New 'I want to buy a laptop' Thread (2 Viewers)

[Collin]

I've been thinking about this for a few days.. and I'am THIS close to clicking on a customised Dell M1210.

1.83GHz C2D
2GB DDR667
120GB SATA
12" WXGA+
DVD+RW, 9-cell battery, 1.3MP webcam yadda.

Or if I could stand something a little bulkier,

640M:
1.83GHz C2D
2GB DDR667
120GB SATA
14" 1440x900
DVD+RW, 9-cell battery

$1680.

Main problem? Doing so only keeps my 06-07' budget out of the red by a measly $200 at the worst of times. Pretty risky considering my work hours fluctuate and there's still around 10 weeks until the next financial year.

 

[gracie007]

I've got the same problem, but the aerial won't even fit into the end of mine, lol. I installed drivers for mine, I think they were Vista drivers but I wasn['t too sure. I just hit install and alt tabbed back to filemaker.

yeah its really annoying. i want this thing to work. like on the cd and casing it says compatible with vista, but then when u load up the install thing it only gives a windows xp option. i went on the asus website briefly but couldnt find any new drivers.

with the little aerial plug thing, i thought mine didnt fit but it does get in there if u push it hard enough, then it clicks. i think thats what ur referring to , if not, probs best not to force it in heaps in case of breaking somehting . but yeah. i want tv!!! grr

 

[stazi]

I doubt the manufacturer of the Tuner is Asus.

 

[jemsta]

i also read that asus got voted the best notebook brand by pc authority
now i also doubt asus makes faulty hardware

 

[Collin]

I doubt the manufacturer of many components of a laptop is made by the actual company which sells it. But it's all down to total integration and how the package as a whole works.

ASUS is a great brand, but I'm not surprised about all these software-related issues. My friend bought an ASUS laptop a few months ago and just couldn't get his wireless to work. After much this-and-that, ASUS told him to send the machine back, and he was then told the wireless component had been replaced. But it still didn't work, and after some more bickering with ASUS reps, he was told that apparently a working driver for the network component hasn't been released yet.

Now is this ASUS's problem? Well, partially. The chipset in regards to the wireless was made by ATi, so it was ATi's problem to get drivers out for it. But if ATi couldn't get it out for some reason, it's also ASUS's problem for integrating it into their machines. I do find all of this rather strange in that it's highly unusual for ATi not to have functional drivers out for their primary chipsets, so who know.. the ASUS representative might have just been bullshitting, for whatever reason.

I'm a big fan of ASUS hardware, especially motherboards. They're also very generous when it comes to selling the 'full package' for a laptop, in which they often include a mouse, bag, TV Tuner and a 2 year's onsite warranty. But I certainly do hear a few stories regarding software-to-hardware issues and such from them, which can be regarded as a slight blemish to the overall product.

 

[YankeeChica]

If you can afford that customised dell XPS M1210 i think its the best in its category. Its the most powerful in any 12 inch notebook, more powerful than many bigger 14 or 15 " notebook. I did a lot of research on it and read every reviews I can find on the net, they are all positive. The light weight really matters if you are going to carry with you frequently. My last notebook was about 2.8 kg and I regretted that I did not buy a lighter one during the past 2 years. Mine will be delivered this week.

Also you can get a discount on Dell, we bought two 30" LCD monitor priced $2500 (with taxes) each on the website, we asked for a discount and we got them for only $ 1990 each.

 

[stazi]

where in the US are you from.

 

[gracie007]

But I certainly do hear a few stories regarding software-to-hardware issues and such from them, which can be regarded as a slight blemish to the overall product.

the thing is though, its the same with any laptop brand in the end. youre always always always gonna hear those 'stories'

 

[Collin]

If you can afford that customised dell XPS M1210 i think its the best in its category. Its the most powerful in any 12 inch notebook, more powerful than many bigger 14 or 15 " notebook. I did a lot of research on it and read every reviews I can find on the net, they are all positive. The light weight really matters if you are going to carry with you frequently. My last notebook was about 2.8 kg and I regretted that I did not buy a lighter one during the past 2 years. Mine will be delivered this week.

Also you can get a discount on Dell, we bought two 30" LCD monitor priced $2500 (with taxes) each on the website, we asked for a discount and we got them for only $ 1990 each.

Right now, it's the 640M vs. M1210 for me. I'm THIS close to clicking on a 1210, but I'm still thinking about it.

Pretty much the only reason I'd want the 1210 over the 640 is the size, weight and perceived reliability/durability factor of Dell XPS machines. Many get it over the 640M due to it's discrete video upgrade capabilities, but I probably wouldn't bother with the NV 7400 anyway.

Anyway, otherwise I could get the same-specced 640M for about $300 less. Decisions, decisions!

This will be replacing my year-or-so old Inspiron 6000. Great machine, I still can't believe I spilt a load of crap all over it last week and it didn't die on me. But still, a bit too heavy and bulky for my liking, especially since I gotta lug it around with me everywhere at uni.

Edit: The 640M's 1440 x 900 vs. the 1210's standard WXGA+ is also part of the equation. Dell's going backwards concerning screen res - a year ago they discontinued their WUXGA+ screens for their Inspiron 15.4" books. Now they've discontinued the WSXGA+ for the 6400 and we're down to 1440 x 900 for a 15.4". That hurts below the belt for me, and for that reason I don't believe I'll be buying another 6000-series Dell notebook anytime soon.

 

[Collin]

the thing is though, its the same with any laptop brand in the end. youre always always always gonna hear those 'stories'

You'll always hear stories of some negative experience, but we're talking strictly such regarding the ones I labelled above.

I oversee returns and repairs at work, and we get a statistically higher level of issues of such software-related nature from ASUS machines. Besides that, I believe ASUS is a flawless brand. I have always desired ASUS machines, but bang/buck and customisation issues has always pulled me back to Dell.

 

[pete_mate]

You'll always hear stories of some negative experience, but we're talking strictly such regarding the ones I labelled above.

I oversee returns and repairs at work, and we get a statistically higher level of issues of such software-related nature from ASUS machines. Besides that, I believe ASUS is a flawless brand. I have always desired ASUS machines, but bang/buck and customisation issues has always pulled me back to Dell.

you're more of a dell fanboy than that american girl.

 

[Collin]

you're more of a dell fanboy than that american girl.

ERm.. so what's your point exactly?

Until there's a better alternative more suitable for my requirements and circumstances, then yes, I will buy Dell.

Is there something particularly wrong with my paradigm of approaching a laptop purchase? Unlike yourself at times, I prefer to judge on merit (instead of the seemingly mindless bias brewed from God-knows-what I see from you often). WOWZLOOK AT ME I HATE DELL IM COOL LAWL

 

[The_highwayman]

i won't buy a dell simply because they look crummy.

 

[Collin]

I don't like the look of some Dells either. I think pretty much all their Inspirons are ugly (which includes mine), but I don't buy a laptop to look at it. If superficiality was the key to my purchase, I'd go something like a Vaio (to show off to the world that I have erm teh l33t brand lapt0p). Simply put, Dell's consumer-level Inspirons look ugly, look cheap.. but performance vs. buck potential is excellent.

The M1210 I have on mind is decent, but I wish it was all black like typical machines from other brands like HP.

 

[bringbackshred]

The problem with dell for me is that they suck with graphics cards, hence my F3JP, which is amazing.

yeah its really annoying. i want this thing to work. like on the cd and casing it says compatible with vista, but then when u load up the install thing it only gives a windows xp option. i went on the asus website briefly but couldnt find any new drivers.

with the little aerial plug thing, i thought mine didnt fit but it does get in there if u push it hard enough, then it clicks. i think thats what ur referring to , if not, probs best not to force it in heaps in case of breaking somehting . but yeah. i want tv!!! grr

Yeah, it is only a cheapy though. I'm going to hop on the Whirlpool forums later and see if people have found any solutions. If not, I might just skip it altoether or buy a new one.

 

[The_highwayman]

yeah, i'm a bit of a show-off when it comes to gadgets

 

[bringbackshred]

I love the look of the Vaios - they are so sexy. But my asus has an elegance about it, which i like. It also isn't slutty like the Vaio - other laptops don't want a wired connection with it, if you get what I mean.

 

[pete_mate]

I love the look of the Vaios - they are so sexy. But my asus has an elegance about it, which i like. It also isn't slutty like the Vaio - other laptops don't want a wired connection with it, if you get what I mean.

you could just load the xp drivers on. sure they won't be "certified" but they'll probably work anyway, slight chance they could blue screen your computer. either way it doesnt matter cos then you just go into safe mode and remove them.

otherwise, the taiwanese version of the asus website tends to get driver updates before the english one, try asus.tw or along those lines. the vista drivers may be there.

if none of the above works out, it'll only be a few months or so before they're released, just sit tight.

otherwise, you dont really need drivers, i used a tv card with generic drivers using a program called "Dscaler" check that out if all else fails.

anyhow, if collin's only criticizm of asus is their software, its fairly irrelevant, id rather have minor, fixable, software problems than hardware killing problems that force me to wait 2 months for my laptop to get repaired.

*cough* exploding batteries *cough*

 

[pete_mate]

The problem with dell for me is that they suck with graphics cards, hence my F3JP, which is amazing.
/QUOTE]

lucky for dell, most consumers dont know wtf a graphics card is. Means they can say that an inspiron 12345 has "High Performance Graphics" when it doesnt even have a graphics card.

look!, i got a pentium 4 with hyper-threading technology!! hyperthreading!! from dell

In a market where it is difficult for the average consumer to learn about what they're actually buying, dell unethically exploits this.

 

[gracie007]

The problem with dell for me is that they suck with graphics cards, hence my F3JP, which is amazing.


Yeah, it is only a cheapy though. I'm going to hop on the Whirlpool forums later and see if people have found any solutions. If not, I might just skip it altoether or buy a new one.

okay, lemme know if you get any solutions