notebook advice

[Safin]

hey guys..
need a bit of advice on a new notebook. I am getting one from US. Budget is 1k to 1.2k.
Need some graphics kicks(ie i need decent performance on the graphics side for it to handle cad/cam software as well as games.(games are secondary here.. i say games so that the graphics are good)

Now based on lots of reviews i seem to come to these models

Toshiba m35
Dell Inspiron 9300
HP pavilion ZD 8000

that last model looks the best among the lot with ati x600 integrated with decent configuration.
here is the review

the bad part as i see it is that people are complaining of the keyboard getting too hot. Now how hot is this? Can anyone confirm. Also i seem to think that keyboard getting hot is pretty normal in notebooks.. is it?
And any other model advice which is good is welcome

 

[~HeadShot~]

... I am getting one from US. Budget is 1k to 1.2k....

I hope you mean in US $!

BTW, also check out Acer! They are a pretty good company, I hear! That's what KK here got his lappy from! :cool2:

 

[TheMask]

the bad part as i see it is that people are complaining of the keyboard getting too hot.

The underside (the side that rests on ur lap) is usually the side that gets hot. I have used my friends' and it really gets pretty hot after about half an hour. So if the keyboard (top) is getting hot then ur thighs wud be burning hot..

 

[~HeadShot~]

The underside (the side that rests on ur lap) is usually the side that gets hot. I have used my friends' and it really gets pretty hot after about half an hour. So if the keyboard (top) is getting hot then ur thighs wud be burning hot..

Yeah! LOL! I agree with Masky there completely!

 

[Safin]

hmm.. acer is grt too, but i tht the zd8000 has some killer features.
About that heating up part, i really wanna know if omeone has used this model or in general any other guy with notebook.. what does he think?

 

[KingKrool]

Yeah, can confirm that acer ROX.
And I mean Realllllly rox. The build quality is amazing.
Only reason I haven't submitted sonnets of praise in the form of a review is lack of time.

 

[Safin]

the key is.. does it rox when you compare it with the rest... and i don't mean whats available in India alone.
Also in what sense it rox? what features and what graphics?

 

[KingKrool]

I never said the one I had, had good gfx - it is only an Intel Extreme GFX2 after all.
But you do get ones with 9700 mobility radeon (one of our members does have that).
The build quality is something to write home about.
Trust me, I have seen IBM, HP Pavillion, Toshiba (all imported from the US) and NONE of them comes anywhere near my Lappy in looks or sturdiness.
I get 2m06 s in SuperPI compared to 2m 20s on a Compaq Lappy (ask SuperCzar) with the same config.
And there are Acers in USA even cheaper than what I got (I saw one online for 1.2k $ with a DVDRW).
The one with 9700 cost 65k here, u shud be able to get it a lot cheaper in USA.

All I mean is that while Acer is not always talked about much, it definitely shouldn't be looked down upon if u find a suitable model.

Hell, its display quality is better than my LG flatron E700S (tho that probably isn't a big deal).

 

[Darthcoder]

There's an ad for an Acer (AMD 2800+ Sempron,256 MB Ram,Inbuilt Grafix) Laptop today in TOI i think and thats for around 32k i guess.You could consider that.

Dell Laptops are availabe very cheap in the US/Singapore and have better grafix options compared to others.If you are bringing it from the US go for a Dell Laptop (Their laptops have 9600/9800 Mobility Radeon too..)

DC.