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Is it worth getting a laptop? - Page 2

post #21 of 35
5/7/04 at 11:40am
So....you are NOT finished buying/returning notebooks???
I guess I got the wrong impression from your post.
Andrew
Austin, TX
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post #22 of 35
5/7/04 at 12:04pm
No, I'm not shopping for notebooks anymore. I just checked out those Dothans when I read the other post that they're now available. If, or when, I look into buying a notebook, it'll be something like a Dothan...or a Powerbook G4 (I still have fond memories of my Mac days, long ago in a galaxy far away). But, I just spent a big chunk of change on my Hornet, so my PC buying days are over for awhile!
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post #23 of 35
5/7/04 at 12:17pm
Shopping for me will likely occur in this order over the next 10 months to a year

1. 15" Powerbook and a printer
2. Nice, large LCD display
3. SFF [likely the Hornet]
4. Other gadgets and peripherals
5. Subnotebook with the Centrino 2 package
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post #24 of 35
5/7/04 at 12:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sbc
Shopping for me will likely occur in this order over the next 10 months to a year

1. 15" Powerbook and a printer
2. Nice, large LCD display
3. SFF [likely the Hornet]
4. Other gadgets and peripherals
5. Subnotebook with the Centrino 2 package
That's a lotta hardware to cram into one year!!

What kinda LCD are you considering? I'm in total with that 20" Apple widescreen LCD, but I've read that it has problems connecting to a PC. You can get fantastic CRTs for just a few hundred bucks, but I'm not thrilled about plunking a 70 pound behemoth on my new glass-top desk.
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post #25 of 35
5/7/04 at 12:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jswriter
That's a lotta hardware to cram into one year!!

What kinda LCD are you considering? I'm in total with that 20" Apple widescreen LCD, but I've read that it has problems connecting to a PC.

My current desktop is four years old. The Epson printer committed suicide two years ago. In general I'm fine with making big purchases and sticking with them for four years or more; so naturally, when I do buy its a lot at once.

You're not the only one drooling at the Apple 20" cinema. I'm considering getting that too. The problems with the pc is utilitinzg WSXGA on XP and certain graphic cards; most cards and XP want to default to UXGA. There are ways to optimize for the viewing of WSXGA on XP given a compatible graphics card.

$1300 is a lot to spend on a LCD but we only live once. College has cost me a lot, it's time for a awesome reward!
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post #26 of 35
5/7/04 at 1:03pm
How exactly did it take its life??? <grin>
Andrew
Austin, TX

Quote:
Originally Posted by sbc
...The Epson printer committed suicide two years ago...
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post #27 of 35
5/7/04 at 1:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jswriter
Bravo, Kev!! Well said and highly reflective of my attitude, as well. We MUST have some kinda west coast - east coast synchronicity going on here. Although, not being a coffee drinker, I can't say I occasionally play the pretentious fool at Starbucks. Sounds like fun, though. I'll give it a try at a Barnes & Noble when I get a thin & light notebook.

BTW, Have you seen the prices on the new Dothan notebooks at Powernotebooks.com? Incredibly good deals are offered there. You can pick up a 1.5 GHz Dothan (with its lovely 2048 MB cache), 15" SXGA+, ATI 9700 128 MB, 512 MB, 40 GB HD, built-in wireless, etc. for about $1350...even less if you cut a few corners. It's the perfect machine for those Starbucks moments!!!
Oh good Gawd. How'd u get it down to 1350? I can't get it down for less than 1470. That still seems like a smoking deal though. Okay, for all my blustering I'm staring at this in my cart right now. It's a shame I'm in CA though, all these small vendor's charge me tax
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post #28 of 35
5/7/04 at 1:28pm
I see listings on that site for Dothan's from 1.5GHz to 1.8GHz. I don't see a 2.0GHz. Is the 2.0GHz supposed to be in the initial "offering" from Intel next week???
Andrew
Austin, TX
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post #29 of 35
5/7/04 at 1:33pm
Probably aamsel. The one reassuring thing is that the pricing on dothans doesn't look to be any higher than that of the banias.
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post #30 of 35
5/7/04 at 2:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevhuynh
Oh good Gawd. How'd u get it down to 1350? I can't get it down for less than 1470. That still seems like a smoking deal though. Okay, for all my blustering I'm staring at this in my cart right now. It's a shame I'm in CA though, all these small vendor's charge me tax
Oops...my bad! I meant to type $1450. Did you pull the trigger on that notebook? You're right about taxes being a killer. I wasn't aware that Monarch Computers was located here in Georgia until I placed my Hornet Pro order. I got beeotch-slapped with an unexpected and thoroughly unpleasant $96.00 in state sales taxes. BOO!!! At least I can go pick it up when it's ready, next week, and avoid shipping fees. I've still gotta find a monitor, in the meantime.
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post #31 of 35
5/7/04 at 2:43pm
Your desktop will be obsolete in 1-2 years and a total piece of junk in 3-4 years. If you choose to upgrade all the components, it will be almost at a cost of a new desktop computer.

Nothebooks, on the other hand, will be useful even if they are not quite up to date. You can read eBooks in a cafeteria or on a train or keep it in a backpack and download pictures from your digital camera when the flash card is full. Or, if you live in States, you can surf the Net in a Starbucks shop (many of them have T-Mobile wireless access points).

One can argue, but the point is, a value spent for a desktop will be lost 100%, but a notebook will hold its value.

With a desktop you're stuck not only to the room it is in, but to the desk itself. Desktop replacement notebooks are bulky, but they give you local mobility anyway - you can take one from your living room to you bedroom/kitchen no problem. Try do it with a desktop baby.
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post #32 of 35
5/7/04 at 3:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by vincentvega
Your desktop will be a total piece of junk in 3-4 years.
Thanks for the compliment.

Actually, I've been holding off upgrading my "piece of junk" in anticipation of getting a notebook and making that my primary machine. The problem is after all this window-shopping, I really want at least two notebooks...one ultraportable, one 5-6 lb. Dothan/9700 and/or a screamin P4 DTR too.

Decisions, decisions...
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post #33 of 35
5/7/04 at 3:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jswriter
Oops...my bad! I meant to type $1450. Did you pull the trigger on that notebook? You're right about taxes being a killer. I wasn't aware that Monarch Computers was located here in Georgia until I placed my Hornet Pro order. I got beeotch-slapped with an unexpected and thoroughly unpleasant $96.00 in state sales taxes. BOO!!! At least I can go pick it up when it's ready, next week, and avoid shipping fees. I've still gotta find a monitor, in the meantime.
No. As funny as it sounds, tax is the deal breaker for me. For some odd reason, $1500 bones is my line in the sand for an impulse buy.
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post #34 of 35
5/7/04 at 3:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aamsel
How exactly did it take its life??? <grin>
Andrew
Austin, TX
It suffered from gastrointestinal problems and awful "outputs". After some internal bleeding, due to unknown causes, and lack of support from the Epson Dispatch Team, it felt it'd be better off on the "other side" and unforunately took it's own life..
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post #35 of 35
5/7/04 at 3:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevhuynh
No. As funny as it sounds, tax is the deal breaker for me. For some odd reason, $1500 bones is my line in the sand for an impulse buy.
I'd say $1500 is a rather sensible threshold for an "impulse" buy!
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