Advice about buying a laptop

In My Humble Opinion
1

So, i’ve decided that i really need a laptop computer to increase my productivity. I’m working on my dissertation, and i need to get heaps done over the summer, and there are just too many distractions in the house. If i get a laptop, i can work properly in the library without worrying about TV and stuff like that. I also need to make some more out-of-area research trips, for which a laptop would be very handy.

So, i’ve been looking online for deals, and i found one that i think seems like a pretty good one. It’s a Dell Inspiron 2200 (my desktop is a Dell and so far—touch wood—i’ve been happy with it). The specs are:[ul]
[li]Intel® Pentium® M Processor 715 (1.50 GHz/2MB Cache/400 MHz FSB)[/li][li]14.1in XGA Display[/li][li]512MB Shared DDR SDRAM, 2 DIMMS[/li][li]60GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive[/li][li]24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive[/li][li]Dell® Wireless 1450 Internal Wireless (802.11a/b/g, 54Mbps)[/li][li]1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr Technical Support[/ul]I can get this setup right now, shipping included, for $811, which seems like a pretty good deal to me.[/li]
I don’t really know much about the newer laptop processors, but it is my understanding that the Pentium M processor in this notebook is a pretty good processor, and that the actual GHz number of 1.5 isn’t as low as it sounds. Is this true? What’s the deal with these things?

Also, having looked around a bit, i’ve found that i can get an Averatec notebook for about the same price and specs, except it will be smaller at 12.1". On the one hand, this would make it much easier and lighter to lug around (4.4lb, as opposed to 6lb for the Dell); on the other, apparently some of the keys ([period], [comma], [alt], [ctrl]) have been shrunk to fit the smaller size, and can be hard to hit. Also, i really don’t know anything about Averatec. Does anyone have experience with this brand? Any pros and cons i should know about?

Finally, given that i’ve got a reasonably powerful desktop at home (P4, 3.0GHz, 1Gb, 160GB HDD), and the laptop would be mainly for research work rather than heavy lifting(i wouldn’t need it for games, video, or anything like that), would it be smarter to spend even less and get a lower-powered Celereon M 1.3 or something like that?

Any advice most welcome.

2

I believe you can get “Complete Care” service from Dell for $79, which will cover accidental damage. I think it’s a good bet.

3

check around for a REPUTABLE store that sells offlease laptops. As long as you dont need anything cutting edge (ie, for anything that NEEDS the CPU power) almost anything will do. Ive been getting by on an old Dell P2 350 that I inherited from my girlfriend when she upgraded, and Ive had absolutely no problems running any of the office apps (word, excel and powerpoint), using any browsers connected via cable or wireless, etc.
It’s bound to be cheaper and at least around here the good stores offer support for the laptops as part of the deal.
To give you an idea, Ive seen a pentium 3 800 (IBM Thinkpad I believe) selling for around $590CAD which is about half of what you were quoted and is powerful enough to even watch DVDs on it.

4

A friend of mine has a Dell laptop that needs a $400 repair, and it’s only a few months out of warranty. Extra coverage is probably worth it in the long run for laptops, considering the extra stresses they are subject to.

FWIW, I’m still on the fence as to whether I should buy AppleCare ($249) or a new hard drive for my iBook. I haven’t had any problems with it so far, but there’s always the what if? factor.

5

I would stay away from the Averatec 12 inch. We had one of these, and were not to impressed with it. It ran way too hot, got scuffed and scratched very easily, had three things needing repair in the first year, so on eBay, it went. It wasn’t bad-bad, just poorly thought out and poorly built…

6

Thanks for the advice folks.

rabbit, i did contemplate going the route you suggested, but after a bit of researhc in the local area i found that the price of used notebooks appears to be somewhat higher than i expected, especially in comparison to their level of performance.

I mean, i can get the system i described above for about $800, while it will still cost $400-500 for a P3 laptop running at about 800MHz, with a much smaller hard drive. Not only that, but the old laptop will probably run hotter (as it doesn’t have the newer mobile chipset and processor), doesn’t have wireless internet (which will be very handy for using in the library and on campus, and will probably have more trouble running multiple applications at once, which i often need to do. When i’m research, i usually have at least four programs open: Firefox, Acrobat, Word, and Endnote. I also sometimes have multiple documents or windows open in each program. The lower speed and memory of the older computers might make this run less smoothly.

For a few hundred bucks more, i think i’d prefer a new computer with a full warranty and a bit more power.

MrFantsyPants: thanks for the info on the Averatec. I’ll keep that in mind when i’m making the decision.

Also, i just realized that getting 512Mb of RAM on that Dell costs $100 than getting 256Mb. Well, even Dell themselves seel a 256MB memory stick for the Inspiron for only $38, so i figure i can order the computer with 256Mb and buy another stick separately and add it myself, and ssave about 60 bucks. So now i’m down to around $750 for the same system.

If i end up getting this computer, i might spend that extra money on a longer warranty and/or the “Complete Care” package recommended by Dewey and wheelie.