Buying a Laptop

[br420]

So I have recently decided to make the big step and buy a laptop. After doing a little preliminary research and comparing prices, the Dell XPS M140 looks to be the best match for me. I am looking for long battery life (this is supposed to get like upwards of 6 hours on the 9-cell), wireless access, mobile multimedia, light weight, and no gaming. Since I am new to laptops, I was wondering what you all think about this machine, Dells in general, and whether I will be able to successfully dual boot with this. Like I said I don't plan on gaming with it and just want it for all-around use.

Specs:

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
14.1 inch WXGA TrueLife™ LCD Panel
1GB Shared DDR2 SDRAM 2 Dimms
Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 900
80GB 5400rpm Hard Drive
8xCD/DVD burner(DVD+/-RW)w/dble-layer DVD+R write capability
Intel® PRO 2915 Internal Wireless (802.11 a/b/g, 54Mbps)
9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (80 WHr)
TOTAL:$1,264.32 (with discount from my college)

Also, I could save $200 by going with the 1.76Ghz Pentium M 760, would a see a big difference in performance? Basically I mean is the 2ghz with $200 more?

If you don't think this would be a good match and have other recommendations I am looking to spend no more than $1500.

Thanks

[Protostar]

14 inches is a little small, don't you think? Maybe I'm just accustomed to my 17 incher HP, but I donot think I could go back to 14 inches. Specs look pretty good to me. Graphics is very weak, but that shouldn't matter to you unless you play games.

[br420]

14 could be a little small.... but im looking for a very light weight compact laptop, you think a 15.4 would be much better?

Also, does anyone know anything about the following graphics card? the specs that I have found are kinda unclear:

128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON X300 PCI Express x16 Graphics

Some people have said that it is shared memory and others (including the dell site) say that it is dedicated. How will this card effect battery life too? If not too much, i might add it on for a little gaming here or there :-D

This is the other system im looking at:

Inspiron 6000
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
15.4 inch UltraSharp WSXGA+ LCD Panel
1GB DDR SDRAM 2 Dimms
128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON X300 PCI Express x16 Graphics
80GB 5400rpm Hard Drive
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915 Internal Wireless (802.11 a/b/g, 54Mbps)
9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (80 WHr)
TOTAL:$1,366.00

[earobinson]

seems that lots of people are getting laptops now :)

[K.Mandla]

I won't buy desktops any more. Too many cables, too many wires, too many plugs. Drives me batty. :twisted:

[br420]

K.Mandla,

What kinda battery life do you get with the setup you have displayed?

[K.Mandla]

Well, to be honest, mine is on AC nearly 100 percent of the time. It's more of a desktop replacement for me.

But when I do flex the battery, I run it with all the settings up (in other words, I don't power down the NIC, reduce the screen brightness, etc.), and mine will last well over two hours, sometimes up to three. It all depends on what I'm doing, really.

But again, I don't use my battery much. So that is more than acceptable to me. I know some folks live and die by battery life, and those numbers probably stink. :D

[br420]

ok, nevermind about the X300 question, it aparently blows so not going that way

[ssalman]

I have a 1 year old M320 Gateway that runs XP/Suse10.0/Ubuntu (in order of installation :), and not preferance) it's a Centreno with 1.7Ghz, and 15" LCD, it is only 5lbs and can go up to 3.5 to 4.5 hours on the extended battery when I’m doing light stuff. I like it. The only thing I didn’t get to work under Linux is the memory card reader. And the only bad thing I can say about it is that it’s LCD hinges plastic cover are weak and cracks with time, but this is cosmetic and not functional. Hope that helps.

[aysiu]

You may want to check out this page:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportMachinesLaptops

[Donshyoku]

I can vouch for a 14" screen!

I went from a 5:4 17" LCD to a 14" widescreen on my laptop. It really isn't bad at all. The laptop is a lot smaller in general, about the size (not thickness) of a notepad. It is great for school because I can throw it in my backpack with the books. No need for a seperate case to lug around.

On the note of the X300 video unit. It is quesitonable... ATi does not make the best drivers for Linux and you will see lots of attesting to that around here. I haven't had an ATi card for about two years now, so I can't speak personally though. However, the X300 is a lot faster than the Intel GAM900. That isn't going to apply to you much since you aren't playing games, but I have run into performance issues in XGL/Compiz with my GMA900. If you want the "pretty" version of Linux, you are going to need something along the lines of the X300 to run it.

[hizaguchi]

Also, I could save $200 by going with the 1.76Ghz Pentium M 760, would a see a big difference in performance? Basically I mean is the 2ghz with $200 more?
According to a material science professor I had a while back (who did some research with Intel), the difference between one processor speed rating and another of the same manufacturing process is not that they are physically any different, but that all processors are tested to see what clock speed they can run at without making significant errors. The ones that can do 2 GHz get labeled as such, and the ones that can do 1.8 or 1.6 or whatever, get sold for a little cheaper. I'd save the $200 and see if I could get by with overclocking it a little.

[John.Michael.Kane]

If your going to be using XGL or AIXGL, or do any heavy graphics. look for a laptop with a topshelf card in it be it ati or nvida. if you want to skimp on the screen size or cpu power thats fine. however the graphics card not being good will come back to bite you in the ***..

[br420]

If your going to be using XGL or AIXGL, or do any heavy graphics. look for a laptop with a topshelf card in it be it ati or nvida. if you want to skimp on the screen size or cpu power thats fine. however the graphics card not being good will come back to bite you in the ***..
pretty sure that im not going to be doing any major graphics stuff. Basically I just want something to word process, wireless internet, play dvd's on, be light and compact, have a long batery life and thats about it

[K.Mandla]

According to a material science professor I had a while back (who did some research with Intel), the difference between one processor speed rating and another of the same manufacturing process is not that they are physically any different, but that all processors are tested to see what clock speed they can run at without making significant errors. The ones that can do 2 GHz get labeled as such, and the ones that can do 1.8 or 1.6 or whatever, get sold for a little cheaper. I'd save the $200 and see if I could get by with overclocking it a little.
I'd second that. In my experience there's little to be gained in a 200Mhz increase, especially if it costs you $200 or more.