one of my friends is an ibm employee so i can get a great discount...i wanted to see what you guys think about this as for value and anything that needs to be added.

i plan on buying a much bigger hd through newegg.com and this notebook will be used for business, MBA stuff and web design (fireworks, illustrator, dreamweaver, photoshop, etc)



total is $1,909.40

[Edited on July 28, 2005 at 1:29 AM. Reason : help please]

7/28/2005 1:28:08 AM

It's expensive. How much of a discount are you getting?

7/28/2005 1:35:06 AM

i priced one with the same specs on a different site at $2700

what would you guys recommend for the uses i need?

7/28/2005 1:36:54 AM

You could get an iBook of very close specs (but bigger HD, better graphics card. less ugly) for cheaper, without a discount (or with a student discount). Probably other types of laptops too...

7/28/2005 1:41:01 AM

if anyone is into building them...i'd like to see some different options with the specs and stuff because i'm not a big computer buff, especially with notebooks and the wireless options

7/28/2005 1:43:00 AM

That laptop is overpriced. I just priced out a Toshiba Tecra A4 on their website with the following specs:

Pentium M 1.6 GHz
1GB PC2700 RAM
ATI Radeon X600 dedicated 64MB video
80GB HDD
DVD/CD-RW
I don't think it has bluetooth though.
$1604.55


I could probably find something better if I felt like looking.

7/28/2005 1:43:11 AM

yeah....i hate publically admitting this, but i've gone astray from my IBM-loving ways...they're just too expensive.

as much as i'd love to have the solid construction and durability of a T series thinkpad....i'm probably going to end up buying a 700m (dell) pretty soon...after i save up a bit more and they bring back to $750 off $1500 again....might want to look into that

[Edited on July 28, 2005 at 1:46 AM. Reason : ]

7/28/2005 1:44:52 AM

I don't think you have any clue how small that machine is

it's rather 'uhm' feminine. No way in hell you can do any sort of realistic web design on it.

7/28/2005 1:52:00 AM

That Tecra is a huge, ogre-esque monster of a laptop.

7/28/2005 2:01:26 AM

one of my friends owns a computer company and he swears by sony vaio

thoughts

7/28/2005 3:05:40 AM

^^^i just meant he could check out dell becaue that $750 off $1500 coupon that keeps coming back makes them hella great deals.

perhaps i should have made that more clear.

[Edited on July 28, 2005 at 10:38 AM. Reason : ]

[Edited on July 28, 2005 at 10:38 AM. Reason : ]

7/28/2005 10:38:06 AM

^^ As a Vaio owner myself, I'd agree. Sony's build quality is great and their customer service department speaks english as a first language.

Their computers are on the expensive side, though.

7/28/2005 11:14:26 AM

i'm getting a vaio

sony vaio fs690 notebook
wireless lan 802.11 a\b\g
nvidia geforce go 6200 with turbocache
intel pentium m 760 (2.0 ghz)
xp home
dvd burner
1 gb ddr-sdram
100 gb hd
3 year on site with accident coverage

thoughts?

7/29/2005 12:00:28 PM

^ It's a nice computer. Should defninitely last you a long time and should handle whatever you need. But like I said, expensive.

If I were you, I'd save some money and probably knock it down to 1.8 or 1.7 GHz. You won't sacrifice very much speed (if the difference is noticeable). You could also try sticking with the 512MB RAM and consider buying 1024MB of NewEgg or something.

7/29/2005 12:12:59 PM

i think i am gonna drop down to 1.86 ghz because $200 for less than .2 ghz isn't worth it

also i'm just gonna buy the other stick of 512mb of ram from newegg for $40 for crucial compared to $150 with the sony option...

so with that saved money i can get the other stick or ram, xp pro instead of home, a mouse, netgear wireless router with pc card and a backpack and still come out better

[Edited on July 29, 2005 at 12:49 PM. Reason : /]

7/29/2005 12:48:43 PM

and you are probably still paying 1000 dollars more just because its a sony.

they make good laptops, but they are HORRIBLY overpriced.

What you need to realize is that among Dell, Apple, IBM, Sony, Toshiba, Gateway/Emachines, they are all going to last the time you need, they are all going to do what you need in the particular model that matches you.

The only real difference is going to be the price you pay and how much you care about aesthetics.

7/29/2005 1:04:12 PM

Quote :

"they make good laptops"

incorrect

7/29/2005 1:41:22 PM

Why do people care that something looks nice.

Buy the most computer you can for your money.

That won't be with Sony.

7/29/2005 1:49:45 PM

Quote :

"Dell, Apple, IBM, Sony, Toshiba, Gateway/Emachines,"

the dell that i priced with those same specs was $200 more

the ibm WITH employee discount didn't have near the same specs and wasn't worth the money

i don't want apple or gateway/emachines

a toshiba with the same features was more and my friend has had tons of problems with toshiba

i also want something that runs quietly and the intel m processor in those sony's is one of the best imo

if anyone can find a better deal for the money with the same specs...that's why i made this thread...just post it

the sony with all of those features was $2400

7/29/2005 5:02:17 PM

let's go techies...help me out

7/29/2005 8:50:47 PM

ok...so i checked again today on the ibm employee discount page...let's just say i now have a laptop.

i got $1400 off a thinkpad t42p

2.1 ghz pentium m
60gb hd (only complaint)
1.5gb of ram
dvd burner
biometric fingerprint reader
etc, etc

i needed this machine for web design and for the mba program and for a 5 pound machine to be that powerful i couldn't pass it up...especially with $1400 off

7/30/2005 1:11:11 AM

Quote :

"Why do people care that something looks nice. Buy the most computer you can for your money. That won't be with Sony."

Exactly!!1 Why buy a BMW when an F-150 can carry Twice As Much Shit(R)?

7/30/2005 10:03:36 AM

^ That's like comparing laptops to desktops. They do 2 different things.

7/30/2005 2:27:20 PM