar; I picked it up and it creaked and just felt, well, too plasticky, and when you press on the back of the LCD panel (top of case) you get LCD shimmer. Also, I read somewhere that a guy actually cut himself on the thing, and though normally I wouldn't indugle hearsay, from what I saw personally I totally believe it. Also, I have a slight bias against Dell, b/c my family has a desktop of theirs that's just a piece o crap; hardly any room for upgrade at all, and if Dell is still like that I'd wonder about Dothan-compatibility. Can't say too much else on it b/c after I saw the thing in person I crossed it off my list with prejudice, and I'd advise you to likewise keep shopping. An M6N was the answer for me, and from what you say you want I'd recommend it for you too- more features with better build quality within your price range. But bottom line, you want a centrino rig of some kind, and ECS, FIC, and Aopen also make great value configurable 'whitebooks' that might be worth a look (FYI I looked at all them as well and Asus M6N was still my first choice).