Pasted from forum.notebookreview.com
1) What is your budget?
Up to $1400 USD
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
Mainstream
3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in.
Midwest, Kansas City
4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
I'm actually more partial to off brands that not many people have heard of.
I get the impression that HP, Compaq, ACER and even sometimes Dell all take shortcuts to get a cheaper product. The laptop needs to be fast enough to get what I want but built well enough to not break or stop working.
Maybe someone can prove me wrong. I played with a build at
www.ibuypower.com and I came up with something good for $1250. WHat do people have to say about this brand?
5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Major DAW software for recording and mixing songs with several tracks and plugins. My current desktop is the AMD X2 4000+ with 2 gigs of 800 RAM and I get by with 24 tracks in Pro Tools before it stops working. I'd like to exceed this threshold with the laptop. I want to take my recording rig mobile so drummers don't have to pack all their stuff up and guitar players don't have to lug 100 pounds of gear around. It also must have a firewire port.
6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
both
7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
no games
8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
it'll probably be plugged in a lot, maybe 2 hrs?
9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
I'm hoping I can see one in person but I trust people here know what they're talking about
10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
XP (but I have an extra copy so I'll format anyway)
Screen Specifics
11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
widescreen
12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
1440x900
13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
matte
Build Quality and Design
14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
no, it just can't break
15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
5 years
Notebook Components
16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 500GB?
120 gig 7200 RPM
17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?
DVD Burner
I've read a couple threads on here about this with budgets of $2000 for this type of thing. I want the Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5 GHZ with the 6 MB L2 Cache. Will a higher cache make more of a difference?
I know I can't really get 800 RAM for many laptops yet so I'm ok with just the 667. I've configured several laptops from many places with these specs and I can get in the $1400 ballpark. I just need to know what kind of flaws I can expect with each one.
Is IBM Lenovo Thinkbook T61 any good for this? The only thing that bugs me is that the firewire port is on the front!
Thanks!
1) What is your budget?
Up to $1400 USD
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
Mainstream
3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in.
Midwest, Kansas City
4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
I'm actually more partial to off brands that not many people have heard of.
I get the impression that HP, Compaq, ACER and even sometimes Dell all take shortcuts to get a cheaper product. The laptop needs to be fast enough to get what I want but built well enough to not break or stop working.
Maybe someone can prove me wrong. I played with a build at
www.ibuypower.com and I came up with something good for $1250. WHat do people have to say about this brand?
5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Major DAW software for recording and mixing songs with several tracks and plugins. My current desktop is the AMD X2 4000+ with 2 gigs of 800 RAM and I get by with 24 tracks in Pro Tools before it stops working. I'd like to exceed this threshold with the laptop. I want to take my recording rig mobile so drummers don't have to pack all their stuff up and guitar players don't have to lug 100 pounds of gear around. It also must have a firewire port.
6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
both
7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
no games
8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
it'll probably be plugged in a lot, maybe 2 hrs?
9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
I'm hoping I can see one in person but I trust people here know what they're talking about
10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
XP (but I have an extra copy so I'll format anyway)
Screen Specifics
11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
widescreen
12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
1440x900
13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
matte
Build Quality and Design
14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
no, it just can't break
15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
5 years
Notebook Components
16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 500GB?
120 gig 7200 RPM
17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?
DVD Burner
I've read a couple threads on here about this with budgets of $2000 for this type of thing. I want the Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5 GHZ with the 6 MB L2 Cache. Will a higher cache make more of a difference?
I know I can't really get 800 RAM for many laptops yet so I'm ok with just the 667. I've configured several laptops from many places with these specs and I can get in the $1400 ballpark. I just need to know what kind of flaws I can expect with each one.
Is IBM Lenovo Thinkbook T61 any good for this? The only thing that bugs me is that the firewire port is on the front!
Thanks!
