If you whisper loud enough, it will echo in this place.  At the start of the semester, I had a crazy plan to take six classes, and simultaneously work on graduate school applications.  The reason was simple - if I had fewer classes, I would simply waste more time, and the time spent on apps would work out to be roughly the same.  But with the knowledge that I was constantly running out of time to finish the applications, I would work hard on them.

It has been semi-successful so far.  But what it has also done, is turned me completely anti-social, and on the verge of breaking something.  On a Friday night, when the rest of NYC was out partying like it was 1999, I was sitting in my room and writing grad school essays.  To make matters worse, the laptop gods obviously don’t want me to get a new laptop.  Every day, I go through phases when I’m close to buying a certain laptop, only for that to change a few hours later.  As of this writing, the HP Elitebook 8530w has its nose ahead for the durable construction, good battery life, and non-glossy looks.  I was almost certain to go with the ASUS G50V, when along came a new version with a more conservative silver/grey color scheme and a better GPU.  The stripped-down Best Buy version is not ideal, and the size is still bothersome.  Battery life will probably take a hit with the new GPU - not good news when it was a paltry 2 hours to begin with.  But with the rupee being pretty weak against the dollar, the Elitebook is an expensive proposition compared to the ASUS.  But, but, but, maybe the durable construction and battery life make up for that?

Run along now, I only posted this entry to remind everyone that I haven’t suffered a nervous breakdown yet, and that I was really, really bored while writing these essays.  I hope that makes you feel better.

The Precision M4400 was my third Dell computer.  The first, a Dimension 8200 desktop, has been working fine for the last 6.5 years with the only problem being a failed hard drive early in its life.  The second, an Inspiron 9100, has been my workhorse for the last 4 years.  It too had a hard drive failure (taken care of immediately by Dell), and of course, the backlight went out earlier this year, but on the whole, nothing else went wrong.  The thing is built like a tank (weighs as much too) but it’s showing its age.  The Precision M4400 was purchased as a replacement - workstation quality laptop with a fast processor, decent graphics card, and support for both XP and Vista.

It showed up yesterday, about 12 days after I ordered it.  Obviously, I was excited and I opened it up and turned it on as soon as I got back to my room. I guess that was where the excitement ended.

I got one of the Philips-LG displays that was known to be grainy.  On top of that, the keyboard had too much flex and I could both see and feel the center of the keyboard depressing downward during typing.  Sure, the laptop was well-built and looked very nice, but after paying extra for a business laptop, I expected top-notch hardware.  I knew from NotebookReview.com that the Samsung panel was a lot better but Dell couldn’t guarantee that a replacement screen would be the Samsung, and so, I returned the laptop today.  It was in my possession for all of 26 hours - it’s a shame because I really liked the laptop too.  I’m back to square one and am considering the ASUS G50V and HP Elitebook 8530w again.  For a full gallery of unboxing shots, visit my Flickr photostream at:

http://flickr.com/photos/electrictool/tags/m4400/

So this is it, folks.  This is the final phase of waiting and also the appropriate time for me to reveal what this waiting game is all about.  You see, a little over a week ago, I ordered a new laptop from Dell, thus ending a long and frustrating wait.  Since it was looking like Montevina-based Dell consumer laptops were a few months away (!), I went with a business laptop from them.  So, this is what I got:

Dell Precision M4400

Core 2 Duo T9400 2.53GHz/6MB L2/1066MHz FSB on Intel Montevina chipset
2GB DDR2-800 RAM (will upgrade in the near future)
250GB 7200rpm SATA HDD w/ Free Fall Sensor
15.4″ WXGA+ 1440×900 LED-backlit display
Nvidia Quadro FX 770M 512MB graphics (workstation equivalent of 9600M GT)
Intel WiFi Link 5300 a/g/n card + Gigabit Ethernet
Windows XP Pro SP3 Installed with Vista Business Install Disc

Other things:

Backlit keyboard, 6-cell battery, DVD burner, 3-year warranty, Bluetooth, Usual assortment of ports and things

I left out the fingerprint reader and webcam to save money and also because I already have a nice/compact webcam and didn’t think I would need a fingerprint reader. I could be proven wrong!

It shipped out today and has an estimated delivery date of September 29, 2008. My original shipping date was September 30, so they’re actually 5 days ahead of schedule. I’ll do some unboxing shots and maybe a video next week. A more detailed review will follow. Oh, and before I forget, this is what the laptop looks like (arrows not part of laptop ):

This one uses the 9-cell battery that sticks out - the 6-cell is flush with the casing.

Front view of the laptop.

I am looking to buy a new laptop.  Soon.

I had planned on using my current laptop for about 4-5 years in total.  I paid a premium for it, but it was worth it in the long run.  However, since the backlight on my laptop display gave up, I’ve moved up my plans to get a new laptop.  End-August is my current target since the best back-to-school deals show up then.

I was going to buy a new one by early August, but Intel’s Centrino 2 processors have been delayed, consequently delaying my purchase.  My plan for early August was also influenced by rumblings of new mobile GeForce graphics cards coming out in June/July.  I’ve heard nothing on those so far, however.  I’m hoping for a 9600M GT with 512MB or more memory.  Since the 9500 series is based on the 8600 series, the 9600 should be based on the 8700 or the 8800 series.  This would provide a significant boost in gaming performance compared to the current 256MB 8600M GT card that’s become a standard on mid-high end machines.

Which laptops am I looking at right now?  There are very few contenders.  I have no laptops from Sony, Toshiba, or HP in my shortlist.  I’m looking at a couple of ASUS offerings, particularly the G1 series, and the Dell XPS M1530.  I could consider a 14.1″ screen if the rest of the configuration is enticing.  I’m leaning towards the Dell since I’m not very confident in ASUS’s tech support setup in the US.  Granted, Dell might not have the best tech support around, but ASUS is still relatively new and doesn’t have an extensive setup.  Further, I don’t know anyone who owns an ASUS laptop.  A friend of mine just ordered an M1530 with the LED-backlit display so I’ll get my grimy hands on it soon.

I am also tempted to get a MacBook Pro.  The only thing holding me back is the price - the student discount doesn’t help much at all.  I can get the same config in the Dell for a lot less, even though I wouldn’t have Mac OS X.  Plus, I would install XP and/or Vista on it anyway, so that it can run my games and other apps not made for OS X.  So what’s the point really?

There’s also the question of what I’ll do with my current laptop once I get the new one.  I doubt anyone would buy it since the display doesn’t work right.  I might use it as a Linux box or some kind of storage server or something.