[Fuelled]

try 4 hp, compaq, acer, ibm, mac(looks cool but isnt worth the moolah)

and as 4 specs look for a min 40gb hardisk (if poss get a 5400rpm one.. std is 4200 rpm)
intel cenrino (1.6gig +)
chipset 915g
min of 512 ram(u get ddr 1 or ddr2 wid the metioned chipset.. try 4 a ddr2)
cdrw(std on most) or a dvdrw dual layer(roughly 6 grand)
graphics isnt important(onboard will suffice)
15" tft (though a 14" will be more portable as each inch counts)
wifi-b/g (avoid a one with jst wifi-b cause its slower at a speed of 11mbps the G one is 54 mbps)
bluetooth (if not there as std u will need a little dongle worth around 450 bucks)

extras-
a inbuit card reader is a good feature.


hope this helps

[Neel]

If you are in the US check deals2buy.com : the dell/lenovo offers are good. Somehow i feel the IBM(Lenovo) ThinkPads are good. In india i hear Acer's sell well with most goodies you want.

The Ferrari Acer is expensive : more of a collectible.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Dippy

Coming back to the topic how are the normal Acer laptops or the ones from Asustek?

Both are pretty good, Asus are also OEM suppliers to other "big" brands. They are pretty VFM and would therefore have the same perception value as, say, Hyundai. I think Acer would have a better support network than Asus, though.

I personally dont have an issue with Dell and the fact is that their laptops are at least 10% cheaper than that of competition with similar specs (for the models that I have been looking out for), besides offering the same quality levels.

On the other hand, I've had issues with a couple of Compaq laptops that I've used and have stayed away from the brand since then. This doesnt mean that the brand is bad - just that I lucked out with them.

[SUV]

Acer Laptops have a Heating Problem. They dont come under the "LAP"top Category, They are more of a Desktop Replaceable Unit's. I know for a fact cos i have used most of their Model's.

From my experience nobody has been able to beat the Price to Durability like the Toshiba's have.

Dell is VFM "." and support (NBD) is probably the best one can get in the industry today atleast for Corporate's.

[Dippy]

Just enquired about the Acer range. Theyhey have quite a few models in my range but somehow i dont feel like going for the Acer. I think I would look to go for between the compaq presario series or the IBM . Would there be a decent DELL notebook in 40k or just below?

DVD writer not necessary. Combo DVD drive is with CDRW ok
Wireless is a must
would love bluetooth
40 GB HDD fine
decent graphics support
256 or 512 MB RAM

Any options keeping the above in mind? I will be checking out the HP showroom today or tom

[SUV]

Originally Posted by Dippy

DVD writer not necessary. Combo DVD drive is with CDRW ok
Wireless is a must
40 GB HDD fine
decent graphics support
256 or 512 MB RAM

Any options keeping the above in mind? I will be checking out the HP showroom today or tom

I think you should be able to Get a HP / Compaq in your Budget, The above specs are pretty much standard today. Except the Wireless which depends on Processor.

[gkrishn]

Originally Posted by SUV

Except the Wireless which depends on Processor.

No, thats wrong... wireless dosnt dipend on processor.

Dippy, as suggested consider thinkpad. They dont look fancy, but very durable and a very good work horse. Been using a centrino thinkpad for past 2+ years. Only problem with it was the OS with which it came. It also has a very good keyboard layout. Only gripe on the HW side is, it dosnt have a windows key. But that is minor i guess...

Also dont bother too much about this 64 bit thingy, unless you are using linux, unix or going to use the long delayed longhorn/vista/whatever.

Also, i guess a dual core launch from intel is round the corner. You may wait till that time. Not neccesarly for the dual core, but for prices of the current processor will go down too.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Dippy

. Would there be a decent DELL notebook in 40k or just below?

Easy peasy - check the Dell India / Asia Pacific website:

Inspiron 1300 not recommended because its Celeron, but its priced at Rs.38,900/- with a Rs.3,000/- cash discount offer

Inspiron 6000 Rs.49,900

Inspiron 640 m Rs.47,900

[tsk1979]

Go for compaq then. DELL will give you high price for less features. Also maintainance costs are high. DELL post warranty repair is very very expensive.
About the heat issues, it is true for all laptops. Athlon based laptops were more prone to heating but the latest sempron core runs much cooler. Make sure that when you say AMD they show you sempron based notebooks and not athlon based.

[Dippy]

Thanks for all the comments guys. I agree with the DELL being expensive to maintain and repair part of it. Just remembered my boss shelled out a bomb to replace his LCD screen

@grkrishn : I not very particular about the looks. Doesnt even have to be fancy looking as long as the purpose is served. Anyways what was the gripe with the OS that you mentioned. Windows key not really bothered. Heck I dont even use that key on my standard keyboard

I think I will be deciding between HP/Compaq or IBM

Also i have noticed that IBM gives a three year warranty but at a price . The others i think give you a one year warranty. Is the warranty global accross all the brands?

[mohit]

Check the IBM prices here

http://www-604.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/st...356&langId=356

[gkrishn]

The gripe on OS, is the usual one with windows. Nothing much sersious.

And then... its no more ibm... its lenovo.

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by karthik247

Can anyone comment on the Acer Ferrari laptop? It should be pretty good as its got the AMD 64bit processor.

Perfect laptop for a petrol head

Karthik, do not bother with the Ferrari. It is not worth the huge price they charge. In a comparative test of the laptops it fared one of the lowest amongst all the brands. Also, I feel that red mouse looks real wierd!!!

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by Dippy

Also i have noticed that IBM gives a three year warranty but at a price . The others i think give you a one year warranty. Is the warranty global accross all the brands?

Dippy, I very strongly feel you should also check out the Toshiba range. For around 44k you will get a Toshiba with all that you are looking for (No! not DVD writer but a DVD/CD-W combo). The screen is also wider and brighter from any angle unlike the others which you need to see sitting exactly in front of the screen.

In fact if you ask me I would say you can even go for an equivalent specced Celeron-M (not ordinary Celeron) model instead of the Centrino. The difference between similarly specced Celeron-M and Centrino is mainly in the power consumption department. Unless you plan to run the laptop a lot on the battery power it should not matter much to you. And yet the price difference will be pretty good for your pocket. AMD processors do have a heating problem.

@tsk: Is not it the other way round with the AMD processors Athlon and Sempron? I thought Sempron had heating problems because of which they designed Athlon processors! Even the 64 bit one is the Athlon64 chip... or so I thought?!!

[deepakhon]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

I dont know about the specs, but I do know of an employee who was given this one as standard issue by his employers (one of the companies involved in that combine)...he's really pissed off with his Ferrari laptop and wishes he could have a 'normal' one.

I am also given the Ferrari by my employer. I have a few gripes against the Ferrari:
1. It does not have any USB ports to the right side. If you configure to use a right handed mouse, you have to encircle the laptop.
2. The laptop is pretty good for Bangalore cold as it emits a lot of heat.
3. It is not very sturdy. It looks like a tin box. I have not tested it though.
4. The keys start fading after a few days of use.

Since mine is upgraded to 2GB RAM, I have no issues with the processing power.

I guess there is a lot of scope for improvement with this laptop.