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It's time to put the Pentium III out to pasture.

 
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Frank the Historian
Prince
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Joined: 17 Feb 2004
Posts: 781
Location: Up North, Down East

PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 4:48 pm    Post subject: It's time to put the Pentium III out to pasture. Reply with quote

Sooooooooo, I'm in the market for a new laptop. My seven-year-old Dell Inspiron 5000 just isn't cutting it anymore. I'm doing a lot of research, but I'm always interested to hear what other people think, especially since you folks probably have experience with models and brands I haven't even considered.

My rough criteria are:
Weight under 6.5 pounds, preferably under 5.5
minimum 13" screen, widescreen preferred
Battery life over three hours
Minimum RAM 512MB, 1GB preferred
DVD/CDRW combo or better
Minimum hard drive 60GB (I can always install a bigger one later)
Under $1000, preferably under $800, free is a plus!
Faster processor than a 500 Mhz Pentium III Shocked

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks, #ni-1
Frank
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KWSN - Sir Brian C.......
Stop calling me 'she'
Prince


Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Posts: 2032
Location: Judea, AD33, at a stoning with me mum.

PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 5:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

the dell inspiron 1405/1505 looks good. you can even get a core duo 2 processor as well,

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/entnb_e1405?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs


I have a 9400 and am impressed.....

#ni-1
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klaatuborada
Yo ho! Post ho!
Prince


Joined: 08 Dec 2002
Posts: 2098
Location: by the dock by the bay...

PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd go to the closest computer stores, staples, best buy, circuit city, etc., and see if they have any floor models available. I got my hp for a steel, and although it's not everything I wanted, for $650.00 it was a steal. In fact this will probably go to my daughter and I'll pick up another one in winter. After Xmas sales are sick....
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Frank the Historian
Prince
Prince


Joined: 17 Feb 2004
Posts: 781
Location: Up North, Down East

PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

KWSN - Sir Brian C....... wrote:
the dell inspiron 1405/1505 looks good. you can even get a core duo 2 processor as well


Yes, I've been looking at those, and at the 640m and Latitude D620. Have you used any of these? I'm particularly interested that they run silent as much as possible.

Thanks,
Frank
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Teh Grvmm
Knight
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Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 55
Location: Pa, factoryville

PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't care if I was buying a desktop or laptop, I'd ONLY get a duo 2 core processor in my computer #ni-1 #ni-1

AND YOU BETTER!!!!or I'll cry.
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Well I found the greatest man ever.

X2 3800+ sonic tower + AS paste
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alpha_fruit
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Joined: 16 May 2005
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Location: Western North Carolina, USA

PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2006 2:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi and #ni-1 Sir Teh Grvmm, how you been > I missed your smilie face. Don't stay away so long next time. Wink
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Frank the Historian
Prince
Prince


Joined: 17 Feb 2004
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Location: Up North, Down East

PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Teh Grvmm wrote:
I don't care if I was buying a desktop or laptop, I'd ONLY get a duo 2 core processor in my computer #ni-1 #ni-1

AND YOU BETTER!!!!or I'll cry.


Don't cry!

Dell Inspiron E1505, Intel Core Duo (sorry) 1.73Ghz, 1GB dual-channel DDR2, 120GB SATA HDD, 15.4" UltraSharp Widescreen display....

The Core2 is 5-10% faster for the same clock, and maybe improves battery life by 2%, but just wasn't worth the extra $100 to me.
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alpha_fruit
Prince
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Joined: 16 May 2005
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congrats on the new Dell Sir Frank. May you crunch out those big baby's forever. #ni-1 Wink
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Frank the Historian
Prince
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Joined: 17 Feb 2004
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Location: Up North, Down East

PostPosted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 4:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks! It just shipped today... the waiting is killing me.... Mad

I've read in other places that the Core2s were supposed to wholesale for the same price as the old Core Duos. Dell was either selling the Core2s at a $100 premium, or selling their remaining Core Duos at a $100 discount. I hope it was the latter. It was a good deal in any case. About $800 for: E1505, 1.73 Core Duo, 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) screen, 1GB DDR2, Intel GMA 950, 120GB SATA HDD, WinXP MCE (I'm interested to check it out, I have XP Pro to install if I want to), CD-RW/DVD combo, b/g wireless, bluetooth, standard battery and the multitude of standard ports, slots, etc.

#ni-1
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alpha_fruit
Prince
Prince


Joined: 16 May 2005
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What is bluetooth? I have wondered and was afraid to ask. I thought maybe it was a whale looking for a home and I didn't have room. Wink
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Frank the Historian
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Joined: 17 Feb 2004
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Location: Up North, Down East

PostPosted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

alpha_fruit wrote:
What is bluetooth? I have wondered and was afraid to ask. I thought maybe it was a whale looking for a home and I didn't have room. Wink

Laughing Bluetooth is a short-range (typically 30 feet, though some implementations go much farther) low-bandwidth low-power wireless connection. Some people call it a Personal Area Network. While WiFi is a substitute for Ethernet, Bluetooth can be thought of as a substitute for USB. It is commonly used for wireless cellphone headsets, in-car cellphone integration, wireless music (iPod) headphones, wireless printers and synchronizing data on PDA devices. I plan to use it to send data to my cellphone and use a headset for Skype or Google Talk calls.

Do you often have trouble with homeless whales? Shocked
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alpha_fruit
Prince
Prince


Joined: 16 May 2005
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Location: Western North Carolina, USA

PostPosted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Frank the Historian wrote:
Do you often have trouble with homeless whales? Shocked


Yes, sometimes they try and swim up the mountain and knock on the door, I just don't have room for them, so I don't answer.

I do give the Wolves and Pandas a room for the night, the whales are to demanding and the water keeps running out of the room I did provide and it will run my well dry if this keeps up. Wink
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A Shrubbery
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Joined: 24 Jun 2004
Posts: 1861
Location: Pacific NW

PostPosted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dammit woman, I told you not to give them tree fiddy, now they gonna be coming back expecting more.
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KWSN - A Shrubbery
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alpha_fruit
Prince
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 5:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know you did, but I just feel so sorry for them and those cute little faces. Razz Wink
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KWSN - Sir Brian C.......
Stop calling me 'she'
Prince


Joined: 27 Feb 2006
Posts: 2032
Location: Judea, AD33, at a stoning with me mum.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Frank the Historian wrote:
Teh Grvmm wrote:
I don't care if I was buying a desktop or laptop, I'd ONLY get a duo 2 core processor in my computer #ni-1 #ni-1

AND YOU BETTER!!!!or I'll cry.


Don't cry!

Dell Inspiron E1505, Intel Core Duo (sorry) 1.73Ghz, 1GB dual-channel DDR2, 120GB SATA HDD, 15.4" UltraSharp Widescreen display....

The Core2 is 5-10% faster for the same clock, and maybe improves battery life by 2%, but just wasn't worth the extra $100 to me.



Where the Core2 is worth the extra is on the Desktop, they run sun much cooler that you can have minimal cooling and so are sooooo much quieter. I've replaced my bedroom AMD x2 4200 with an Core2 E6300. I hardly notice the thing running. The x2 has been moved to the farm.....

with a laptop you don't have to worry about this. Laughing

#ni-1 #ni-1
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Frank the Historian
Prince
Prince


Joined: 17 Feb 2004
Posts: 781
Location: Up North, Down East

PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quick update: It's here!! Gorgeous screen, super-smooth full-screen video even with the Intel graphics, impressively good sound, 3+ hours battery life. It's a smidge bulky, but it's lighter than it looks. Speaking of looks, the lines are clean but I'm not wild about the glossy white edges. The only sound under normal use comes from the quiet but plainly audible hard drive (Western Digital 5400rpm SATA). I might look into a quieter replacement. Any recommendations?

Watching Serenity at 1680x1050 and loving every minute,
Frank
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A Shrubbery
Prince
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Joined: 24 Jun 2004
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Any recommendations?


Yes, operate it in a noisy environment. Construction sites are good, or a nursery.
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Frank the Historian
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 10:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks! I took it to a rock concert, but I found it difficult to crowd-surf and type at the same time...

#ni-1
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A Shrubbery
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 10:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Brilliant!!
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