hp, dell or toshiba

Alright guys, I have a dilemma,

I have been researching on laptops recently. First, I can't make up my mind whether to go for a centrino or a pentium 4 mobile processor.

And if either of them then which company or does it really matter?

I am a college student and my main applications are web development other than word processor, watching movies, burnin cds and surfing the net.

the most power application that i will run on my laptop will be photoshop and macromedia softwares.

i will take my laptop to college everyday from my off campus located apt. so the weight and dimensions do afterall matter quite a bit. but i am willing to sacrifice some of it for performance. Better battery life will come in handy but A/C outlets are available almost everywhere i go.

and laslty, i came across many laptops with same specs but different model numbers, like one for business and one for home users. does it really matter as long as they have the same specs?

should i get extended warranty?

thanks in advance guys

 

From what you plan on doing, I would suggest getting a Pentium M processor (the processor found in Centrino notebooks. Remember Centrino is a marketing term for an Intel Motherboard, Intel Wireless card, and Pentium M Chip)

I also believe Intel will be phasing out most of their mobile Pentium 4 processors in the future.

Since you will be moving around a lot, the Pentium M notebooks will be significantly lighter, awesome battery life, without sacrificing performance. I would always suggest getting as much system RAM as possible.

As for what company, I own a Dell, and while I enjoy my laptop, I don't think I will get a Dell in the future, mainly because I think they are built cheaply now and the customer service isn't quite what I expected. So I would probably leans towards HP/Toshiba over Dell if I were you.

I can't speak for HP or Toshiba, but some Dell business laptops use a different chassis for their business line versus home lines.

 

Most of the "Business" laptops Dell offers come with gigabit ethernet too (10/100/1000Mbps). Also, when comparing the new i8600s with the D800, the D800 still comes with the parallel port and serial port doesn't it? And the i8600 does not offer these ports anymore? I also know that Dell took off the trackstick that use to come with the i8600s. Do they still offer the trackstick on the D800?

 

If you're looking for pure processing power, get the Pentium 4. If you know you're going to be mobile a lot and may not be near a power outlet, get the Centrino/Pentium M because it will give you the best battery runtimes.

Personally, I'd recommend getting the HP brand. They seem to have the least complaints regarding defective parts compared to the other brands.

Any model will pretty much do what you want, but I'd recommend getting a good graphics card with your system. No lower than an ATI 9200. The ATI 9600 or 9700 is currently the idea graphics chip to get.

The HP NC6000 is a very solid system with everything you need. It will give you the good computing power, while allowing you to run for approx 4-5hrs continuously on battery. Plus, it's one of HP's lightest models.

Regarding different models/specs, a lot of manufacturers are coming out with product lines that are cross platforms (same design with slight changes). HP for example has the ZT3000, X1000 & NX7000 series. All these systems are generally the same, except that the ZT is HP branded, the X is Compaq branded & the NX is branded HP Compaq which is their business line. Going with a cross platform consumer/business model generally means that you're getting the exact same system, so in this case, no it doesn't really matter which one you get if they have the exact same specs.

Extended warranty, YES, I would definitely recommend getting it. It will protect you for a few years above the standard 1 year. If you get a model that already has a 3 year warranty, than obviously there's no real need to get one. If you do get an extended warranty, make sure you buy it directly from the manufacturer. If the notebook is Toshiba, make sure you buy an original Toshiba warranty, preferably from Toshiba. There are a lot of companies that offer extended warranties, but it's the store warranty and not the manufacturer. If they ever go under, you're warranty is gone.

Hope this helps!

-Vb-

 

I go with the Centrino (Pentium M)

I would pick either HP or Toshiba, probably HP.

If you are the type of person who doesnt have so good of luck with technology products, then you may want to consider the extended warranty. I have had really good luck with computers, and am very careful with them, and didnt get an extended warranty. I was once told by a marketing teacher that companies would not offer extended warranties, if they were not making a profit off of them.

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Fujitsu S6210: 1.6Ghz PM ~ 768MB RAM ~ 60GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
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