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Deep Dish
join:2006-08-17
Canada
 ·Rogers Portable In..
1 edit | reply to 2kmaro
Re: [POLL] Student Laptop Choice
Make/Model: IBM Thinkpad R51
Screen Size: 15.4 inch (max: 1024x768)
Weight: ~5 lbs?
CPU: 1.6 GHz Intel Pentium M
RAM: 512MB DDR (stock) + 1GB DDR = 1.5GB total
Hard Drive: Seagate Momentus 120GB 5400.2 (initally 60GB Fujitsu)
Video Card: ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 M9 32MB
Optical Drive: 24x CDRW+DVD
Essential Extras: I have upgraded the RAM (1GB PC2700 stick) and Hard-drive (Seagate 120GB). Both upgrades were personally bought and installed by myself.
Good Points: After the upgrades, its my desktop replacement. I run Linux (Ubuntu 6.06) on this thing and it's rock solid.
BAD Points: Had bad sectors on the Fujitsu drive, which was replaced under warrenty. They gave me a refurbished 60GB Hitachi drive, which then I thought to myself I'm not going to trust that hard-drive. I went to the store and bought myself the Seagate Momentus drive. I am using the Hitachi drive as an external drive (which is nice since it gets power from the USB connection).
Other then the hard-drive, the only hardware issue I see with this laptop is the video card. More performance would be nice.
Why I picked it: In my school, it is mandatory to have one and you have to go through them to get the laptop, so I had no other choice but to accept it. I initially had a crappy IBM Thinkpad with 256MB of RAM and it ran like garbage, next semester they gave us the R51 which weren't bad. After I upgraded the RAM and the hard-drive, it's a beast. I am impressed with this laptop a lot and I am in the process of purchasing it through the school. | |
doslinux
join:2003-08-08
Hialeah, FL
clubs:
2 edits |  reply to 2kmaro
Make/Model:Compaq V2570
Screen Size: 14" wide-screen high definition (Glossy type)
Weight: ~ 5 pounds with 6 cell battery
CPU: AMD turion 64 1.8GHZ
Essential Extras: 12 cell battery
Good Points: Wireless internet, excellent screen, super easy upgradability (hd, memory, mini pci, optical drive all have their own compartments that can be opened pretty easy.) Button to turn off touch pad, 6in1 media reader. It actually provided the restore media! one dvd had windows the other had the applications, DL dvd burner. Decent 512MB of RAM (128 goes to video). Wireless on and off button.
BAD Points: Touch pad gets hot, battery only lasts 2 hours, speakers are ok, LOTS and LOTS of preloaded crap (slow out of the box) mostly due to some norton security suite crap. Shared video memory. Ink on volume buttons wore off.
Why I picked it: It was cheap (--broke college kid), pretty light, power-full enough for what I use it for, have an 5-6 year old HP desktop thats still running strong.
For more detailed specs click... »h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docu···00572251 | |
Antoke
join:2004-05-12
Brooklyn, MD | reply to adam9280
Thats some funny s%@# dude. | |
lesbisean39
join:2007-03-06
Winnipeg, MB
| reply to 2kmaro
Make/Model: LG P1-J004A9
Screen Size: 15.4" wxga
Weight: 6 lbs
CPU: core2 duo t5600 1.83ghz
Graphics: Mobile radeon x1400.(plays CS:source med/high no probs)
RAM: 1024 of 667 ddr2
Hard Drive: 100 gigs fo yo shit!
Essential Extras: umm, im still lookin for a decent laptop case that doesnt look like im carrying a filecabinet around with me.
Good Points: Wicked screen, the graphics are intense, and it comes with XPpro, not that vi$$ta garbage.  O YA! it has a Numeric pad to the side. Lifesaver for typing IP's and calculating of all sorts.
BAD Points: Support and updates for LG software is pretty $hitty. The intelligent update shit isnt really all that intelligent. in fact i might suggest the opposite is true.
Why I picked it: I picked it because it had all of the features i wanted, for a pretty good price, in a damn sexy package. so basically it is to me, what i am to women.
It is just a really well designed computer, all of the ports are in convenient places, making it a comfortable computer plugged in or out.
Im pumped on these LG computers, i think its going to be a really solid brand in the future.
Right now u can only get em in canada. Where i live. convenient huh? | |
Phoenix Gold
Hypocrite
join:2001-11-24
Faulkton, SD
clubs:
| reply to 2kmaro
This is my second post in this thread because my 17" is just too big, so i bought this to bring to class.
Make/Model: Dell XPS m1210
Screen Size: 12.1"
Weight:a little over 4 pounds
CPU: core 2 duo t7200
Essential Extras: 2 gigs ram, go 7400, 9 cell battery
Good Points: Size. This thing is tiny.
BAD Points: the 9 cell battery sticks out a little.
Why I picked it: Size, power and price. $959.
--
The insects are huge and the poison's all been used, and the drugs won't kill your day job | |
Ctrl Alt Del
Premium
join:2002-02-18
| reply to 2kmaro
Recently bought a new machine.
Make/Model: Apple MacBook Pro 15 inch baseline model
Good Points: A better computer than my Dell.
Bad Points: Not the unstoppable machine that Mac Apologists claim it to be.
Why I picked it: Needed a more powerful machine than my Dell. Waiting 20 minutes for Xilinx hardware synthesis just wasn't doing it for me. And I dislike Vista.
What I use my computer for: Everything that I used my Dell for.
Recommendations: If you need the best monetary deal, get a cheaper Windows machine. If you want something more refined and polished, try a Mac.
--
less talk, more music | |
ZaRRaZa
join:2005-12-04
Norway
4 edits | reply to 2kmaro
Make/Model: Toshiba Satellite® A105-S4334
Screen Size: 15.4 in. WXGA TFT Active Matrix
Weight: 6 lb.
CPU: C2D T5500 1.66 Ghz. Somehow it came with T5500 and not T5200 like all the reviews says.
Essential Extras: 2GB RAM, 160 GB HDD; Dual Layer DVD±RW; Ethernet • Fast Ethernet • IEEE 802.11a • IEEE 802.11b • IEEE 802.11g
Good Points: Vista Capable. Expandable to 4GB RAM. Light.
BAD Points: Getting old?  Planning to get Gateway P-6860FX, T9300 2.5 GHz, 4 GB 667MHz DDR2 RAM, 320 GB HDD, GeForce® 8800M GTS 512MB GDDR3. Anyone want to buy a105-s4334 for $700? It is in good shape.
Why I picked it: It was x-mas present. Yeah, presents sometimes needs to be updated | |
tubbynet
reminds me of the danse russe
Premium
join:2008-01-16
Chandler, AZ
 ·Cox HSI
 ·Callcentric
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·FrontierNet Intern..
| reply to 2kmaro
Make/Model: HP Compaq 8510p
Screen Size: 15.4" WSXGA+ (@ 1680 x 1050)
Weight: Around 6.5lbs
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo T7700 @ 2.40GHz
Essential Extras: 2GB of PC2-6400 RAM, 120GB 5400RPM HDD, Dual-Layer DVD Burner, 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon 2600, Intel 4965ABG Wi-Fi Link, Gigabit Broadcom NIC
Good Points: Great looking asthetically. I love the "grey box" look, but I'm too poor to afford ThinkPads at the moment. The stability and durability is great. The power-to-weight ratio is great. I use it in my electrical engineering studies, so I am always running SPICE, MATLAB, Maple, etc. and the machine doesn't stutter. The graphics are sharp and clear, and the display renders everything beautifully. I moonlight as a photographer with my Nikon D80, and I don't lose any quality when I put the images on my PC for Photoshopping. There is also enough power on this machine to game, though I don't do it too much. I love the HDMI out, as I often do presentations on HDTVs, and I get the same quality on the TV as I do on my PC. Additionally, great battery life, even when performing in depth tasks. I routinely get over 3 hrs with the standard size battery.
BAD Points: A little hefty. Not to be considered an "ultra-portable", but not a backbreaker either. The machine is a little big, so you may want to purchase a backpack AFTER you have the machine in hand to make sure you get one that fits. The biometric software is a little cumbersome to set up and the fingerprint reader is a little finicky if your fingers are a oily or you live in an area with a lot of humidity. My biggest gripe comes from the "touch-sensitive" volume controls. Hard to just drop the volume a little or raise it a little. I often find myself doing this through software rather than on the machine itself. Just a little inconvenience.
Why I picked it: Kind of a whim. I like the HP look and found one that fit my needs. Price was right and I had channels that I could get a discount. I am very happy with my overall pick.
--
"Don't hate the media, BECOME the media..." ~Jello Biafra | |
mooglebunny
Super special awesome
join:2008-02-12
Weed, CA
 ·HughesNet Satellit..
1 edit | reply to 2kmaro
Eh, why not. I bought a laptop and just received it today.
Make/Model: Sony Vaio SR 129 E/B (B stands for Black, it's a black colored laptop)
Screen Size: 12.4"(W) x 9.2"(D) x 0.99 - 1.3"(H) (It's a 13" laptop though)
Weight: 4.3 pounds with battery, 5.5ish with power adapter.
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo "Montevina" P8400@ 2.26 Ghz.
Essential Extras: Webcamera, Sony X-Brite ECO with LED Backlighting (pretty good for an ECO), ATI Radeon Mobility 3470 @ 128 mb GDDR3 VRam (Scores around 2055ish in 3dMark06)
Good Points: Decent dedicated Graphics card for the size, will play most gaming somewhat decently. Has a Magnesium-Alloy casing, as it's a business notebook kinda thing. Nice "chiclet" keyboard like Macbook Pro, nice and small. Somewhat thin. I can carry it in one arm open. Oh, accelerometer for the hard drive, to protect it from drops.
BAD Points: Because it's small, it doesn't have a great graphics card at the same price a 15" would. It's somewhat hot, and the left side of the laptop will get warmer than the right, but it's not really all that bad. Touchpad is interesting to use, so I bought a Logitech VX Nano, so it's not a problem for me. The side of the laptop with the screen could be a bit thicker with a tiny bit less flex, but it's not horrid either.
Why I picked it: Size, screen, Dedicated Graphics card, decent specs, and it's useful to me. Much better than the desktops I've been using (they are quite old). | |
hotshotDJ
Have You Kissed Your Dj Today?
Premium
join:2001-12-02
Weatogue, CT
clubs:
| reply to 2kmaro
NOTE: I'm a non-traditional graduate student (read: old), but I didn't vote. But here is my advise for student laptops --
Check with your University's/College's book store. They may have contracts with a specific manufacturer which may save you (or your parents) A LOT of money.
Go with the smallest screen size that you can stand. It will make your life much easier when you're carrying the thing around campus with all your books and taking notes in class. Remember, you can always connect it to a larger external monitor at home/dorm.
If available, order it with the highest capacity battery they offer. There is nothing worse than sitting in class, the library, or the student center doing work on your laptop and the battery starts to run out of juice... and on the day that you left your power cord in the dorm or home.
If possible, you MIGHT want to order it with the XP Downgrade option -- assuming you go the Windows route. (I'm not sure if this is still available). Many IT departments (including the one at my University) do not support Vista. Check with your University just to make sure.
Avoid purchasing Microsoft Office. For most things that you will be doing at college (or for that matter, anywhere else in your life), you do not need it. Get OpenOffice + Zotero. If, for any reason, you must have Microsoft Office, it is usually available either for free or at a huge discount through your University.
You do NOT need the fastest CPU on the market nor the most rad graphics card you can find. A basic Core 2 Duo and integrated video card will do just fine. Gaming is not why your parents are spending their life savings to send you to college. 
2 Gig RAM MINIMUM! Especially if you will be using Windows Vista.
--
Statistics don't lie... Statisticians are another story. | |
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Pleasant Hill, MO
·VOIPo
| reply to 2kmaro
Make/Model:dell studio 15
Screen Size:15.6 inches(1366x768
Weight:about 6lbs
CPU:2.4ghz
ram: 4 gigs
optical drive: blu-ray read with cd/dvd read/write
card reader IDK what all it can read, I know it can do SD cards tho
hard drive: 260G
Essential Extras:blu-ray(I think it writes cd/dvds too I know it reads them),bluetooth, and upgrade to 2.4ghz cpu
Good Points:16:9 screen, built in wifi, I get the upgrade to win7 when it comes out for free, good graphics card, sometimes its nice to have 4g of ram, it fits in my backpack perfectly, and its not too heavy.
BAD Points:it gets a wee bit war on the bottom after a lot of use, I would like a stronger battery it only lasts about 4 hours 45 min.
Why I picked it: It has what I want, it was in my budget, and when I got it they were having a sale(its still going on I think) where you get a 10 miniv for $149 when you get one. | |
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