seriously, I need assistance...

Hi All - Been reading all the posts and have gotten a lot of useful info, so thank you guys.
Here's my story - I had an Inspiron 8100 and wasn't super happy with it. Pretty much came with the default options, as it was a gift from my folks. I had never had a laptop before, and had no idea how addicted to it I'd get.
It died about one month ago. The fan malfunctioned, despite trying several ineffective cooling devices.
I've been checking out all of Dell's notebooks and the more I digest, the more frustrated I'm getting. Have finally come up with a pretty good list of what I'm wanting:
I do a heavy amount of multimedia work (no gaming): create videos, etiting and creating image projects, - Store a ton of audio(i-tunes, etc)& images that I continual access to, - Work with several windows open at a time, - Run several apps. at a time, - NO OVERHEATING PROBLEMS! - I travel some, but take my laptop everywhere locally too (work & fun)& my shoulder hurt really bad lugging around the 8100 even in the laptop backpack I purchased with it,- Need longer than avg battery life, but will consider an external device provided I don't always need an outlet. - Good sound quality, - View, create, & burn CD's & DVDs (I do sample music & do music research for work & require quick, painless & accurate quality), - Speeeeeedy access to files, apps/programs, internet. - Heavy Heavy Heavy internet use, - room for future storage (external?), - Speeeeeeeeedy..., - wireless (easy to use)- what about up to date usb ports? can I get more than 2, or is the adapter the best bet? - easy to upgrade, long warranty. Did I mention Speedy?
I'm looking at the 9300 & the 700. Are these suitable for my needs?
What customizing should I do? I also want to get an easy & portable backup device for the images and audio I don't access all the time - any suggestions?
Thanks a lot you guys. I've been researching all day long and my mind is near-numb. I'll be standing by for my hero....

 

For portability I think the 700 m is a great choice: light, attractive, powerful, small and versatile. Get the 8 cell battery for 5.5 hr battery life.

Here is another nice computer:
Sony VGNS360 Vaio Notebook Computer with 13.3-in. Widescreen XGA XBRITE Screen. Intel Centrino Pentium 4 M 735 1.7GHz Processor, 512MB memory, 80GB hard drive, DVD-ROM & CD-RW Combo Drive, Integrated Intel Pro Wireless 802.11g 54MB LAN. 1.39-in. thin, 4.2 lb. $1549.99 3/13/2005 -
3/19/2005 Price after $100 Mfr, $150 Circuit City mail in rebates

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony-VAIO-Notebook-PC-VGN-S360-/sem/rpsm/oid/115841/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Dell Inspiron 6000
1.6 GHZ Centrino (Sonoma)
WUXGA 15.4" WS
512 MB RAM
60 GB HD
Wireless B/G
DVD/CD-RW
9 Cell Battery x 2
Mozilla Firefox Browser
Targus TL Deluxe Notebook Case
Targus Gravity Notebook Backpack
---
Palmone Tungsten C/WIFI

 

Thanks for the expertise, T-MD. I briefly looked @ brands other than Dell, but I'm pretty limited to Dell's employee discount program I get through work (i don't work for dell, just fyi). I haven't compared prices on units w/equivalent configs yet. I'm also kind've hesitant to deal w/others as I'm loyal to them for their awesome CS now. I want the ABSOLUTE BEST, but I need it to be as light as possible w/o sacrificing too much. I'd say price is #3 on my list of considerations to #1 performance/capability/storage, and #2 weight.
(I've also always wanted a laptop that looked cool, and kinda "sexy" if you'll pardon me on that one.)
If a diff. brand, I'd need great CS & an = or better unit, at a lower price than the discount I can get with the program.
I really like the 700 for its portability and the sleek look, but wonder if I should just sacrifice for performance. I'm open to look at other brands, so I'll check out the link you gave.
Question - Can I get the same configs that the Sony you mentioned has, but on a Dell instead? Which model would it be? And are you happy with your 6000?

 

If you want to look at another thin and light, I would consider the Fujitsu s6231. They are much better built than Dells and have a better screen. More memory will help your ability to multitask. If you are video encoding, I'd recommend a faster hard drive.

http://www.laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=S6231CTO&Category_Code=SS1






I know things, things that could get me killed


Thinkpad T41:
* 1.6Ghz Pentium M * 768Mb Memory * 40Gb Hitachi 7200RPM * Panasonic UJ-845-B DVD+RW *

 

Standard introduction:
I spent a year and a half supporting laptops for Seattle University's Law School. Every student was required to have one, so I've been under the hood of models from every major manufacturer and quite a few minor ones. We had a lot of problems with Dells, everything seemed to go wrong with them after the introduction of the D series. It seemed like we were changing out parts every week, screens, graphics boards, mini PCI cards, power bricks... and Dell costs too much. Also avoid Sony and Gateway, as well as all Celeron-based systems. I once had a student's Sony on my desk, and I knew the problem it was having could be fixed if I could flash the BIOS, but Sony's dumb people made it so that the new BIOS image could only be extracted to a floppy if the extraction program was run in Windows on the system for which the image was intended. I couldn't boot into Windows until I fixed the BIOS problem, and I couldn't fix the BIOS problem until I booted into Windows. I'd seen a lot of other dumb Sony problems, but after that I couldn't stand the sight of them.

The system I would recommend to buy right now would be the Sharp Actius AL27. Because it has a 64 bit processor (which no Dell notebook has), it's "future proof" for developments in software, and it's powerful and featureful for a reasonable price. http://www.sharpsystems.com/products/datasheets/AL27.pdf

I will provide the disclaimer that I've never used one. Because I've dealt so much with the mainstream and grow to hate them (familiarity breeds contempt), I tend to buy/support laptops I've never seen before (such as an ECS "desknote" three years ago {a big mistake}, and an Averatec 3255 currently).

--------------
Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician
CompTIA A+ and Network+ Certified
"Why are you laughing? Change the name and the story is about you." ~Horatius

 

I don't want to promote LG...but hae you look at the LM50 or LM70...
LM50 go for 2399 CAN$$ and it's available for the US from http://www.lgstore.ca/....just contact JEFF... also go to the LG forum to read more about the LM50....

what is wrong with your Inspiron 8100....I have the same thing...Ok...not the greatest laptop for school...because it's a BRICK!!!but you can have 2 batteries...and one of the only laptop that can have 2 cdroms....

good luck finding the perfect "mate" ( I mean laptop)

 

LaZzZy - Thanks for the info. I am still researching, believe it or not. What a mind-numbing task! There are so many brands and series(s)to review. Don't know why I thought it would be easier. There are things I don't need and would rather spend on upgrading something rather than waste space & $$. I like Dell's web section where they list pre-customized notebooks, based on a general idea of what you need - but I would like to tweak some specs on the finished product.
That's really what I'm needing-for someone to work w/me to put the perfect system together. What I want is the best speedy (5400 good, 7200+ preferred) multi-media power-horse (A/V & image projects)as light wt. as possible, from a manufacturer known for excellent cust. serv./support. No gaming, but that doesn't mean I don't want to open that door.
My Inspiron 8100 ran out of hard drive space, the cooling fan malfunctioned and the battery quit charging but I wasn't aware b/c I kept it plugged in all the time. It ran slow slow slow the last 6 mos that I was using it & it was definitley time for me to upgrade to a new laptop, which I was super-jazzed about. Long-story short, my ex got very mad when it repeatedly performed poorly & he tossed it across the room one night. I did myself what I could to repair it's physical cond. I really enjoy & have exp. w/the mechanics of it as well as the family's 4 desktop pc's. However, I was so po'd that I just decided to try salvaging the hd and get a brand new system. I have a 2.5" usb2.0 aluminum external enclosure to transfer content from that hd (if it's not kaput) to a new notebook or to my desktop pc-which is running annoyingly slow & I want to take care of it b4 loading anything large; plus there are things I desparately need asst.with. But my priority at the moment has to be choosing & purchasing the new laptop. After that is taken care of, I'll concentrate on the desktop cleanup & its nec.upgrades, or replacement.
You are so right - the 8100 was a brick to lug around!
I'll check out the LG. I'm only familiar w/LG mobile phones, but I'm open to the suggestion. What exp. do you have w/LG notebooks? good/bad? Any other suggestions are appreciated - Thanks!

 

You are not saying your budget which would be helpful. Another small one I'd look at the Acer TravelMate 3204. It is under five pounds, has the Pentium M for good battery life, DVD burner and ATI 9700 video card. I think it comes with 5400RPM hard drive, I could be wrong about that. It is $125 to upgrade to three years mail in service on Acer's website.






I know things, things that could get me killed


Thinkpad T41:
* 1.6Ghz Pentium M * 768Mb Memory * 40Gb Hitachi 7200RPM * Panasonic UJ-845-B DVD+RW *

 

Z - thanks for the response -
Initially, I was not concerned with price, but now focusing on under $2000.00, preferably $1500.00 or less. My mother has generously offered to pay for the entire system (b-day present), provided I pick it out. She'd like to keep it under or around the $1500.00 line. She indicated that she was going to go ahead & order me something if I took too long to customize. That's excellent if I didn't have this grand notion of making it near perfect. I was willing to go with a payment plan, but if she is able to pay cost up front, that's the best way for me to go at this point. I hate to sacrifice based on price, but hopeful and confident in the expertise you guys provide- which will make the sacrifice minimum to none.

 

I still think your best bet for thin an light is the Fujitsu s6231, if you can live with the integrated card. Very well built and very good screen. If you buy at Portable One, it will give you the opportunity to upgrade the hard druve. Fujitsu is picky about user upgrades. Also comes with three year warranty standard. Good Luck.






I know things, things that could get me killed


Thinkpad T41:
* 1.6Ghz Pentium M * 768Mb Memory * 40Gb Hitachi 7200RPM * Panasonic UJ-845-B DVD+RW *

 

I would go 700m. With lots of RAM.[:0]

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