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How heavy is too heavy for day to day travel?

post #1 of 24
3/20/05 at 11:44pm
Thread Starter 
I will be carrying my laptop daily. About 1 hour on the train and a 15-20min walk to and from the train station. How heavy is too heavy? I was thinking a max of 6lbs. I have a nice targus laptop backpack coming to carry it but I would like some feedback before getting the laptop.

Thanks
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post #2 of 24
3/20/05 at 11:48pm
Even though I walk with my 8790 on my back 2-3 days a week, 15 mins or so each way, I would say it's a bit too heavy. I'm 5'10 190 lbs. and I would say 8 lbs. of laptop would be a good upper limit to set.
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post #3 of 24
3/20/05 at 11:53pm
In backpack: 8.5 lbs upper limit

Hand held: 4 lbs upper limit
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post #4 of 24
3/20/05 at 11:57pm
Thread Starter 
So the Dell 8600 at 6.9lbs would not be too much of a burden? I see they are running a pretty good special on it right now.
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post #5 of 24
3/21/05 at 12:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by eradicator
So the Dell 8600 at 6.9lbs would not be too much of a burden? I see they are running a pretty good special on it right now.
It would not be if you plan on keeping it in your backpack on the train. Carrying a 6.9 lb laptop on your back won't break anyone.

It would be way to heavy if you plan on actually using it in your lap during the train ride, trust me, soon your knees will begin to ache, and possibly develope chronic conditions.
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post #6 of 24
3/21/05 at 12:01am
I decided weight doesnt matter much, I typically haul around 25 lbs of books in my back pak at school.
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post #7 of 24
3/21/05 at 12:01am
Thread Starter 
I actually would be using it a fair amount on the train....So perhaps I should stick with something around 5-6lbs max.
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post #8 of 24
3/21/05 at 12:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by eradicator
I actually would be using it a fair amount on the train....So perhaps I should stick with something around 5-6lbs max.
More like 4 lbs, maybe a little over, if you want to use it day after day, and not get tired of it.

Get a 12" I-book, which would serve you very well, if you don't need to run a particular Windows application.
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post #9 of 24
3/21/05 at 12:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by eradicator
So the Dell 8600 at 6.9lbs would not be too much of a burden? I see they are running a pretty good special on it right now.
Keep in mind....

Laptop -> 6.9 lbs
Backpack -> approx 2 additional lbs
batteries, etc -> approx 2-5 additional lbs...

so it adds up
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post #10 of 24
3/21/05 at 12:10am
Thread Starter 
Well my problem with something that small is that I have an absolute max of 1,000 dollars and would like some ability to play games....Half Life (original), Battlefield 1942...etc and all of the 12" models for that price don't seem to have the capability to do this well as opposed to a Dell 600M with 64mb video which is just over 5lbs

The dell 8600 for instance

BulletHeight: 1.52-inch (38.6 mm)
BulletWidth: 14.22-inch (361.2 mm)
BulletDepth: 10.79-inch (276.1 mm)
BulletWeight: starting at 6.9 lbs. (2.96 kg) with travel module, 9-cell battery and hard drive2

What is a travel module?
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post #11 of 24
3/21/05 at 12:12am
Maybe try to post on the for-sale board, and see if anyone would be willing to sell their 6-months old 12"
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post #12 of 24
3/21/05 at 12:16am
This one might work,

http://www.averatec.com/notebooks/3200series.htm

I don't know what kind graphics this uses though, BF 1942 is a fairly old game, so won't require the best graphics to play on medium resolution.
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post #13 of 24
3/21/05 at 12:18am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the suggestion, I was looking at that one, circuit city had it for 749 after rebate last week but since I am being given 1,000 as a budget I figured I could try to get something a little better.....
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post #14 of 24
3/21/05 at 5:55am
I have an M6BNe which is about 6.7lbs real world weight. I carry it in this: http://www.acmemade.com/thedesignerslim.html

which weighs next to nothing. I keep a spare universal charger at work so I don't need to transport that. I walk 1.2 miles to work uphill in San Fran and its about as heavy as can be and still be comfortable. I would guess the entire package weighs about 7lbs. I wouldn't go heavier than that.
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post #15 of 24
3/21/05 at 7:42am
3kgs is the max weight i'll have in a laptop..thats how much mine is..its pretty heavy to lug around when ur in a hurry

thats why my ipaq pda works better
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post #16 of 24
3/21/05 at 9:21am
It's funny, I'm a backpacker who normally does long, back-country trips over mountain ranges, so carrying my 10 pound Dell 9100 is not a problem. Well, especially not when compared to my usual 80-90 pound backpack load.

I'd say use a backpack module, your back is much better at holding weight than your arms, for longer periods of time.
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post #17 of 24
3/21/05 at 11:19am
Been carrying my TM8104 and TM8003, one power adapter, mouse, a pack of CDs in Targus backpack on 35min walk trips. Two laptops alone add up to about 13 lb. No problem whatsoever. But I plan to keep individual laptop weight under 7 lb for all practical purposes.

Using 5-6 lb laptop on the train should not be a problem. I did it for about 3 years (30min - 1hr trips). And I used 'over-the-shoulder' bag, not backpack.

But try to find light yet sturdy bag/backpack. Some bags I tried seemed to weigh more than laptop (ouch!)
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post #18 of 24
3/21/05 at 12:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HardBall
It would not be if you plan on keeping it in your backpack on the train. Carrying a 6.9 lb laptop on your back won't break anyone.

It would be way to heavy if you plan on actually using it in your lap during the train ride, trust me, soon your knees will begin to ache, and possibly develope chronic conditions.

^^^^ what are you talking about?
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post #19 of 24
3/21/05 at 1:15pm
Thread Starter 
I don't really think that having a 7lb laptop on my lap to do work would be that bothersome for about 45mins but I guess that is just my opinion.....I think that is where he was going with the 2nd comment.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DimGR
^^^^ what are you talking about?
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post #20 of 24
3/21/05 at 1:21pm
less than 6 lbs is fine.. but i think MORE ofit depends on the type of case you use and weight distribution. I used a bad case with my old 15" tibook and round it dug into my shouldter.. but carried and 8 lb machine in a backpack made for carrying a notebook(2 shoulder staps padded) and didn't think it was a big deal at all. So if you go heavier, get a GOOD case.
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