laptop Help - At wits end

kaushiks

I want to buy a laptop and I am absolutely confused. If any of you guys can suggest , I will be thrilled.

- I want a very powerful machine. I don't intend to play games, but I will be doing product development, working with rather heavy source codes.
- However, I would like to carry it around.
- I have to have a 15 inch screen.
- Battery life is very very important, so I guess only Pentium M.


My budget is around 1500$. I will be buying it in US. I will be using it in India though.

1) Please suggest some models.

2) Please tell me where I can get the cheapest deals from. I can manage anything to save money.


I have a few things in mind but I would rather hear from you folks first.
Thanks

NB: No Mac please. Only windows/linux.

tornado989

hi

i purchased my Dell inspiron 600m in August 2004 in Philadelphia....been here in India thereafter....works fine for me ...touch wood. I purchased the 4 yr service warranty also...total was $1400....

good luck finding yours

mountaingirl

I think you need to ask yourself a lot more questions BEFORE deciding on a machine.

Otherwise, your requirement is quite basic.
some things that you need to know is:
How many GB HDD do you want? These days most come with 30 - 40 GB. If you are going to work with a lot of database, then a higher space and also the memory card is good. Graphics - do you have any use for that?
DO you need a DVD R? or a DVD - CDRW is OK for you?
Do you need a WIFI system? or a simple LAN/ internet modem is enough for you? do you have special requirements for extra USB? DO you need an extra serial? etc etc....

Otherwise, for your budget - you can find a LOT of machines - even in India. They are not THAT different - if you ask for guarantee etc.

IF you are looking at a secondhand market then I beleive it is much cheaper in the US.

I am a Toshiba fan - so I would go for one. Though Dell is also good.

Of course, make sure about the battery back-up before you buy one.

soulfood

Why no Macs?

You can easily get a 15" powerbook (combo drive) from ebay for less than $1500, it's VERY powerful, your can't play great games on it but then you say you don't need to, it has a sufficient battery life of 4.5hrs and it's lighter than comprarable Windows machines. Sounds like a perfect time to switch.

kaushiks

Ha! Why no macs?.

Well, Apple doesn't provide documentation for developers. If I make Mac as my primary development machine, I will get screwed. MSDN by microsoft and visualstudio is a good IDE, with good documentation.
Thats why, I don't want Mac. Linux is also fine as there are enough literature available for developers.

I need DVD-RW. As for other stuff, they don't matter that much. A minimum of 512RAM and 60 GB Harddisk.

I have looked at
1) HP ZE2000.
2) Compaq presario series
3) IBM R51 & T series
4) Dell inspiron 6000, D800, 9200

These are some options.

MountainGirl, I don't know much about Toshiba. Can you tell me, what sort of a config you have and how much it cost you?.

soulfood

Alright, I don't want you to get screwed If you must consider a Windows machine, here's an awesome tool that should help in your search.

Also checkout the laptop sections of Engadget and Gizmodo for the latest.

mira4bai4

A few misconceptions here regarding systems etc.

First Apple provide heaps of documentation for DEVELOPERS. If you understand UNIX then it is all sweet.

Hard drive storage is not important unless one wants to store heaps of music or graphics, a database often does not take up a great deal of space. What is essential is the CPU rating, the amount of RAM and the operating system. If an operating system is unstable then it ain't worth crap, if it is prone to virus's or hacking it ain't worth crap. Security pure and simple is a major consideration. Software requires high performance and the operating system either supports this or makes a mess of it. Microsoft OS is very prone to scrambling and so crashes often, this is due to the structure of it which has occurred because of the scramble to plug the security holes which has made MS a dinosaur, maybe the next MS OS will get things right. MS is excellent on office contact management stuff, the integration is amazing, there just is not enough really good integration of contact management and office management written for Mac.

Mac OS is a clean operating system based on UNIX and as such is very secure and therefore as a development OS is the better choice. Mac OS does crash but is extremely simple to minimise using a few protocols, whereas in Windows it is not possible to do this unless one runs Norton Utilise weekly. The programme development for Mac OS is clean and therefore eliminates many of the conflicts that third party software has with Windows OS.

So plenty of Ram. a good CPU, excellent screen with excellent graphics card and a stable secure OS, if you require extra storage go external, if you want a dvd burner go external, it is so much cheaper to do it externally. Well this all adds up to a Mac PowerBook and if they use them in the Iraq war, use them in space and use them to make incredible movies, well I guess they must be reliable.

If a MS OS is the only option go Toshiba for a laptop or Dell.

mountaingirl

WOW Mira - THAT was a GREAT info!

Most of my work is in MS office and thereifre I need it- But I would love tochuck it for another. I have been wanting to try Linux for a long time, but I guess I am plain lazy. THough I have discovered that when I had a pirated OS - it would crash often and I always had so much problems with virus. So I bought a legal copy and now it is great! Thank god!
I think computers are the best and also the most crappy invention of all time!

mountaingirl

BTW Kaushik, i bought a new one for my brother and he is not in town so I don't remember the config...but it cost me only 50 grands - and I don't think we needed anything more than that unless you are a computer freak like me and prefer to change machines every six months!

kaushiks

Soulfood your links were very important and useful. Thanks a lot.

monkgonemad

what software are you using??? you need to clue us in better? devs best only use unix and on a laptop you can use linux -but you also need to be able to support it as it might be finicky on a laptop + you may have other stuff that might destabilize it (s/w). you are just working with code/writing code? that aint nothin', are you querying a database? that could be massive effort. also depends on quality of db s/w, how lean the code is, how buggy, are you working with binary files within a db? - oh so much dude...

mac could be good alternative as linux on laptop might be diff for you to support.

id buy a laptop in singapore/bkk if i was living in asia and get intl warranty - idont know prices in india. btw are you sure you cant use a desktop 'cause you can build a big machine for pittance!

ps: there aer some sucky toshiba (satellites?) out there. instead of having a hinge across the laptop the hinge is only in two places like this:

XXXXX XXXXX like this
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX not this

i have heard there are problems. also you want to stay away from compaq, that is hp's abortion. dell MAY be problems with service. fujitsu laptops rock but they are pricey.

kaushiks

mg, did you buy it in India or abroad. I went to Nehru place, Delhi and they were ridiculously expensive. Please tell me the site where you bought it. I realise good research can save some dollars. I will try to get it from someone in US. Thanks.

Digital Drifter

just a news flash, no recco's from me....
Other than that fact, learn lisp, emacs on OpenBSD,FreeBSD & Debian linux in no particular order. If you believe in computing philosophy of 'freedom', that is...

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1034919.cms

ACER UNVEILS LAPTOP WITH RS 30,000 TAG
The Economic Times

Taiwanese computer maker Acer is taking the notebook price war seriously, by further driving down its laptop prices. On offer is Acer’s Aspire 1362 notebook, below Rs 30,000.

Aspire 1362, an AMD mobile processor-based system, comes with 256 MB memory, 40GB hard disk, 15-inch screen and a CD read write and DVD combo drive. It runs on Linux.

The timing is just right. With zero customs duty on 217 items round the corner, with India’s signing of the IT agreement under WTO, price of computers are expected to fall. Acer has been pushing its laptops into the fast-growing mobile PC market through aggressive pricing and attractive offers.

Meanwhile, the price war is escalating. IBM launched a notebook of less than Rs 44,000. Acer is also combating brands like HP, Toshiba and Dell.

kaushiks

ok. It has to be a windows machine. Period. If possible I will take it with Linux and save the cost of OS. If someone has something as below, please tell me the price you paid.

The following is the minimum config -
1) 1GB RAM
2) 80GB HDD (or 60 GB to save money)
3) DVD-RW must have.
4) 15 inch monitor must have
5) Pentium M must have (because I need very very good battery)
6) WIFI b/g required.
7) I don't play games and don't want a great graphics card.

With all of these, what confuses most is the price. IBM T-Series ones have everything and are so expensive. HP ones are so cheap. Dell were somewhere in between but had less features. The variation is between 1400$ to 2000$. Why so much difference. Is HP cheap and less durable than IBM?.
Also, any 15 inch laptop comes with a good graphics card support. Can I not avoid it?.

They talk of refurbished notebooks and second hand ones. Is it ok to go for such stuff?.

kaushiks

DD thanks mate. This is so cool