IBM R-series vs. Dell 600M vs Dell D600

zskillz · July 18th, 2004, 11:27 AM

Hey all. I'm helping a friend buy a laptop and I need some advice. In the past, I have always just gone with dell b/c I have had such good experiences with them. However, I've heard a lot of good stuff about the new IBMs. I'd like your advice with the following restrictions.
cost <= $2000
CD-RW/DVD must be part of the system (not a separate device)
integrated gfx/audio is fine
512 MB ram
1.5GHz or greater processor (probably M, but not celeron)
the best type of display available at 14"

I think that's about it. I'm totally open to suggestions b/c I've priced out all of these systems and things look nice. So I'm also interested in the intangibles.

-Z

PresterJohn · July 18th, 2004, 11:56 AM

looking at the ibm & dell websites, for a 1.5ghz centrino, 512 ram, 40gb hd...

ibm r51 $1549
dell 600m $1569 (after $150 mail-in rebate, actual price is $1719)

the ibm is cheaper and has a 15" screen while the dell is 14". for me, it's a no brainer...i'd buy the ibm. plus the ibm has a trackpt mouse and no waiting for a stupid rebate which might not come thru.

ps. the ibm has a radeon 7500, no mention what the dell uses.

zskillz · July 18th, 2004, 10:54 PM

man.. i just cannot duplicate a price of $1549. what size screen did that have?
can you tell me the other options?

thanks
-Z

Mr.Macintosh · July 18th, 2004, 11:03 PM

I would also go with the IBM notebook. If the friend drops the IBM the hard drive will lock up and try to prevent any major damage in the insides of the HD. The dell doesn't have that.

chillypacman · July 19th, 2004, 01:12 AM

stick to dell. I know here in australia dell does better than IBM in laptops i.e. pentium M 1.5 ghz 256 ddr ram mobility radeon 9600 turbo pro with 128 ddr ram from dell costs as much as the one from IBM except that its radeon is only 64 mb ddr and I'm not sure if its pro or not

'edit Perhaps IBM does better in AUstralia than where you are from. IBM also won "APC MAG BEST MID RANGE LAPTOP OF THE YEAR" or something or another last year.

mingyu01 · July 19th, 2004, 01:25 AM

IBM is what i will recommand. Also the trackpoint rocks!! its beter to use then pad thing! also the Hard drive locking system which prevents fatal damage to the HDD dells aren't even close to IBM on laptops. btw these are all my opinion

chillypacman · July 19th, 2004, 01:29 AM

> Also the trackpoint rocks

mouse kicks both track point and pad's ***** from here to the land of mouses and pads and thingies...

I'm just saying track bad or not it doesnt matter cos if you have a small portable mouse your are better off using that instead

PresterJohn · July 19th, 2004, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zskillz

man.. i just cannot duplicate a price of $1549. what size screen did that have?

15" screen, 1.5ghz pentium M, 512mb ram, internal cdrw/dvd, 40gb hd

go here:
http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/st...goryId=2302836

look at the middle column--Value model. then click on the customize & buy to add another 256mb of ram (base option has 256mb)......comes to $1549

PresterJohn · July 19th, 2004, 01:37 AM

>I'm just saying track bad or not it doesnt matter cos if you have a small portable mouse your are better off using that instead

so where do you put your mouse if you're sitting on a plane or a train/bus/car.

njolakoski · July 19th, 2004, 01:39 AM

Dont look any further than these,

http://www.averatec.com/notebooks/6100series.htm

The ones on the website are all well within ur price range

Hope i helped