laptop time

[ZokesPro]

Originally posted by Paddy
@Zokes: Those Hypersonic-pc's look amazing! I wish I had the spare cash now!

Me too, they are such sweet looking machines, not to mention powerful! I'd prolly end up cuddling with it at night, so I guess it's best I don't own one for now.

[gangster]

how much does hardrive speed, ie rpm, affect battery drain/performance? anybody know. i see 4200rpm is std on most even if they are high performance models.. 5400 is a cheap upfrade but is it woth it for a laptop?

[JerryMouse]

I don't know about how a faster HD would affect battery life, but I think you'd be creating somewhat of a performance bottleneck with just a 4200 rpm drive. Based on the laptops you're considering, you'd be getting a fast Dothan CPU, 512-1024MB PC2700 DDR SDRAM (?), and a Radeon Mobility 9700 with 128MB of dedicated VRAM. All that balances nicely. But throw in a slow 4200 rpm HD, and like I said, it doesn't seem to fit. What capacity of HD were you thinking of getting? 60GB? 80GB? If it were me, I'd go with a 5400 rpm drive. But then, I care more about performance than battery life in a laptop. My laptop is hooked up to the AC power adaptor 98% of the time.

So, hopefully someone else will jump in and offer an opinion.
-- Jerry

[Wombat]

4200 rpm drives can drain significantly less power. Not to mention they're quieter and cooler. But yes, also slower.

[gangster]

i dont see much hard drive activity these days on my home box with 512mb compared to years ago. it seems for me the battery life would be the better way to go. i will have at least 512mb, and at least a 40gb drive.

[Paddy]

Me too, they are such sweet looking machines, not to mention powerful! I'd prolly end up cuddling with it at night, so I guess it's best I don't own one for now

Nah, the wife can sleep on the floor!

[Kurt]

Originally posted by Wombat
4200 rpm drives can drain significantly less power. Not to mention they're quieter and cooler. But yes, also slower.

The Hitachi 60GB 7200rpm w/ 8MB cache consumes about the same as a 4200rpm drive. Best of both worlds...but a bit more expensive.

[gangster]

and the winner is:

http://www.discountlaptops.com/index.php?section=configurator&regular_model_id=926&model_id=928

i don't think i need any options above this base confiduration...

[JerryMouse]

Ahhh, so you went with the Compal 56, aka ChemBook 2056. It really looks like a nice laptop at a reasonable price.

Let us know how you like it once you've had a chance to test it out.

P.S. If you could also give your appraisal of DiscountLaptops as a reseller, that would be of interest to me.

-- Jerry

[ZokesPro]

Originally posted by gangster
and the winner is:

http://www.discountlaptops.com/index.php?section=configurator&regular_model_id=926&model_id=928

i don't think i need any options above this base confiduration...

Nice choice, not a very sexy looking beast (compared to hypersonic books) but hey, it gots some sweetness inside, like a Radeon 9700 128mb.

[Wombat]

Originally posted by gangster
and the winner is:

http://www.discountlaptops.com/index.php?section=configurator&regular_model_id=926&model_id=928

i don't think i need any options above this base confiduration...

Go for the 1GB of RAM.

[gangster]

i'll stick with the 512mb option as i have a spare 256 sodimm to add.

it doesn't look great you're right, but i'll be the only one staring at it!

will post my results with dc when i learn more.

was about $70 less than comparable sager (on same page) but also had twice the warranty. hope i'm ok with 2 years, could have had 5 years coverage for another $150 but display was not covered in some cases, that was even more money.

hypersonic was even more money but real nice to look at.

[gangster]

update #1:

discount laptops has asvised me that there is an additional $65 fee for shipping to hawaii, this is over the $35 2 day fedex fee already charged last week when i placed the order. fedex says it ain't so! the 2 day air fee covers hawaii as it is the only way and that some "qualified partners" can ship at ground prices but receive air service. strike 1 for discount laptops.

it may seem trivial for a $1600 purchase but i still think a scam is a scam regardless of cost and i hate supporting it.

will keep you advised as requested but haven't agreed to the fee increase yet. it may all be over...

[gangster]

update #2

order canceled, dell 8600 on the way instead

[gangster]

Dell 8600 arrived DOA today, maybe I'm not supposed to have a laptop at all!