laptop comparison

[disturbed13]

okay guys
im stuck in between 2 notebooks
but first some of what im looking for

- MUST be light weight
- prefer it to be less then 1" closed
- a decent processor, it would be used for nothing more then the internet and word processing
- 13 to 15" screen, i dont need anything really big. i just want something that i can see and something that will be portable with a good battery life

so here are the 2 that i found
Compair List from Newegg
13.4"
15.6"

the only reason why im hesitating and not getting the 15.6" screen is because im unsure of that processor
does anyone have any comments on that CPU?
other then that both of them are in my budget im trying to avoid $800 USD as much as possible
but your comments are appreciated
thanks guys

oh and i almost forgot
here are the specs on the CPUs
Atom Z530
Core 2 Solo

 

[Mutant Corn]

Ok...you have two options here, at the same price levels:

1) Laptops like you posted with decent-to-good battery life and size, but poor specs. These won't be very powerful at all...the only bonus is portability, so only go here id it's realy important to you. Any laptop will be "portable".

2) Laptops that are a bit larger and a bit power-hungry (4-5 hours of life vs 5-7...more with a netbook), but have twice the power. This is important in laptops, as you can't upgrade most of them. More power means a longer useful lifespan, as well as much easier use...you won't have to wait on it while it "thinks".

Keep in mind, I'm thinking within your size limit with both options. No 17" monsters or anything, just better internals. Also there are exceptions to any rule hers. I have a 12.1" Dell with a 2GHz core 2 duo and Nvidia graphics, and it can hit 6 hours of batter life. Only con was the price(bought in '07...cheaper now), and the fact that it only has 1200x800 resolution. Of course, any small screen will have bad resolution. Ones with higher res are hard to see.

edit: That first one you posted is basically a large netbook, btw. Same processor and graphics, with a bigger screen and more RAM.

 

[disturbed13]

i have a quad core desktop with dual 22" LCDs
so i dont need a beast
just a portable
so my question is is that core 2 solo a good CPU for a 15.6" laptop
or should i keep looking?

 

[Mutant Corn]

It's not a whole lot more powerful than the Atom I don't think. It may be less powerful, but their design is so different that it's hard to compare. The atom is an in-order processor with hyper-threading...somewhat similar to something you'd find in a video game console. The HT will probably make it better in multi-threaded applications, which is what new programs are moving toward.

With today's modern websites, I'd recommend at least a 2Ghz dual core. The Core 2 duo series is, IMO, the best current mobile processor.

On the other hand, if all you need is portability, and you need a lot of it, you could just go for a netbook. It'll have a tiny screen and , yes, low processing power, but the 8-9 hours of battery life is more than you'll get from any conventional laptop. The problem I see with them is that websites constantly need more and more powerful computers to run smoothly, and netbooks will start to fall behind much faster than more powerful laptops will. If you don't care about that, by all means grab something with an Atom. The N450 just came out recently and has better graphics performance than the N270/N280, and 40% less power usage.

The 13" MSI one you listed is basically a netbook with more RAM and bigger screens, like I said, so if you might save money buy just getting a full-blown 12" netbook and upgrading the RAM. The smaller screens will make for better battery life, and will be the only difference. Well, that and the price....$350-$400 for a good one.

I'd go for this, personally:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220682

N450, 10" screen(1024x600), bluetooth, webcam, windows 7, supports 2GB of RAM, and is supposed to hit 14 hours of life.
$380 shipped.



edit: Just checked, and the atom-powered MSI you linked has the old Z-series one, which uses more battery and lacks hyperthreading. I'd avoid that.

 

[familyman1]

Either of these would be good and both are fairly small, yet have good processors, graphics and include an optical drive which netbooks do not.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834107042

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115747

 

[Mutant Corn]

^ I saw those too, but he said he wanted less than an inch thick for some reason....

 

[disturbed13]

okay guys
tell me
whats the point in having a quad core 4GB of RAM w/ dual 22" LCDs ?
my pc is close to 2K or over right now
so i dont want something super big
its just not nesseary

i want something PORTABLE! and i dont want to squit to see what im typing
i.e. 10" screen
i dont even need an optical drive
as long is its light, thin, decent battery life
so that i can surf the web if needed, run word processing programs or anything else that might com up while im trying to do homework away from home
ill be set
that it
nothing more, i dont need to over pay
and nothing less

those are my reasons

 

[Mutant Corn]

I think we're having trouble finding something that will fit all of that. Thin laptops with large screens and good battery life are hard to find. The ones you posted would be good if the processors weren't old. Those are slow enough that you'll have to wait on it to "think" when you do anything.

And why would you post a crappy $750 laptop and say it's in your budget, and then go on about overpaying when someone posts a better one that's $200 less?

When was the last time you had a laptop dude? Something with a 14"-15" screen that is only 3/4" thick may look cool, but it won't be much more portable than one that's 1.5". There's no point in sacrificing tons of performance for that tiny little bit of extra portability. That's why it's hard to find laptops like that...they just aren't practical. Those two on newegg are old stock, I think. As far as I know, the cpu's in them aren't even used anymore.

How's this? I think it's a good choice.
http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/note...cs=19&~oid=us~en~29~inspiron-1464-ltd-anav1~~

14", .82"-1.27" thick(front to back), new technology(better, not more expensive), good battery life, and well within budget.


edit: And FYI, you generally don't have to squint to see a netbook. They run at rather low resolutions, which does mean less screen space, but it also means that the letters are bigger. I'm mildly farsighted and can see them just fine.

 

[disturbed13]

okay after some much needed sleep and time off
ive carefully looked over the specs on all of the above mentioned laptops
and i will be going with a

Dell Inspirion 14 (1464)
i3 @ 2.13GHz
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
250GB HDD / 4GB RAM
and a built in G adapter

 

[Mutant Corn]

Sleep is a good thing...I should have been asleep 4 hours ago.

Good choice on that one. It has a nice balance of power and porttability, and doesn't lack in either.

What color did you get?