Need laptop recommendations

Van

SatelliteGuys Master
Original poster
Jul 8, 2004
9,325
9
Virginia Beach
Ok Im going to need a laptop for my other full time job, heres what it will need to do.

I'll be using it to connect to a CSG account from the road to update customer account information and give eta's. I'll also be getting map information to find the customers location. Another thing I want to do is have the ability to store pictures from a digital camera so a decent sized hard drive and around 2 - 3 gigs of ram. Either a built in air card or a port for one and who has a good service plan for something like that?

Cheap is king here but new with a warranty matters.
 
We have had good luck with the vostro line from Dell. You can have the choice of wireless card built in (sprint, att or verizon). They also have a variety of support options. I would opt for Core 2 not celeron. I would also opt for the smaller 14 inch one if you are going to be carrying it a lot.
 
I use the dell XPS m1210 and it makes me smile everytime I use it. The built in EVDO A from Verizon is very fast. I have done remote desktop, streamed sling video and monitored 2 security cams with it. The core 2 duo does video editing with ease. It has the smaller size screen 12" which is much easier to use on a plane. Battery is only 2 hours playing a DVD though. I think this model is discontinued. XPS line from Dell has US, not indian support line.
If you decide to go with the internal broadband card, you should know that it performs better than the USB plugins or Express card plugins due to the internal has a much larger antenna loop that runs the perimeter of the screen.
A tip to save money is to buy a factory refurb return from lease.
 
I just get the basic warranty, I just want them to fix it if hardware is broken. I handle all the software issues. I just select Next Business Day warranty, they have just fedexed out the parts and I have put them in myself with them talking me through it. Most complex thing I have replaced to date has been a keyboard.

The other vostro advantage is that it does not come with a bunch of preloaded junk software demo programs.
 
you have to go to small business to see Vostro....

you still in Athens Van?
Still in Athens for atleast one more year, getting this second full time job will move us along towards moving either to the 5 points area of Athens, Watkinsville, or down near Orlando so that we can see family alot more often when they come into town there.
 
My best recommendation to you is to never buy WinBook. High customer dissatisfaction, high failure rate.
 
If all your goin gto use it for is connecting to a database, storing pics and surfing the net you can get by with just about any entry level notebook.
I agree with 14 inch. Uses less power and much lighter to tote around.
Vista is not a must for your apps either.
 
I bought a Dell XPS 1530 and have been very happy.

You can get them on sale at dell's site for under $1k with great HD screen, 2gb ram, 200-300gb HD, etc.

What I like most - very small & well built - no wasted sapce. Slot-load DVD burner, although I paid for the bluray burner, I just like the slot-load for a laptop. Very good battery - 2.5 hours for such a small laptop & 6 cell bat. They also sell a 9 cell IIRC.
 
I don't agree with that. I have a couple of computers with Vista installed with only 1 GB of RAM that run just fine.

I cant agrea with that either, I havent seen one yet that runs smoothly with less than 3 gigs and moderately with 2 gigs. I need it to actually function properly and not have to sit and wait on it to load a webpage graphic.
 
I don't agree with that. I have a couple of computers with Vista installed with only 1 GB of RAM that run just fine.
Notebook computers often need additional memory to make up for having miniaturized and/or more power efficient components.

It is also a matter of expectations. Someone who is a serious user of power grabbing applications (3D gaming, 3D CAD or video editing) requires quite a bit more horsepower than someone doing pedestrian tasks. Those who expect desktop performance from notebook machines should expect to invest in a little more RAM and, perhaps more importantly, the fastest hard drive they can afford.
 
I agree with the Vostro, and 2GB ram is enough.

you will only have 2 slots, and 2gb sticks of ram get spendy.

I love my vostro, its a low end, that i added the ram to, and it does everything i need of it.


the only thing i would do, is upgrade to the best battery you can from dell at time of purchase, its way cheaper that way, we decided to upgrade the battery, but to buy it after the fact would of cost $200, we only paid 349 for our vostro to begin with (thanks to a black friday deal!), so we are sticking with the low end battery that lasts an hour tops.
 
I cant agrea with that either, I havent seen one yet that runs smoothly with less than 3 gigs and moderately with 2 gigs. I need it to actually function properly and not have to sit and wait on it to load a webpage graphic.
Forget Vista, go with XP Pro.
 
Notebook computers often need additional memory to make up for having miniaturized and/or more power efficient components.

It is also a matter of expectations. Someone who is a serious user of power grabbing applications (3D gaming, 3D CAD or video editing) requires quite a bit more horsepower than someone doing pedestrian tasks. Those who expect desktop performance from notebook machines should expect to invest in a little more RAM and, perhaps more importantly, the fastest hard drive they can afford.

This is true, but the OPs needs were very pedestrian.

But you do make a good point. The graphics cards on most laptops borrow their RAM from the main RAM on the system. If you went with 1 GB of RAM, that would be shared with video subsystem dropping you significantly below the 1GB RAM threshold.
 
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