Search for a New Laptop

Vostro 2510, originally uploaded by Dell Digital Media.

I’m currently using an Inspiron 700m. I’ve been using it ever since it came out fall of 2004. While I love the portability of the little guy, it’s been aging on me and even with a massive memory and hard disk upgrade, it’s slowly unable to perform the tasks that I’d like it to do, such as running 720p video smoothly, processing Photoshop routines quickly, amongst other things. I also wanted to take the plunge into VIsta, which may be either a really smart or stupid decision.

Furthermore, my mother has been carping at me to get a laptop with a larger screen, since she’s very concerned with my eyes. She insisted that I get something that was at least 14 inches large. I was reluctant at first, since I love the portability of 12-13 inch notebooks, but I didn’t want to go against my mother’s word. I decided that I would go for the smallest possible size. The size/weight requirements that I set personally for my laptop were as follows:

Screen Size: 13.3-15.4″, preferably 14.1″
Weight: 13″, under 4.66 lbs. 14″ under 5.33 lbs., 15″ under 6 lbs.
Thickness: 1″ or less

As you can see, I put some pretty stringent weight requirements because I will undoubtedly be carrying this laptop around with me everywhere. I assumed that any laptop offerings fulfilling these requirements would be good enough to run anything I throw at it. I’m not a big PC gamer, and even if I did want to game I’d just build a custom desktop rig. Notebooks for me are a workhorse type of computer, and with that in mind, I wanted something that looked professional, yet had style to boot.

While I’ve hated the way Dell desktops have been built in the last few years and swore to never ever buy a desktop from Dell again, I had a decent experience with their laptops. They’ve gotten more and more full-featured, with better design elements with every iteration. Their recent XPS and Studio offerings looked good. While the XPS laptops looked really nice, I was flummoxed by the weight and thickness of the Studio laptops. I’m reluctant to go for the XPS m1330 and Lenovo IdeaPad U330 because I fear my mother’s wrath,

After careful consideration of which laptop to buy next, I’ve zeroed in on the Dell Vostro 2510. I had been waiting for the E-Series Latitude notebooks to come out, but they’ve kind of disappointed me. I thought they were going to be better built and nicer looking. The trim, while probably built like a tank, looks kind of cheap. I’d rather go for the Vostro, which is less well built but no less full featured, and a lot less expensive (ditto on the XPS m1530, which is similarly expensive with the Latitudes). The processor choices are plenty for me, with Penryn cores available to choose from, as well as standard 1440×900 screen, which allows me to run 720p media without going into full screen and to edit 1280 px width pictures at 100% view. It has a slot loading optical drive, which is a nice touch. I wish Dell would allow us to choose different color trim, however. It’s currently only available in red, although it’s not a bad color. I just prefer black — easier to manage dirt and scratches. On the technical side, I kind of lament the lack of HDMI out and the lack of Centrino 2. Adding some Magnesium to the case wouldn’t hurt either. And if only Dell introduced a Vostro 2410; I’d snatch it up in an instant, since 15.4″ is a little large for my tastes. For the price, this offering is a great value. Although not mind blowing, it fulfills my weight/thickness requirements at 5.72 lbs. and 1″ thick.

Still, I’m not completely sold yet on the Vostro 2510. I’m also considering the Lenovo IdeaPad Y430, which is yet to be released, much like the U330. Obviously, since neither Lenovo notebook has been released, I don’t know much technically about them. They do look good, however.

IdeaPad Y430, originally uploaded by Lenovo Photo Library.

IdeaPad U330, originally uploaded by Lenovo Photo Library.

~ by tomscy2000 on August 14, 2008.