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General discussion

In the Market... Acer? Toshiba? HP?

Sep 8, 2004 9:18AM PDT

Hi there-
Well, after 4+ years on my Dell Inspiron P3-450, it's time to move on. You wouldn't think a whopping 6 gig hard drive would be put to pasture so soon... Wink

I am now having a MAJOR case of buyer's crisis. Since I left SF and the dotcom world (former TechTV'er here) behind, I've fallen off the techmap, and I am completely stymied by the array of options I have to contend with as I make my buying decision.

First off is the old P4MobileHT vs. Centrino decision. I have read other threads, so I gather that the Centrino (assuming I pick up the Dothan chipset) is the way to go. That said-- can anyone make a compelling argument for the P4MobileHT processor?

Specifically-- I'm looking at the TOSHIBA A75-s226 that Circuit City can't seem to keep in stock.

I've been running that against the HP 5240us as a potential comparison.

But today, I'm offered a discount on an ACER TRavelmate w1400 series.

To clarify: Whatever I buy will be my only computer (aside from the Inspironosaurus I'll keep around for nostalgia). I use iTunes, I plan on editing digital video in the future and burning my DVDs, and I will be playing with plenty of digital camera stuff. I am not a heavy gamer, nor a heavy traveller. Most of my usage is in cafes where I write and at home. I just like the flexibility of a notebook.

That being said, I do like some games, so I want the most power I can get. I use wifi at home and around town as well.

So-- YOU MAKE THE CALL.
Do I:
-Go for the Toshiba? ($1349 at best buy, $1149 at circuit city this week)
-Try my hand at HP? (+/- $1349)
-Acer? Can anyone comment on the overall quality of Acer products? They're an unknown quantity to me. I am looking specifically at Acer TravelMate 4501WLMi, which i'd get for $1375.

Thanks so much! I know I threw a lot out there. All responses will be appreciated!

Yours in Hollywood...
jephre

Discussion is locked

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Like the idea of HT?
Sep 8, 2004 9:54AM PDT

Hit the usual news and see that Intel will move to dual-cpu cores over the next year. It's a big deal. Just like 64-bit options.

If you can resist getting a new unit, every week moves you closer to that next wave. Also, you always get a better deal... next month.

Bob

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Re: In the Market... Acer? Toshiba? HP?
Sep 9, 2004 4:34AM PDT

Jephre:

If you worked for Tech TV you should know that the best prices (and the ability to buy exaclty what you want and not waste money on unwanted options) are by custom ordering online from the manufacturer (HP/Compaq, Dell, Toshiba).

Acer does not do custom orders in the US but they do have some good notebooks. The one similar to the other models I will mention is the Acer 2025 which is a 15.4" widescreen Pentium M (Dothan) with the ATI 9700 128mb dedicated video option.

Also, you should be aware that you don't want integrated (shared video) graphics in a notebook as it is NOT upgradeable like on a desktop (where you just pop a video card into an available open slot).

The Toshiba A75 is a Centrino but it has shared video.
The model you want to be looking at is the Toshiba M35 series (retail Toshiba M35S456). That has the new Trubrite LCD. THat model is more expensive (1999 retail, 1799 or lower when on sale) as it has a DVD burner (multiformat) but that is what you want.

You can order custom at Toshiba and save 10% if that has not expired (back to school). It weighs 6.2 pounds and gets 3.5 to 4 hours using wi-fi or longer not using wi-fi (and I believe you can order an extended life battery).

The HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 is very similar and weighs 6.5 pounds. You can get a better price with them online as they have a $100 instant discount and $100 custom mail in rebate. They just added Briteview (simiilar to Toshiba Trubrite) as a $50 upgrade option (XGA only). Toshiba has a multiformat DVD burner while I think HP/Compaq is still DVD+ only but check that online to be sure.

You can save money by ordering only 245mb or 512mb of RAM 1 stick and then adding your own Kingston, Crucial, etc PC 2700 notebook RAM on sale yourself later for under $100.

Also, it would be advisable to order custom and get the 5400 rpm hard drive (25 more than 60gb 4200 hard drive on HP custom) as it is 50% faster (seek time) and you can't get that on most prebuilt store models.

See X1000forums.com for HP/Compaq and notebookforums.com for the Toshiba.

If you are carrying around the notebook and want to use it unplugged (in the cafe) you definitely want the Pentium M Centrino and not the extreme heat and weight of a Pentium 4M.

Don't order the 705 Pentium M 1.5 Banias -- Intel 715 Pentium M and higher are all Dothans (2mb L2 system cache instead of 1mb prior) so the 725 1.6 or 735 1.7 are fine. Don't overpay for the 745 1.8 or especially the 755 2.0.

All of these models are 15.4" widescreen so they are about 1 pound heavier than a 14.1" LCD (mostly business models though so you won't save $) but they will fit in a Targus or similar notebook backpack that will hold a 15.4" LCD.

The most important thing is choose the notebook that has the dedicated video memory you want (shared will play no decent games at all and uses some of your RAM). The Toshiba M35 and Compaq X1000/HPZT3000 can go up to 64mb (64mb $50 more than 32mb online custom)and the Acer can go to 128mb but then you can't order custom.

Note, the Apple Powerbook 17" LCD weighs only 6.9 pounds -- that is amazing. Pentium 4M PC notebooks though from HP and Toshiba weigh over 9 pounds.