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Alright, I've done some research on laptops that I'd like to buy, but since a lot of folk here are knowledgable about these things I thought I'd ask their opinions as to what a good laptop would be.

Weight and size are not terribly important, as long as I can carry it around, fine. Battery life is not crucial, but it should be whatever the norm is.

Price shouldn't greatly exceed $1400.

There is, however, a couple of functions I want it to have:

-Wireless broadband. See, I want to be able to take a Verizon DSL connection, or, in the coming months, a Japanese DSL connection, hook it up to a router, and have wired broadband running to one computer and wireless running to my laptop. If anyone could recommend a good router, that would be good, too.

-Good processor. My current processor is a 350 Mghz. Something in the 1.2-1.6 Ghz would be fine.

-30+ MB space.

-Ability to play DVDs + CDs, and *also* the ability to burn DVDs + CDs.

Should be fairly reliable and resilient.

I don't normally like Dell, but their Inspiron 600M is actually a decent laptop and not too expensive.

It is configured as follows:

Pentium M 1.5GHz
14.1" 1024x768 display, 32MB VRAM
XP Home Edition
1 Year Warranty + Depot Repair
384MB RAM
30GB HD
4X DVD+RW
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 (802.11b/g)

No software other than the base offerings and included.

It is currently $1,374. That includes free shipping, 10% discount and 256->384MB RAM upgrade.

Averatec has some fairly good deals on notebooks for under $1500, which have pretty much most of the features you're looking for. the 3150, for example, has the following stats:

Mobile AMD Athlon™ XP-M 1600+ Processor with PowerNow!™ Technology and QuantiSpeed™ Architecture
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
Display 12.1" XGA TFT
Memory 256 MB DDR
Hard Drive 30GB, 9.5mm thin
Optical Combo DVD+CD-RW
Communications Built-in 802.11b Wireless LAN, 56k Modem and 10/100 LAN.
Battery 3-Hour Lithium-Ion
Weight 4.3 lbs
Dimensions 10.6" x 9.6" x 1.2"

they received fairly good reviews in most computer magazines i've skimmed through as well.

Hmm...the Inspiron appears to have more memory, and I've heard that wireless stuff ending with "g" is more advanced than stuff ending in "b", but does the DVD/CD-RW mean it can burn DVDs?

Further, the wireless *will* work w/ broadband in the configuration I mentioned in the original post? A DSL connection for the laptop is absolutely essential.

the 802.11g standard is the one that's used throughout most of europe and i believe asia. a and b are still only primarily used in north america, though we're gradually catching up with the g standard. mainly the difference is in the speed, iirc. though an 802.11g won't work with a network that's configured primarily to 802.11b, i believe.

as far as the dvd/cd-rw, that simply means it burns cds and lets you watch dvds, but won't burn dvds. For burning dvds you'd need something like a dvd+rw, or a dvd-rw, which tends to be far more expensive.

The Inspiron is really going to be your best deal. I configured an IBM R51 for slightly more but it was inferior in performance (though probably superior in build quality).

You don't have to worry abotu 802.11a -- it isn't used very much. 802.11b is limited to a maximum of 11 Mbps; 802.11g is limited to 54 Mbps. I'd get a card that supports both standards so that if you are connecting to a 802.11g access point you can get the full speed.

Ok, so, um, I buy the Inspiron, in order to it up so I can run DSL to one comp (w/ wires) and run the same DSL to the laptop wireless, what cards and routers do I need to buy, and how much will it cost me?

Secondly, is there *any* way to attach a DVD burner to this thing without simply buying one off the shelf and installing it myself, thus costing me another $400?

not unless it happens to be an external dvd burner, which i've seen go for around $200-$300. i'm fairly certain there isn't a way to convert internal drives to connect to external ports.

HemlockGrey wrote:Ok, so, um, I buy the Inspiron, in order to it up so I can run DSL to one comp (w/ wires) and run the same DSL to the laptop wireless, what cards and routers do I need to buy, and how much will it cost me?

You need one of the wireless routers on the bottom. You plug your DSL modem into the router; if you get one with a built-in hub or switch you can plug your other computers into it.

Secondly, is there *any* way to attach a DVD burner to this thing without simply buying one off the shelf and installing it myself, thus costing me another $400?

Yes. What you can do is buy a DVD burner (a normal one) and put it in a USB2 enclosure like Newegg sells.

EDIT: IBM sells some refurbished laptops if you're looking to save some money. The only thing you should worry about is that the older ones (T20/A20 series) might not have USB2.

Sounds good. What sort of USB enclosure do I need? And once I buy it, I can just plug in the DVD burner, and plug the USB into the laptop? And this will cost me less than simply buying a USB burner?

And for the routers, I need...which one? I assume something like the "AirXpert Tri-Mode Dualband 802.11a/b/g (2.4/5GHz) 4-Port Wireless Router" which, if I am interpreting that name correctly, has 4 ports, allowing me to plug in both the first comp (which is a desktop, and later a several-years-old IBM ThinkPad) and the Inspiron, *and* supports the "g" wireless stuff. Alright.

HemlockGrey wrote:Sounds good. What sort of USB enclosure do I need? And once I buy it, I can just plug in the DVD burner, and plug the USB into the laptop? And this will cost me less than simply buying a USB burner?

Get one that supports USB2. You might need an external power brick as well; finally, this solution may well be cheaper than a normal external USB2 burner, but check.

And for the routers, I need...which one? I assume something like the "AirXpert Tri-Mode Dualband 802.11a/b/g (2.4/5GHz) 4-Port Wireless Router" which, if I am interpreting that name correctly, has 4 ports, allowing me to plug in both the first comp (which is a desktop, and later a several-years-old IBM ThinkPad) and the Inspiron, *and* supports the "g" wireless stuff. Alright.

You don't need 802.11a support. You do want 802.11b/g support.

Get one that supports USB2. You might need an external power brick as well; finally, this solution may well be cheaper than a normal external USB2 burner, but check.

...and where can I find these external power bricks?

The wireless router I mentioned appears to be the only one that supports both B and G, and was I correct in my assumption that "four ports" means I can plug four computers into it, max?

HemlockGrey wrote:...and where can I find these external power bricks?

They're usually included, if not you can head to Radio Shack and get one.

The wireless router I mentioned appears to be the only one that supports both B and G, and was I correct in my assumption that "four ports" means I can plug four computers into it, max?

Yes, though if you bought another hub or switch you could plug it. Any of the routers that say they support 802.11g also support 802.11b, BTW.

Yes, though if you bought another hub or switch you could plug it. Any of the routers that say they support 802.11g also support 802.11b, BTW.

Alright, but that one (and one that appears to be identical) seem to be the only ones that support more than one comp, so I suppose I'll spring for it.

Oh, one last question (your help is much appreciated, by the way). I *can* hook the wireless router up to a non-wireless computer, with wires, right, so both the wireless and the wired computer can use the internet? Its seems like I should be able to, but just clarifying.

Yes. This one looks like it'd fit your needs, BTW.

Excellent! Thank you so much.

Alright, I've done some research on laptops that I'd like to buy, but since a lot of folk here are knowledgable about these things I thought I'd ask their opinions as to what a good laptop would be.

Weight and size are not terribly important, as long as I can carry it around, fine. Battery life is not crucial, but it should be whatever the norm is.

Price shouldn't greatly exceed $1400.

I suggest looking at Apple's laptops- they're EXTREMELY good. The PowerBooks are rather light, the battery life is about 3-4 hours with normal use (listening to music, browsing internet...2.5 hours playing a DVD. I read tests in todays issue of Macworld).

If you really, REALLY can't stand Apple (don't know why you would), I suggest looking at ProStar or Sager. Good laptops. Run a search.

There is, however, a couple of functions I want it to have:

-Wireless broadband. See, I want to be able to take a Verizon DSL connection, or, in the coming months, a Japanese DSL connection, hook it up to a router, and have wired broadband running to one computer and wireless running to my laptop. If anyone could recommend a good router, that would be good, too.

You're talking about 802.11g/b?

The Macs have the best wireless reception of the lot, since they have large built in antennaes running along the inside of the screen. The PowerBooks (starting at $1599, or $1399 if you are going to college or have a relative in college or working at a school, education discount) have wireless built in. The iBooks (starting at $1099, or $999 with edu discount) you have to buy it as a $99 option.

-Good processor. My current processor is a 350 Mghz. Something in the 1.2-1.6 Ghz would be fine.

iBook is 1 GHz G4, PowerBook is 1.25 GHz. However, these are RISC processors and therefore do more calculations per GHz. I'd guestimate the 1 GHz G4 is = to a 1.5 ghz Pentium 4.

-30+ MB space.

I assume you mean GB. The base iBook ($1099, $999 w/edu discount) has a 30 GB Hard Drive, and a Radeon 9200 graphics card (whoo). The base PowerBook has a 60 GB hard drive and 64 MB Geforce FX 5200.

-Ability to play DVDs + CDs, and *also* the ability to burn DVDs + CDs.

Base iBook and PowerBook burn CD's and play DVD's (combo drive). You can add the DVD-RW (superdrive) to the 14" iBook (giving you a price of $1499 without education discount, less with, and a 40 gig HD) or to the PowerBook for $200 extra.

If you want PC, check out Sager. But few laptops have DVD-RW's for good prices. I really like Sager's prices and choices. http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.html

But I think you'll have a hard time finding a DVD-RW AND a lightweight notebook.

Should be fairly reliable and resilient.

My PB hasn't had a problem yet (Can't think of having a crash yet, either). Slot loading drive is sweet, and iDVD is the absolute BEST low cost (given free with the PB, but is better than most $99) DVD burning/creation program I've ever seen.



Anyway, if you're willing to try the Mac, I HIGHLY recommend it. Very stable, very well designed, good pricing. Otherwise try Sager (http://www.sagernotebook.com/) or it's sister company, ProStar (http://prostarlaptop.com/). Good pricing, better than Dell.

Oh, if you don't have education discount and read my post above, check out the Apple refurb section. You can buy the previous generation PowerBook (just a month out of date, what I have):

PowerBook G4 1GHz/256MB/40GB/SuperDrive/E/Aluminum/12"TFT Add $1,199.00

Extremely good deal, 1 GHz G4 w/40 gig HD and DVD-burner, for $1,199. Add an Airport Extreme card $99 and you have wireless. $1,299 for an EXCELLENT laptop (though this model has a 32 MB graphics card instead of 64 MB, unfortunately )

Assuming you're not looking to play high end video games, a 32 MB graphics card will do just fine. Though you might not think that in the future Don't get a laptop with the GeForce 5200 vid card; the basic 5200 blows ass. (Trust me, I own one and can't play NWN to save my life. A GeForce MX 440 is blowing the 5200 out of the water.)

Don't rule out a Mac, no matter what you think about them. Mac OS X is one of the best designed GUIs out there, and includes a truly capable command line. (Thanks, FreeBSD!). The UNIX underpinning immediately gives you better security, which should be a relatively high priority for a laptop.

Almost every 802.11g card or router in the US also supports 802.11b since it's so common. If the Mac has a great antenna, you may never need to pay for Internet access with the number of unsecured wireless access points in residential neighborhoods.

Yeah, check to see if you can get an educational discount. However, if you go for the Dell, try getting a longer warranty and their accidential damage warranty. If you spill something on your laptop it'll be covered then.

The PowerBook is good, but he might want to stick with PC for one reason or another. That also looks like the Revision A model (the refurb) which is has some heat issues with it.

Yeah, which is why I suggested Sager and Prostar at the bottom of my post. Pretty good deals for PC notebooks, if he HAS to get Windows.

HemlockGrey wrote:Alright, I've done some research on laptops that I'd like to buy, but since a lot of folk here are knowledgable about these things I thought I'd ask their opinions as to what a good laptop would be.

Weight and size are not terribly important, as long as I can carry it around, fine. Battery life is not crucial, but it should be whatever the norm is.

Price shouldn't greatly exceed $1400.

There is, however, a couple of functions I want it to have:

-Wireless broadband. See, I want to be able to take a Verizon DSL connection, or, in the coming months, a Japanese DSL connection, hook it up to a router, and have wired broadband running to one computer and wireless running to my laptop. If anyone could recommend a good router, that would be good, too.

-Good processor. My current processor is a 350 Mghz. Something in the 1.2-1.6 Ghz would be fine.

-30+ MB space.

-Ability to play DVDs + CDs, and *also* the ability to burn DVDs + CDs.

Should be fairly reliable and resilient.

The compaq/hp business laptops are not terrible. I have an nx7000, which was the big fancy expensive one from last summer. It's a good machine, nice 17" display, good battery life and all that, rather resiliant.
Caveat Emptor: Compaq/hp quality control is somewhat lacking, of the 500 or so that got these laptops, a fifth have had some sort of hardware problem, and many of them have recurring issues.
If you can afford it go IBM or Alienware, but they'll charge you closer to 2 grand, whereas compaq/hp will get you nearer to your goal.