Need opinion and experiences

I am planning on buying one of the following:
(need some imput and opinions)

Option 1
Alienware Area51m
WUXGA+ screen
3.0Ghz P4 800mhz FSB
512MB ram PC-3200
Radeon 9600 Pro (removable!)
60GB 7200 rpm HDD
24x cdrw
Price - $2233

Option 2
Dell 8600
WUXGA screen
1.7Ghz P4m
512MB ram PC2700
Radeon 9600 Pro
4xDVDR (unless promotion ends)
60GB 7200 rpm HDD
Price $2112

BTW does anyone know which has better battery life?, am assuming the dell because of centrino but just wanted to make sure
thank for your feedback

 

Buy the Alien, Dell has severe quality issues with the Inspiron line right now. And yes, the Dell will have much better battery life.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Only buy Dell if you are going to get a 3 year warranty...quality has not been good lately.

 

Ivan,

The Inspiron 8600 uses a Pentium M, not a P4m - which I assume stands for the Mobile Pentium 4-M.

What you should care about is the Pentium M, not the "Centrino" label. For more info, check out this thread:

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

The processor in the Alienware is a desktop Pentium 4, it's not the Mobile P4. So that means you might get just 2 hours of battery life (regular usage), even when not playing games or watching DVDs. Virtually all Pentium M-equipped notebooks will give you at least 3 hours of battery life when used normally. The Dell's no exception.

If you're going to spend over 2 grand, why not check out machines with ATI's newest video card, the 9700?

For the fastest possible machine (without regards to battery life), get a P4 (mobile or otherwise) or Athlon 64 with the ATI 9700. Forget about the Pentium M.

 

which laptop currently come with a readeon 9700?

as for the battery i dont mind too much, the only thing am gonna be using battery for is in class and my classes are about 2 to 3 hours long. I really want to release my self from the grip of my damn desktop, its very fast but every time I need to write a report for a class i have to go to a computer lab or back home, it would be so cool to do all my labs and reports in class

BTW congrats for the awsome website you guys have here, best laptop guide ive found

 

Ivan,

The Dell Inspiron XPS and 9100 come with the 9700. For some reason, Alienware doesn't offer the 9700. But Voodoo (www.voodoopc.com) does.

If you want to get between 2 to 3 hours of battery life (no DVD or gaming, just normal usage), then make sure to get at least either the Mobile P4 or Mobile Athlon 64. Avoid the P4/Athlon 64 desktop versions.

But battery life may not matter in school. If you sit by the sides or in the back of the class, you'll find power outlets - then you won't have to worry about battery life, you can save it for outdoors. Some classrooms even have power outlets in the middle of the room. But make sure to make passer-bys now that you're using an outlet.

 

hummm scratch that idea, I just found out what my tuition is gonna be for next semester [ ]

 

Dude, buy a dell Latitude. I just got my D800 last tuesday, and all I can say is that after checking out every single notebook out there, the dell is the BEST choice, and has the most thought put into it. Such as: magnesium lcd cover, extra strong dc input, tidy cord caddy for ac adapter, very business-like look - no fancy/trendy gimmicks that will look stupid in a year. Battery power level meter on battery, rs-232 port for legacy support, smart card reader for extra security, the list goes on. The 1.4M processor is fast enough, I use visual studio, and it flies.

The biggest concern in my opinion is what screen to get, I highly recommend the XGA. SXGA+ and UXGA may sound great, but unless you like squinting at tiny letters, or setting your screen to 125% and getting grainy icons, you will hate that tiny crap.

I don't know what the quality issues are, the dell uses a tri-metal construction that includedes a titanium chassis. I don't kow how that ammounts to bad quality.

Anyways, get the dell, but make sure it's a latitude, the inspirons look like ass.

Cheers

 

that stinks, Ivan. But that's the way it is, tuition goes up every year, it dudn't matter if it's private or public.