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[formulanerd]

like i said, for dell i can get CPP/EPP which is the highest discounts available (contractor/employee)

[VWO4L]

smokin deal... this wont last long.

http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?afsrc=1&EdpNo=4348755&sku=S445-89001&srkey=AOA150-1777&SRCCODE=LSCMPUSA&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=lw9MynSeamY-kwS28cocSYUOXYBNxGv12w

Says no longer available.

I did find another couple of options while searching around today.  I've pretty much decided to nix the netbook idea in favor of a full-on laptop.  Still looking mostly at Best Buy's site since I can easily pick one up in town and not have to order one or anything.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9167689&type=product&id=1218041150488 - HP - Pavilion Laptop with AMD Turion™ X2 RM-72 Dual-Core Mobile Processor - $599

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9172851&type=product&id=1218044029604 - Asus - Stylish Laptop with Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology - $649

Still open to options, but I'm leaning towards the Asus now.  Has lots more than the Dell I posted yesterday for not too much more money.

[sad_rocc]

Centrinos are on their way out.

Just got this from Asus:
N20A-D1 has a $100 price drop (down to $979)
Core 2 Duo 2.0
4gb ram 320gb hd
Vista Premium
12.1" screen
http://www.amazon.com/N20A-D1-12-1-Inch-Laptop-Processor-Premium/dp/B001U3ZYHA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1242408793&sr=1-1

And this guy, if you were still interested in netbooks, could be the way to go. Asus has a new EEE model out with bigger keyboard and 7hr battery life.
http://www.amazon.com/10-Inch-Netbook-Processor-Storage-Keyboard/dp/B00203EZA6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1242420429&sr=8-6

[formulanerd]

for that price i'd go with the x301, it's pretty much the best ultraportable on the market.


also, stay away from HP (unless its the business line) and anything with AMD in it (notebook wise)... and i'd never buy one from best buy, but its your money.

[VWO4L]

Centrinos are on their way out.

I'm a bit confused.  A lot of the computers I'm looking at state that they have a Core 2 Duo processor(not the same as Centrino I presume), but most of them also mention Centrino along with it.  Only one I've looked at actually said Core 2 Duo only with no mention of Centrino. 

Additionally, to confuse matters more, some of the laptops had a Core 2 Duo sticker while others had a Centrino sticker while all of them claimed to have Core 2 Duo processors.

So, what's the difference and why the confusing naming scheme?

Plus, I'm looking at lower-end laptops anyhow(or at best low-end mid-range ones) so I'm not expecting to get the newest technology.  As it stands now, any of the laptops I'm looking at has equal processing power and double the memory of my desktop, so I'm not too concerned.

Also, I stopped by Best Buy on my way home today and added a couple of options to my list.  They are all very close in specs and price though so it's really a matter of which brand to go with.  Where else in town would have a good selection of laptops to look at for competitive prices?

[formulanerd]

centrino is more of an idea than a physical piece of hardware.... centrino certification requires a few different parts that work well together for low power consumption... . i havent heard anything saying centrino is going away.... it's more marketing than anything else.

[sad_rocc]

Yeah my bad, I was thinking celeron.

[formulanerd]

yea, celeron is crap, but thats a good chunk of the market they service.... it's been around for 10+ years, and even if it goes away, something with a different idea and the same business plan will take its place.

try to avoid celeron VWO4L

[VWO4L]

That clears things up.  I guess I wasn't as confused as I thought.  I knew Celeron is the low-end processor stuff.

So, I've got 4 models now and barring anything major, one of them will become my first laptop.

Here's what I've narrowed down to:

Toshiba Satelite A305-S6905 (15.4" screen)
Asus X83VB-X2 (14.1" screen)
Gateway MD7818u (15.6" screen)
Dell Studio S15-158B (15.4" screen)

In the interest of space, I won't list the detailed specs for all of them.  Plus they are quite close anyhow. 

All have the same processor (2.0Ghz Core 2 Duo), 4GB of RAM except for the Toshiba which has 3GB.  250GB-500GB HD's.  All obviously have WiFi and all have DVD burners, USB ports(betwen 3 and 5), all but one(Toshiba) has HDMI output.  3 have 64-bit versions of Vista while the Toshiba has 32-bit I believe(the others actually state 64-bit while the Toshiba does not).  All also ring in fairly close on price, ranging from $599-$699.

Looking at reviews on CNet, The Gateway is rated Excellent, the Asus Very Good and the Toshiba Good.  I was unable to find a review for the Dell model I'm looking at.  It does have a 9-cell battery with over 7hrs of runtime, it is the priciest one though at $699.  The cons for the Gateway are that it is a physically larger computer than the others and it has weak speakers, according to CNet.  I am a music fan so good audio is somewhat high on my list.  The Asus is the smallest of the bunch physically, but does have the best combination of features IMO.  It's middle of the road on HD space and price, but does have dedicated graphics and the most USB ports, but it does have a low run time of under 3hrs under CNet's testing.

Any thoughts on some of the models or brands I've chosen?  As I've stated before, I've had Dell's pretty much all my life but they've all been desktops.  How good are these other brands?

Thanks again for putting up with this thread those that have. I'm about 95% there though.  I was in the store ready to buy yesterday when I spotted these other options that I wanted to research.

[formulanerd]

if it were me, and those were the only choices, i'd go with the asus.

if they were all the same screen size and it was the size i wanted, and the other features were similar, i'd be torn between the toshiba and the asus.

i have an acer and a toshiba now, my wife has a gateway, they've all been great laptops, with the gateway the "worst" of the 3 (though still pretty good) and my toshiba has amazing sound for a laptop, much better than 99% of laptops i've heard.

you'll really compromise portability quite a bit with a 15" screen... but i'd bet the H/K on that toshiba sounds pretty damn good.

[VWO4L]

Ended up picking up the Asus.  It was really my first choice and so far I'm happy with it.  It's taking forever to update so I really haven't gotten to play with it much.  This is also my first Vista computer so that's taking some getting used to as well.

Thanks for all the help guys!

[formulanerd]

let me know when you want to ditch vista and install windows 7

[VWO4L]

let me know when you want to ditch vista and install windows 7

I'm almost there.  I had Vista on my desktop when I bought it last year and I ditched it after about 10mins.  I've given Vista a couple of days now on the laptops and I'm sick of it.  I've tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I'm just not liking it.  I know XP too well to have everything change on me.  Vista just doesn't make sense to me and I'm having the hardest time doing the easiest shit I used to do before.  If Vista makes it through the weekend on this laptop, I'll be surprised.

 I'm really trying to learn it though, but so far, it's been more of a headache than anything else.

[formulanerd]

you're probably better off to stick with it... windows 7 is freaking amazing, but all the stuff they moved around from xp to vista that was hard to find, well its in the same places on windows 7.... it'll take a couple days, and its annoying, but after a little while you'll feel comfortable knowing where everything is.

let me know if you have any questions