Which laptop should I choose?

[osq_project]

Hello,

I am planning to give my desktop to my brother and buy a laptop instead... I have been looking at websites for some time now and found 4 laptops which look suitable. I'm a bit confused about the Pentium-M Pentium 4 choice. Most of the time I use my laptop just for homeworks and surfing the Net but I also like to play games... I very rarely do some small video editing too. I don't think I will be carrying it often. Which one of these do you think will be more suitable for my needs? I'd be grateful if you could make any suggestions:

http://www.dabs.com/uk/Search2/Prod...?quicklinx=3622

http://www.dabs.com/uk/Search2/Prod...?quicklinx=3hgl

http://www.dabs.com/uk/Search2/Prod...?quicklinx=3FN9

http://www.dabs.com/uk/Search2/Prod...?quicklinx=3GSH

Thanks

[wetling]

Your links don't work.

[osq_project]

Ooops... It puts these stupid dots in the middle when I try to post URLs :confused:

[DanceMan]

I'm a bit confused about the Pentium-M Pentium 4 choice. You definitely want a Pentium M (or Celeron M). The P4 or P4-M are much hotter and use more current. The Pentium M is suspected to be a development of the P3. It runs much cooler, uses far less current, and produces benchmarks of a P4 of about 1 2/3x the MHz. Do not be fooled by the lower rating. This test (http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=dothandesktop&page=1&cookie%5Ftest=1) of a Pentium M on a desktop board tested agianst a P4 and an Athlon 64 will give you an idea of its performance. The Celeron M is the same cpu with 512kb of L2 cache. The Pentium M has 1Mb of L2 on the Banias core (.13nm) and 2Mb on the newer Dothan core (.09nm).
This means the fan will almost never come on, you won't roast you legs, the battery will last longer, and other components ought to last longer (less internal heat).
I would consider a low voltage Athlon 64 also.

For playing games, you should consider a laptop with a separate video gpu and ram. There are ATI and nForce versions, but this bumps you up the price ladder.

Here in Vancouver there are good deals on Acer's Travelmates, and I've been impressed with Acer based on two old ones I have (a 486 and a P200mmx).

[osq_project]

Does anyone know how I can correctly paste URL without the links converted wrongly when I submit?

[DanceMan]

Perhaps you are copying the abbreviated link. Actually open the page and then copy from the address bar.

[osq_project]

Got it :)

http://www.dabs.com/uk/Search2/Product%20Details.htm?quicklinx=3622

http://www.dabs.com/uk/Search2/Product%20Details.htm?quicklinx=3hgl

http://www.dabs.com/uk/Search2/Product%20Details.htm?quicklinx=3FN9

http://www.dabs.com/uk/Search2/Product%20Details.htm?quicklinx=3gsh

[F_A_L_C_O_N]

From the 4 you listed, number 1

However this are a bit expensive

I would search for Asus/Acer/Fujitsu laptops with Pentium-M (4-5hours of battery life!) and Radeon 9700

Toshiba has nice screens, but usually comes with FX graphics (less powerful) and is pricier

Sony is renowned for its sub-quality notebooks and high prices ;)

HP A64 laptops are good, but Pentium-M battery will last you longer

Watch out for Celeron-M, they usually get about an hour less of battery time then Pentium-M notebooks. They are cheaper then Pentium-M, however A64 notebooks battery will last you just as long and will have more CPU power then Celeron-M. Price is about the same though.

This Acer TravelMate 4002LMi (http://www.geizhals.at/eu/a121633.html) for a bit less then 1200 Euros (not phounds) is a good example, IMO

http://www.geizhals.at/img/pix/121633.jpg

[Martin_89]

If you can strech to the price THIS (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=3062434299&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=62007) looks like an amazing system

Acer Ferrari 3200
AMD Athlon 64 2800+
80GB Hard Drive
512MB DDR (2*256MB)
DVD±RW Dual Format Slot loading DVD writer
15" SXGA+ TFT
ATI Radeon Mobility 9700 with 128MB VRAM

if not then heres a couple of machines...
Fujitsu Siemens Amilo A1630 (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=3062474093&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=65773)

Now THIS (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=3062522295&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=66421) one interested me.... ATI MOBILITY RADEON X600 with 64 MB of external DDR video (i think it means 9600 not sure though)

[osq_project]

I quite liked the Samsung one. What do you think? I checked it offline and it's very thin and looks good.

[osq_project]

And also I have an external hard drive which I want to keep and use with the laptop... Do all these laptops come with a firewire slot?

[Leoslocks]

Here is the link that ends in HGL
AMILO A 1630 Athlon 64 3700+ 512mb 60gb DVDRW £985.82 inc VAT (£839.00 ex VAT)
http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/hardware/notebooksandtablets/productView.htm?quicklinx=3hgl
One firewire port (1 x IEEE1394,)


3FN9 Vaio A215Z Centrino P-M 735 512MB 60GB DVD+/-DL £1,289.98 inc VAT (£1,097.86 ex VAT)
http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/hardware/notebooksandtablets/productView.htm?quicklinx=3FN9

3622 X15 plus Centrino 1.5GHz 512MB £1,169.99 inc VAT (£995.74 ex VAT)
http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/hardware/notebooksandtablets/productView.htm?quicklinx=3622

3GSH Pavilion zv5368EA P4 3.0GHz 512MB 60GB 15.4" TFT £998.99 inc VAT (£850.21 ex VAT)
http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/hardware/notebooksandtablets/productView.htm?quicklinx=3GSH
Ports - 1 VGA Port
3 USB 2.0 Ports
1 IEEE-1394 This is the Firewire port
1 Parallel Port
1 RJ-11 modem connector
1 RJ-45 Ethernet connector
S-Video TV Out
Headphone-out, microphone-in ports
Cable docking connector

[wetling]

If it doesn't say it comes with a Firewire port, then it doesn't come with a firewire port.

A quick look at the specifications tab for the X15 reveals that it does indeed have a firewire port.