# Of the three best laptops under 3000$



## daveyp225 (May 13, 2003)

I did some searching over the last couple of days and I believe I have found the three best values for laptops under three grand.
Which of the three do you think is best? (I am considering to buy one of these).

Toshiba Satelite P25-S609
Hewlett Packard zd7000 Customized
Dell Inspiron 8500 Customized


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## daveyp225 (May 13, 2003)

Toshiba Satelite P25-S609
CPU: P4 3.0GHZ
OS: WinXP Media Center 2004
RAM: 1GB
HD: 80BG 5400RPM
LCD: 17" Widescreen XGA 1440x900
GFX: 64MB NVIDA FX Go5200
CD: DVD+RW
XTRA: TV Tuner/Recorder

Hewlett Packard zd7000 Customized
CPU: P4 3.2GHZ With Hyperthreading
OS: WinXP Media Center 2004
RAM: 1GB
HD: 60GB 5400RPM
LCD: 17" Widescreen WVA WXGA 1440x900
GFX: 128MB NVIDA FX Go5600
CD: DVD+RW
XTRA: TV Tuner/Recorder

Dell Inspiron 8500 Customized
CPU: P4 2.6GHZ
OS: WinXP Professional w/ Microsoft Plus
RAM: 1GB
HD: 80GB
LCD: 15.4" WXGA
GFX: 64MB NVIDA GeForce 4 4200
CD: DVD+RW
XTRA: Printer + Camera


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## Servant of Eru (Sep 13, 2003)

The HDD on the ones with the TV Tuner/Recorders isn't really big enough to use it for much recording, unless you're using it exclusively for that. The Hewlett Packard sounds best for gaming Apps, but like I said, the XTRA feature is no good. I'd go with the Dell.


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## daveyp225 (May 13, 2003)

I considered the TV-Tuner Option only because sometime in the future I was going to buy one of those external USB 500GB HDs. But that was only if I purchased the XP Media Center (I was also considering XP Professional).

I've been hearing constant praise for Dell, so I am startiing to consider it more and more, but I am the kind of person that always gets the best, even if it isn't the best two weeks later.
Do you think dell would put a faster processor and higher-mem gfx card in if I specifically opted for one?


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## Lurker1 (Jan 30, 2001)

> Do you think dell would put a faster processor and higher-mem gfx card in if I specifically opted for one?


 The Dell web site shows the 2.6 as being the fastest option processor for your system. As for video upgrades most laptops only have built in graphics on the motherboards and don't support any upgrades. But it looks like you can buy a highter resolution LCD screen for the laptop. See the differences explained here.

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/vectors/en/2002_lcd?c=us&l=en&s=corp


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## Servant of Eru (Sep 13, 2003)

Actually, my Inspiron has a separate GFX module. The same one the skinnied down Alienware's used to have before the GeForce FX Go came out. It should be no problem (providing you can figure out how to take it apart) to unscrew, and unplug the one it comes with, and plug in a newer one. Though I'm not sure what that would do to your warranty.  If you can figure out how to take the thing apart though, i've found Laptops/Notebooks easier to put together then Desktops. It's just a matter of finding a case to put it in, or else it would be more cost effective to build your own. 

~The Servant of Eru~


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