College Commuting, destop replacement needed.... which?

Z

Zap [PCGO]

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 2, 2003
Messages
385
Hello, I'll get straight to the point. I'm gonna be a 3rd year in college(UCSD). For the first two years, I didn't have to commute since I live right on campus, so I built myself a nice desktop. Now that I need to live off campus and will commute, I need a desktop replacement so that I can still do nearly everything I can with my desktop while I'm on campus.(I don't want to have to drive back to my house[far] or use the no good systems on campus)

I'm currently looking at the ASUS W1N notebook that runs for $2,399 at newegg. I love the look and design of that thing. Another one that I've been looking at is the Toshiba [forgot model] that has a very similar look to the W1N. So you kinda got an idea that I like widescreen and the sleek keyboard layout section(power button placement, LED locations, mouse pad style, etc) of an apple's notebook. The only thing holding me back and brings me to ask on this forum is the pricing.... It's a little too much for my pocket... That may make me sound lazy, but I have looked at a lot of places, but I am only one person, I couldn't have seen all.... So maybe you guys saw something that I need for a decent price.

So the main point of this post is that I hope anyone of you can point me a finger at a similar notebook mentioned above for under $2,000... as that's my wallet cap...

If it will help you in helping me, I know windows based desktops well. I don't know anything about laptops. I like to game[I'm most hyped about HL2 ;) ) on it often, surf the web, download, watch anime, and of course do tons of write ups for classes. Centrino 1.7Ghz prefered. Nice video card so I can play HL2 if possible.

I am really looking forward to any replies that can help me pin pointing a desktop replacement system that can serve my need and doesn't dig a hole in my pocket :p . Thanks.
 
keep the desktop, get a more portable, longer lasting laptop.
for classes, you dont want UNDER 4 hours of battery. video chip be damned.
 
Asus M6BNe? Its cheaper than the W1N, with a better video card. It dosen't look exactly the same but I think it looks sweet. Check it out. Its also cheaper than the W1N.
 
Thanks all for replying so far. I have checked out all the links and notebook models that u guys recommended so far. I hope more inputs will be given.

The Sager is nice, but the design is a bit.... shall I say doesn't look as sleek as what i'm hoping for... Although it's core is pretty sweet. I don't know much about this company. Is it reliable? Or is it like Acer or some asian manufacture who sold my friend a system that fried because it came with insufficient air flow...?

For Velocity Micro, I tried customizing something like the W1N and it came out to be a whooping 2500+....

I'm checking out the Asus M6BNe right now. What is Dothan and Banias? Which is better?(gamming wise and overall)

Oh yea, will there be proprietary parts making it a bit less compatible with generic things on the market? For example, if I want to just wipe the entire OS and drivers, can I reinstal my own WinXP Pro(if it comes w/ Home) and generic drivers from the company who made the specific parts? Sorry, I'm used to desktops where I just throw away the driver for things like video card and get a generic one directly from ATI or Nvidia for the latest release. I don't know if laptops work the same way as it seems to be "integrated" inside out...

EDIT: I noticed that I may sound picky and like a prick.... but I'm working hard for this and don't want to flop down 2k for something that I have no clue about. :p

EDIT2: Isn't Pentium M and Centrino the same thing? How come some notebook states: Pentium M Centrino while otheres just states Pentium M or just Centrino..?
 
Zap [PCGO] said:
Thanks all for replying so far. I have checked out all the links and notebook models that u guys recommended so far. I hope more inputs will be given.

The Sager is nice, but the design is a bit.... shall I say doesn't look as sleek as what i'm hoping for... Although it's core is pretty sweet. I don't know much about this company. Is it reliable? Or is it like Acer or some asian manufacture who sold my friend a system that fried because it came with insufficient air flow...?

For Velocity Micro, I tried customizing something like the W1N and it came out to be a whooping 2500+....

I'm checking out the Asus M6BNe right now. What is Dothan and Banias? Which is better?(gamming wise and overall)

Oh yea, will there be proprietary parts making it a bit less compatible with generic things on the market? For example, if I want to just wipe the entire OS and drivers, can I reinstal my own WinXP Pro(if it comes w/ Home) and generic drivers from the company who made the specific parts? Sorry, I'm used to desktops where I just throw away the driver for things like video card and get a generic one directly from ATI or Nvidia for the latest release. I don't know if laptops work the same way as it seems to be "integrated" inside out...

EDIT: I noticed that I may sound picky and like a prick.... but I'm working hard for this and don't want to flop down 2k for something that I have no clue about. :p
Click to expand...

Sager is awesome. Their support is impeccable. Check out http://notebookforums.com to read about users with their laptops.

The Banias is older than the Dothan. The Dothan is brand new and, generally speaking, it owns.

And yes, you will be able to wipe the HD clean and just download drivers. Just like a desktop :)
 
Pentium-M is the CPU
Centrino is a combination of the Pentium-M, 855PM/GM Chipset, and an Intel Pro Wireless Mini PCI adapter
 
Hey again, I've been looking around still. Found various systems and prices and got some new question.

How do I know if the Pentium M is Banias or Dothan? Is it the 1MB L2 Cache and the 2MB L2 Cache?

Also, do you guys know if there is anyway I can get the Asus W1N(or something similar) with the 2MB L2 Cache(I'm assuming that's Dothan) and the Radeon Mobility 9700 128mb?(as in a customizable site). I've gone to places like the Toshiba website(they have the nice look of the W1N too), but they only offer GF FXGo 5200... which I despise. :D I'm looking at Sager right now.

EDIT: NICE! I found a nice Sager with sweet core and pricing. np3790s. It doesn't say much about the audio though. How is it?(if u guys know or any have please share, I'll continue to read the notebook forums) I REALLY like the W1N sound system.(I'd expect laptops sounds to at least support decent bass as many lappys I saw sounds like crap...) Is this company reliable? I mean, I've never heard of them. Add on to the fact that I've seen a fried lappy because of under cooling.... which is not a pretty site I may add... So I'm a bit skeptical if this company is reliable or known to make quality products. The last thing I want is a fried 2k lappy.... Of course I will continue reading anything I can. haha, I feel like I'm going thru a crash course about lappys hahaha.
 
Prostar and the first Alienware notebook are Sager's that have been rebadged. If that's any indication as to Sager's reliability.
 
Well i can't speak personally about the np3790 but both of my sager laptops have excellent sounding speakers for laptops. My 4750 sounds better than the junk speakers i have sitting at my computer.
 
I know that some laptops contain sub woofers.

But I would recommend using a good pair of cans.
 
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