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Ok, asking the typical "What should I buy?"

post #1 of 23
10/6/04 at 12:08pm
Thread Starter 
Hey all...I have to say, this forum is great...I am shopping for a laptop and stumbled across this forum - and thankfully I did, cause you guys have opened my eyes to a bunch of new manu's that I never knew existed. Along with that, though, has come confusion and indecision...because now I have NO CLUE what to buy...so hopefully I can get some help here.

Ok, here goes:

WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR:
A laptop that is decent for travel, yet can double as a gaming machine...(yes, I know we all are looking for that more or less, but it has to be said)

WHAT I AM LOOKING AT:
Currently, I have narrowed it down to the following -
Sager np3790s
1.8 pentium-m, 60 gig 7200rpm, 128 radeon 9700, 1G ram, dvd/cd-rw, 15.4" wsxga+

Acer Ferrari 3200
I am sure we have all heard the specs on this...for those who don't, its an AMD athlon 64 2800+ lv chip, 512mb, 128 radeon 9700, 4xdvd burner, 15"xga...

Cyberpower Xplorer x5-6000
p4 3.2 ht, 60 gig 7200rpm, 128mb radeon 9700 pro, 1G ram, 4xdvd burner, 15.4" wxga

Dell Inspiron 9100
similar specs to xplorer x5-6000 except with 8x dual layer dvd burner.

As you can see, I am trying to keep this in the $1800-$2k range...

In addition...I do travel a bunch, and when I do I watch dvd's on the plane, or maybe I'd be playing DOOM 3! :-) And as of now its less of a business machine than anything else, but as of Jan 1 it will be used more as a busness machine for doc's etc...I hope i havent asked too many questions! Thanks in advance!!!

Skeet
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post #2 of 23
10/6/04 at 12:13pm
Out of your choices, it seems like the 3790 or the 3200 would fit your needs the best. I'm not sure about the battery life of the 3200, but at least you should get more than the 2 hours that the last two would give on battery.
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post #3 of 23
10/6/04 at 12:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Revenent
Out of your choices, it seems like the 3790 or the 3200 would fit your needs the best.
So either one of those would handle intensive gaming and/or multi-tasking? I know gaming is highly dependant on GPU, but if the processor cant handle it then its all for naught...
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post #4 of 23
10/6/04 at 12:23pm
I'm pretty sure both can handle games - unfortunately, I don't know what you define as "intensive", so I'm not sure - maybe listing some games?
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post #5 of 23
10/6/04 at 12:36pm
Thread Starter 
Doom 3, Far cry, any resource hogging game and/or productivity prog like Photoshop...
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post #6 of 23
10/6/04 at 12:40pm
a 1.8 ghz p-m is roughly equivalent to a 2.8 ghz P4.

it will handle intensive gaming and multitasking fine. as you are probably aware those capabilities are much more dependent on GPU and RAM, respectively. mr9700 will decently run doom3, and a Gb of RAM is usually more than enough to run several or even many large applications at once. depends on which apps, naturally.

HT will give you a small advantage in multitasking between several apps, but that advantage in relation to the "portability" increases due to the P-M architecture is really no contest, if you're looking for a decent travel machine.

keep in mind that if you're gaming doom3 on a plane, you'll probably want to turn off speedswitching, meaning that you run the cpu at the full clock speed. in this capacity, you'll only be able to get about half of the max batt life numbers most people will list for their P-M machine.

just from their sheer weight / size, the first two systems on your list sound good given your need for a "decent travel" machine. make sure to get the 12 cell battery if you opt for a 3790. not sure if it was just a typo but you have the ferrari listed as xga; it's sxga+ . the screen is not as good on the ferrari (non-widescreen), plus it will not get as good battery life as a 12-cell sager.
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post #7 of 23
10/6/04 at 12:50pm
The Dell is of a different breed. It's hotter, heavier, and has shorter battery life. If you wanted to throw a comparable Dell into the mix, it would have to be the 8600, which does NOT have the 9700 in it.
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post #8 of 23
10/6/04 at 1:01pm
Sager seems to be the best choice. A wide screen is good for DVD watching and Pentium M gives a long battery life.

Some battery life tests:
- I tested DVD playback on HP nw8000 (with P-M 745) and got 205 minutes.
- Adam@PCTorque tested DVD playback on Acer Ferrari 3200 and got 100 minutes.
- P4 HT machines don't have a very long battery life to mention (under 60 minutes).

Cheers!
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post #9 of 23
10/6/04 at 2:41pm
If you need it to run on battery a lot and none of them will fit your need. The 3790 standard battery runs only about 2 1/2 hours (less with games) and the 12 cell will add about bring it to 7.5 lbs.

Take a look at the Acer travelmate 3201. 14.1", 4.8lbs, MR9700, over 4 hours battery. for $1500.
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post #10 of 23
10/6/04 at 4:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wiz33
If you need it to run on battery a lot and none of them will fit your need. The 3790 standard battery runs only about 2 1/2 hours (less with games) and the 12 cell will add about bring it to 7.5 lbs.

Take a look at the Acer travelmate 3201. 14.1", 4.8lbs, MR9700, over 4 hours battery. for $1500.
Wow, didn't think they made laptops with the 9700 in under 5lb! But where can you find it for only $1500? It seems the places I've looked at it have it listed higher than that (although still somewhat close to that price).
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post #11 of 23
10/6/04 at 4:47pm
Newegg have them for $1429. The only con on this is the 4200rpm HD. But 60GB 5400rpm runs pretty cheap nowaday so swaping in a new drive shouldn't be too bad. I would have seriously consider this model if it was available when I got my Aspire 2025 (which I loved BTW, too bad it's no longer being sold in the US).
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post #12 of 23
10/6/04 at 4:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by holodude
Wow, didn't think they made laptops with the 9700 in under 5lb! But where can you find it for only $1500? It seems the places I've looked at it have it listed higher than that (although still somewhat close to that price).

I did look and saw it for $1499...but I declined on it because I want to have a bit more performance out of my lappy (wanting 1.7/1.8 pentium m at minimum)...the 9700 is nice, but its only 64mb...I know how things get outdated, but I also dont want to buy laptops every 6 months to keep up with the applications/games that are requiring more and more resources...

Plus, 14.1" is def smaller than I wanted to go...however, that acer IS a nice machine, and I can see how it would be recommended easily!

Now, I just found that lovely 25% off Dell inspiron coupon, so I think I may go with the 8600 as someone else had suggested...I am placing my order this evening, so if anyone has any other creative suggestions prior to that I am ALL EARS (eyes?)...

Thanks again!

Skeet
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post #13 of 23
10/6/04 at 5:57pm
You would have loved my Aspire 2025 ;-) too bad it's no longer available. ;-(
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post #14 of 23
10/7/04 at 12:51am
I still don't know if he made a good decision for what he wants... maybe...

They are really mean when they say "starting at $1147"...
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post #15 of 23
10/7/04 at 1:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DDDa
I still don't know if he made a good decision for what he wants... maybe...

They are really mean when they say "starting at $1147"...
You are correct...they are mean with that, but still, here is what I wound up with...tell me if I did ok:

Dell inspiron 8600

P-M 1.8/ 400mhz fsb
15.4" wsxga+
512mb 333mhz ram (single, not 2 chip)
8x dvd +/- r/rw dual layer
intel 2200 pro 802.11 b/g wireless LAN
128mb radeon 9600 pro turbo
60gb 7200rpm HD

and one of those funky burlwood snap on covers... :-)

with the 25% coupon came out to $1695 + I got 2 day free shipping...


Skeet

I do ok? lemme know what you think
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post #16 of 23
10/7/04 at 2:38pm
Skeet,
Thats a great deal. Where did you get that coupon?
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post #17 of 23
10/7/04 at 2:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeskeetr
WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR:
A laptop that is decent for travel, yet can double as a gaming machine...(yes, I know we all are looking for that more or less, but it has to be said)

Acer Ferrari 3200
I am sure we have all heard the specs on this...for those who don't, its an AMD athlon 64 2800+ lv chip, 512mb, 128 radeon 9700, 4xdvd burner, 15"xga...
The Acer Ferrari 3200 actually got a 15" SXGA+ screen that support 1400x1050 resolution.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeskeetr
As you can see, I am trying to keep this in the $1800-$2k range...

In addition...I do travel a bunch, and when I do I watch dvd's on the plane, or maybe I'd be playing DOOM 3! :-) And as of now its less of a business machine than anything else, but as of Jan 1 it will be used more as a busness machine for doc's etc...I hope i havent asked too many questions! Thanks in advance!!!
Acer Ferrari 3200, no question about it since it's a perfect compromise between gaming power and battery life in my opinion.
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post #18 of 23
10/7/04 at 3:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RGhost
Skeet,
Thats a great deal. Where did you get that coupon?

www.notebookreview.com ...it was 25% off all inspirons over $1499...mine came out to about 2200...so I saved $585 :-) Granted, they were offering 15% off right on the dell site, but the extra 10% helped a LOT!

Only thing is, it ended yesterday...the new deal is $500 off inspirons over $1499 (one day coupon - ends today). Glad I bought it yesterday!

As far as the Acer Ferrari, I decided against it for a few reasons - 1) kinda wanted the widescreen, 2) Cost - wound up being $250-$350 more than what I purchased, 3) the new 3400 will be out soon enough...so If I dont like this one I can always return it and get the 3400... :-)

Skeet
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post #19 of 23
10/7/04 at 4:16pm
read the two posts in my sig.. they might help
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post #20 of 23
10/7/04 at 10:12pm
Thread Starter 
I already bought it! :-P
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