Looking at new laptops soon......

brettw22

Since I got my last laptop a little over 2 years ago, there's been an abundance of new **** (for lack of a better term) to come out and I'm a bit confused.......

The main thing that I'm unsure of is the wireless stuff. For instance, what's the difference between a processor that's Pentium 4, and Pentium Centrino. With the P4's, I see all the specs indicating that they're 801.11b, a, or g compatible, but I don't know that i've seen that be the case with the Centrino labeled puters.

I think that Gonzo got the widescreen laptop a while back, and I'm pretty sure that's the way I wanna go. The only thing that's gonna suck **** is that it's gonna be a **** to lug around with my traveling, but that's what the roll-around is for.

Anyone wanna delve into the wireless mess?

nadams

A P4 (even a P4 mobile) will get you shorter battery life than the Centrino. Both processors _should_ be compatable with wireless technologies. In fact, one of the most widely played commercials for the Centrino is about being able to take your work outside and work wirelessly, therefore I'm thinking that there should be a laptop out there somewhere that'll let you do that :-).

I'm not real big into mobile computing, I'm more of a desktop person myself (mostly because of the cost involved w/ laptops), so I'm only looking at this from a technical standpoint, not in terms of usefulness of the laptop and what you want to do with it.

steveinaz

I have a wireless cable internet interface at my home. My desktop system (built by me) is an AMD Athlon 2200+ and is connected directly to the cable modem; my laptop, a very old AMD K2/500 runs a wireless card to my Toshiba modem (built-in wireless) with no problems. The desktop is running on XP Home, the laptop on 98se.

avelanchefan

I think the Centrino has built in wireless, while a "stock" P4 you have to buy the extras....Wireless card and a WAP (Wireless access point). Buying the extras will run you about 150 dollars max. I use 802.11 B, and you have to make sure that the WAP and Wireless card are both A, B, or G.

I just looked, and the Centrino uses 802.11 B. So if you have cable internet all you need is a WAP that is 802.11 b compatible...like this one..... http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&catoid=-10265&qp=033053304&bookmark=bookmark_9&oid=62879

or this one.... http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&catoid=-10265&qp=033053304&bookmark=bookmark_6&oid=37889

dorokusai

Brett - I use Sprint PCS wireless, on my Sprint PCS provided P3 laptop , no issues. I find it invaluable for what I do, and wonder how I got along without it.

I personally would stick with the P4. Invest in a small AC/DC inverter, for power on the move. They should be standard issue with laptops. P4/AMD sponsored laptops are ready for all the formats of wireless, its just another device driver. The Centrino is a built-in I believe, either way you still need a provider.

HBomb knows about the wireless end more than I, check him out.

PhantomOG

centrino is Intel marketing BS. all "centrino" really means is intel makes more money than other laptops because they manufacture not only the processor but the chipset and wireless card as well. and from what little i know about wireless, its not even the fastest wireless standard so you are probably better off buying the wireless card separately.

Pauly

If i might add if you are going wireless @ home (ie Linksys) go for the 802.11 G. New technology alot faster then A and B...

sachinsood

Honestly speaking, Centrino is nothing but a piece of crap from Intel. Centrino processors are built for wireless and consume lesser power than P4 processors, but are not anywhere as fast as the P4 processors. But the fact that they use less power means a longer battery life when you are working while travelling. Most new computers have better batteries that last up to 6 hours with a P4 processor.

I would suggest you buy a P4 processor. You now get a P4 3.06Ghz processor on laptops. Also, HP has come out with a 17" widescreen laptop, and so has Toshiba. In this months PC Review magazine, both scored more or less similar points, except the HP was a bit heavier than the Toshiba.

Well, if you are interested in widescreen, you should be ready to lug about 8lbs in your bag.

And wireless can always be achieved with any processor. I am a computer geek, and I would not opt for a Centrino.

Also, when you select a laptop, make sure the screen resolution is 1600x1200 (UXGA TFT screen). They are worth it if you watch movies and stuff like that. Also, you get DVDRW+CDRW drives on laptops now.

Good luck.

goingganzo

ok here we go another subject i know alot about. i perfer a thin light labtop with a 14 in screne. i tryed a 16 in from gateway but it was way to bulkey. or try the 15.4 ws from dell. i have a dell 600m it is thin and light and has around 3 hours of batery and 2 for watching dvd. also look for one with centreno. also upgrade the vid card as much as you can. that is the first thing that needs to be upgraded in a labtop.

brettw22

Thanks for all the replies guys.....

The reason that the desktop isn't an option is becuase of all the traveling that I do. I have a desktop that I have at home that's basically networked as a file server, nothing else.

I think that I'm going to go with the P4 so that I have the options of upgrading the wireless tech rather than being stuck with 11b indefinitely.

I think in the 2 years that I've had this laptop, I've used it 6 times without the power cord plugged into the wall, so the battery life isn't so much an issue for me. The widescreen will be big, but the Toshiba that I have now is pretty large too, so that's ok. I also stopped carrying my laptop in a shoulder bag, and instead use a roller bag and don't deal with torquing out my back.

I've seen the 17" HP and the thing that I absolutely LOVE that they did was to put a 10 keypad to the right of the keyboard. I don't think that the Toshiba does that, which is unfortunate.

PhantomOG

I'm glad you decided not to buy into the "Centrino" marketing BS. In alot of ways, Intel is to the semiconductor industry as Bose is to the speaker industry. They both spend tons of money on bogus marketing campaigns and take advantage of "dumb" consumers. And to make things even worse, they practically have a monopoly which makes things much worse for the end consumer.

Shizelbs

Go for the P4 and 802.11G. G should be compatible with any B WAP.

madmax

The first time I used one of the widescreens I felt as if it was taking forever to move the mouse across the screen. Up and down was no big deal. I like the widescreen though.
madmax

sachinsood

Glad you are going for a P4 processor machine. Also, Dell laptops (and I believe HP also) come with 64MB video cards. Get those. It is not easy to upgrade your video and sound cards on laptops and in most cases, it is impossible. 64MB video cards should be good for almost all your purposes. Also, if you can spend some more, get an inbuilt DVD-RW/CDRW combo drive.

Another thing. I prefer getting slower RPM hard drives for laptops. Since they spin slower (4200rpm to 5400rpm), they usually last longer than their 7200rpm counterparts. And you do not notice much of a difference in data retreival. Always remember to defrag your hard disk every once in 1-2 months.

Well, on the topic of Intel, they will not be coming out with a processor greater than 3.2Ghz speed until Jan 2004.

However, Intel recently came out with a P4 3.2Ghz HT Extreme Edition processor that is available on Dell desktops. If any of you go to the Dell website and configure the Dell Dimension XPS desktop, select the normal P4 3.2Ghz HT processor with 1 yr warrantly and no preinstalled software and click Continue to see the "base" price. Now, go back and select the P4 3.2Ghz HT Extreme Edition processor with similar options (1yr and no preinstalled s/w). You will notice a price difference of about 1400$!!!!

Is it worth it? Nope. Anothe Intel marketing ploy. The ONLY difference between the normal and extreme edition processors - extreme edition has 2MB L3 cache compared to 0MB L3 cache in the normal. But you think..is it cost effective?

Good luck on your purchase.

brettw22

I've decided to stay with Toshiba since I have that and have liked them 1000x more than I EVER liked my original Sony laptop (POS).

Something happened the other day that hasn't ever happened to me before......and I have to say that it scared the **** outta me. Instead of going right for the latest and greatest (Toshiba P25-S609....maybe the 509 too), I considered going with the same features on the same style that I currently have (Toshiba A35-S159).

So really..........WTF is wrong with me to be 'downgrading' my new purchase.......I think that I'm not well.

Disclaimer: The above mentioned event in no way obligates the poster to follow through with such a preposterous notion.