Advice on laptop spec

[JsD]

Been looking for a decent, but not too expensive highly portable laptop spec. I.E been looking for 12.1", basicly I've been looking for sub-notebooks without braking the bank lol. (10" is impossible without spend £1k now I swear)

It would be used only for internet and word processing as it's going to be a work laptop (maybe a DVD at uttermost) as I have my C2D system for most media and power-requiring purposes lol.

I then found this spec and am seriously considering it:

Intel Pentium III mobile 1200MHz processor
512MB SDRAM memory - Upgrading to 1Gb
40GB hard drive
12.1" TFT screen (1024x768 resolution)
Intel Extreme 830MG integrated graphics
Soundblaster compatible sound & input/ouput ports
UK keyboard
Trackpoint pointing device - Got a spare usb mouse just incase
56k modem & 10/100 network - Upgrading to wireless network card (only covers g though)
2x USB ports, infra red port
IEEE 1394 firewire port
VGA and parallel port
1x Type II PCMCIA slot & 1x compact flash card type II slot
Li-ion battery & AC adaptor/charger - (only 1.5 hours estimated battery life or so I'm told but I have found a way to get around this, see below)
Dimensions: 273mm x 223mm x 30mm - See, it's small, and only 1.63kg too!
Refurbished, with 90 days RTB warranty
Preloaded Windows XP Professional with COA & restore CD

Now whilst I realise that it is a refurbished system, i'm not too worried about it and the warranty, but should I be? For optical drive i'm getting an external usb drive, and to solve the low battery problem I'm getting an extended battery which increases life to 8!!! hours

Now excluding the other random crap i'm getting that is 'general purpose' it's gonna cost me:

£450.69 (original laptop only costs £234.99)

So is it worth it, or am I better off looking around some more, even waiting perhaps?

Thanks,

JSD

 

[skanky]

thats rather pricey for what is a essentially a p3 system! you could probably get a low end core duo laptop from dell for around that total price, you might need to pay a bit more if you're after a ultraportable notebook though.

also i doubt you'd get 8 hours even on an "extended battery." --i have a ibm t42 with a standard battery (approx 40wh, the extended ones are 60wh iirc) and a ultrabay battery (20wh) and at best i get 4 hours on it and thats on a PM cpu which is more power efficient that a p3m.

you might get 8 hours on it if its plugged in on AC for 8 hours

 

[Will_3rd]

£450 for a Pentium III Laptop is IMO not worth it.

 

[JsD]

thats rather pricey for what is a essentially a p3 system! you could probably get a low end core duo laptop from dell for around that total price, you might need to pay a bit more if you're after a ultraportable notebook though.

also i doubt you'd get 8 hours even on an "extended battery." --i have a ibm t42 with a standard battery (approx 40wh, the extended ones are 60wh iirc) and a ultrabay battery (20wh) and at best i get 4 hours on it and thats on a PM cpu which is more power efficient that a p3m.

you might get 8 hours on it if its plugged in on AC for 8 hours

I know in terms of power/£ I'm not getting the best deal there, but seriously I've been spending a lot of time trying to find a ultraportable (in the region of 3 months at least), and seriously finding one with what i'm looking for seems to come in at £800+ at the minimum, most more decent ones come in at £1k though :/ Being a student, this I cannot afford

As for the "extended battery" technically it's the old clause of 'up to 8' which in real life would bring me to 4 maybe 5 hours. I'd love to link, but obviously gotta keep the rules in mind Maybe I should point out that it doesn't go in the battery slot, it connects to the docking port.

I mean I'm just obsessed about getting a small laptop however, I always look at these people who get large laptops and think "What. The. Hell. if you want something portable you don't get a big screen!". That said, I consider 15"+ pretty large.

 

[skanky]

As for the "extended battery" technically it's the old clause of 'up to 8' which in real life would bring me to 4 maybe 5 hours. I'd love to link, but obviously gotta keep the rules in mind Maybe I should point out that it doesn't go in the battery slot, it connects to the docking port.

i understand what you mean but to clarify: my T42 has the normal battery + ultrabay battery (where the cdrom usually goes) and combined, i still dont get anywhere near 8 hours on a more efficient processor with brightness turned down, wifi off etc compared to significantly worse (in power usage) p3m..

obviously you're still going to do what you want to do, it doesnt matter what some random person on a online messageboard says. if you want an ultraportable, you're going to get an ultraportable..

 

[alphaomega16]

# Intel Core 2 Duo T5200 Processor 1.6GHz
# 533MHz FSB
# 2MB Cache
# 1024MB RAM
# 100GB Hard Drive
# Dual Layer DVD ReWriter MultiDrive
# 15.4" Widescreen TruBrite Display
# Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
# 128MB Intel GMA 950 UMA Graphics
# 1 Year Free Warranty
Other Information
Extreme Performance The Toshiba A100-338 notebook is a powerful multimedia solution and easily packs the performance of larger desktops.

The A100-338 has a fast 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and a 100GB hard disk. Alternatively you can store your data using the Super Multi DVD writer that supports double layer DVDs. For communicating, the notebook comes equipped with a built in WiFi 802.11 a/g wireless adaptor.

The brilliant 15.4'' Widescreen TruBrite display offers a decent size for both work and entertainment.

This is online offer £600 instore is £650 well under £800 from the shop that specializes in PC's

Also one with a 60GB HDD and T2250 C2D for £540

 

[JsD]

# 15.4" Widescreen TruBrite Display

That said, I consider 15"+ pretty large.

Whilst I'm obsessed with the idea of a 12", am I just being mad?

Would a 15" be fine but I just need a slap round the face?

At the moment I'm beginning to doubt my own judgement

 

[artaxerxes]

As an apple fanboi I will be recommending the 13.3" MacBook. Epic battery life and highly portable. Not as portable as my old 12" iBook, but my upgrade was free and it is well within your budget - Core 2 Duo goodness. Onboard graphics suckage, but what the hell - it will run windows.

 

[skanky]

At the moment I'm beginning to doubt my own judgement

goto a store and have a play around with different notebooks, see what you prefer.
15.4 wide isnt all that bad tbh, remember its not a standard 4:3 display.