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General discussion

Future College Student - in need of notebook

Jan 16, 2005 5:02PM PST

i'm goin' into first year university in the fall, and i will be lookin' to purchase a laptop... my requirements as of now are fairly broad.. i'm lookin' at the Dell 700m for it's decent processor and 512DDR and i like the CD burner. (and the price is rite). but i'm still looking for one preferably with a longer battery life.
i was wondering if the ibooks are able to run PC programs or even PC games.

i will most likely use the notebook for:
1) taking notes in class (good keyboard required)
2) Listening to music... (60gb + hard drive)
3) watching dvd/playing games (512 ddr , 64+ mb graffix card)

that's about all .... i want the best bang for my buck, and i'm willin' to spend up to 1,500.
any suggestions?

oh.. and i'll be carrying it around a bit, so i'd prefer it lite.. the size of the screen can be from 12-15''...
thanks

Discussion is locked

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well
Jan 17, 2005 2:43AM PST

if you need it for lecture notes you will need a centrino laptop... im telling you thr truth.. p4 and amd processor might now make it through the entire lecture Sad

you might want to wait for the new release of the new intel 2nd generation centrino chip and see if it's any cheaper or has better video card options than those right now.

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Wait for Sonoma Centrino specs update very soon
Jan 17, 2005 8:25AM PST

The Dell 700M doesn't have a dedicated video card does it? Most notebooks under 5.5 pounds don't have one as more weight and thickness is needed.

There are a lot of great notebooks in the 5.5-7 pound range that have a dedicated video card like the IBM T42, HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 (X1000forums.com), Dell 8600, etc.

You should definitely wait through for the Sonoma Centrino upgraded notebooks ready to launch very soon as they will have faster RAM, a new chipset, faster bus speed, etc.

HP/Compaq has some new models out and other companies will as well.

You can get a 6% college APP discount on any HP/Compaq custom order at hpshopping.com plus all other applicable discounts.

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When does the sonoma centrino come out?
Jan 17, 2005 9:06AM PST

i won't be goin' to uni, untill the fall... so i hav some time to wait before i get one...
and will the new laptops with these chips be expensive?.

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I'll write.
Jan 17, 2005 9:48AM PST

You should wait till the last minute and keep shopping till that day. Prices have eroded and features increased for the past 10+ years. I see no reversal in this trend.

Bob

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Sonoma Centrino
Jan 18, 2005 2:37AM PST

The Pentium M Dothan chips themselves (2mb L2 system cache) are not changing in the new Sonoma Centrino update but they may add a faster cpu at the top end. The 3 digit designation is supposedly changing from 715 1.5, 725 1.6, 735 1.7 to an even designation to indicate compatibility with the new Somoma chipset (720, 730, 740) but that is it.

However, there is supposed to be a faster bus speed, faster RAM speed, improved audio and video, etc.

These will definitely be rolling out very soon.

However, if you are a college student in the fall, the best prices occur during the back to school period from July-September as that is the 2nd highest selling volume period after Christmas.

Hpshopping gives you a 6% college student APP rebate on any custom order notebook as well as other discounts but keep comparing models from all manufacturers as what is tops now may not be tops at that time when the new models roll out.

Make sure you get a full Pentium M Dothan cpu with 2mb L2 system cache (715 1.5 mhz or higher currently), try to get a faster 5400rpm hard drive or 7200rpm hard drive (not slow 4200rpm hard drive), try to get your RAM 1 stick only (not 2) so 1 slot is empty and you can upgrade RAM for cheaper yourself.

And, make sure you get dedicated video RAM if you think you are going to need it !!!!!!!