Right now he’s mainly looking at either an IBM R50e or a Dell Inspiron 6000. He can get them with the same specs (1.6 GHz processor, 512 Mb RAM, CD-RW/DVD drive, etc.) for roughly the same price (the Dell is about $100 cheaper). He’d also be happy with something else that’s comparable in terms of price and specs. He’s mainly going to use it browse the Internet, run MS Office, and watch DVDs.
So, does anyone have a recommendation between these two systems, or care to suggest another system?
I picked up a Dell 700m, and I’m pretty happy with it. I’ve used it for exactly the same things your brother is looking for (internet, office, DVD’s), and it has similar specs to what you’re looking for (1.7 GHz Pentium, 512k RAM, DVD burner, etc.) Its a little smaller then the 6000 I think, but it does have a widescreen which I think is nice for watching DVD’s.
When I was shopping for mine, I had a general idea of what I wanted, and then kept my eyes open for a good deal to come by. By watching websites such as www.spoofee.com, and www.techbargains.com, I was able to find a deal where Dell was offering $750 off of any laptop priced $1500 or more. I ended up paying like $850 for everything including shipping and a 2 year warranty, and I think this was a good price. I think similar deals come up pretty frequently, so I’d start monitoring these sites and wait for one.
IBM Thinkpads have a very good reputation. Either way, I’d recommed getting an extended warranty, and preferably the sort that will provide next-day service (rather than having to ship the system back and wait for the repair).
The Dell 700m are very light, so if you prefer something easy to carry, they’re just for you. I personally have a Dell 6000 and got one of those spiffy online $750 off coupon which allowed me to buy my wonderful piece of machinery for $825. Can’t tell you the specs on this thing other than it’s widescreen and has 50 gigs as I’m very computer-unsavvy. But it works great, is very fast and it’s purty. But it’s a little on the heavy side. 7-10lbs. It won’t break your arms, but it takes a bit of effort to move it around all the time.
Btw Blunt, where did you get your warranty? I don’t remember seeing it…was it on the online order form? Because if it was, then I guess I was too tired from waking up at 5:50am to buy my laptop!
The waranty for mine was one of the options I had to choose from, anywhere from 1-4 years. I bumped it up to 2 from 1 so I could get the total price over $1500 to get the $750 discount to kick in.