New laptop, choices, choices

Well, since I killed my daughter's I6000 (well, it was dead and I didn't
fix it), I am going to buy myself a new laptop. (that's the way it
works, right?)

Anyway.

I'm torn on the choices. I was sure I wanted the little XPS1330, but
wow it is expensive. I went to the kiosk to see it and all they had was
a mockup. What's up with that? Since I couldn't see a working screen,
I couldn't form an opinion. If I was a serious traveler like I used to
be, it would be a no-brainer.

But I'm not. The most this will move is home office to bedroom to back
porch.

So, I am looking at the 1420 and 1520. The 1520 is the updated I6000.

I'm leaning towards a little smaller and lighter, hench the 1420. The
limitations are:

1) No nVidia 8600, the best is the 8400
2) No WSXGA+

The first doesn't seem to be a shopstopper as I very rarely game and the
games I have are old enough that they'll likely run just fine.

The second is tougher as I haven't seen the sizes and resolutions. I
may hit Best Buy to look at other machines and see what they look like
for comparison.

My gut reaction is that 1680x1050 on a 15.4" screen would be tough to
read. Yes, I know I can play with the dpi, but what would the real
estate do for me? I don't really program anymore, which is where it
would be helpful.

The 1420 offers WXGA+ which should be 1440x900, which is the resolution
on my I9300. I like that resolution and think I could live with it on a
3" smaller screen.

So, I'm leaning towards the 1420.

I have a 10% off outlet coupon, so I have two days to decide and find
the right one on the outlet. One quirk I have noticed on the outlet is
that the T7500 processor is cheaper on outlet machines than the T7300.

So, I am leaning towards a 1420 with the T7500, 2GB memory, 120GB
7200RPM drive, WXGA+.

Should be just under $1000 with the coupon at the outlet.

Comments and suggestions welcome!

Tom

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tom Scales [mailto:tjscales@gmail.com]
> Posted At: Monday, August 20, 2007 10:05 AM
> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> Conversation: New laptop, choices, choices
> Subject: New laptop, choices, choices
>
> Well, since I killed my daughter's I6000 (well, it was dead and I
> didn't
> fix it), I am going to buy myself a new laptop. (that's the way it
> works, right?)
>
> Anyway.
>
> I'm torn on the choices. I was sure I wanted the little XPS1330, but
> wow it is expensive. I went to the kiosk to see it and all they had
> was
> a mockup. What's up with that? Since I couldn't see a working
screen,
> I couldn't form an opinion. If I was a serious traveler like I used
to
> be, it would be a no-brainer.
>
> But I'm not. The most this will move is home office to bedroom to
back
> porch.
>
> So, I am looking at the 1420 and 1520. The 1520 is the updated I6000.
>
> I'm leaning towards a little smaller and lighter, hench the 1420. The
> limitations are:
>
> 1) No nVidia 8600, the best is the 8400
> 2) No WSXGA+
>
> The first doesn't seem to be a shopstopper as I very rarely game and
> the
> games I have are old enough that they'll likely run just fine.
>
> The second is tougher as I haven't seen the sizes and resolutions. I
> may hit Best Buy to look at other machines and see what they look like
> for comparison.
>
> My gut reaction is that 1680x1050 on a 15.4" screen would be tough to
> read. Yes, I know I can play with the dpi, but what would the real
> estate do for me? I don't really program anymore, which is where it
> would be helpful.
>
> The 1420 offers WXGA+ which should be 1440x900, which is the
resolution
> on my I9300. I like that resolution and think I could live with it on
> a
> 3" smaller screen.
>
> So, I'm leaning towards the 1420.
>
> I have a 10% off outlet coupon, so I have two days to decide and find
> the right one on the outlet. One quirk I have noticed on the outlet
is
> that the T7500 processor is cheaper on outlet machines than the T7300.
>
> So, I am leaning towards a 1420 with the T7500, 2GB memory, 120GB
> 7200RPM drive, WXGA+.
>
> Should be just under $1000 with the coupon at the outlet.
>
> Comments and suggestions welcome!
>
> Tom


Well, I ended up fixed my I6000, so no new laptop.

Shoot, I wanted one..

"Tom Scales" <tjscales@gmail.com> wrote:

>I'm torn on the choices. I was sure I wanted the little XPS1330, but
>wow it is expensive.

yep it's PRICEY!!

me@privacy.net wrote:
> "Tom Scales" <tjscales@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I'm torn on the choices. I was sure I wanted the little XPS1330, but
>> wow it is expensive.
>
> yep it's PRICEY!!


It won't be for long.
One of the great benefits of this economy is that consumers
support (relatively) high prices only as long as the
differences/advantages are clear. Dell was the second (after
Sony) to combine that level of power and functionality in such a
package. The XPS1330 is about 20% less costly than the Sony
products with which it directly competes, and Toshiba already
has a toe in the ring.

As Acer, HP, and others enter that marketing battle, prices will
fall quickly. And each new entry will bring with it some new
benefit or feature.

For the consumer, it's great. For the market planner at Gateway,
it's a puzzlement.




I know lots of facts, but don't understand them.

More info Tom. How did you fix it??


"Tom Scales" <tjscales@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:7D12063A638A430E92589E557BD16F84@M2010...
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Tom Scales [mailto:tjscales@gmail.com]
>> Posted At: Monday, August 20, 2007 10:05 AM
>> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
>> Conversation: New laptop, choices, choices
>> Subject: New laptop, choices, choices
>>
>> Well, since I killed my daughter's I6000 (well, it was dead and I
>> didn't
>> fix it), I am going to buy myself a new laptop. (that's the way it
>> works, right?)
>>
>> Anyway.
>>
>> I'm torn on the choices. I was sure I wanted the little XPS1330, but
>> wow it is expensive. I went to the kiosk to see it and all they had
>> was
>> a mockup. What's up with that? Since I couldn't see a working
> screen,
>> I couldn't form an opinion. If I was a serious traveler like I used
> to
>> be, it would be a no-brainer.
>>
>> But I'm not. The most this will move is home office to bedroom to
> back
>> porch.
>>
>> So, I am looking at the 1420 and 1520. The 1520 is the updated I6000.
>>
>> I'm leaning towards a little smaller and lighter, hench the 1420. The
>> limitations are:
>>
>> 1) No nVidia 8600, the best is the 8400
>> 2) No WSXGA+
>>
>> The first doesn't seem to be a shopstopper as I very rarely game and
>> the
>> games I have are old enough that they'll likely run just fine.
>>
>> The second is tougher as I haven't seen the sizes and resolutions. I
>> may hit Best Buy to look at other machines and see what they look like
>> for comparison.
>>
>> My gut reaction is that 1680x1050 on a 15.4" screen would be tough to
>> read. Yes, I know I can play with the dpi, but what would the real
>> estate do for me? I don't really program anymore, which is where it
>> would be helpful.
>>
>> The 1420 offers WXGA+ which should be 1440x900, which is the
> resolution
>> on my I9300. I like that resolution and think I could live with it on
>> a
>> 3" smaller screen.
>>
>> So, I'm leaning towards the 1420.
>>
>> I have a 10% off outlet coupon, so I have two days to decide and find
>> the right one on the outlet. One quirk I have noticed on the outlet
> is
>> that the T7500 processor is cheaper on outlet machines than the T7300.
>>
>> So, I am leaning towards a 1420 with the T7500, 2GB memory, 120GB
>> 7200RPM drive, WXGA+.
>>
>> Should be just under $1000 with the coupon at the outlet.
>>
>> Comments and suggestions welcome!
>>
>> Tom
>
>
> Well, I ended up fixed my I6000, so no new laptop.
>
> Shoot, I wanted one..
>

See you below...

On Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:05:20 -0400, "Tom Scales" <tjscales@gmail.com>
wrote:

>I'm torn on the choices. I was sure I wanted the little XPS1330, but
>wow it is expensive. I went to the kiosk to see it and all they had was
>a mockup. What's up with that? Since I couldn't see a working screen,
>I couldn't form an opinion. If I was a serious traveler like I used to
>be, it would be a no-brainer.

Another alternative would be an outlet M1210. They are priced very
well and I love mine.

>
>But I'm not. The most this will move is home office to bedroom to back
>porch.

I seem to remember that you have a larger notebook already, with
either a 17" or 20" screen (true?). The advantage of a larger
notebook to me would be to use it with Remote Desktop to connect to my
desktop computer.

>So, I am looking at the 1420 and 1520. The 1520 is the updated I6000.
>
>I'm leaning towards a little smaller and lighter, hench the 1420. The
>limitations are:
>
>1) No nVidia 8600, the best is the 8400
>2) No WSXGA+
>
>The first doesn't seem to be a shopstopper as I very rarely game and the
>games I have are old enough that they'll likely run just fine.

Agreed -- based on what you say you'll use it for, video wouldn't be a
show stopper, although I know you stream TV (I have no idea how, it
would be interesting to know) so I don't know if more powerful video
would help with that.

>The second is tougher as I haven't seen the sizes and resolutions. I
>may hit Best Buy to look at other machines and see what they look like
>for comparison.
>
>My gut reaction is that 1680x1050 on a 15.4" screen would be tough to
>read. Yes, I know I can play with the dpi, but what would the real
>estate do for me? I don
't really program anymore, which is where it
>would be helpful.

I found the 1680 x 1050 to be very readable, even with my 44 year old
eyes that now need progressive lenses, however you hit the nail right
on the head when you said you might not need it anymore because you
don't program. The main advantage of the WSXGA+ has always been for
programming tasks (which I don't do anymore either).

>The 1420 offers WXGA+ which should be 1440x900, which is the resolution
>on my I9300. I like that resolution and think I could live with it on a
>3" smaller screen.

Someone else may be able to calculate how the 1440 x 900 on a 14.1"
screen compares to 1680 x 1050 on a 15.4" screen. I have used both,
and have the 1440 x 900 resolution on my 640m, and it seems like the
text size was very close.

>So, I'm leaning towards the 1420.

One thing I don't like about the Inspirons, like my 640m, is that the
build quality seems sub-par. On two different laptops of that type
the screen needed to be tightened after a while. I found out that
it's not that hard to do. Also, it doesn't have a solid feeling.

>So, I am leaning towards a 1420 with the T7500, 2GB memory, 120GB
>7200RPM drive, WXGA+.

That's a good configuration. I have stayed away from the 160GB 7200
rpm drives because they have been having problems (if I wanted that
capacity I'd Google to see what drives and if problems have been
resolved). I have never regretted getting a 7200 rpm drive -- it
doesn't seem to decrease battery life.

>Should be just under $1000 with the coupon at the outlet.
>
>Comments and suggestions welcome!

My favorite laptop in that price range right now is the Latitude D520.
It's very solid -- magnesium roll cage and steel hinges. A modular
battery can fit in the drive bay, getting up to 11 hours (as one
review reported) with the primary and secondary batteries. I like
that it has a standard aspect screen rather than wide. It has more
verticle resolution, which is good for many applications, such as web
browsing and word processing. It doesn't have the glossy screen which
could be a show stopper -- for me I like the non-glossy when using it
for "business" purposes (at meetings, etc). I don't have to worry
about window glare behind me or have to adjust the angle to avoid
glare.

Another option would be to go the Lenovo Thinkpad route. They have
been deeply discounted, and there are coupons that can be used on top
of their discounted prices.

Reseated the CPU, but it didn't last long.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: WSZsr [mailto:nospam@hotmail.com]
> Posted At: Monday, August 20, 2007 6:39 PM
> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> Conversation: New laptop, choices, choices
> Subject: Re: New laptop, choices, choices
>
> More info Tom. How did you fix it??
>
>
> "Tom Scales" <tjscales@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:7D12063A638A430E92589E557BD16F84@M2010...
> >
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Tom Scales [mailto:tjscales@gmail.com]
> >> Posted At: Monday, August 20, 2007 10:05 AM
> >> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> >> Conversation: New laptop, choices, choices
> >> Subject: New laptop, choices, choices
> >>
> >> Well, since I killed my daughter's I6000 (well, it was dead and I
> >> didn't
> >> fix it), I am going to buy myself a new laptop. (that's the way it
> >> works, right?)
> >>
> >> Anyway.
> >>
> >> I'm torn on the choices. I was sure I wanted the little XPS1330,
> but
> >> wow it is expensive. I went to the kiosk to see it and all they
had
> >> was
> >> a mockup. What's up with that? Since I couldn't see a working
> > screen,
> >> I couldn't form an opinion. If I was a serious traveler like I
used
> > to
> >> be, it would be a no-brainer.
> >>
> >> But I'm not. The most this will move is home office to bedroom to
> > back
> >> porch.
> >>
> >> So, I am looking at the 1420 and 1520. The 1520 is the updated
> I6000.
> >>
> >> I'm leaning towards a little smaller and lighter, hench the 1420.
> The
> >> limitations are:
> >>
> >> 1) No nVidia 8600, the best is the 8400
> >> 2) No WSXGA+
> >>
> >> The first doesn't seem to be a shopstopper as I very rarely game
and
> >> the
> >> games I have are old enough that they'll likely run just fine.
> >>
> >> The second is tougher as I haven't seen the sizes and resolutions.
> I
> >> may hit Best Buy to look at other machines and see what they look
> like
> >> for comparison.
> >>
> >> My gut reaction is that 1680x1050 on a 15.4" screen would be tough
> to
> >> read. Yes, I know I can play with the dpi, but what would the real
> >> estate do for me? I don't really program anymore, which is where
it
> >> would be helpful.
> >>
> >> The 1420 offers WXGA+ which should be 1440x900, which is the
> > resolution
> >> on my I9300. I like that resolution and think I could live with it
> on
> >> a
> >> 3" smaller screen.
> >>
> >> So, I'm leaning towards the 1420.
> >>
> >> I have a 10% off outlet coupon, so I have two days to decide and
> find
> >> the right one on the outlet. One quirk I have noticed on the
outlet
> > is
> >> that the T7500 processor is cheaper on outlet machines than the
> T7300.
> >>
> >> So, I am leaning towards a 1420 with the T7500, 2GB memory, 120GB
> >> 7200RPM drive, WXGA+.
> >>
> >> Should be just under $1000 with the coupon at the outlet.
> >>
> >> Comments and suggestions welcome!
> >>
> >> Tom
> >
> >
> > Well, I ended up fixed my I6000, so no new laptop.
> >
> > Shoot, I wanted one..
> >

"Tom Scales" <tjscales@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:7D12063A638A430E92589E557BD16F84@M2010...
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Tom Scales [mailto:tjscales@gmail.com]
>> Posted At: Monday, August 20, 2007 10:05 AM
>> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
>> Conversation: New laptop, choices, choices
>> Subject: New laptop, choices, choices
>>
>> Well, since I killed my daughter's I6000 (well, it was dead and I
>> didn't
>> fix it), I am going to buy myself a new laptop. (that's the way it
>> works, right?)
>>
>> Anyway.
>>
>> I'm torn on the choices. I was sure I wanted the little XPS1330, but
>> wow it is expensive. I went to the kiosk to see it and all they had
>> was
>> a mockup. What's up with that? Since I couldn't see a working
> screen,
>> I couldn't form an opinion. If I was a serious traveler like I used
> to
>> be, it would be a no-brainer.
>>
>> But I'm not. The most this will move is home office to bedroom to
> back
>> porch.
>>
>> So, I am looking at the 1420 and 1520. The 1520 is the updated I6000.
>>
>> I'm leaning towards a little smaller and lighter, hench the 1420. The
>> limitations are:
>>
>> 1) No nVidia 8600, the best is the 8400
>> 2) No WSXGA+
>>
>> The first doesn't seem to be a shopstopper as I very rarely game and
>> the
>> games I have are old enough that they'll likely run just fine.
>>
>> The second is tougher as I haven't seen the sizes and resolutions. I
>> may hit Best Buy to look at other machines and see what they look like
>> for comparison.
>>
>> My gut reaction is that 1680x1050 on a 15.4" screen would be tough to
>> read. Yes, I know I can play with the dpi, but what would the real
>> estate do for me? I don't really program anymore, which is where it
>> would be helpful.
>>
>> The 1420 offers WXGA+ which should be 1440x900, which is the
> resolution
>> on my I9300. I like that resolution and think I could live with it on
>> a
>> 3" smaller screen.
>>
>> So, I'm leaning towards the 1420.
>>
>> I have a 10% off outlet coupon, so I have two days to decide and find
>> the right one on the outlet. One quirk I have noticed on the outlet
> is
>> that the T7500 processor is cheaper on outlet machines than the T7300.
>>
>> So, I am leaning towards a 1420 with the T7500, 2GB memory, 120GB
>> 7200RPM drive, WXGA+.
>>
>> Should be just under $1000 with the coupon at the outlet.
>>
>> Comments and suggestions welcome!
>>
>> Tom
>
>
> Well, I ended up fixed my I6000, so no new laptop.
>
> Shoot, I wanted one..
>
Tom, what's your opinion on the Nvidia video cards vs. ATI video cards on
the Dell laptops?

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alex Stern [mailto:alstern433@yahoo.com]
> Posted At: Monday, August 20, 2007 9:46 PM
> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> Conversation: New laptop, choices, choices
> Subject: Re: New laptop, choices, choices
>
>
> "Tom Scales" <tjscales@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:7D12063A638A430E92589E557BD16F84@M2010...
> >
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Tom Scales [mailto:tjscales@gmail.com]
> >> Posted At: Monday, August 20, 2007 10:05 AM
> >> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> >> Conversation: New laptop, choices, choices
> >> Subject: New laptop, choices, choices
> >>
> >> Well, since I killed my daughter's I6000 (well, it was dead and I
> >> didn't
> >> fix it), I am going to buy myself a new laptop. (that's the way it
> >> works, right?)
> >>
> >> Anyway.
> >>
> >> I'm torn on the choices. I was sure I wanted the little XPS1330,
> but
> >> wow it is expensive. I went to the kiosk to see it and all they
had
> >> was
> >> a mockup. What's up with that? Since I couldn't see a working
> > screen,
> >> I couldn't form an opinion. If I was a serious traveler like I
used
> > to
> >> be, it would be a no-brainer.
> >>
> >> But I'm not. The most this will move is home office to bedroom to
> > back
> >> porch.
> >>
> >> So, I am looking at the 1420 and 1520. The 1520 is the updated
> I6000.
> >>
> >> I'm leaning towards a little smaller and lighter, hench the 1420.
> The
> >> limitations are:
> >>
> >> 1) No nVidia 8600, the best is the 8400
> >> 2) No WSXGA+
> >>
> >> The first doesn't seem to be a shopstopper as I very rarely game
and
> >> the
> >> games I have are old enough that they'll likely run just fine.
> >>
> >> The second is tougher as I haven't seen the sizes and resolutions.
> I
> >> may hit Best Buy to look at other machines and see what they look
> like
> >> for comparison.
> >>
> >> My gut reaction is that 1680x1050 on a 15.4" screen would be tough
> to
> >> read. Yes, I know I can play with the dpi, but what would the real
> >> estate do for me? I don't really program anymore, which is where
it
> >> would be helpful.
> >>
> >> The 1420 offers WXGA+ which should be 1440x900, which is the
> > resolution
> >> on my I9300. I like that resolution and think I could live with it
> on
> >> a
> >> 3" smaller screen.
> >>
> >> So, I'm leaning towards the 1420.
> >>
> >> I have a 10% off outlet coupon, so I have two days to decide and
> find
> >> the right one on the outlet. One quirk I have noticed on the
outlet
> > is
> >> that the T7500 processor is cheaper on outlet machines than the
> T7300.
> >>
> >> So, I am leaning towards a 1420 with the T7500, 2GB memory, 120GB
> >> 7200RPM drive, WXGA+.
> >>
> >> Should be just under $1000 with the coupon at the outlet.
> >>
> >> Comments and suggestions welcome!
> >>
> >> Tom
> >
> >
> > Well, I ended up fixed my I6000, so no new laptop.
> >
> > Shoot, I wanted one..
> >
> Tom, what's your opinion on the Nvidia video cards vs. ATI video cards
> on
> the Dell laptops?
>


On a laptop, I don't know. On a desktop, I generally prefer nVidia as
ATI's drivers are terrible and their control panel consumes a huge
amount of memory.

On the new laptops, the only choice is Intel integrated or nVidia.

Journey <usenet@merr.com> wrote:

>My favorite laptop in that price range right now is the Latitude D520.
>It's very solid -- magnesium roll cage and steel hinges.


What screen resolution would you go for if getting the
D520?

Would you stick with XGA?

Or go for higher SXGA+?

Something weird abt Dells web page....when you click on
14" models only you still get the D520. But the blurb
says its a 15" screen