It’s our 5-year anniversary and I believe the tradition is circuit board. Actually we discussed it and she wanted a notebook. I am going to build myself a new machine as well.

Anyway I looked at Toshiba, Sony, Dell and a few others.

At work we use Dell often and I like the Latitude D610 that I spec’d out for our CEO recently. I was going to go with that model but I found a great deal on a similar Inspiron 600m model.

I tried to suggest a convertible (tablet) notebook but Steph just wanted a normal notebook which she will mainly use for wireless Internet/email and maybe some program she uses for training for her job. I could have gotten her a baseline model.

What do you think?

The InspironTM 600m is designed for motion, with long battery life and easy-to-carry style. It starts at just under 5 pounds and only 1.29 inches thin when closed. Integrated wireless connectivity is standard, with Intel® Centrino® Mobile Technology, so you can compute and stay connected anywhere, anytime where wireless access is available

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_notebook4?c=us& cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Pentium M 1.8 GHz (400 MHz FSB) Intel® 855PM chipset
1.0 GB DDR (2 DIMMS)
14.1-in SXGA+ ATi® MobilityTM RADEONTM 9000 4X AGP
Windows XP Professional
60GB Hard Drive
8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability
Primary: 6-Cell Lithium Ion Battery (53Whr)
Spare: 6-Cell Lithium Ion Battery (53Whr)w/ FREE 64MB Dell USB Memory Key
Internal 56K Modem and Integrated Network Card
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915 Internal Wireless (802.11 a/b/g, 54Mbps)
Dell Media Experience™ with Remote Control

Unit Price: $2,005.00 (as configured)
Minus a $750.00 discount I found on a third party website

$1,255.00 w/free shipping

I had it configured as (1.60 GHz, 512 Ram, 32 MB graphics, XGA, CDRW/DVD combo drive, 40 GB hard drive, no spare battery, etc) for about $1,440.00 with a $300.00 discount from the Dell website special bringing it to $1,140.00.

After I found the $750.00 off coupon I had to bump the price from $1,440.00 to just over $1,999.00 that is why I ended up with a $2,005.00 unit price.

So by spending an additional $115.00 (from $1,140.00 to $1,255.00) I gained almost $600.00 in extra features (a faster CPU, double the ram, DVD burner, extra battery, free memory key, etc.)

Ok now tell me about a better deal!

Go on make me feel bad!

[ 05-25-2005: Message edited by: Cacophonous ]

--------------------

AMD Athlon XP 2500+ (1.8GHz)
512MB, 60GB 5400rpm
32MB Radeon IGP320m
24x CD-RW/DVD-ROM
15.4" WXGA 1200x800
3x USB, 1x ieee1394

$812, walked home with it that day. It's been running ever since, except when in my backpack on a trip. With aggressive power saving (hdd sleep, cpufreq), I can get 3 full hours out of the battery.

--------------------

I was going to tile this thead as: Burble?

Hey Bob sounds like a good deal for the money.

--------------------

--------------------

You found a good deal. Where'd you get that 3rd-party coupon?

--------------------

--------------------

--------------------

Apparently I was too late for a even better deal of $750.00 off on cetain Inspiron's that cost over $1,499.00.

--------------------

--------------------

dell was running a $750 coupon off $1500 laptops up until a couple days ago. =(

if they're still running that $600 deal, jump on it.

I was aware of the $750.00 off a $1,499.00 and up Inspiron however it ended more than a few days ago.

I did go with $750.00 off but I had to configure it to $1,999.00 which is still a great deal and that way it is a better notebook.

--------------------

A year ago it was $3000 I paid $1000 cash.

It's been very good to me. I did however have to replace a battery.

Centrino (Sonoma)
Pentium-M 1.6 533FSB
512MB DDR2 400 Dual Channel (2x256) (yes, DDR2)
Intel 915GM Express chipset
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900
60GB HD
Dual Layer DVD Burner
15.4" screen.
XP Pro

Oh, and to make cac feel bad, as is, this laptop will run games like Need for Speed Underground 2 and farcry etc. . . if one was so inclined. the onboard Intel GMA900 is very slick. I've seen a comparable laptop in action playing NFS Underground 2, and it was more than playable.

Oh yeah, and it has DDR2

He really likes it, and I'm tempted to get one myself. . . especially with school coming up in September.

[ 05-27-2005: Message edited by: AcidWarp ]

--------------------

“I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.”

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”

My new tablet is the HP tc1100 at 1.4 kilos without keyboard and 1.8 with the HP keyboard, though I've been thinking about getting a lighter USB kbd separately.

It was a demo machine, seen two months of use, so I got it dirt cheap. Still two years of warranty. On the flipside, it only has 11M wireless and a 1 GHz Pentium M, but for the price (950 euros) I'm not complaining!

--------------------

quote:

---

Originally posted by FS:
Wow, I can't believe I'm agreeing with FS on this one

---

--------------------

“I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.”

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”

but seriously forks, that's been disturbing me for a while already. In laptop reviews weight info is often missing, and even on manufacturer's pages often the weight is hidden somewhere in the detailed specs page/pdf. You'd think manufacturers would flaunt that information after putting effort into making a laptop lightweight...

maybe you've noticed by now, but my #1 criteria for my new laptop was small weight

--------------------

quote:

---

Originally posted by FS:
Wow, I can't believe I'm agreeing with FS on this one

---

And fess, it's 2.9Kg.

--------------------

“I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.”

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”

I think mine's 7lbs with the battery.

--------------------

--------------------

quote:

---

Originally posted by FS:
Wow, I can't believe I'm agreeing with FS on this one

---