Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Looking for around $1500 smaller screen Centrino machine

Aug 16, 2004 8:48AM PDT

My daughter wants a smaller machine than the 15.4 inch HP zt3000 I picked out for her. I don't want to spend the fortune for the sony though. Is there a compromise? Her college may not support an Athlon based machine.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Re: Looking for around $1500 smaller screen Centrino machin
Aug 16, 2004 10:53AM PDT

Thats too bad she does not like the 15.4" widescreen ZT3000 as that is excellent for students to use for watching widescreen DVD's, having more screen space for excel spreadsheets, etc.

This can still be carried easily in a student backpack that holds a 15" LCD (Targus, etc) but she is probably more concerned with appearance and lighter weight then some of the extended capabilities above (and nearly all business notebooks are sticking to 14.1" LCD's or smaller as well).

Yes, Sony's are very pricey and don't have any better reliability and are superior only really if you use a memory stick camera or camcorder (Sony) and use the video editing software they supply.

If you want to stick with a HP notebook, consider the business nc6000 (rated 8.5 at Cnet -- see recent review) - you have to access this through the business section at HP.com not the consumer hpshopping.com. It is also a Pentium M notebook and has the 14.1" LCD so it weighs about 5.5 pounds or less versus the HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 6.5 pounds.

If you want to consider them at Fry's Electronics on the west coast or online Fujitsu makes some nice 13.3" Screen notebooks (made in Japan) but many have integrated video memory not dedicated like the ZT3000 HP.

IBM also makes some great notebooks with a 14.1" LCD or smaller and they also have great keyboards and are built durable (can take more knocks and drops). You have to order IBM's online mostly.

Dell makes the 600M with a 14.1" LCD but you will notice the HPnc6000 is rated much higher on Cnet.

Toshiba has the business Techra line with 14.1" LCD's so consider those.

The pretty Sony 12.1" notebooks are great for airplane travel but they are too small for everyday use unless she intends to plug in an external keyboard and even possibly an external LCD monitor in the dorm (which can be done if there is space -- this is what many road warriors do on their desks at work).

- Collapse -
Re: Looking for around $1500 smaller screen Centrino machin
Aug 16, 2004 10:56AM PDT

Note, if ordering an HP/Compaq notebook (at Hpshopping consumer at least) your daughter can get a 6% APP student discount, a $100 custom order Compaq or HP rebate through 9/1/04 on any custom notebook model (see X1000forums.com -- sister site for HPZT3000 - same notebook), etc.

So, if you use these discounts (as well as 5% fatcash -- see forums) you can drive a $1500 Notebook down to $1200.

Also save money by ordering only 256mb RAM (1 slot) and filling the 2nd slot later with Crucial or retail (Fry's or Compusa) Kingston/PNY, etc memory later on sale for much less (in 2nd open slot -- notebooks only have 2 memory slots -- some desktops have 4).

- Collapse -
Re: Looking for around $1500 smaller screen Centrino machin
Aug 16, 2004 11:02AM PDT

If you do want to consider the Toshiba Techra 14.1" LCD models they have a 10% online custom order discount on any Tosiba custom order notebook.

Also, whatever Pentium M notebook you buy don't waste money on the more expensive Pentium M 2.0 Dothan or 1.8 Dothan Processors -- they cost much more as they are the 2 top speeds right now.

Don't get the 705 Pentium M if possible (as that is the older series with only 1mb L2 cache -- Dothan cpus have 2mb L2 system cache) but the 715 1.5 (Toshiba only not HP or Dell), the 725 Pentium M 1.6 (HP/Compaq best custom choice), or Pentium M 735 1.7 are the best value choices for the cpu (Pentium M 1.6 is $125 less than the 1.7 on the custom order site).

- Collapse -
Re: Looking for around $1500 smaller screen Centrino machin
Aug 16, 2004 11:07AM PDT

Apple makes some great notebooks with 12.1" LCD's or 14.1" LCD's so check out if they would meet her student needs as well.

I have a Compaq X1360US myself and the X1000forums.com (shares with HPZT3000 and business nc7000) alone makes it a worthwhile purchase (for helping out with software fixes, how to utilize notebook in some cases, and just comraderie) but many people LEAVING college switch to a smaller LCD than 15.4" so your daughter is ahead of the curve on that one I guess (and doesn't watch DVD's on the notebook or is willing to watch it on a smaller more lightweight notebook).