Opinion on laptop

[Dave]

My laptop died the other day.
I was looking at this base model from Sager.
I only use the laptop for basic web stuff and photo editing/storage.
I have no idea if these are decent specs or not for a basic machine.
Input/recommendations appreciated.

Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T3400 (2.16GHz), 1MBL2 Cache, 667FSB, 478uFC-PGA, Socket P
Intel® GM45 Chipset + ICH9M
Supports Dual Channel DDRII SDRAM
Two 200Pin SODIMM sockets
Expandable up to 4GB DDRII 667MHz / 800MHz
4MB Flash ROM BIOS
15.4" (16:10) WXGA (1280x800) with Super Clear Glare Type Screen
Intel® GMA X4500HD integrated 3D/2D Graphics Accelerator
Share memory architecture up to 256MB
Microsoft® DirectX® 10 Compatible
1 Detachable 2.5" 9.5mm (H) SATA Hard Disk Drive
1 12.7mm (H) Optical Drive Bay, SATA Interface
Interchangeable with DVD±R/RW Combo drive, Blu-ray/DVD±R/RW Combo Drive
HDCP supported
1 HDMI output Port
1 VGA Port, 15 pins
3 USB 2.0 Ports (all are with Power USB feature)
1 Headphone Jack
1 Microphone Jack
1 RJ-45 LAN (10/100Mbps)
1 RJ-11 Modem

link

 

[catocom]

looks ok
what capacity HD is it?

 

[Nixy]

Go Mac, you'll never go back!

 

[chcr]

Go Mac, you'll never go back!

It's a disease.

Dave, make sure you get your free Winders 7 upgrade in writing.
BTW, no Wi-Fi???

 

[catocom]

lol, I setup 3 already on linux lately.
2 ubuntu, and one mepis.

 

[Dave]

It's a disease.

Dave, make sure you get your free Winders 7 upgrade in writing.
BTW, no Wi-Fi???

Built-in 56K MDC modem with V.90 & V.92 compliant
Built-in 10/100 Mpbs Ethernet LAN
Bluetooth™ V2.0 + EDR module (optional)
Intel® 5100AGN 802.11a/b/g/n wireless LAN

The OS with the upgrade coupon is an extra $40.

I doubt I'll ever go with a Mac. Been using PCs since DOS 3.0

Cat, the base HD is a 160GB 5400RPM SATA drive.

 

[pc_builder]

My brother got himself one of those HP mini's. He loves it, mostly. His intention was to use it for games too, but the screen size limitation leaves him up the creek sometimes. If you're only going to use it for basic web stuff, that might be a viable option. It's cheap, too. Like $200 or something?

 

[catocom]

Dave that looks like a decent setup to me, if you can get a good price.
Right now I know all comps, and parts are down some, and coming on down.

Talk with a rep., and work on him. If you can.
you can save some good amounts of dough.

 

[Dave]

The Sagar machines are only sold online as far as I can tell.
I've been looking at the Asus netbooks as well but they don't have a DVD drive as far as I can tell. The price is very attractive, but I want a DVD drive in the machine.

 

[Luis G]

I would choose these 3 options over the stock ones for a total of $829 instead of $599 (diff of $230)

45nm Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8700 / 3MB L2 Cache, 2.53GHz, 1066MHz FSB +$145
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 2 X 2GB +$50
320GB 5400rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive +$35

and perhaps the additional charger, just in case.

 

[Dave]

Would that help get me a good 3-5 years out of it before it became old and slow, or would it just beef it up?

 

[catocom]

I wouldn't bet on anything 3-5 years from now.

 

[Luis G]

Would that help get me a good 3-5 years out of it before it became old and slow, or would it just beef it up?

It all depends on how you will use it in that period of time. My current laptop is the one I bought in 2003, the only thing I've upgraded is the HDD. But then again, this laptop works as a typewriter, music station, video watching (not HD of course), chatting, mail and browser.

With those upgrades you will have a better CPU, not the latest and greatest but also not the most expensive, IMO good value.

About the RAM, it is a must if you're planning on using Vista. And the HDD size depends on how much data you're going to store, keep in mind thou, that there's no such thing as too much disk space. If you want to keep it on a budget, keep the RAM and HDD upgrades (+$85) and choose the cheaper CPU.

 

[Dave]

I wouldn't bet on anything 3-5 years from now.

True.

Luis, I use mine for similar reasons.
The larger HDD is pretty much a must at this point. I am taking hundreds of pictures nearly everytime I take the camera out. Using Picassa means I am using double the space because of the back up files it makes. I plan on getting Photoshop at some point as well. That laptop configuration was a bit more than I was looking to spend but the cheaper ones don't quite fit what I want either. Its only $145. I've spent more for lesser reasons.

Thank you Luis and thank you Cat for the input.