Looking for the DELL of my life!

Hei!

I need to buy a notebook but I don't really know which one should I buy. I have a budget of around 2900 USD. Due to the work I do, a must for me is a silent and powerful notebook.
First of all, I would like you to tell me if DELL is a good candidate and, in that case, whether DELL laptops with P4 are or not quite noisy. Or should I go for Centrino technology?
In short, which DELL do you recommend me, if any?

Tahanks!

 

Well, with a budget of 2900 you have more than enough for just about any Dell laptop. But I don't recommend Dell for quitness. You should look at a high-end IBM, Sony, Acer, or Fujitsu and the next thing you should do is decide if you want a

1) desktop replacement notebook (7+ lb, big screen
2) thin and light mobile notebook (4 - 7 lb, 14" - 15" screen)
3) ultra portable < 4lb notebook

then start looking at models, chips and prices!

 

Hi Beko,

Totally disregard the "Centrino" moniker. What's important is the Pentium M processor - I'm sure that's what you think of when you see "Centrino." When shopping, look for the Pentium M, not Centrino.

Check out this thread for more info:

http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=129

In general, a notebook with a Pentium 4 will be "noisier" than a notebook with a Pentium M (Moderator nesbo gave you good info on this in another thread). But if you must have a quiet notebook, it's best to get a Pentium M notebook. Do understand, however, that there are fairly quiet P4 notebooks out there. A lot depends on how well a notebook is designed.

A high-end P4 (3.0GHz) will be more powerful than even the fastest Pentium M (1.7GHz). So if you want raw power, then the P4's the way to go.

Don't forget about AMD's Athlon 64. It's comparable to Intel's Pentium 4.

You have a HUGE budget, btw. Dell offers so many different notebooks that you have to first decide what kind of noteboook you want before you can go about picking out a model. Administrator abaxter broke down the three major categories for you - pick out one.

Remember, the Pentium M is what's important, not Centrino.

 

If weight is not a problem (7lbs)which isn't bad at all then I suggest the I8600 from Dell. This baby has the power and silence you are looking for. But if you are looking for a smaller notebook then maybe a Latitude would be your choice. 2900 gives you a wide range of notebooks to look at!

1.8GHz......$135 upgrade
512MB.....$75 upgrade
128 MB DDR ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9600.....$123 upgrade
40 GB ULTRA HARD drive
WIRELESS 1450 card...$27 upgrade

Having your Dell Inspiron 8600 Notebook catch fire because of an overheating video card.....priceless

 

If you want power I would go with the inspiron 8600 or even better the 9100. I got the 9100 and have had it about a week. So far it has been real quite and very fast. The p4 is very speedy and the notebook definitly doesn't lack power. I an very pleased with the performance and its quietness!!!

 

with $2900, i would get a good Sony Centrino notebook.