My laptop saga - Episode II...
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I had ordered a Compaq Evo N180 laptop, but I found out that it was on backorder for a few weeks. I needed the laptop before then, so I cancelled the order and searched for another laptop. Then I ran across the new Dell 8200. My top two laptop choices were Dell and Compaq, but Compaq had a nice rebate that pushed me toward the Evo. We used to have Inspirons at my old job, but they weren't very well made. I heard from some friends that the new ones are much better. After speaking to my friends and reading some reviews I have ordered an 8200, which is the same chassis as the 8100. In the reviews I read the P4 wasn't too much faster than the P3 in non-optimized applications. I think this will change as new software takes advantage of the P4 extensions. Plus, it wasn't much more than the P3 8100 models with similar configurations. I am a hardware freak that always wants the newest stuff. ;) Although I only got the Geforce2 Go (32MB) instead of the Geforce 440 Go (64MB) because I really didn't want to spend $179 that kind of extra graphics horsepower. I did get the P4 1.8GHz, 512MB RAM, 30GB HD, XP Pro, Ultrasharp 15" 1600x1200 display, and DVD/CDRW combo drive. I think this should run VS.NET ok! ;P Anyone have any experience with the 8xxx series Dell laptops? I have used their servers quite a bit with excellent support and quality. -- Dana Holt Xenos Software
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I had ordered a Compaq Evo N180 laptop, but I found out that it was on backorder for a few weeks. I needed the laptop before then, so I cancelled the order and searched for another laptop. Then I ran across the new Dell 8200. My top two laptop choices were Dell and Compaq, but Compaq had a nice rebate that pushed me toward the Evo. We used to have Inspirons at my old job, but they weren't very well made. I heard from some friends that the new ones are much better. After speaking to my friends and reading some reviews I have ordered an 8200, which is the same chassis as the 8100. In the reviews I read the P4 wasn't too much faster than the P3 in non-optimized applications. I think this will change as new software takes advantage of the P4 extensions. Plus, it wasn't much more than the P3 8100 models with similar configurations. I am a hardware freak that always wants the newest stuff. ;) Although I only got the Geforce2 Go (32MB) instead of the Geforce 440 Go (64MB) because I really didn't want to spend $179 that kind of extra graphics horsepower. I did get the P4 1.8GHz, 512MB RAM, 30GB HD, XP Pro, Ultrasharp 15" 1600x1200 display, and DVD/CDRW combo drive. I think this should run VS.NET ok! ;P Anyone have any experience with the 8xxx series Dell laptops? I have used their servers quite a bit with excellent support and quality. -- Dana Holt Xenos Software
Dana Holt wrote: My top two laptop choices were Dell and Compaq IBM Thinkpad??? Nish
Regards, Nish Native CPian. Born and brought up on CP. With the CP blood in him.
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Dana Holt wrote: My top two laptop choices were Dell and Compaq IBM Thinkpad??? Nish
Regards, Nish Native CPian. Born and brought up on CP. With the CP blood in him.
Nish - Native CPian wrote: IBM Thinkpad??? I did look at the Thinkpad A31, but it was a lot more expensive than the Dell for the same config. The IBM does perform a little better in benchmarks I've seen. I also like the looks of the Dell better, and the Dell has much better battery life. None of the ones I looked at are perfect, but I decided that the Dell best matched what I wanted overall. -- Dana Holt Xenos Software
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I had ordered a Compaq Evo N180 laptop, but I found out that it was on backorder for a few weeks. I needed the laptop before then, so I cancelled the order and searched for another laptop. Then I ran across the new Dell 8200. My top two laptop choices were Dell and Compaq, but Compaq had a nice rebate that pushed me toward the Evo. We used to have Inspirons at my old job, but they weren't very well made. I heard from some friends that the new ones are much better. After speaking to my friends and reading some reviews I have ordered an 8200, which is the same chassis as the 8100. In the reviews I read the P4 wasn't too much faster than the P3 in non-optimized applications. I think this will change as new software takes advantage of the P4 extensions. Plus, it wasn't much more than the P3 8100 models with similar configurations. I am a hardware freak that always wants the newest stuff. ;) Although I only got the Geforce2 Go (32MB) instead of the Geforce 440 Go (64MB) because I really didn't want to spend $179 that kind of extra graphics horsepower. I did get the P4 1.8GHz, 512MB RAM, 30GB HD, XP Pro, Ultrasharp 15" 1600x1200 display, and DVD/CDRW combo drive. I think this should run VS.NET ok! ;P Anyone have any experience with the 8xxx series Dell laptops? I have used their servers quite a bit with excellent support and quality. -- Dana Holt Xenos Software
For about a year I've had an Inspiron 8000 P3 1GHz, 256MB RAM, 30GB HD, Win2k, SuperXGA, DVD Drive (removable), CDRW Drive (permanent). It's a great machine, but I've had a couple of problems with it: 1. The hard drive started failing after a few months. I had to call in and get it replaced. No problems since. 2. The DVD drive has a tendency to unlock itself from the bay when I move the laptop around. It can be annoying, but fortunately I don't move the laptop around a lot. I still like it, but somehow I expected it to perform better than it does -- it was the top of the line back when I got it. I didn't go with the 1600x1200 display 'cause I thought everything would just look too small. I'm quite happy with the 1400x1050 resolution. Regards, Alvaro Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein
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I had ordered a Compaq Evo N180 laptop, but I found out that it was on backorder for a few weeks. I needed the laptop before then, so I cancelled the order and searched for another laptop. Then I ran across the new Dell 8200. My top two laptop choices were Dell and Compaq, but Compaq had a nice rebate that pushed me toward the Evo. We used to have Inspirons at my old job, but they weren't very well made. I heard from some friends that the new ones are much better. After speaking to my friends and reading some reviews I have ordered an 8200, which is the same chassis as the 8100. In the reviews I read the P4 wasn't too much faster than the P3 in non-optimized applications. I think this will change as new software takes advantage of the P4 extensions. Plus, it wasn't much more than the P3 8100 models with similar configurations. I am a hardware freak that always wants the newest stuff. ;) Although I only got the Geforce2 Go (32MB) instead of the Geforce 440 Go (64MB) because I really didn't want to spend $179 that kind of extra graphics horsepower. I did get the P4 1.8GHz, 512MB RAM, 30GB HD, XP Pro, Ultrasharp 15" 1600x1200 display, and DVD/CDRW combo drive. I think this should run VS.NET ok! ;P Anyone have any experience with the 8xxx series Dell laptops? I have used their servers quite a bit with excellent support and quality. -- Dana Holt Xenos Software
I recently obtained a Dell Inspiron 8200 (1.6 Ghz or something), and works great for me. (Then again, my old computer was a 233mhz Lattitude, so just about *anything* made in the last decade could smoke that!) I could voice my opinions about Compaq after the whole HP-Compaq merger ordeal, but I will refrain. :-D No generalization is 100% true. Not even this one.
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For about a year I've had an Inspiron 8000 P3 1GHz, 256MB RAM, 30GB HD, Win2k, SuperXGA, DVD Drive (removable), CDRW Drive (permanent). It's a great machine, but I've had a couple of problems with it: 1. The hard drive started failing after a few months. I had to call in and get it replaced. No problems since. 2. The DVD drive has a tendency to unlock itself from the bay when I move the laptop around. It can be annoying, but fortunately I don't move the laptop around a lot. I still like it, but somehow I expected it to perform better than it does -- it was the top of the line back when I got it. I didn't go with the 1600x1200 display 'cause I thought everything would just look too small. I'm quite happy with the 1400x1050 resolution. Regards, Alvaro Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein
Alvaro Mendez wrote: For about a year I've had an Inspiron 8000 P3 1GHz, 256MB RAM, 30GB HD, Win2k, SuperXGA, DVD Drive (removable), CDRW Drive (permanent). It's a great machine, but I've had a couple of problems with it: 1. The hard drive started failing after a few months. I had to call in and get it replaced. No problems since. Was that an IBM made drive? I've heard they had some problems with those. I think Dell still uses them, so I am hoping they are fixed now. -- Dana Holt Xenos Software
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I recently obtained a Dell Inspiron 8200 (1.6 Ghz or something), and works great for me. (Then again, my old computer was a 233mhz Lattitude, so just about *anything* made in the last decade could smoke that!) I could voice my opinions about Compaq after the whole HP-Compaq merger ordeal, but I will refrain. :-D No generalization is 100% true. Not even this one.
Navin wrote: computer was a 233mhz Lattitude Wow.. My ipaq has a 206mhz processor. ;-) Jason Gerard
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I had ordered a Compaq Evo N180 laptop, but I found out that it was on backorder for a few weeks. I needed the laptop before then, so I cancelled the order and searched for another laptop. Then I ran across the new Dell 8200. My top two laptop choices were Dell and Compaq, but Compaq had a nice rebate that pushed me toward the Evo. We used to have Inspirons at my old job, but they weren't very well made. I heard from some friends that the new ones are much better. After speaking to my friends and reading some reviews I have ordered an 8200, which is the same chassis as the 8100. In the reviews I read the P4 wasn't too much faster than the P3 in non-optimized applications. I think this will change as new software takes advantage of the P4 extensions. Plus, it wasn't much more than the P3 8100 models with similar configurations. I am a hardware freak that always wants the newest stuff. ;) Although I only got the Geforce2 Go (32MB) instead of the Geforce 440 Go (64MB) because I really didn't want to spend $179 that kind of extra graphics horsepower. I did get the P4 1.8GHz, 512MB RAM, 30GB HD, XP Pro, Ultrasharp 15" 1600x1200 display, and DVD/CDRW combo drive. I think this should run VS.NET ok! ;P Anyone have any experience with the 8xxx series Dell laptops? I have used their servers quite a bit with excellent support and quality. -- Dana Holt Xenos Software
I have an Inspiron 8100 and am very pleased with it. It has a 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 40GB disk and a 16x combined DVD/CD-ReWriter. I only have one minor niggle - the DVD/CD-ReWriter doesn't always let me access a CD-RW disk the first time I insert one (ejecting it and inserting it again does the trick) though this could well be an XP-ism. I will also point out that the Dell Support site is pretty damn good - and I advise that you check for new 8200 drivers/BIOS updates, etc. as soon as you get your machine connected to the Net. Dell seem to be pretty good at fixing driver problems. etc. so their support site is often updated. Faith. Believing in something you *know* isn't true.
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Alvaro Mendez wrote: For about a year I've had an Inspiron 8000 P3 1GHz, 256MB RAM, 30GB HD, Win2k, SuperXGA, DVD Drive (removable), CDRW Drive (permanent). It's a great machine, but I've had a couple of problems with it: 1. The hard drive started failing after a few months. I had to call in and get it replaced. No problems since. Was that an IBM made drive? I've heard they had some problems with those. I think Dell still uses them, so I am hoping they are fixed now. -- Dana Holt Xenos Software
Yep, it was an IBM drive. If I recall correctly what people were saying in the forums, the IBM and Hitachi drives had a lot of problems; the Hitachi ones were also quite noisy. The Fujitsu drives were supposed to be superior. Anyway, the Dell support guy on the phone assured me that I would not have these problems again with the replacement drive (which was also from IBM), and so far he's been right. Regards, Alvaro Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein
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I had ordered a Compaq Evo N180 laptop, but I found out that it was on backorder for a few weeks. I needed the laptop before then, so I cancelled the order and searched for another laptop. Then I ran across the new Dell 8200. My top two laptop choices were Dell and Compaq, but Compaq had a nice rebate that pushed me toward the Evo. We used to have Inspirons at my old job, but they weren't very well made. I heard from some friends that the new ones are much better. After speaking to my friends and reading some reviews I have ordered an 8200, which is the same chassis as the 8100. In the reviews I read the P4 wasn't too much faster than the P3 in non-optimized applications. I think this will change as new software takes advantage of the P4 extensions. Plus, it wasn't much more than the P3 8100 models with similar configurations. I am a hardware freak that always wants the newest stuff. ;) Although I only got the Geforce2 Go (32MB) instead of the Geforce 440 Go (64MB) because I really didn't want to spend $179 that kind of extra graphics horsepower. I did get the P4 1.8GHz, 512MB RAM, 30GB HD, XP Pro, Ultrasharp 15" 1600x1200 display, and DVD/CDRW combo drive. I think this should run VS.NET ok! ;P Anyone have any experience with the 8xxx series Dell laptops? I have used their servers quite a bit with excellent support and quality. -- Dana Holt Xenos Software
I only used Toshiba laptops and never had a problem. The cheapest, at least here in Brazil, except from those "XingLingTek" and it just works... Crivo Automated Credit Assessment
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I had ordered a Compaq Evo N180 laptop, but I found out that it was on backorder for a few weeks. I needed the laptop before then, so I cancelled the order and searched for another laptop. Then I ran across the new Dell 8200. My top two laptop choices were Dell and Compaq, but Compaq had a nice rebate that pushed me toward the Evo. We used to have Inspirons at my old job, but they weren't very well made. I heard from some friends that the new ones are much better. After speaking to my friends and reading some reviews I have ordered an 8200, which is the same chassis as the 8100. In the reviews I read the P4 wasn't too much faster than the P3 in non-optimized applications. I think this will change as new software takes advantage of the P4 extensions. Plus, it wasn't much more than the P3 8100 models with similar configurations. I am a hardware freak that always wants the newest stuff. ;) Although I only got the Geforce2 Go (32MB) instead of the Geforce 440 Go (64MB) because I really didn't want to spend $179 that kind of extra graphics horsepower. I did get the P4 1.8GHz, 512MB RAM, 30GB HD, XP Pro, Ultrasharp 15" 1600x1200 display, and DVD/CDRW combo drive. I think this should run VS.NET ok! ;P Anyone have any experience with the 8xxx series Dell laptops? I have used their servers quite a bit with excellent support and quality. -- Dana Holt Xenos Software
My 7500 had a better chassis than my current 8100. The 8100 chassis is of medium quality... not stiff enough and too much styling. There were some initial problems with XP, the NVidia chipset and the CDROM, but all is well at the moment. I'm partial to dell though (4 laptops), so I'm forgiving of any issues with them.
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I had ordered a Compaq Evo N180 laptop, but I found out that it was on backorder for a few weeks. I needed the laptop before then, so I cancelled the order and searched for another laptop. Then I ran across the new Dell 8200. My top two laptop choices were Dell and Compaq, but Compaq had a nice rebate that pushed me toward the Evo. We used to have Inspirons at my old job, but they weren't very well made. I heard from some friends that the new ones are much better. After speaking to my friends and reading some reviews I have ordered an 8200, which is the same chassis as the 8100. In the reviews I read the P4 wasn't too much faster than the P3 in non-optimized applications. I think this will change as new software takes advantage of the P4 extensions. Plus, it wasn't much more than the P3 8100 models with similar configurations. I am a hardware freak that always wants the newest stuff. ;) Although I only got the Geforce2 Go (32MB) instead of the Geforce 440 Go (64MB) because I really didn't want to spend $179 that kind of extra graphics horsepower. I did get the P4 1.8GHz, 512MB RAM, 30GB HD, XP Pro, Ultrasharp 15" 1600x1200 display, and DVD/CDRW combo drive. I think this should run VS.NET ok! ;P Anyone have any experience with the 8xxx series Dell laptops? I have used their servers quite a bit with excellent support and quality. -- Dana Holt Xenos Software
I've just bought a Sony Vaio PCG-FX502 (for about £1130) after my old HP Omnibook XE2 (a Celeron 333) finally died after being knocked off the table once too often by our youngest - causing a duff power connector and floppy drive to add to the iffy display it had already! X| The Vaio's seem solidly built, and have a decent spec - mine's a 1GHz Duron with 256MB of RAM, 20GB disk, CD-RW/DVD combi drive, Ethernet, Firewire, blah, blah, blah. It comes with XP Home which has just withstood it's first real nasty test in the shape of Norton Antivirus (I can confirm that System Restore actually works! :omg: ). So far, highly recommended. :D Andy Metcalfe - Sonardyne International Ltd
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