Laptop Purchase Help

[gdatuk]

I want to buy a new laptop. SO i have been browsing around in many shops in chennai

HP dv2122 looks appealing to me

This is the specs

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T5200
• 1.6 GHz, Level 2 Cache 1 MB, 533 MHz Bus Speed

512 MB DDR2 RAM

120 GB SATA @ 5400 rpm

Super Multi DVD Writer (+/-R +/-RW) with Double Layer support
5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader
Intel® Pro/Wireless 3945ABG 802.11 a/b/g WLAN
14.1” WXGA High Definition BrightView Widescreen Display

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950

3D Sound Blaster Pro compatible sound 16 bit integrated Altec Lansing® speakers

1.3Mp HP Pavilion WebCam with Integrated Microphone

2.43 kg (5.33 lbs)

Price is 59k inc tax. Has anyone used this model? How is it?

Suggest any new models in the same specs range...1 prefer 1GB ram...

Do let me know..thx

[aryayush]

HP has the best price-to-performance ratio, so I think this would be your best bet.

[Pathik]

check out the dell inspiron 6400... u can customise it..

[Aberforth]

At 59K a laptop with 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo and no dedicated graphics card does not really sound a good vaule for money. Check out models which offer at least 256 MB onboard nVidia or ATI graphics and a 1.73 GHz Core 2 Duo CPU or higher. And if these are met then check RAM but don't compromise on these two (CPU+Graphics) as they are not upgradable. RAM can always be upgraded in future, you can add one more 512 MB module after purchase or later.

You want your laptop to last and not feel like you faced a roadblock by buying an non upgradable and obsolete one after say, a year.

[gdatuk]

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5200
• 1.6 GHz, Level 2 Cache 1MB, 533 MHz Bus Speed
NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7200 with 128 MB of TurboCache video Memory
1024 M RAM

Then check this one...This is model number DV2119TX. Same form factor...

this one is priced at 67k

[Aberforth]

Originally Posted by gdatuk

Then check this one...This is model number DV2119TX. Same form factor...

this one is priced at 67k

This one sounds more pricey than it should be for. Where are you buying it from? Is the price you mentioned dealer price or website price?

[aryayush]

Oops, I did not notice that it does not have a graphics card.

[Aberforth]

Frankly I find the current pricing of HP Pavilion laptops a little off mark. I purchased mine last year at 64K with way better configuration offered above..is hardware getting more expensive now? Will be able to confirm that after gdatuk replies to my above post.

[gdatuk]

i quoting the price inclusive 4% VAT in chennai from a dealer.


Also anyone has idea about the impact of budget 07-08 on computer prices?

[digiFriend]

go for dell laptop- better processor,double ram,fair price than HP dv2122

DellTM InspironTM 6400 Notebook
Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor T5500 (2MB Cache, 1.66GHz, 667MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows VistaTM Home Basic
15.4" Wide Screen XGA TFT Display (1280x800 res.)
512MB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz (1X512MB)
80GB1 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Free upgrade to 1GB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x512MB)
Free upgrade to DVD Burner
Rs 4,000 Cash Off

E-Value E-Value Code :Q540208
From
Rs.49,900
Price after savings (Price excludes taxes and delivery charge)
Expires 23-02-2007.

[gdatuk]

I checked dell site on that model but that price is misleading..when u customise what i want..its shoots upto 57 k..check these quotes

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T5500
1.66 GHz, 2MB Cache, 667 MHz FSB
Genuine Windows Vista(TM) Home Basic 32 bit (English)
Integrated 10/100 Fast Ethernet
Integrated Stereo Sound
Intel(R) 945 Chipset Family
15.4" Wide Screen XGA TFT Display with Truelife(TM): 1280x800
1024MB (2 X 512MB) DDR2 SDRAM
256MB ATI Mobility(TM) Radeon(R) X1400 Hypermemory
120GB SATA Hard Drive
Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Combination Drive with dual layer write capabilities
Dell(TM) Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module
Shipment Box with No Case

Price: 57,781

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T7200
2GHz, 4MB Cache, 667 MHz FSB
Genuine Windows Vista(TM) Home Basic 32 bit (English)
Intel(R) Media Accelerator 950 Graphics Up to 224MB shared system memory
14.1" WXGA+ Ultrasharp(TM) TFT Display with TrueLife(TM) ( 1440 X 900 res)
1024MB (2 X 512MB) DDR2 SDRAM
Integrated Stereo Sound
120GB SATA Hard Drive
Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Combination Drive with dual layer write capabilities
Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module
6-cell 53Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Dell Small Nylon Case

Price: 66,538

And what does dell mean by basic install?

[aryayush]

It means they will give you Windows pre-installed, at least I think so.

[gdatuk]

any links to see actual photographs of the laptops? how abt the price? is it reasonable? will it fall after the budget?

[aryayush]

I am sorry I do not know. I do not have much information about Windows notebooks. Maybe someone else could help you out.

[Aberforth]

Basic install means they will format your whole hard disk to one parition and install the OS. If Windows Vista is offered than that will be the OS.

If you want to see photographs, check out if some user has it (like blogs). Shopping and company sites are often misleading and except 3D flash or Java demo's, what you see isn't what you get.

As for the price after the budget, no idea about that unless you have sources in P. Chidambaram's office. But as a rule, the price isn't going to rise, if taxes increase, the falling prices of hardware will always stabilize the effect.

Here are one configuration I made for you for Inspiron 6400-

Intel Core Duo T2250 @ 1.73 GHz, 2MB Cache, 533 MHz FSB
Genuine Windows Vista(TM) Home Premium 32 bit (English)
Genuine Windows Vista Premium Label (Free)
1 Year next Business onsite response with 1 Year CompleteCover
Basic System Install (Qty 1 System) 
15.4" Widescreen TFT Display with TrueLife @ 1280 X 800
1024 MB (2X512) DDR2 SDRAM
256 MB nVidia GeForce Go 7300
120 GB SATA Hard Drive
Internal 8X DVD+-RW with Dual Layer capabilities
Dell Wireless Bluetooth Module
Dell Large Nylon Case

Price - Rs 61,549.00

The price comes close to your budget and the features are best you can get for that price and will take quite sometime to get obsolete. You can make changes as you like but try to avoid ATi Graphics cards (for their laxity in driver support for Linux), keep to nVidia; keep Vista Home Premium as upgradability in Vista versions is still a question mark and Home Premium suits 95% of home users; keep processor to at least 1.73 GHz for better performance. Any other configuration you think is better, post away.

[aryayush]

Is the tax included?

[Sourabh]

9 out of 10 times, after you get the quotation from the dell representative they also throw you a deal where they will sell it at that price inclusive of the tax. So that saves the 4% VAT in most places on the purchase.

I think Acer has the best value for money laptops and no one can beat them at it. Who else sells a Core Duo laptop with 8x dvd-writer, 14" Widescreen LCD, 512MB RAM, 120GB hdd for 36k?

I agree with Aberforth that the current HP pricing are off the mark slightly especially their core 2 duo range. Mostly they have the OEM processors with 533Mhz FSB in mainstream laptops. I think its time for them to offer full notebook customization for Indian customers like they have on US site. That would be something really nice to look forward to. Due to the HP pricings, it makes more sense getting a Core 2 Duo notebook from Dell. But their lower end compaq do have some nice turion mk-36 and turion x2 based notebooks for a 40-45k budget with ati/nvidia onboard graphics enough to run vista in its full glory.

On Dell India site, it is very important to select the right stock config from the catalog. Not all Dell Inspiron 6400 base configs have the same deal as the 50k one with 1GB RAM, DVD Writer, Bluetooth module with T5500 Core 2 Duo Processor and the rest of the regulars. Getting the X1400 ATI graphics chip makes sense coz it costs just around 3.5k more. Also make sure you get a 9-celled battery for Inspiron 6400. To give you a rough indication, 6 celled battery on X1400 gives a 140 minutes battery backup on moderate loads whereas the 9-celled one gives nearly 1.5 times of that.

For pics, you can check notebookreview.com, notebookforums.com and notebookcheck.net! You will find every darn notebook known to man in the past 5 years and a truck load of pics.

[gdatuk]

Aberforth, thanks and reps to u for taking extra effort for me. Sourabh thanks for the much needed information. Yes aryarush, tax excluded..i mean...if am getting that i would be getting it for the price without paying tax, thats the deal bargained for. I would do more research and ping back asap.

and though FM hails from a place near my hometown...i dont have access to his office info...

[teknoPhobia]

I would suggest you take a look at the compaq presario series if you are interested in HP/Compaq, Mine would be a good deal, I paid 52k for it including carry case and VAT here in Cal. It has a Turion X2 1.6 Ghz, 1 GB DDR2 667, 120 GB HDD, DVD RW, XP MCE (Which you can upgrade to vista home premium via the upgrade offer, youll have to pay abt 750 for Shipping and Handling for Vista), media card reader, bluetooth/wlan, in short its fully loaded .

[gdatuk]

Hi Guys
Check this excel sheet
http://www.uploading.com/files/05M1E...MPARE.xls.html


I think i will go for the one marked in Green!