Mobile laptop

[Quitch]

Since I'm going to be moving around a fair bit more at the moment I'm in the market for a laptop. Currently I've borrowed one from work, an HP nc6320 with 15.4" screen and built-in Intel graphics.

It's okay, good for the web, and I can run Kohan II off it no probs, but it's a bit heavy for the lap, the resolution is limited to 1024x768... plus I'd like something with a bit more flexibility, I game with my brother and it'd be nice to be able to Dawn of War and Company of Heroes with him on my own machine, rather than popping round and stealing my dad's

So, let's get shopping, but unlike the wonderful world of desktops you can't roll your own and so you need to get feedback on the brands.

To me weight is important, this laptop is 2.45Kg (or around 4.5lbs) and I can feel it on my legs, something a little lighter and portable wouldn't go amiss. On the other hand, I want a proper keyboard, no mini TAB keys, no missing Windows keys, etc. Keyboard quality is very important to me. Battery life would be nice, but from what I've seen discrete graphics will be required, but they mean you get no battery life unless you buy a bigger battery, in which case you're ramping up the weight.

I've been looking at laptops for the day and currently the Dell XPS M1330 is heading up the field. It's affordable (£1100), comes in around 2Kg, has an nVidia 8400M GS (which seems about as good as you can get at this market point), full and proper keyboard, and it doesn't look half-bad either... downside is it has one of those nasty glossy screens, so I will have to shun natural light even more than normal.

Final spec comes out at:

Core 2 Duo 2.2Ghz
2GB RAM
nVidia 8400m GS
13.3" wide-screen
1280x800 res
6-cell battery

Anyone got any pointers? Better laptops I should look at? Changes to the spec?

 

[epicstruggle]

Anyone got any pointers? Better laptops I should look at? Changes to the spec?

I just bought the (basically) the same laptop. Went with a 2.0 ghz cpu, but a 9 cell battery. I should get it in a week or so and will let you know what I think about it. I only get to play with it for a few days before Im giving it to my brother.

 

[Quitch]

I'm trying to find a picture comparison of the 6 and 9 cell batteries. The weight difference is a surprisingly minor 0.15Kg, but the 9 cell battery changes the way the laptop sits, raising the rear a bit. I need to see some shots to get an idea of whether this is a positive or negative. Could be good for the lap since it will raise the fans off my jeans.

I was going to stick with 2ghz since an additional 0.2ghz is of no interest, but then I saw that you get an additional 2MB lvl2 cache with that model, so felt I had to upgrade

Did you order a bag with it or are you getting something separately?

This is looking more and more like the right laptop, just need to get a touch more information.

 

[epicstruggle]

It has shipped today, so will let you know about the laptop in 2 or 3 days. cant wait to play with it.

 

[NovemberMike]

I would look at the Latitude D630's if I were you. The weight will be right at the edge of what you are looking for (make sure that any weight measure includes the cd/hard drives though), but it has a non-gloss screen, the Nvidia 135 Quadro is basically an 8400 as far as I know, the battery life is great and it feels more solid than the other dell laptops I have seen.

Personally, I am a huge fan of their business line. They have good quality and are pretty affordable as well.

 

[Albuquerque]

One of the guys in my team bought an M1330 a few months ago.

Pros:
Excellent size and wieght -- very small, very light, but VERY usable.
Excellent screen -- If you have the funds, spring for the LED-backlit high-res model for even more power savings, better contrast and lighter weight. The gloss didn't bother met at all, even in bright light. YMMV
Very fast -- he bought a 7200RPM drive and 4GB of ram aftermarket, and replaced the Vista32 it came with for Vista64 (same license, just need to find media).

Cons:
I would want more graphics performance myself, but it was certainly adequate.

I'd buy one in a heartbeat to replace my Inspiron e1505...

 

[Mize]

If you want to bump the GPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220217

ASUS V2 Series V2S-B1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T7700(2.40GHz) 14" Wide XGA+ 2GB 160GB DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS - Retail - under $1800, but 5 lbs.

Or:

HP Compaq 6910p(GM120UT#ABA) Intel Core 2 Duo T7500(2.20GHz) 14.1" Wide XGA 2GB 160GB DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 NoteBook - Retail - under $1600 - 4.7 lbs.

 

[Albuquerque]

Well, once you get into the 14" sized-laptops, you get far more video options. Dell has 14-inch Inspirons with the 8600GT in them, along with some pretty snappy C2D's, for far less than the two machines listed above.

But then, you're back into the "bigger" laptop class. Meh.

 

[Quitch]

Being impatient I've gone with the following:

Dell XP M1330
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2Ghz 4MB lvl2 cache
2GB RAM
nVidia 8400M GS
200GB 7200rpm HDD
9-cell battery
The swankier 300nits screen (1280x800)
Base weight of ~2Kg, I believe my config is roughly 2.15Kg
~£1200

 

[Albuquerque]

I don't think you'll be disappointed, I really liked the one my guy bought in August...

 

[Cheezdoodles]

The 8600GS is worthless, its a 8400 with a higher clockspeed. The 8600m GT on the other hand has two times as many shader pipes.

 

[shyam335]

8400M GS != 8600M GS
8600M GS = higher clocked 8400M GT.
The difference being memory interface on 8400GS is 64bit..

http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_8400M.html
http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_8600M.html