how practical is 4+ hours of battery life?

College Life
1

<p>I’m comparing 3 laptops:</p>

<p>dell vostro v13 ($400): fast enough laptop, 3-4 hours of battery.</p>

<p>dell vostro v130 ($430): runs cooler than the v13, runs slightly faster than v13, but only 2+ hours of battery (bleh!!!)</p>

<p>hp dm1z ($450): slower processor, but has 5+ hours of battery. It also has a graphics card.</p>

<p>Both of the Dell laptops can handle all my needs without any effort. The HP is more like a high end netbook. All I’m looking for is something to carry with me to write papers, surf the internet, and maybe some code writing with matlab.
…</p>

<p>I just want some feedback. Which one would you get?</p>

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<p>A few things to consider. First and foremost if all you need is word processing, spreadsheet manipulation, email and basic internet browsing along with the occasional maple/mat-lab/Mathematica project, then any of the machines you have listed above will be plenty adequate. Another thing to consider is how often and for how long you will be without an outlet, most college class rooms have outlets built into the tables, especially science labs/lecture halls. I have attended class at two community colleges as well as at the University of Minnesota and can only recall one room that did not have plugins for students, and even there battery life on my relatively old HP laptop was never a concern (I get about 1.5-2.0 hours of life from my battery, its getting pretty old and tired). </p>

<p>As for hardware, you did not list what quantity of RAM each machine comes with, or the specific speed of the processors. But a processor that “runs slightly faster” IMHO is not worth the 1-2 hour reduction in battery life if all else is equal, but if this slightly faster computer has say an extra GB or 2 of ram, or perhaps a larger hard drive. Than I would probably opt for that computer and deal with the lower battery life expectancy. </p>

<p>Just my 2 cents.</p>

3

<p>Obviously I can’t substantiate this claim in a forum, but I’m an expert. :slight_smile:
I’ll help you compare the three you mentioned based only on their performance. Battery life is notoriously over-reported, so I don’t think its the best idea to make that the primary factor in your decision. Plus, you can get quality batteries on ebay for a reasonable price- you could always just carry a second with you.</p>

<p>I have experience with the very first models of the Dell Vostro line that came out. The low end Vostro laptops make up Dell’s “value” business line, and the performance shows it. If there is ANY way you can spend a bit more money here, I’d definitely try to. You’ll be much, much happier, and the laptop you buy will have a chance of lasting you all the way through college. Dell’s Inspiron 15 and Inspiron 15R lines start at about $100 more, and they perform great. At Christmas, you could get a fantastic (I know, because I did) laptop for about $450, but alas, those savings are no more.</p>

<p>OK, on to your actual picks.</p>

<p>The Dell Vostro V13 starts (on dell.com) at $350. The processors in this line are Core 2 Duos, which are from 2 or 3 years ago. Not the worst you could do, but really not the best (even in your price range) either. You ought to spring for the $440 one, because that has 4GB of RAM memory. When using Windows 7, I wholeheartedly recommend 4GB. 2GB is too little. Keep in mind that this laptop only has a 13.3 inch screen size. Not fun for typing papers on, but other than that, would seem to be an OK choice.</p>

<p>The Dell Vostro V130 starts (on dell.com) at $430. I’m not sure where you get the information that it is faster OR cooler, but it certainly isn’t faster, and theres no real need to worry about temperature with low-to-mid-range modern laptops. WARNING: the $430 price does NOT include Windows 7, it includes Ubuntu 10.04. Ubuntu is great, but I highly doubt its what you want for your primary laptop. You will be ENTIRELY on your own if you try to use this at college, because I imagine 99% of the programs they require you to use will be totally incompatible. (IF I’M NOT MAKING SENSE HERE, THEN THAT IS EVEN MORE REASON TO CONVINCE YOU NOT TO BUY THIS LAPTOP.) <em>indoor voice now</em> The next level up ($561) costs as much as an Inspiron, and has WAY worse performance. Don’t buy this model at all.</p>

<p>The HP is not even worth considering. Its a netbook. It claims to have “discrete-class graphics” and the key word there is “class”, which I don’t really trust. Avoid as well.</p>

<p>So. To summarize, buy the Dell Vostro V13 if you must, and be sure to get 4GB of RAM. Please please please consider a Dell Inspiron 15R. For $450 (ONLY $10 MORE!!!) you can have 3GB of RAM (with a faster clock speed than the V13) and a 15.6" screen with up to 4 hours of battery. Best of all, you get a Core i3 processor. Ideally, I recommend to my clients that they get a Core i5, but you could settle for a Core i3 if spending more money isn’t an option. </p>

<p>I hope that helps you. Keep replying to this thread if you want more advice (that way it stays public for future readers) and if you ever need help with a specific issue (virus, computer won’t boot, etc.) PM me and I’ll help you out.</p>

4

<p>What do you need to use the laptop for?</p>

<p>I generally would recommend that you stay away from the plain low-end laptops such as $400-$500-ish Vostros, etc.</p>

<p>If all you need is a bit of word processing and online access, I suggest you look for a sub-$300 netbook. Real advantage is that it fits almost anywhere and is lighter than a book.</p>

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<p>+1 John GT. I agree, if you aren’t a computer person the Inspiron 15 is a decent pick.</p>

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<p>going on the battery life aspect, 4 hours unplugged is decent if you’re just taking notes for a lecture or two. But for heavy duty studying/surfing outside of home, charger, please!</p>

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<p>Don’t get a netbook if you plan on typing long reports or essays on it. Get a computer with a full-sized keyboard instead.</p>