Quick Laptop Question

First of all, I'm not sure whether or not I should be posting this here, as the little blurb on the front page said that this sub-forum is for non-computer related topics... Anyhow, if this is indeed in the wrong place, please move it to the correct place so I know where to direct these questions in the future. Moving along now...

I'm looking into a small, portable laptop for when I go into university this coming Fall. Right now I'm using a Dell Inspiron 9300 with the upgraded GeForce Go 6800 and a Pentium M 2.0GHz processor. The battery life on this thing is terrible. I can probably salvage 3 hours of light use; only about 1 hour if I'm gaming. I can't even watch an entire movie, as the battery would completely deplete near the end.

Now I like to spoil myself when it comes to these things... so I don't want to get a laptop that's completely useless besides limited internet use and a word processor. I'm looking at the Dell XPS M1210 right now, but I wanted to ask to see if anyone has had any experience with this laptop? I won't be upgrading the laptop, so it'll just be the standard specs with the 9-cell battery. In such a case, how long would the battery normally last? I'm hoping for something around 5 hours... Obviously if it can last longer than that, then that's definitely better. For quick reference, these will be the system specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 (1.83GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667 MHz FSB)
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
80GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Windows Vista Home Premium

Also, if I upgraded the graphics card to a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400, how much battery life am I sacrificing? Keep in mind that I'm going to upgrade to the 9 Cell battery in any case.

On a side note, I've also been looking at the Sony VAIO TX series. However, judging from specs alone, these seem to be quite pricey (as compared with the XPS M1210). Sure, the battery life seems to be great, but as an entertainment laptop (save the gaming) would the TX series laptop be a viable solution?

Thanks a bunch for those who managed to read through the entire thing, and thanks for anything in advance!

 

Sony's cost more for a reason: they are better laptops. If you put a Dell and Sony side by side, I'd say the Sony will outperform the Dell, and have MANY less overall problems after 18 months of solid use... Just an opionion formed by 5 years experience in a shop where I see Dell laptops come in for repair all the time, and rarely see a Sony....

hd2k

 

So let's say I'm comparing these two laptops side by side: Dell XPS M1210 and Sony VAIO VGN-TXN15P/B. Here are the specs of each:

Dell XPS M1210: $999
Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 (1.83GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)
Windows Vista Home Premium
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
80GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950

Sony VAIO VGN-TXN15P/B: $1,999.99
Intel Core Solo Processor U1400 Ultra Low Voltage (1.20GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
Windows XP Professional
1GB DDR2 at 533MHz (2 Dimms)
80GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive (4200RPM)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950

It would be better to get the Sony, even with that $1000 difference and the difference in specs? Also, does anyone know how long the battery life lasts on the XPS with the specs that I mentioned?

 

Bump.

 

I used to work as an assistant to the Mobile Support Coordinator for a previous company. During the middle of 2005 we went from IBM T-series laptops to Dell Latitudes (I believe the Latitudes are laptops designed for businesses, etc. better than Inspirons). This was done to save money for the company, not the techs choice. At first we were like okay these look like they may be good. But after the first several months of putting them out in the field, they started coming back in for repairs. The IBM T-series lasted much longer out in the field, much, much, longer.

If you have the money, there are better laptops out there than Dell. I would definitely go with the Sony for longevity. I would also look into a Lenovo (IBM) ThinkPad. Sorry, I'm a big fan of IBM hardware. :cool

 

Yeah IBM's are good too. Alot of people don't like the ThinkPad's appearance (they used to be kind of 'boxey') and they think that 'cuz it looks the way it does, it must be old or slow.... NOT SO!!! IBM builds some rugged laptops and they can take more physical punishment than most other laptops. But if I were choosing from a Dell for $1000 or a Sony for $2000, I'd go with the Sony any day... with computers, the saying "you get what you pay for" has never been more true....

hd2k

 

Yeah, I can see how some think the IBMs look bland.

From working with laptops for over four years it seemed like the hard drive was the weakest link. It was pretty interesting when IBM put their hard drive protection in their laptops. If the laptop was in motion or tilted, I believe, it would "lock" the computer, to keep from further damaging the hard drive. The mobile users were surprised by this and didn't realize how much damage they were causing to the laptops until they got one of these equipped machines.

I may be incorrect but if the hard drive is spinning at say 5200 rpms, wouldn't tilting it constantly cause the hard drive to "warp"? That's what my department superior used to say anyways. confused