Hi all,

I'll soon have to hand back my company laptop, so I'm looking for a new one and finding the choice bewildering :(

Features I'm looking for are:
- a large, high resolution display. 1024x768 minimum, but preferably higher;

- built-in CD writer;

- 2xPCMCIA slots, plus USB and Ethernet built in.

- takes standard 2.5" hard discs, min. 20GB.

256MB is plenty of memory, and any modern CPU is fast enough - I'd rather have battery life than the very fastest processor available.

Any recommendations please? There's some good deals on refurb units at EuroPC, but the range of manufacturers is limited. I'll consider any make except Sony.

Ta
Andy.

Out of all the laptops I've used... Compaq, Sony, HP, Tosh, Dell and the rest, my current fave is the Compaq Evo n600 (or n610 for the new models).

Best keyboard I've found - full sized Enter key (some Tosh's have a half sized one), Windows key's in the proper place (ie next to space bar, not top right like the Tosh Tecra 9x00s) and it's a lovely action. It also has both trackpad and nipple pointers.

There's a few N600/610s going on Ebay at the mo.

I'd seriously avoid unbranded laptops... two years down the line when you come to re-install and want new drivers, it's a right PITA.

Any particular budget in mind Andy?

i might have something right up your alley
im selling a brand new compaq evo 410c
retails for 2 grand
make me a reasonable offer
boxed and sealed
never opened
see my add for spec

I'd like a new or factory refurb unit, so eBay is out - I'm just not happy spending that amount of money with someone I don't know and not getting a warranty. Budget is flexible. I want the machine for web surfing and photo editing (hence the requirement for a really good screen but not necessarily a fast CPU).

I'm inclined to agree about unbranded units. My current laptop is an IBM, which is a bit chunky but basically OK, and my last one was a Toshiba which wasn't so impressive (but that was an old model, so current ones are bound to be completely different).

EuroPC have a lot of Dell laptops - any comments on Dell compared to the competition?

Ta
A.

Andy,

I've been looking at exactly the same thing - I want to start using Photoshop more and as I spend 2 hours a day on a train, a laptop seems like the ideal plan.

I had some trouble deciding between screen size and portability, but I am coming down on the side of a big screen.

Been looking at Dell too - have you seen the Dell Outlet part of the Dell site - some cheaper machines here if you can find one that meets your requirements.

Also there is a Sony out with a 16" screen which is quite tempting......

There are some reasonable reviews on ZD Net

Most have built in modems & network cards now, so I want a card slot so I can put a compact flash adaptor in, a CDRW and preferably a combo drive for DVD too. I may also do some video editing so I want a firewire connection.

I will probably end up with something in the 1-1.5 GHz range with at least 512 of memory.

Battery life seems to vary, but all the big brands are good for 2-3 hours - I'll buy a spare charger & leave it at work anyhow.

Al

try paul or Ian at www.itclear.com They are scooby owners and will look after you. Call them on 0870 7588 156 as not all stock is listed on the website.

I had a good look at Dell's site - a couple of their (admittedly most expensive) laptops have a 15" 1600x1200 screen, which is absolutely ideal. They have a combo CD-RW/DVD drive too.

The only inexplicable downside, though, is that they have no PCMCIA slots. I want to use wireless networking and read large files off a Compact Flash card, so their absence would be a nuisance. I think wireless networking can be built-in, though.

Thanks for the tip, Mark - I might give them a call.

Ta
Andy.

have the following machine which is 3 months old (looks new), asking £1200 + vat (£1410 inc).

Sony Vaio PCG-GRS515SP
Pentium 4 1.8GHz
512Mb RAM
40Gb HDD
15" XGA (1024 x 768) TFT Screen
ATI Mobility Radion 7500 16Mb
Removable CD-RW/DVD Drive
i.Link, 3 x USB Ports
Built-in 10/100 Ethernet
Built-in 56K V.90 Modem
Windows XP Pro

Let me know if you're interested.

Andy - the Dells do have a PCMCIA (PCI) slot. At least the Inspiron 8200's do.

Thanks DM, but I'm looking for a higher screen resolution and, for reasons I prefer not to post, I wouldn't buy a Sony.

I found some more info on the Inspiron 8200 - that's top of the list right now, if a little on the big and heavy side. A few quid off the price (about £1400 all-in) wouldn't go amiss either, and I can sacrifice some CPU speed to save a bit of cash.

A.

Also have a look at the M50 - I just bought one from ebay - 1600x1200 should do ;)

This is the one I bought - it will get some more memory and maybe a second disk......

Al

Time are offering..

XP2000+ mobile Athlon
512 ddr ram
40gig HD
15" high res screen ( Can't remember but higher than 1024x768
32meg ddr AGP4 graphics
PC slot
4 USB2 slots
CDRW/DVD
vga and svideo out
ps2 input
XP home edition
etc. etc

For £999

Seem a good deal if your not bothered about branded names although the father in law has a time laptop and the hard drive and dvd/cdrw combo are Toshiba, mother board and graphics are also well known units.


Lee

[Edited by logiclee - 2/22/2003 11:23:31 PM]

Andy, YHM.
I think I may have just what you're looking for.

The M50 looks nice, but it's (even) more expensive than the Inspiron 8200, so I'm more inclined to go for the cheaper machine.

I've nothing against a Time PC (provided at least it's made from recognisable parts), although walking into a Time store and asking for help is a prospect that I don't relish one bit :D

A.

Dell Inspiron 8200 - its the dogs danglies.

P4 2-2.4Ghz; shed load of ram 1600x1200 LCD 60Gb HD; dvd cdrw.

T.

PS. I'm using it right now - developer spec desktop replacement.

Bugger ! - Isn't it always the way - when you buy one - you see a better one !

Andy - check this one out !

Sony GRX516G P4-1.8Ghz/256/30GB 16inch TFT CDRW/DVD

Thanks - but I ordered the Dell a couple of days ago. Also, like I said in my first post, I don't want a Sony - I've had reliability problems with many of their products before and I don't like the way they're trying to force their Memory Stick standard onto a world that doesn't want or need it.

Ta
Andy.

do not have any dealings with Time...ever.

Ian
(ex-employee)

I was about to add the only Time PC I'd consider would be a free one.

OEM / generic laptops are a seriously bad investment IMHO.

Sorry - didn't read the first post again.

Got my Dell M50 today - it's the dogs ! A bit on the large side, but soooo quick and the screen is fantastic.

Also bought 1gb of RAM from Crucial for £200 - (how cheap is memory these days) great site - select the PC and it tells you what you can have and which bits to order !

Just waiting for my PCMCA compact flash adaptor now and I'm all set......until I buy a second hard disk that is ;-)

I've been building Compaq Evo N600c's on a rollout, they seem to match the criteria your after very well.You can have an option of a CDRW with DVD capability as well.

I'd steer well clear from this lot.

They're clearly lifting peoples' addresses from SN to add to their spam database, which IMO isn't exactly a good indication of their professionalism.

I've never heard of them before today, let alone visited their site, and yet I received a piece of spam advertising from them them yesterday to a mail address which is only used on Scoobynet. [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

[Edited by MarkO - 2/27/2003 10:12:32 AM]

Consider them avoided :)

I ordered my Dell Inspiron 8200 on Monday. They're quoting me an expected delivery date of March 20th - it'd better be worth the wait!

A.

Cancel it and buy this instead.

Mine arrived yesterday - exactly the same from the same guy - brand new, delivered the next day - bargain !

Al

What's the difference between Dell's M50 and Inspiron 8200?

... to clarify, the specs look similar.

Also, that delivery time looks loooong :(. I thought about 10 business days tops, poss less for laptops?

I wondered that as well - I think they even share some components like battery, CD drive and so on.

The M50 is sold as a 'workstation' (whatever, if anything, that means). My guess is that it's faster than the 8200, but it's certainly more expensive for a similar spec. Given that I couldn't really care less about CPU speed, I went for the 2.0GHz (slowest) 8200.

A.