Dell notebook computers

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#79175 22-Jul-2007 10:21

Just reading some of the reviews online, people talk about LoJack - software to track down your laptop if it is stolen.

Is this installed on NZ Dell machines? It is a little freaky to know other people (LoJack guys) can actually delete your files if you asked them to. Also, you are continuously making contact with LoJack.

alasta

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#79180 22-Jul-2007 11:03

heavenly_wild: Out of these brands of notebooks, how would you and everyone here rate?
Sony - Toshiba - HP - Dell

I would have ranked them in this order:

1.) Dell - Excellent value for money due to their low cost sales and distribution model, and rated highly for reliability in Consumer Magazine's latest survey.

2.) HP - Good looking machines with what appears to be reasonable pricing. Most users seem to be happy, but my own impression is tained slightly by the high failure rate that I experienced when I worked for one of the big box retailers.

3.) Toshiba - More expensive than the above when comparing units with similar specs. Used to be highly regarded for reliability, but recent experiences of a couple of Geekzone users would suggest that they have fallen behind on this.

4.) Sony - Reliable, but very poor value for money. Seem to favour fashion over functionality.

My ratings and comments are based entirely on my own opinions and experiences and others will undoubtedly have differing views. No matter what you buy, you will have people knocking you for choosing a particular brand so just pick whatever suits your needs and enjoy it.

heavenlywild

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#79183 22-Jul-2007 11:38

I would tend to agree with your oder.

I am a little "nervous" about Dell because the only Dell notebooks I have seen are those selling at The Warehouse. Yes, they are very low-budget models. Nevertheless, I have yet to actually see and touch a mid to top range notebook.

I am currently using a Toshiba notebook. It runs fairly quietly - much moreso over HP. The worst has to be NEC! The downside of Toshiba is the high cost, much like Sony.

Currently I have a 17" Toshiba P100 notebook at home. It has 7900GS graphics and satisfies my gaming and everyday needs. Recently I am thinking of replacing the 17" notebook with a 15" one for ease of transportation. But I want to have a top end graphics card to play Flight Simulator X. Should I purchase ANOTHER notebook and keep the 17" notebook for home use, or should I get rid of the 17" notebook and purchase a 15" notebook with high end graphics?

If I replace the 17" notebook with the 15", then I would go and get a 22" wide screen monitor to use at home.

Anyway, I am a little confused. The question is, have two notebooks or combine them into one?

alasta

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#79188 22-Jul-2007 11:57

heavenly_wild: I would tend to agree with your oder.

I am a little "nervous" about Dell because the only Dell notebooks I have seen are those selling at The Warehouse. Yes, they are very low-budget models. Nevertheless, I have yet to actually see and touch a mid to top range notebook.

Yeah, I guess one of the biggest disadvantages of Dell's sales model is that you don't get the opportunity to see and touch the beast in the flesh before you fork out your cash. Still, all the reviews that I've read on the new 1420 and 1520 comment very favourably on its build quality. I have heard that they are a tad heavy and bulky so you may want to bear that in mind if portability is really important, but it's a compromise that I'm happy to accept in order to get a solid and durable unit.

Currently I have a 17" Toshiba P100 notebook at home. It has 7900GS graphics and satisfies my gaming and everyday needs. Recently I am thinking of replacing the 17" notebook with a 15" one for ease of transportation. But I want to have a top end graphics card to play Flight Simulator X. Should I purchase ANOTHER notebook and keep the 17" notebook for home use, or should I get rid of the 17" notebook and purchase a 15" notebook with high end graphics?

If I replace the 17" notebook with the 15", then I would go and get a 22" wide screen monitor to use at home.

If I were in your position I would be inclined to stick with one machine and just dock it to a seperate display and keyboard when you're at home or at the office. That way you can enjoy the ergonomic benefits of a true desktop configuration. The only thing to be wary of is that none of the Insprion models have DVI outputs, so you'll have to either fork out for an XPS model, or live with the analogue interface when you connect your external monitor.

I currently have a Mac Mini on my desk at home which I'm happy with but I'm seriously considering buying an Inspiron 1420 to complement it so that I have access to a portable as well as being able to use both platforms as required. If you do end up buying one of the new Inspirons I'd be interested to hear your feedback.

heavenlywild

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#79189 22-Jul-2007 12:08

Currently I have a 17" Toshiba P100 notebook at home. It has 7900GS graphics and satisfies my gaming and everyday needs. Recently I am thinking of replacing the 17" notebook with a 15" one for ease of transportation. But I want to have a top end graphics card to play Flight Simulator X. Should I purchase ANOTHER notebook and keep the 17" notebook for home use, or should I get rid of the 17" notebook and purchase a 15" notebook with high end graphics?

If I replace the 17" notebook with the 15", then I would go and get a 22" wide screen monitor to use at home.

If I were in your position I would be inclined to stick with one machine and just dock it to a seperate display and keyboard when you're at home or at the office. That way you can enjoy the ergonomic benefits of a true desktop configuration. The only thing to be wary of is that none of the Insprion models have DVI outputs, so you'll have to either fork out for an XPS model, or live with the analogue interface when you connect your external monitor.

Yeah, one machine is the best way eh? Imagine having to do Windows updates on multiple machines! Plus, the costs of installing software on more than one beast.

Can you tell me what the difference between DVI and analogue? I know DVI is better but what is the main difference?

I currently have a Mac Mini on my desk at home which I'm happy with but I'm seriously considering buying an Inspiron 1420 to complement it so that I have access to a portable as well as being able to use both platforms as required. If you do end up buying one of the new Inspirons I'd be interested to hear your feedback.

Yeah, if I did buy anything, I would go for the new Inspiron models. I need more time consider my choice. What is up with LoJack software? I am not too happy to know an external company has the ability to delete my files and track my computer, even though they are there to insure my laptop can be found if it was stolen.

Now, regarding HDMI - if I connect it to my TV / monitor with HDMI capabilities, does that mean the sound / audio is transferred too?

alasta

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#79196 22-Jul-2007 12:29

heavenly_wild:
Yeah, one machine is the best way eh? Imagine having to do Windows updates on multiple machines! Plus, the costs of installing software on more than one beast.

Good point. I would also worry about the hassle of syncing music, photos, calendars, etc. between the two machines. It's probably not an issue for the tech-savvy but personally I don't have a lot of patience with that sort of thing.

Can you tell me what the difference between DVI and analogue? I know DVI is better but what is the main difference?

The only difference is in the way that the video signal is transmitted to the monitor. As I understand it DVI is a much better system in theory because it effectively allows your graphics processor to control each individual pixel on your display, but in practice I'm not convinced that you would notice too much difference unless you're planning to use your machine for graphics intensive work.

I'm not the best person to answer the rest of your questions so I'll leave others to chip in here. I'd certainly be interested to know more about LoJack too if anyone has any knowledge about it.

gerryjoson

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#79224 22-Jul-2007 17:58

alasta:
heavenly_wild: Out of these brands of notebooks, how would you and everyone here rate?
Sony - Toshiba - HP - Dell

I would have ranked them in this order:

1.) Dell - Excellent value for money due to their low cost sales and distribution model, and rated highly for reliability in Consumer Magazine's latest survey.
2.) HP - Good looking machines with what appears to be reasonable pricing. Most users seem to be happy, but my own impression is tained slightly by the high failure rate that I experienced when I worked for one of the big box retailers.
3.) Toshiba - More expensive than the above when comparing units with similar specs. Used to be highly regarded for reliability, but recent experiences of a couple of Geekzone users would suggest that they have fallen behind on this.
4.) Sony - Reliable, but very poor value for money. Seem to favour fashion over functionality.

My ratings and comments are based entirely on my own opinions and experiences and others will undoubtedly have differing views. No matter what you buy, you will have people knocking you for choosing a particular brand so just pick whatever suits your needs and enjoy it.

My opinion would mirror yours,except I would add that Sony's seem particularly flimsy to me,expecially in the hinge area much like the new model Asus's G1S,V1jp etc and most of the acers,I also heard a lot of bad things about their after sales service,but that was a couple of years ago so they might have had to improve by now.Sony probably has the best quality screens if you don't mind the reflective type and being stuck with standard resolutions [except the 1920x1200 17"

QUOTE:

Currently I have a 17" Toshiba P100 notebook at home. It has 7900GS graphics and satisfies my gaming and everyday needs. Recently I am thinking of replacing the 17" notebook with a 15" one for ease of transportation. But I want to have a top end graphics card to play Flight Simulator X. Should I purchase ANOTHER notebook and keep the 17" notebook for home use, or should I get rid of the 17" notebook and purchase a 15" notebook with high end graphics?

Don't believe what 3dmark benchmarks tell you as far as the performance goes on the 8600M GT,it WILL perform considerably worse than your 7900GS especially at higher resolutions the reason being the 8600GT is bottlenecked by having a 128 bit memory bus compared to 256 bit membus for the 7900 so while they have similar 3dmark scores,in real games the performance is up to 40% less with the 8600GT,its actually quite a hot topic with the midrange 8 series at the moment due to the likes of the 17" XPS's and Alienwares still using the 7950GTX's because the 8800 or high end nvidia graphics currently have far too high a demand for watts and too high a heat production to put in a notebook and so nvidia are BSing their way through this by overclocking the 8600GT and calling it a 8700GT which they claim is their new high end card...real world tests show its not.
So while the 8600GT is good for a 15 inch notebook,its not going to replace your current one,you will have to wait a couple of months for nvidia to shrink the die to 65nm for a real replacement,and then they are unlikely to be fitted to a 15" notebook anyway.

I agree with the docking idea,docking stations are the bee's knee's,my M65 snaps into a port replicator which is connected to a 22" monitor via VGA,the dock also has DVI output and for the life of me,I can't see any difference between VGA and DVI,I just wish my M65 with its baby quadro had better D3D gaming performance on some of the later games,It would have been good if Dell had upgraded the M4300 [M65 replacement]with the 8600GT based Quadro fx570m like the insanely priced Lenovo T61p,but then I suppose they think that if you want more grunt you will buy the 17" model.

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heavenlywild

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#79229 22-Jul-2007 19:16

Hi Gerry,

Thank you for the in-depth explanation of the 8600 series cards. I thought the 8600 would out-perform the 7900GS. From your understanding, I am better off staying with my 7900GS. Cheers. That is what I don't get - they keep saying the new cards are Direct X 10 and blah blah blah and they are the most powerful cards on the market. No wonder I still see notebook companies releasing notebooks with 7000 series cards.

This is likely to mean if I want a lighter and more portable notebook, I will have to keep my current one and purchase another.

Anyway, I went for a bit of a browse around the shops today and a question popped into my head: is there HDMI on standard flatscreen monitors (not TV)?

kaiwai

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#79359 24-Jul-2007 00:05

heavenly_wild: That a great review, thanks for sharing mate.

Hmm, the new Dell notebooks do have the best price and specs compared to other brands. The only thing I don't quite like is the thickness of the notebook. But then again, nothing is perfect.

Out of these brands of notebooks, how would you and everyone here rate?

Sony - Toshiba - HP - Dell

OK - I've got the HP dv6209tx and running Solaris x86 on it - it works very well. Nvidia go 7400, 1gig memory, 160gig HDD, Core 2 Duo 1.83Ghz etc. etc.

heavenlywild

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#80058 27-Jul-2007 20:38

Can someone tell me what this means? It has this option even when the delivery is free:

Other

Additional Delivery Requirements

Note: Click on "Learn More" to confirm availability in your area.

Notebook Handling & Insurance Charges(New Zealand) / Express [+NZD 285.75]

1 2

Express Delivery

kaiwai

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#80073 27-Jul-2007 23:05

It is basically a 'I want it delivered really fast' - normally they send it via a freighting company from Malaysia, but given the $250+ it is probably going by something like Fedex or DHL which has a 2 day delivery rather than 7-10 working days, which is the usual period of time.

heavenlywild

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#80075 27-Jul-2007 23:10

Cool thanks man. It makes more sense now:)

For $250+, it is quite expensive for express delivery. Not worth it unless you have money to burn.

I am still considering Dell for my next notebook but still a little worried about their customer service. I have read many horror stories.

kaiwai

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#80079 28-Jul-2007 00:49

heavenly_wild: Cool thanks man. It makes more sense now:)

For $250+, it is quite expensive for express delivery. Not worth it unless you have money to burn.

I am still considering Dell for my next notebook but still a little worried about their customer service. I have read many horror stories.

I'll be as blunt as possible - if you're a moron who needs hand holding the whole way through the process then get something else. If you do have your sh*t together and never need to ring up for 'guidence' then Dell will do its thing ok.

Out of curisosity, what OS are you going to run on it?

DumDell

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#81473 7-Aug-2007 16:43

I would love to be able to give my opinion of the computer but after paying over $2700 for a 1520 and all the specs I wanted on it and being told I would have it in 7-10 days I am still after well over a month waiting for it to arrive. I got told that because it was new they didn't have the parts (so why were they advertising it?), the next excuse was that there were flight problems, the next was courier problems. I told them to forget it as I am sick to death of waiting, not to mention my time and cost in chasing it up all the time. I was stupid enough to think that as I was paying a good price I would be getting a good service (boy was I wrong!), and they've now said I have to pay freightage (expensive) if I cancel. So goodness knows when I'll get it, if I ever do, they change the dates as often as they change their undies and I for one am totally pissed off and will never buy from them again, and would recommend that anyone else thinking of buying one thinks first if they're going to be happy sitting there wondering where it is well over a month after paying for it.

kaiwai

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#81477 7-Aug-2007 17:26

DumDell:
I would love to be able to give my opinion of the computer but after paying over $2700 for a 1520 and all the specs I wanted on it and being told I would have it in 7-10 days I am still after well over a month waiting for it to arrive. I got told that because it was new they didn't have the parts (so why were they advertising it?), the next excuse was that there were flight problems, the next was courier problems. I told them to forget it as I am sick to death of waiting, not to mention my time and cost in chasing it up all the time. I was stupid enough to think that as I was paying a good price I would be getting a good service (boy was I wrong!), and they've now said I have to pay freightage (expensive) if I cancel. So goodness knows when I'll get it, if I ever do, they change the dates as often as they change their undies and I for one am totally pissed off and will never buy from them again, and would recommend that anyone else thinking of buying one thinks first if they're going to be happy sitting there wondering where it is well over a month after paying for it.

Interesting, you complained about waiting a month and have done nothing about it.

Whose fault is that?

Go to the consumer commission and do something about it besides sitting around pissing and moaning on this forum.

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