As I stated on the other thread, I too am looking for a all in one fully equipped laptop. I have two main questions (hopefully someone has some opinions/answers):

1) Is Centrino or "M" worth it? I know there are supposed to be all sorts of efficiencies, but I see 2.4 Ghz machines with a lot more stuff built in selling for much less than the 1.3 Ghz Centrino and M machines. Are the Centrinos et al so much better or is it just a marketing thing (remembering that the Pentium 4 machines I am referring to have Wifi built in).

2) Would I be better off with a 16 inch screen or a 15.4 inch widescreen?

Thanks

1) Yes, it's all in the marketing, Centrino is a nicer sounding name than Celeron with Wireless...

2) Get a 15" or 16" with a UXGA screen (1600*1200) resolution, many widescreens only do 1280 x 854 or even 1280 x 800. That is much too low for power-use. In the end resolution will give you more desktop for your buck than screensize.

If money isn't an issue then look at the Sony Vaio GRT series where $4000 will get you 16.1" UXGA, 2.4GHz Mobile P4, 1Gb or ram and an 80Gb drive PLUS a DVD+/-RW drive.

Another EXCELLENT pick is the Toshiba Satellite P25 with Windows Media Center. Also has a DVD burner AND TV-tuner build in with a 17" widescreen. Their top model P25-S607 will run you around $2690.

Intel� Pentium 4� Processor� with Hyper-Threading Technology
Microsoft� Windows Media Center Edition,

17.0" diagonal Wide-Screen XGA display* (1400 x 900)
NVIDIA� GeForce� FX Go5200 GPU w/32MB DDR SDRAM (64MB on P25-S607 only)
60GB� hard drive
DVD-R/RW or DVD Multi Drive (P25-S607 only)
harman/kardon� stereo speakers
Integrated Wi-Fi� (802.11a/b)

...but test-drive a high-resolution laptop before you buy. LCD screens have one "ideal" resolution (equal to the LCD resolution) and going lower (for example to avoid tiny icons) results in a lower image quality than just buying a lower resolution laptop to begin with.

Just my $0.02...

True, with UXGA you need pretty good eyesight. The Toshiba and Sony panels are very good. Dell and Gateway seem to use lower quality panels.

Would that be the one with the red outer case I found myself drooling over (got s superb review in PC pro in the UK). Pity it's a bit too big for my requirements

Edited to add: And it's even just about in my price range.

[This message has been edited by Internaut (edited 07-30-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Internaut (edited 07-30-2003).]

Celeron with Wireless... hardly...

Centrino uses a Pentium M chip. A core designed by a joint Israeli/Europe/US Intel team to design an x86 LOW power core from the ground up. This core is NOT a modified P3 or P4 core but a new core... e.g. to take on forthcoming higher performance Transmeta cores (remember those guys... I'm sure we haven't heard the last from them)

Performance on par with an average P4, BUT MUCH MUCH MUCH lower power consumption.

The core has none of the power wasting optimizations that showed no real world performance. Pentium M's also use a low leakage manufacturing process....

[This message has been edited by NickP 1K (edited 07-30-2003).]

I use since a few weeks the Acer Travelmate 800 with Centrino and am very satisfied. This notebook can go forever without recharging plus its quiet and looks **** good.

Dont ask me any technical details of the speed but my computer-guru brother looked into all the available benchmark tests and according to him its pretty good (he just said "can I borrow it for the next lan party....your notebook is better than my pc).

Are you using your laptop as a desktop replacement, for travel, or both?

I go with the "for travel", so for me it's all about weight. I like a very lightweight laptop. But it also must have a good keyboard. And good battery life.

The sacrifice is screensize. But a small screen is fine when I am away from the office because I dock at my desk and use a 20 inch monitor. The laptop supports high rez on an external monitor anyway.

In addition, the M means the Pentium isn't clocking its fastest most of the time. Big deal. It is very efficient and quite fast at 1.4MHz. A laptop that is very small has other compromises too, probably a slightly slower disk access, and the clockspeed on the processor is of no consequence given the other compromises.

If you want a "desktop replacement" laptop, then it's a different story...

Scott, you inspired me, and I looked into the models you suggested. U have found this one, only in VERY few locations, but it seems almost identical to the lower model which you already stated. The price is fantastic.

What do you think?? What am I missing here??

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.js...befree&c=1&b=g

The Centrino is 802.11b which is fine for web surfing but very slow for other purposes such as multi-media or lan.

We have "b" at the office and lan response is maddeningly slow. The new "g" standard should be better but you'll need a separate card.

I agree that portablity is the first question. I recently received a Dell Inspiron 8500 at the office and the 15.4 inch screen which adds nothing unless you're using it as a DVD player. With the brick and a light case the thing weighs over 10 pounds. It definitely is not portable.

I bought my daughter a Compaq with a 16 inch screen for $1,250 after rebates. The screen is much more useable than my 15.4. It too weighs over 10 pounds. Her friends who are upper classman say they don't ever lug their computers anywhere. I hope so, because with a few books she'll need a half back to carry it around.

I'm trying to find a victim for my Dell. I'd like to get a very light machine with a 12 inch screen that weighs maybe 5 pounds with the brick and case.

The M is essential for portablity because it uses a much smaller battery for the same battery life as a regular Pentium.

I agree with pdhenry.

The powers in IT ordered my Dell with something called an WSXGA+ screen. I guess if you want to view uncompressed 5 megapixal photos it's great. But the print is too small and I have fairly good eyesight. You can't change the native resolution without causing a marked deterioration in the image.

[This message has been edited by traveler123 (edited 08-05-2003).]

Centrino is P-M bundled with Intel 802.11b

P-M with 802.11a is not Centrino, even though it provides better wireless performance. So as long as it has a P-M it's going to have good battery life.

I can't understand why anybody would buy a Centurino unless they're absolutely sure they will never do anything other than surf the net with their wi-fi.

We have 802.11b at the office and I have it at home. The thing is 10 to 20 percent the speed of wire. It's very annoying to run a program that resides on the lan through "b". The only thing holding back the "g" standard is certification of the standard. Then Intel and Cisco will adopt it immediately and you'll have to go buy a new card. The "g" standard is five times faster than "b".

I love my new notebook with its Pentium-M 1.6 and built-in wireless G. It's not a Centrino because I chose the add-on built-in wireless G instead of Intel's substandard wireless card.

I've heard that the Pentium-M executes ~50% more instructions per clock than the P4-M. My notebook is also very kind to batteries (will run on batteries for a long time).

The "g" standard is certainly far superior to "b" but until the standard is certified and Cisco begins selling it and companies begin using it, it wouldn't be of much value.

Large companies like the one I work for are very conservative. First they want Cisco to bless it, then they wait eons to install it. My guess is that it won't be widely available for at least couple of years.

Most people use "b" at home to share an internet connection. "b" is as good as wire for this purpose. The primary use of "g" at home is to faciliate a centralized entertainment source that can be pumped wirelessly around the house. Few will venture into this area considering the cost, complication and marginal benefit of an entertainment LAN.

A minor quibble, but the 802.11g standard was ratified back on 12th June:

http://standards.ieee.org/announceme...211gfinal.html