About Lauren Bennett Expertise I am a computer science major and my dad is an Electric Engineering, so my life has revolved around computers. For as long as I can remember, I have been buying and selling computers. I tend to travel a lot, so I have always had a laptop. I have bought 5 of them for myself, and bought around 30-40 for friends and family. I have dealt with the good and the bad of various version and brand names. If you are in need of buying a laptop, feel free to contact me and I'm sure I will be able to guide you into purchasing the laptop that will be the best fit for you. I will custom build you computers for you to choose from so you can get an exact idea of what to go and buy when you do it yourself and so that you have an exact price. However, I am in the USA and am only knowledgeable about computers here in the US. I do not know about foreign currency or the quality of computer brand names outside the US.
Experience B.S. in Computer Science. Buying and selling for years. Assisting friends/family.
Question QUESTION: I am looking for a lightweight laptop that has a decent battery life, does not get noticeably hot, and handles graphics reasonably well. Would you opt for one of the newer computers; e.g., the Dell Latitude 630, that has the T7100/7300 chip and the associated new integrated graphics (Media Accelerator X3100; Intel 965 chipset)? Would the upgrade to a stand-alone graphics card (128MB NVIDIAŽ Quadro NVS 135M)give you better performance, but not at the price of reduced battery life and, most importantly, a laptop that throws out a lot of heat? Any other suggestions for a laptop with the attributes above and under about $1400 much appreciated.
ANSWER: I would definitely get a discrete graphics card. Don't get anything that is integrated - you'll regret it down the road.
Is there any particular reason why you are looking at the Latitudes instead of the Inspirons?
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QUESTION: Only because it has the new integrated graphics chipset, which is advertised as having much better capability that the older version (used, for example, on the Dell Inspiron 1405). My thinking was that an integrated graphics capability would do better on battery life and run much cooler--I really don't want a laptop that feels like a hot brick. Is that the case?
I know the integrated graphics on the 1405 are recommended; I was thinking the newer version might be up to snuff for VISTA and some of the more graphically intense applications. Finally, I like the idea of moving to draft N, which seems destined to be the new standard. But I'm open to other ideas; that's why I asked! Suggest away. Thanks.
Answer If you are planning to run anything but XP or Vista Home Basic, you'll want something more than just integrated. Vista requires a decent graphics card - you'll want at least 128 MB of dedicated video RAM.
I'd also suggest the N wireless. While it won't be a huge benefit right now because most wireless hasn't gone there yet, it is definitely the future. I actually just got one for my desktop and did notice a definite increase in the strength an reliability of the signal and I still have a G router.
If you want anything new and powerful, it is going to get hot. The smaller it is, the more it'll get hot. My laptop is the XPS M1210 and it is only a 12" and very very powerful and it gets VERY hot, but the battery life is great. It will last an easy 4 hours.
I'd go with any dual core processor (AMD X2 or Intel Core 2 Duo). You'll want at least 1 GB of RAM. Upgrade the battery to the 9 cell for sure. If you are going to get Vista, get Home Premium.
Also, it is worth the upfront cost to get the warranty bundle for 3-4 years. It gets you an extra discount at the end and it will come in SO handy. The technical support alone is great, having on site service is great, accidental damage is great, theft recovery is great... you never have to worry. Anything that goes wrong, whether it is hardware failure, you dropping it, or spilling coffee on it is fully covered. I use my warranty for EVERYTHING. All the dell tech guys that make the house calls know me by name :). I pretty much consider myself an expert at getting their tech support to do whatever I want, even if it is ridiculous :).
Let me know if you have any other questions!
If you are a student, or recently were (they don't check) log in through www.dell.com/delluniversity for sweet discounts when you add it to your cart :) (you need a 3-4 year warranty to get the good ones though).
