# Help choosing a good laptop?

## feliperal

I need some basic suggestions on a good laptop brand to choose.  I have looked at some of the suggestions on this board, but the recommendations really do not fit what I am looking for.  

I am looking for a very portable computer.  My budget is from $1500-2200 max.  I will use it mostly to give presenation, develop financial model algorithims using C, and doing some stress tests.  So, I would like it to be able to run Linux or some derivative of Unix (OSX).

My gripe with some of the major makers, for example Dell, Sony, and Toshiba, is that they try to include the whole kitchen sink.  I really do not need a CD-R/DVD+RW drive, nor do I care about having a 60Gig hardrive, a 20gig or 40 max.  However, the portables I looked at have 10"-12" screens.

So, to put it in simple words, I want a 15" laptop, Centrino or G4 processor, 20Gig hd, 8x DVD, Firewire, S-video, Vga-out, 4hrs of battery life, wireless ready, weighs 5lbs or less,  and non-Intel or Sis video chipset--preferrably ATI or Nvidia. 

The only model I have experienced with these criteria was the good old HP Omnibook 6200.  Only problem is that when they merged with Compaq the whole company went down in the shit hole, as far as portable notebooks are concerned. 

Thanks for your helpLast edited by feliperal on Fri Sep 05, 2003 7:38 am; edited 1 time in total

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## Valorin

I recommend an IBM Thinkpad, an R40 would fit into your price range and give you everything you're looking for. Go to IBM's homepage and check it out. Keep in mind IBM is a little more expensive.

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## feliperal

Thanks, the R series is not that bad.  I was kind of upset that I couldn't upgrade the video ram on the ATI mobility to 32 megs on the base.  The second model, wouldn't let me downgrade the CD-rw drive.  

But, the T series looks looks attractive. Just I can't downgrade the cd-rw/dvd-rom drive to a plain dvd-rom.  I'm just being very picky perhaps   :Razz:  .  

I'm thinking about the Powebook G4 15" 800mhz machine, a little bit pricey, and I've heard from people that the signal on the built in airport card tends to attenuate or weaken because of the case.

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## ruben

Hello,

my requirements for the purchase of my portable seemed very similar to yours: long battery life, very portable, some (actually a lot) of C coding, writing latex documents, making presentations....

I bought a 12" iBook and am very happy with it. 12" because i wanted it 'very portable'. It has a G3 800Mhz, 640Mb RAM, DVD/CDRW drive, 30Gb HD space. (i believe the more recent models had 900Mhz G3). Graphics card is an ATI Mobility with 32Mb RAM. I have both Gentoo Linux and Mac OS X on it; most of the time though i spent in Linux.

The only thing i find a bit annoying when you buy an Apple portable is that you can't chose exactly what you want, you get to chose from a set of pre-built models... like in my case, if i wanted a dvd drive, then i had to chose the more expensive 800Mhz model instead of the 700Mhz one...

If you're thinking about linux, then take into account that there are still some problems to get the external video signal working (for doing presentations). As for the rest, i believe all other things are working on linux.  (and for a powerbook, AFAIK they use airport extreme cards, which are as of now not yet supported on linux) In any case if you're thinking about an Apple portable+linux then better to check out the Gentoo PPC forums first.

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## asph

want a good laptop? check this url..  :Smile: 

url

In that site there are the best pc's and laptop's i have ever seen.. of course you need a lot of money to afford them.

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## feliperal

 *siddhartha wrote:*   

> want a good laptop? check this url.. 
> 
> url
> 
> In that site there are the best pc's and laptop's i have ever seen.. of course you need a lot of money to afford them.

 

Alienware is mostly known for gaming machines.  This laptop has an intel video subsystem.  In my opinion, you can get the same type of system from gateway or Dell for $2000.

I am leaning maybe to the Powerbook G4 17".  I figure, might as well go the extra long mille.  I can just eat top roman or cup o noodle till January when my fellowship money and grants are renewed.

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## BitJam

I think you can get almost exactly what you want from Dell.  They allow a lot of customization.    I very happy with my i8200.    

The best thing about it is the screen.   Their high end screens have really wide viewing angles.    This is great for watching DVD's with friends.   It would probably be helpful for making presentations.

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## daha

Im wondering to buy ibook and i  prefer it for you also. Why to use PC-systems, when you dont have to?

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## feliperal

Well, I just suckered in and bought an Apple Powerbook 15" 1.25 ghz zuperdrive.  Apple says It should be mailed to my office in the Finance/Economics department by Friday.  I don't know how well the graphics chip (Radeon 9600) is supported in Linux.  I've heard some people have had bad experiences with the desktop version.

I'm just sad I forked over $2500.  Well , i figure Ill just duplicate foreign porn onto dvd and sell it for $5 a pop....to pay off the laptop....hehehe

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