Which lightweight laptop

KStaford

Ok sorry to be posting another of those "which laptop" questions.

I am after a new laptop and this time my main concern is weight. I still wanna be able to run XP on it so not really interested in the new breed of solidstate linux/unix boxes (Asus eee pc etc)
In the trade off between weight and performance, I want as much performance as possible for the lighest possible weight (you dont ask for much do ya - ed)

Ideally I'd like to keep things in or around 1 - 1.5Kg, 13-14 " screen and the usual laptop specs. I shall be using it for college for th enext 2 years so loads of essay writing, web surfing etc but nothing more taxing than that really. Not into games so much nor graphics editing etc. I would probably end up getting a big 19" or 22" monitor and seperate keyboard for use with the laptop at home but when I'm out and about, I dont want it to feel as though I have a sack of spuds on my back.

Can anyone recommend a solution ? anybody got any expereinces with similar kit ?

Thanks all

Kieran

Sarn

It all comes down to price. You will pay a premium for a 13" machine (e.g. Sony Vaio) and a 14" would be far too heavy for your requirements.

Netbooks are a good compromise. In addition to Asus' Eee pcs there are also the ones below. Both can run XP. If you want to try before you buy Dixon's have a few display models of most brands.

Advent 4211

Acer Aspire One

It is also rumoured that Dell will be announcing their version of netbooks come the start of September (Inspiron 910). It is also possible that Apple will be refreshing their Macbooks come September which could mean a reduction in weight (reasonably expensive though).

Alanstrainor

I wouldn't say you have to pay that much of a premium for 13" pcs. The Dell xps m1330 can be picked up with very good spec for the 800 mark. As well as the vostro 1310, and i'm told there's an inspiron 13" available in shops at the moment, aimed and those returning to college etc.
What kind of performance do you want out of the machine? Gaming? etc?
Oh and of course, what's your budget?

Irish Wedding D

I've used sony, acer, dell, hp, toshiba, and compaq and of all the ones i have its got to be the sony vaio. I bought the toshiba last year and to be honest, i wasn't at all impressed even though i was told that toshiba are up there in the top five.

Dell are my second choice.

The sony are great, very small and powerful the board in them is second to none I haven't had any problems (touch wood)

My dad has an acer and I woudn't touch it with a barge poll.

one of the netbooks like advent 4211 (netbook) would be good but the screen is only 10 inches. It is in the weight range (1 - 1.5kg) though that you specified. if web surfing + reports, essays etc is all you are going to use it for then that will work - especially if you buy a seperate monitor and keyboard to use at base. if you want a 13 inch screen laptop in the 1 to 1.5kg range (ultraportable laptop) you will be paying €€€. The Dell XPS M1330 as mentioned is nice but weighs just over 2kg ("thin and light" category) - that is not that heavy tho - it's still pretty light.
My advice is go to somewhere like pc world and have a look at the netbooks, thin and light laptops and ultraportables and see what suits you best and then buy from the net to save money.

KStaford

thanks everyone for the responses so far.

I am looking more and more at the Dell XPS M1330. Some of you above state that the weight is 2kg but when I'm specing them on Dell's website, they come up as 1.5kg. Can anyome confirm?

Secondly, the new screen technology (white led 300mit). Is is seriously better than the old technology? is it easier on the eyes? does it use more or less battery ?

Thanks again fellas

Kieran

Alanstrainor

They're brighter and use less power so really it's a win win, i'd recommend them.

KStaford

KStaford wrote: »

thanks everyone for the responses so far.

I am looking more and more at the Dell XPS M1330. Some of you above state that the weight is 2kg but when I'm specing them on Dell's website, they come up as 1.5kg. Can anyome confirm?

Secondly, the new screen technology (white led 300mit). Is is seriously better than the old technology? is it easier on the eyes? does it use more or less battery ?

Thanks again fellas

Kieran

depends on which battery is in it - 6 or 9 cell. either way it's a pretty light and small laptop.

KStaford

glasso wrote: »

depends on which battery is in it - 6 or 9 cell. either way it's a pretty light and small laptop.

ah thanks glasso, that explains it. I'm specing a 6 cell battery

AlmightyCushion

Alanstrainor wrote: »

They're brighter and use less power so really it's a win win, i'd recommend them.

They are also a little thinner and a bit lighter as well. If you have the option and it's within budget then get the led screen.

KStaford

Guys

Talking of the white led screen. Can anyone tell me is it possible to determine the screen type when specing m1330's on dell outlet ?

Here's an example of a spec from the factory outlet site this evening.

System Price EUR 655.59

Operating System: English Genuine Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium
Memory: 3.0GB MB (1X2GB + 1X1GB) 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Disk Drive: 250GB HD (5400RPM)
NoteBook Screen: Display LCD 13.3 WX
Modem: Modem not included
CD Read-Write Drive: DVD+ -RW (8X)
MISC: Uk/Irish Internal Keyboard (QWERTY)
MS Vista Premium Logo Label NB (small
Tuxedo Black 0.3 MP Camera for White-LED
Image Restore - Vista
Vista OnLine Getting Started Guide (WW
Assembley Mod 128 MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Primary 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion Battery
Intel 4965WLAN Mini-Card EUR
European Dell TrueMobile 355 internal Bluetooth Module

Is the clue there in the camera description? "Tuxedo Black 0.3 MP Camera for White-LED"

AlmightyCushion

KStaford wrote: »

Guys

Talking of the white led screen. Can anyone tell me is it possible to determine the screen type when specing m1330's on dell outlet ?

Here's an example of a spec from the factory outlet site this evening.



Is the clue there in the camera description? "Tuxedo Black 0.3 MP Camera for White-LED"

That's it all right. The ccfl screens use the 1.3MP camera.

KStaford

Conn
Why are the screens and cameras seemingly inextricably linked ?

what difference does it make what camera goes with what screen type ?

AlmightyCushion

The 1.3MP is a little bigger than the 0.3MP one so it doesn't fit in the casing for the led screen.

KStaford

gotcha

many thanks

BostonB

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I wouldn't say you have to pay that much of a premium for 13" pcs. The Dell xps m1330 can be picked up with very good spec for the 800 mark. As...?

I only paid 500 for mine off the outlet. ccfl screen.

AnneO'Donovan

I'm looking for somthing similar to the OP, 2 questions to add how do i get to the factory outlet website and also what's the difference between a laptop and the netbook?
Thanks

BostonB

AnneO'Donovan wrote: »

I'm looking for somthing similar to the OP, 2 questions to add how do i get to the factory outlet website and also what's the difference between a laptop and the netbook?
Thanks

http://outlet.dell.com/Emea_Dfo/EuDispatcher?country=IRL&target=InventoryPage&lob_constraint=DIM

netbook is much smaller, more compact. But usually has no CD/DVD drive and a much lower spec than a regular Laptop.

Alanstrainor

Netbooks are usually bought as a secondary laptop, they are usually much cheaper also. Mainly used for web browsing on the go along with other less intensive apps.

KStaford

Question about the XPS machines and solid state disks.

I see that you can opt for 40GB or 64GB solid state disks. What are the advantages? do they save considerable amounts of power?

How do they compare in terms of speed / read / write / access times ?

Are they interchangable / swappable with regular 2.5" spindle hard drives ? (I ask cos they are listed in the specs as being 2.5).

Why are they so so expensive ? (Similar size ssd's are being mad eavailable in the eee pc now at a much lower price).

BostonB

When you consider the powersaving you use on a laptop, there isn't a world of a difference in battery life IMO.

KStaford

After hours researching the current Samsung SSD's in the M1330's (anyone interested in these disks might find these links useful linky1 and linky2)

I finally bit the bullet when this little beauty appeared on outlet tonight.

INSPIRON XPS M1330 (System Identifier. DDCW0TG8)
XPS M1330 CORE 2 DUO T7500 2.20GHz
Windows Vista SP1 Business

System Price EUR 880.99

English Genuine Windows Vista SP1 Business
4.0GB (2x2048) 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Solid State Drive SATA 64GB 2.5
Display LCD 13.3 WX
8xDVD+/-RW Slim Slot-Load Drive
European Dell TrueMobile 355 internal Bluetooth Module
Uk/Irish Internal Keyboard (QWERTY)
Primary 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion Battery
Intel 4965WLAN Mini-Card EUR
Vista OnLine Getting Started Guide (WW
Assembley Mod GMA X3100
MS Vista Premium Logo Label NB (small
Image Restore - Vista
Tuxedo Black 0.3 MP Camera for White-LED

I'd dearly welcome your opinions. There are 3 points that did it for me

1. It does not have the notorious NVidia overheating chip (I anint a gamer, I'm a browser and typist so dont need high end graphics)

2. It has the newer white led screen (thinner, brighter, less power consumption)

3. It has the Samsung 64GB SSD. After much research it seems that write speeds are much improved over the 32GB drive. The life of the disk is much improved with random overwriting. It is totally silent and uses around 20% less power than a spindle disk. It is also lightning fast in terms of read times with more or less 0 seek time. Not to mention its lighter than a spindle HDD.

AlmightyCushion

KStaford wrote: »

Question about the XPS machines and solid state disks.

I see that you can opt for 40GB or 64GB solid state disks. What are the advantages? do they save considerable amounts of power?

It depends on the drive, some of them use less power than hdd others use more.

KStaford wrote: »

How do they compare in terms of speed / read / write / access times ?

Once again depends on the drive. Some have better read/write speeds some have worse. the big thing about them is access times, they are generally less than a milisecond.

KStaford wrote: »

Are they interchangable / swappable with regular 2.5" spindle hard drives ? (I ask cos they are listed in the specs as being 2.5).

Yeah.

KStaford wrote: »

Why are they so so expensive ? (Similar size ssd's are being mad eavailable in the eee pc now at a much lower price).

The ssds in the eeepc haven't gone as big as 64GB. The biggest they have is around 12GB. I'd say dell are charging a hell of a lot for the upgrades as well similar to what they use to do with ram. If you really want an ssd I'd say you should buy one and install it yourself. At least that way you know what drive you are getting and how well it performs. The mtron mobis are meant to be beasts.