This is my second notebook machine after using an 8200 for about three years prior and I have to say that I know that by today's standards, this machine is pretty much a dinosaur but for my everyday use, it really does a great job. One thing for sure is that it probably fueled my obsession of owning decent notebooks forever. In this ever changing industry, unless you've got unlimited mad money, sometimes it's fun to find a reliable but outdated machine and stick with it for a while and read and watch everyone else spend tons of coin on the newest & fastest machines available. It'd be nice to be able to update to a newer notebook every year but with a family, it's just not practical.

So, I was just curious as to how many of you are still pecking away on older 8500/8600's? I've not been bitten by the gaming bug and most likely won't because it just never tripped my trigger. I enjoy learning with the time I spend online more than I would playing games. Please don't get me wrong though, I'm not disrespecting all the gamers out there because God knows, you've become the bread and butter of the notebook industry and I hate to wonder what it would all be like without the games.
Respectfully,
Ed

Having the 128MB Radeon 9600 you aren't that far of what current laptops are offering. It was high end for a while.

Remember that not everybody can afford to have the lastest and most powerful.

I'm using an Inspiron 8000 so I have you beat.

However, I have a desktop that I use for things like Photoshop, video encoding, etc. If the I8000 was my only machine, I'd have gone insane a long time ago. I also do not game.

^^ 8200 here, only thing i have upgraded was the video card (to a 64mb nvidia) and the hard drive recently "failed" or was in the process of failing, so i bought a new 7200 rpm hd from newegg..

so in 4 years, i HAD to spend 100 dollars for the HD, and spent around 200 for the vid card and more ram

I sold my 8600 to fund my TX purchase and I was sorry to see it go - I saw many complaints about the 8600 looking bad, poor build quality etc. but I thought it was a terrific machine. My one was incredibly reliable, I carried it to the train, used it for one and a half hours then carried it to the office, used it for the rest of the day and then back home on the train. Despite the heavy usage it never let me down once...it's now in the hands of my brother and just over the two year old mark and it's still working pretty much perfectly - the only issue is the battery but given it was averaging two charges a day the fact that it can still run for a few hours on battery is very good.

I do miss the 15.4 inch size, I think it was an excellent balance between power and portability and the 1920x1200 screen was just a joy to use for me as I adored the high resolution. Unfortunately I had to go up to the 17 inches as I'm a keen gamer, I really think if Dell could knock out a 15.4 gaming machine, even if it was say a slightly downclocked 7900GTX to fit it in they'd have an absolutely killer of a system it's what many people want.

John

still got the i8200 and it IS my only machine =). Ok well i do have a crappy 500mhz gateway but i only use it for burning tv's / watchin tv b/c it has a dvd burner and tv tuner....slower than the i8200 tho

Probably sticking with the 8600 until at least mid-2007, or when Vista/CentrinoII comes out

I'm on my 8600 right now. Its gonna be with me most likely until 2007

i have a i8200 and haven't used it in years, just like new.

Dude, I LOVE my 8600c. I put it in the D800 case for stability and looks and boy, that thing performs. I play CS Source alot with AAx2 and it cooks! I was gonna sell but then I asked my self...why!? I can still run and outrun some of the new dogs. I think this computer is the best of all time! I do plan on adding a smaller lappy to the family, probably the D420 when it arrives.

It's hard for me to compare my 8600 to other machines because I simply don't use a bunch of different notebooks. It's a lot faster than my previous 8200 and I thought that machine was pretty cool. The 8600 is certainly adequate for what I use it for but I'm sure you know how it is to always want something better and faster. I kind of agree with one of the other guys that replied that he was going to hang on to his 8600 until Vista comes out in 2007 and I'll probably do the same. By then, there will probably be multiple core notebooks out that assign a specific core for each task, who knows?
Later,
Ed

I've had mine for two years. Upgraded the processor to a 2.0 Dothan this past November and chucked 1gb of RAM in it about a month before that. As you can see from the sig, I've done a few mods to it. Only real issue has been the stock 60gb 7200 HDD that damn near bit the dust 2 weeks ago. I can't really even complain about that though, because it gave me an excuse to chuck a 100gb 7200 HDD in this baby.

I'll probably hold on to this one till mid 2007 as well, at which point I will be picking up whatever Apple has available in a 14".

My I8600 kicks arse. I would like a smaller, say 710 for traveling with but I have been very satisfied with this laptop and can't justify replacing it yet.

yea, i use my 8200 for everything, including minor gaming (MoH:AA) all my school stuff, it is my only computer, and will most likely buy a desktop (build my own) this summer and just use the laptop for when i "travel"