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General discussion

PLEASE HELP ME PICK A LAPTOP!!.. AND QUICK!!

Jan 19, 2005 2:12AM PST

im a student wid a $1750 budget- i need a laptop (DRT) with the following config-
DEFINITE REQUIREMENTS-
intel pentium 4 w/ HT min 3.0Ghz (or equivalent)
512mb ddr ram @ 333mhz
80-100gb hdd
** 128mb dedicated memory graphics card ** [this is particularly imp.]
8x dvd burner
wifi (802.11 b/g)
15/15.4/17in screen
decent speakers even though il hook it to the home hi-fi
OPTIONAL FEATURES-
tv tuner
floppy drive (for school work)

Discussion is locked

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Jan 19, 2005 2:25AM PST

if you want a 128 dedicated your options right now are pretty limited. HP has a 128mb option available and Compaq DID have a 128 also, but now they took it off for some reason...

dell has a 128mb option and i believe that is it unless you look into non "name brand" companies such as CyberPowerInc.com

they offer very nice gaming laptops for your price range.

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looks interesting..
Jan 19, 2005 2:54AM PST

ya i checked the site.. pretty good specs at a good price. except for the 15.4" screen its pretty much the same as hp zd8000 series (customised) and cheaper by about 200bucks.

but would you suggest going in for cyberpower or any other non-mainstream brand especially for a laptop? i've heard it can be pretty dicey.

lemme kno if you have any other such companies in mind which i can have a look at.
thanks

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uh-oh.. look wat i got on cyberpower in about 5mins!!
Jan 19, 2005 3:01AM PST
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look at Penitium M or Athlon 64 with dedicated video 128mb
Jan 19, 2005 3:05AM PST

I would not get a notebook at all with a Pentium 4M now -- read the postings about the new Pentium M Sonoma Centrino line (Intel is releasing today, yes today) and the Athlon low voltage line is out later in 2005.

You can get an ATI video card with 128mb dedicated RAM on the Dell 8600 Pentium M and also order the screaming fast Hitachi 7200rpm hard drive to go with it (4200rpm hard drive will sap your performance especially on games accessing the hard drive alot) -- and you will get less weight and heat (6.9 pounds) and much longer battery life (for games perhaps only 2.5 to 3 hours but up to 5-6 hours not using wi-fi or playing games).