Well, I've been shopping around for a laptop for quite a while. I need one to assist me in working with a group of friends on a bunch of freelance projects when my contract ends in a month.
So I pick one store, it appears to have a decent price. I walk in, and talk to a nice lady who quotes me a price that sends my jaw dropping on to the floor (cheap). So I have her write her name on a business card, and off I go to ponder my decision.
A few days later, I go back to the same computer store and show a different rep (the lady I spoke to was absent today) the price card. He looks at it with amazement. It would appear that she gave the WRONG PRICE to me, the price she quoted was for a cheaper (and less capable laptop). So, not to look bad, he decides to give me the laptop at the said price. That sales lady will still make some commission, but it will be far less.
So, here is what I got.
ECS Desknote Pentium 4 1.6 GHz 256 MB DDR SDRAM 20 GB HDD DVDROM 4 USB 2.0 Ports 1 Firewire Port 1 Modem port 1 Network Port 1 Infrared port
This laptop does not come with Cardbus slots which does not bother me as Cardbus is being phased out in favour of USB. It also does not have a Floppy Drive, which also doesn't bother me as I can simply transfer files via the LAN at my home. Nor does this thing come with a battery. Now, I know what are you saying, what kind of laptop comes without a battery? You COULD buy one, but it is an external attachment and rather cumbersome. The thing is that this laptop is designed more as a desktop replacement more than an on-the-road solution. You can take this thing wherever you go and plug it in whatever outlet you can find. You just can't use it on the bus or subway, or plane, or whatever. That thought also does not bother me much.
Supposed price before taxes: $1499
What I will be paying before taxes: $1249
I'll kill myself if I break my new toy. I'll be picking it up on Thursday (they need to order the CPU). Can't wait.
[ December 10, 2002, 22:10: Message edited by: Tahna Los ]
Posted by Mucus (Member # 24) on :
Canadian price right?
Firewire. Heh. That reminds me of my brand new swanky Asus A7N8X-D motherboard. It has a ca-gillion (scientific notation) connectors. Dual lan, serial ata with raid, built in 5.1 sound, 6 usb ports, and firewire....plus all the old legacy connectors. Its crazy. Completely wipes out all PCI cards on my computer too.
What store was this anyways?
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
Yep Canadian. Forgot to mention that. And considering the average price of a laptop is $2300 Canadian, then I'm getting a decent deal.
Don't bother about trying to get it from that store. As I said earlier, the girl made a mistake and as a result I'm the one who benefits.
A7N8X? Are you using the Onboard GeForce4? How is it?
[ December 11, 2002, 06:43: Message edited by: Tahna Los ]
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Hooray for bargains, but a laptop you can't use anywhere seems kind of strange.
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
A laptop such as this would make it easier to bring around for LAN parties. Do the customs search laptops, Tahna? If so, Jeff R might want to look into getting one, no? Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
In reply to Sol.
Not when you don't want a honking great chunck of metal, plastic and glass on a table which has space at a premium.
And true - unless you are like a surveyor or a something (and even then I'm sure you could get some sort of cigarette-lighter attachment for the car - when do you use your lap-top without the plug?
Most people I see at uni using one - in the library have it plugged in.
Flight lounges have power points.
OK there is the plane - but unless you are really busy - I reckon most people doing stuff on laptops on the plane (maybe not if you are maybe a journalist) are playing games.
And people on the bus - are just showing off I reckon.
Posted by LOA (Member # 49) on :
Okay, not to sound like the �ber-geek, or anything, but I use my laptop away from home ALL the time...! In fact, having the thing has completely revolutionized my world! Then again, I have 3 jobs and I got ot school full time, so I'm not really home much to use it, which probably explains why I need to take advantage of every 15 or 20 minute I get during the day to take care of things, but still! It's to the point that I'm needing to invest in a second battery... pleh... 3 hours just doesn't cut it most of the time anymore :-P
Congrats on the purchase though...! Hope you have fun with it!!! :-)
~LOA
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
Yes, thanks, Andrew for backing me up.
Thanks for the encouragement, LOA. What kind of Laptop do you got?
That's the intention. I don't really need to use it while on a plane or something like that. I just need something I can bring with me without much problem. All I need is the power connector.
Topher: Laptops have integrated graphics systems, most of them not too great. The more expensive ones have Mobile GeForce or Mobile Radeon graphics, and no, you cannot update them. Mine is an integrated SiS650, which does not even compare to my NVidia GeForce4. I don't plan on playing games with it anyways, that kinda defeats the purpose of a mobile workstation, doesn't it?
Posted by Grokca (Member # 722) on :
Also in the defence of no battery, I have been using a laptop for work for about 10 years now and I very seldom use ot without plugging it in. Mostly because I am using it to communicate to other peices of equipment and I can't afford to run out of battery power at a crucial download or upload.
Posted by Tora Ziyal (Member # 53) on :
Kind of an odd title for the topic, don't you think?
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
Having no battery isn't that bad a deal with a laptop. My last one pretty much had no battery since it only kept about a five minute charge by the time I got my new one. I rarely go anywhere with my laptop that won't have someplace to plug it in at. It's worked so far for me.
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
Well, if you looked at my post, you will have noticed that my current contract ends in a month and the company I am working for has no intentions of renewing it. Given that the I.T. industry is in a slump, freelance opportunities are the only thing that is available. Mind you, this is a gamble, and it has basically put a big dent in my life savings. If it works out, then the laptop was worth it. If it doesn't then I have a big study toy to play with......
Already, I'm having some trepiditions about doing the purchase. I won't be picking up the laptop until Thursday, and I have already put in a $100 non-refundable deposit. Pray that it works out in the end.
[ December 11, 2002, 14:21: Message edited by: Tahna Los ]
Posted by Fleet-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
Tahna, I'm wondering what laptop do you have since I had my Radeon 7500 replaced with a 9000 when I had a 2.8ghz put in my Area 51m.
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
See First Post
Posted by Mucus (Member # 24) on :
Damn. Thats a lot of posts in one day. Don't you people have work or something to do?
About the A7N8X-D, it IS a nForce2 chipset....but its the "performance" version, built to compete with VIA. Therefore they don't bother throwing on onboard video since they figure most people will pop in an agp card first thing anyways.
In short, it works out that I have an Nvidia MB, with Nvidia sound, Nvidia NIC, etc....but I have an ATI 9500 pro in it. The motherboard is not amused.
So for all of you with laptops, except Tahna's which doesn't have a battery, how long can you people run a laptop without switching batteries anyways?
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
Damn you and your laptops and all this tech talk. It's making me itch to think about how much I've been wanting to upgrade my computer here...
--Jonah
Posted by Fleet-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
Mybad, my mind wondered earlier to something that was in front of me. Anyway, I'm guessing you can't send your laptop to the company for an upgrade of the video chip and the cpu then.
Posted by LOA (Member # 49) on :
I've got a Dell Inspiron 8100... it's just over a year old, so it's not top of the line anymore, but it's still a VERY nice toy to have....
1.2 GHz, 512MB RAM, Built in CD-RW, Removable DVD, 30 gig HD, Removable Floppy drive, 32 MB GeForce2go video card, 15" display, every single port and plug in that one could IMAGINE on a computer, and of course a modem/ethernet card....
I love my machine... it's the largest of Dell Laptops, but it's still small enough that I can carry it around everywhere with no problem, and it's got every feature in the world, yay me!
And I run for about 3 hours on one battery... obviously, if I add a second, that will double
~LOA
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
Actually, the CPU IS upgradeable. In fact, it takes regular Pentium 4 chips. The memory takes regular DDR DIMM sticks rather than SODIMM sticks which are supposed to be used for laptops. I suppose the only thing that cannot be upgraded is the Vid card.
Posted by Fleet-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
That sucks... any chance that they could theoretically do that? It sounds like you have one of those laptops that are like my Alienware where it's built for different companies then logos or metallic paint jobs are given with other final modifications.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
laptop + solar power
+ Wi-Fi!
=
Bliss
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
Tahna Los: Sodomy sticks...?
--Jonah
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
WHAT???!!!??
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
SODIMM - Sodomy
Clever, clever Jonah. Posted by E. Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Slot, bank, plug, stick, module, extension... like that joke's never been done before.
"any chance that they could theoretically do that?"
How would you replace an integrated chip?
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
With an isograted chip. Duh. Don't you watch Voyager?
--Jonah
Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
quote:Originally posted by LOA: I've got a Dell Inspiron 8100... it's just over a year old, so it's not top of the line anymore, but it's still a VERY nice toy to have....
1.2 GHz, 512MB RAM, Built in CD-RW, Removable DVD, 30 gig HD, Removable Floppy drive, 32 MB GeForce2go video card, 15" display, every single port and plug in that one could IMAGINE on a computer, and of course a modem/ethernet card....
I love my machine... it's the largest of Dell Laptops, but it's still small enough that I can carry it around everywhere with no problem, and it's got every feature in the world, yay me!
And I run for about 3 hours on one battery... obviously, if I add a second, that will double
~LOA
*Cough* I'd FRICKIN KILL for a laptop that good! My parents laptop is a Compaq, with a *Gasp* pentium 150 Mhz, with 32 megs of ram! at least i never use it. Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
It's here. I picked it up a few hours ago, and after a little trouble regarding connecting the thing to the net, here I am hacking away at it.
Now to find something to do with it. Posted by Nimrod Pimding (Member # 205) on :
If you change the processor yourself on any Dell computer you can take the three-year warranty and SHOVE IT UP YOU ARSE! Dell support is very clear on this point. In my case it's no big problem, my own company have excellent technicians. :-)
I have a Dell Dimension 8200 1.6 Ghz since November last year. Some months ago Dell released the Dell Dimension 8250 3.06 Ghz, effectively breaking the old rule that says the performance of market computers should double every 18 months. Posted by Fleet-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
I think it's now every few months now.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"...effectively breaking the old rule that says the performance of market computers should double every 18 months."
That's because there never was any such "rule". IIRC, Moore was talking about the density of inegrated circuits doubling about every year at the time that he said it (in the sixties; it was upped to 18 months later). Some idiot somewhere decided that this was a "law" that applied to all technology everywhere for all time, and now everyone is confused.
Posted by E. Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Doesn't matter anyway. The current method of CPU R&D has maybe a decade in it left before the laws of quantum mechanics prevent any further growth in IC density... by which time either optical or quantum computing will take over and allow a paradigm shift to take place.
Posted by superslowmo (Member # 875) on :
i have an ibm thinkpad r31 with a 1.6mhz celeron and windows xp pro and wireless LAN thing and i can usually squeeze out 3 hrs if i use it like i do back home (aim, internet, music, etc)
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