<p>well yeah, I got it for under $1200,</p>
<p>$0...</p>
<p>I'm not a avid gamer at all so there would be no reason for me to shell out the money for that kind of a PC.</p>
<p>ya i realize that prism :( i really need to order now</p>
<p>and the way i see it is that software will be more demanding as the high-specs now become standard, which is why im willing to spend 500 more on a laptop now then get a new one when it is too slow. i plan on doing programming and rendering and stuff, no gaming, but i just want it to be good for a long time. a typical 1200 laptop should be great for web surfing and stuff, but thats if you maintain it well....</p>
<p>ah i switched the bracket on my quote and its too late to edit, damn, well this post is kinda useless, just complaining.</p>
<p>jrcho88, i was responding to fri3nds04 about saying you would need a coupon to get that deal. It really just depends on the brand it is.</p>
<p>elec486, a typical $400 laptop will be fine for web surfing. A $1200 laptop should offer more than the basics... The way technology and price is constantly changing, your $1700 laptop will be outdated about as fast as the $1200. The $1300 macbook has the exact same processor as the $2000 macbook pro for example. In this case you a paying for things such as video card (you said you don't game), ram (dirt cheap and easily to add yourself), and hard drive size (unlikely you will need a 250gb drive in a lappy, but also easy to replace). The most noticeable difference is screen size, 13.3 vs. 15.1, but you can get a better equiped pc than that macbook example with larger screen for that price if needed (13.3 is obviously more portable). I realize you may not want a mac, but this is just an example that $500 (or $700 in this case) doesn't necessarily do anything to future proof you (which is impossible anyways).</p>
<p>What I don't understand is why people that need a computer for more than web surfing or programs like word and powerpoint buy laptops for it. Sure a desktop is less convenient, but for significantly less money you get a better/bigger monitor, and much more power. My entire system, 24" monitor and all cost less than $1200 and I am running a very nice processor (e8400 @ 4.2ghz), 4gb ddr2 800 ram, 640gb HD, dual layer burner, high end HSF over my processor, very nice case, great MB, only thing that is lacking a little is my geforce 7600gt video card, but I don't game which is why I didn't upgrade when I rebuilt this machine in january. Also, I am running the most current edition of Mac OS X Leopard. It is not even possible to get a laptop with the specs of my desktop at any price.</p>
<p>ok for processors, a T9300 (not centrino 2, but whatever) has 6mb of L2 cache, the only processor with that. The difference will be notceable when loading things.</p>
<p>In terms of RAM, 2gb will be enough probably, but I want to run 64 bit and plan to virtualize windows inside Linux, so I'm gonna need more. 3gb isnt dual channel so it will run slower, might as well spend 50 more and get 4gb of ram</p>
<p>I want a 13.3 inch screen for portability, and a 9-cell battery for very long battery life</p>
<p>video card, i do not want integrated video because it wont be able to run desktop effects and hi-def movies well enough (especially since it's not centrino 2). Therefore i am getting the most base nvidia graphics card.</p>
<p>I'm getting the largest hard drive simply because I store a lot of movies/music/files on my computer. I have 160 on my desktop now and i have 5gb left, and I plan to use more in college. I could have gotten an external harddrive, but since i plan to dual boot windows and have it virtualize in linux, i'm getting a 320.</p>
<p>this all comes to about 1800, and add thigns such as warranty and wireless card etc comes to 1900 with cornell discount, and i feel like its what I need to do what I need to do. it may not be for everyone, but i'm willing to spend the money (i need to increase my budget somehow for cornell to get my scholarship money back)</p>
<p>edit: actually, dell offers discoutns on higher-specced laptops, so a medium-specced xps m1330 is actually the same price as a high-end xps m1330 (with the same warranties and such)....</p>
<p>I think the external HD is a better idea. Just keep all your movies/music on it and all your programs on a smaller HD, but if you get the 320 I would make small partitions for the 2 OS's and a larger for storage. For ram just try and get a lappy with like 1gb is possible and change it out yourself. You will save money this way.</p>
<p>BTW, you don't really need 6mb of l2 cahce. That will help with gaming (which you said you don't want to do) more than anything else. 3mb or whatever the other mobile processors have is fine. My desktop processor has 6mb of l2 and I know I don't need that much. A quad core would do much more to help your intended purposes, but obviously you would need a desktop for that.</p>
<p>Dell is not even a computer company though, it is a marketing company that sells computers... I would look into lenovo (IBM) thinkpads if I was you. Check slickdeals.net forums for great deals, your cornell discount might not necessarily be the best deal around.</p>
<p>
[quote]
What I don't understand is why people that need a computer for more than web surfing or programs like word and powerpoint buy laptops for it.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Agree. Although I prefer desktops, I need laptops for its portability. However, I think a $1000ish computer is probably enough unless you're some kind of savvy users, like elec486 :D.</p>
<p>By the way hermanns, what is your desktop's specs?</p>
<p>getting a faster and bigger hard drive for the laptop itself probably isnt the best idea.</p>
<p>The least durable part of any laptop is probably the hard drive. If something were to go, the hard drive would probably die first. Just keep an external for all your large-files.</p>
<p>i agree with all of that about the external harddrive, but i really want a 7200 rpm harddrive (i've tried 5400 and the difference is noticeable). for dells, the only 7200 rpm is 250gb, which is $50 less than the 320gb, so maybe I will get that (get an external later)</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think the external HD is a better idea. Just keep all your movies/music on it and all your programs on a smaller HD, but if you get the 320 I would make small partitions for the 2 OS's and a larger for storage. For ram just try and get a lappy with like 1gb is possible and change it out yourself. You will save money this way.</p>
<p>BTW, you don't really need 6mb of l2 cahce. That will help with gaming (which you said you don't want to do) more than anything else. 3mb or whatever the other mobile processors have is fine. My desktop processor has 6mb of l2 and I know I don't need that much. A quad core would do much more to help your intended purposes, but obviously you would need a desktop for that.</p>
<p>Dell is not even a computer company though, it is a marketing company that sells computers... I would look into lenovo (IBM) thinkpads if I was you. Check slickdeals.net forums for great deals, your cornell discount might not necessarily be the best deal around.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I know all of that, it sucks that dell uses generic ****ty parts, but i've looked at all of those sites and with the warranty and cornell discount it really comes out to be the cheapest. I plan on having the 3 partitions (well four with linuxs's swap space), and in terms of 1gb of RAM you don't get the dell discount unless you have a minimum amount of specs (3gb of ram), so might as well spend $50 more and get the 4gb.</p>
<p>I'm not sure about getting the 3mb L2 cache though, i've read in many places that 6mb is worth it (but I will not be gaming, like you said)</p>
<p>elec, Unless it is not much more I wouldn't get the one with 6mb on l2. If it is like $100+ more than a comparably clocked proc with less l2 you would be better off with the cheaper because gaming uses l2 cache more than other programs do. Once you get past 3 of 4 mb you start to get diminishing returns, even in gaming. With things like video editing and the like you want as many cores as you can get more than an increased l2 per core. I would also recommend just getting the 250 gb if you are set on 7200 (I have an 80gb seagate 7200 2.5" I need to throw on ebay, but it is IDE and not sata) and getting the external. Or if the 250 is a ton more expensive you could get the cheapest possible HD, sell it on ebay, and buy a smaller 7200 rpm.</p>
<p>Shifu Yoda, I have:
CPU: intel e8400 overclocked to 4.2ghz
MB: gigabyte ga-p35-ds3l
HD: Western digital wd6400aaks
HSF: zerotherm btf90 (i think that is the model name)
video: evga geforce 7600gs (had for at least 2 years, recycled it from my previous build because I don't game on my computer)
case: nzxt apollo black with 3 blue LED 120mm fans, all of this this was also reused
PSU: Antec NeoPower 500W
and I have a samsung DL burner; I think that is everything
I am running Kalyway Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.4</p>
<p>It is very fast for what I use it for, could have gotten away with a cheaper build, but wheres the fun in that?</p>
<p>When you buy laptops from Dell/HP/Lenov, etc, the rule of thumb is to order the machine with the cheapest ram and hard drive - because these components are highly inflated in price. You can order more ram/hard drive from like newegg and zipzoomfly later for a lot less money.</p>
<p>I like HP laptops because I feel they have better quality and last longer :/</p>
<p>i ordered an xps 1530 today - though stupidly i didn't realize until a short while ago that "ship date" means the date that they first ship it, not the date that it will be shipped to you by. preliminary is 8/11, and with 3-5 business days i'm hoping that it'll be there a week before i leave (configuring and data transfer shouldn't take long at all though). i'm hoping that worst case scenario is that if it is delayed, i'll still get it before i leave since i have a little over a week as a buffer - nothing wrong with just configuring at school and using my ipod as an external hard drive</p>
<p>importantly though, if you are looking for dell, just google "cornell dell" and i think it's the 2nd choice. i did a price comparison and i am getting cornell's deal for about $850 less than what i'd get it for if i just ordered through dell - a pretty damn good deal if you ask me. hopefully it'll be good for me since even though it's on the bigger side, it'll also be a desktop replacement for me anyway, so it'll be worth the cost of the extra size carrying it around i think, and i like bigger screens anyway</p>
<p>Desktop replacements are nice.</p>
<p>If you really need something smaller to carry to class or libraries, then just buy an older/smaller Latitude on ebay. I bought a latitude (forget which model) with a 13" screen for $200 and it works great.</p>