thinking about getting a hel80 but....

i'm seriously considering a hel80 barebones or a customized one, buuuut... my number 1 option is still the dell e1505. i like the logical design, the battery life, the fact that the 9cell battery doesn't extend from the edges/bottom of the laptop and the price is perfect for my needs. the problem with compal is slightly more than i need on gfx card(could lead me to more pc games), the upgraded gfx from the e1505 would hurt battery life a small percentage, about $300 more than e1505 and if i build myself i want to buy everything except the optical drive.

i would be exchanging the 2 1gig sticks from my hp2116 and putting them in whatever laptop i buy. so, hopefully my memory is already taken care of. i'm pretty sure i can handle putting a processor in, though i've never done this before. i would really like to try putting arctic silver 5 on it. i'm slightly worried about the harddrive part, but somebody from here told me xp should boot from optical drive and i just gotta go with the flow.

one of my questions is about the optical drive. if i buy a configured one or barebones, will i be able to replace it in the future should it break or a great deal comes down the road?

another question stems from price. if i buy the configured one my price will be approximately 1400 and maybe lower if there is bartering/price match. i doubt i'd save much if i bought all the components for a barebones on my own such as newegg or crucial, etc... is this a true statement or is it really worth it to do it all yourself? i'm sure if you buy the barebones and give yourself a couple of months or so to wait on really good specials you probably could save a couple hundred bucks or more, but the variable here is what if you bought the barebones and wanted to build it in two weeks or less how much could i save building it on my own.

and last, could somebody point me to websites/forums that specialize in instructions with images? i've already looked a little bit, but this forum is really great at pointing you in the right direction a little faster sometimes.

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Granted the HEL80 costs more than the e1505, but there are a lot more differences than just the GPU. If you don't need the GPU power, you might want to consider something the HEL81, or maybe something like the HP nx7400 with integrated graphics.

I used to have an e1705 and can tell you that the HEL80's build quality is vastly superior to the current Inspiron line. It also has a number of features that the Dell does not. If the difference in price is $300, I'd consider that $300 well spent towards getting a better notebook.

Here are my thoughts on barebones vs. professionally built systems:

And a video illustrating the assembly of a HEL80:
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I generally hate batteries that extend out too, but I can tell you that I really didn't notice it at all in the Hel80. It is well balanced and actually when it was on my lap it made the computer rock slightly back towards my knees, which was very comfortable. I'm as picky as picky can be, and for me it was a non-issue.

 

HEL 80 all the wayyyyyyyyy.

 

Guess this is as good as any to announce that my HEL80 arrived this past week. It is absolutely beautiful. Screen rivals my Dell desktop 19" Ultrasharp. It is no heavier or larger than my 5 year old 14" Gateway. I also considered different Inspirons and Latitudes ( many of which I have seen first hand, as they are owned by family members), and I am very glad I chose the Compal (I got the PowerPro from powernotebooks.com, and they are great).

I would reccomend custom ordering over building, due to fact that you don't really save much, and will less likely have problems with computer. The biggest downside I noticed so far, is the keyboard flex. I kinda thought that maybe it was just people being too nitpicky, but it is noticeable. I understand that there is an easy fix with double sided tape, so I will try that soon.

Conclusion, the Compal is well worth the extra $300 (which if you upgraded Dell to 3 year warranty, that would eat most of that up I think) for a better quality machine, better looks, better performance, much better screen, and actual customer service.

 

Congrats! I think it'll serve you well. The tape does help a lot.

 

yeah..inspiron build quality is meh...also, most vendors offer a 3 year warranty on your Compal for FREE...dell charges another 200 bucks i think. Keep that in mind. Plus, there aren't many screens better than Compals 1680x1050 matte screen. Just look at Chrisyano's review (I think it was yours, Chris) and see the amazing viewing angles on that thing. Sure you say you don't "need" a 7600 GPU. But I bet you throw on a demo every now and then when you are bored...might as well make it fun to play with a decent card. Besides, Dell customer service is so hit and miss (it is the curse of a large company) compared to the boutique vendors that do everything to keep you happy.

 

Go with the HEL80 with the WSXGA you won't be disappointed - this is a great unit.

 

thks for the replies guys. the hel80 is number one on my list now. but the problem now is clearing the finances for it, aaaaaaaand santa rosa platform coming out soon. i'm not too interested in it, buuuuuuut i'm sure new mobo's means new laptops models. the problem with that is two fold. hopefully getting a better price on what's available now due to waiting for the new tech to come out, and i'm really interested to hear/see from reviewers on here if the new chipsets will really deliver on better battery life. battery life is not critical for me as i'm usually near a plug, but who here wouldn't mind approximately an extra hour or so of battery life?

 

Cheers for a new gadget!

 

Anyone that buys a second battery can enjoy this?

 

batteries are expensive. what if i meant the batteries' longevity?

 

Will never replace two batteries...

 

I'm pretty skeptical about getting an extra hour of battery life with Centrino Pro--if all other components were equal.

 

Santa Rosa (Centrino Pro) will not be shipping before June, and it could well be July or later.

Any increase in battery life, all other things being equal, will be minimal. If you need more battery life than 1 battery will give you...follow pyro9219's advice.

 

...and if you don't really need the extra battery life, I would also recommend you hold off on purchasing a second battery until you really do for reasons stated in the battery guide.

 

Agreed! 80% of all laptop users say they rarely or never use their battery, so we recommend that you wait until you have told yourself enough times that you need another battery before you actually buy one. It is amazing how you can learn to get along with only one battery...particularly when it gives you 3-4 hours life.