Should I get this Laptop? - Dell Smartstep 200 ?

[rwh11385]

Purdue recommends this:

Hardware
Purchase a computer that will provide good service, using the above software packages, for a two-year time span prior to upgrading or replacing. At the present time, "good service" can be expected from a computer with:

* Celeron, Pentium IV, Athlon or Duran processor with a 2 GHz range or better
* 256 MB of RAM, minimum
* 40 GB hard disk drive, minimum
* ZIP-100 or ZIP-250 drive
* CD rom drive and/or DVD/CD-RW drive
* 10/100 ethernet card (strongly recommended)
* Wireless card or built-in (for laptops)
* We do not recommend Macintoshes as they do not tend to be compatible with some of the engineering software used in classes

The Dell SmartStep 200 gives you performance
Intel Pentium 4 processor with 2.0 GHz, 256MB of DDR RAM and an ATI Mobility Radeon Graphics card of 32MB of DDR memory. This laptop also includes a 30MB hard drive, 15-inch display, a built-in DVD ROM, a 56K modem, an integrated 10/100 Ethernet NIC, a SoundBlaster compatible sound and much more. DVD ROM is an 8X speed. weighing in at 7.85 pounds.

~~~The Processor~~~
The SmartStep 200 comes with the Intel Pentium 4 processor at 2GHz running on a 400 MHz processor side BUS with 8 KB Internal Cache (L1) and 512KB of On-die cache.
~~~The Memory~~~
Dell included the faster RAM of DDR with 256MB onboard and two slots for two more chips of 512MB (Optional) to give you an additional 1024MB of RAM.
~~~The Battery~~~
The SmartStep 200 comes with a 12 cell Lithium Ion battery rated at 3 hours to charge it and about 3.5 hours for usage, depending on your usage .
~~~The Display~~~
The display is a 15-inch XGA TFT active-matrix display with 1024 x 768 of resolution. The display produces a nice rich colorful display that makes your digital photos and games look great.
~~~Other Specifications~~~
IEEE 1394 4-pin serial connector
AC Adapter
Connectors: 2 Type I or II cards or 1 Type III card
A 9-pin serial connector
A 7-pin mini DIN S-Video connector
One 25-hole pin parallel connector
A 15-pin monitor connector
A 6-pin for a PS/2-style keyboard, mouse or keypad
A line out audio jack for headphones or a set of external speakers.
A line in and microphone in.
Two USB (Universal Serial Bus Ports)
One RJ-11 connector for a modem
One RJ-45 connector for a network card

At a retail price of $1249 Dell has put together an affordable Notebook with added features and performance.

The big pluses for this Notebook is the 15 inch display, the DDR RAM in the system and the video card, plus two USB ports, before most only had one USB port. The size and weight of the SmartStep 200 is very comfortable for taking along almost anywhere.

The main down fall for me was not having a CDRW, for that you will have to go with the next model, the SmartStep 250, it has a DVD + CDRW Combination Drive with a 2.2 GHz processor.

Bottom line is the Dell SmartStep 200 is at an affordable price with plenty of power and storage for most people, I Highly Recommend it Dude!

- From an online review

Retail was $1249, back in the day. But I found it at a place called "Computer Renaissance" for $799. Basically a store that buy, sells, trades computers.

My other option is to wait and find an Inspiron 1100 or 1500 with the hardware I need for like $1200++.

The wireless card could be put in, the zip drive could be external, and if I REALLY need more hard drive, I could get an external as well. Ram would be easily enough to upgrade, as would CD-RW or DVD-R......

So should I? Jump on this?

Thanks

[MattE30]

Sounds like a good deal. I would hit it. What's the graphics card like on it? We might need at least a 128 MB for cad and such, I'm not sure though. Definatly get more memoery. And nobody should reccomend a Celeron processor!

[rwh11385]

http://www.epinions.com/content_78774701700 - Full review


"Games did fairly well with good color and sound once I hooked on a pair of external speakers."

No clue on graphics card, but I don't care. It's for homework, typing, and internet.



I'd really like James and Kris to give their 2 cents, but I bet Kris is whorin himself out again, and too busy to help me out. ;)

[Sean]

Looks pretty nice to me - I'd get at least 512mb of ram too - I have a gig in my computer, and it's pretty nice. 8) (granted it's not a laptop - which is why 512 would be ideal for a laptop, I think)

[Z3Jonathan]

If you plan on running engineering software, you might want something a little beefier.

What is your budget? That is the best way to answer this question.

[James Crivellone]

needs more Ram, but other then that it seems to be a decent school machine

if its for engineering though you will want more processor power, perhaps a higher res LCD as well

[rwh11385]

If you plan on running engineering software, you might want something a little beefier.

What is your budget? That is the best way to answer this question.

https://engineering.purdue.edu/FrE/resources_for/admitted/computer

My budget is not that beefy. Aiming for a grand, for the majority of the components I need, but less is better, and more is allowable. This would be much better than spending $1300 on an 2.4Ghz Inspiron 1100 and still have to buy a ZIP drive, etc.

James, I could probably hook this up with 1024MB more of Ram, if I went refurb from dell, it'd probably be only 512 total.

Purdue reccomends around 2.0 Ghz, and the only other options are going to be 2.4 or 2.6 .But it'll cost more.

Thanks guys, let me know how much I need a stronger processor, like $500 bad?

[Z3Jonathan]

If you plan on running engineering software, you might want something a little beefier.

What is your budget? That is the best way to answer this question.

https://engineering.purdue.edu/FrE/resources_for/admitted/computer

My budget is not that beefy. Aiming for a grand, for the majority of the components I need, but less is better, and more is allowable. This would be much better than spending $1300 on an 2.4Ghz Inspiron 1100 and still have to buy a ZIP drive, etc.

James, I could probably hook this up with 1024MB more of Ram, if I went refurb from dell, it'd probably be only 512 total.

Purdue reccomends around 2.0 Ghz, and the only other options are going to be 2.4 or 2.6 .But it'll cost more.

Thanks guys, let me know how much I need a stronger processor, like $500 bad?

For the programs listed on that link, this laptop would work. MATLab is probably the most intensive program on their list.

However, if you plan on later on down the road doing some serious drafting (Pro/E, Solidworks, etc), or multi-tasking between programs like MATLab, EES, and Office, you may want to look into buying a beefier computer.

As far as a Zip drive is concerned, skip it unless purdue says you need one. Just buy a USB memory key (provided those will work on lab computers). Nothing worse than having a semester's worth of files on your ZIP disk, only to have it get ruined in a bad drive and fail.

[rwh11385]

Yeah, I'd prefer those memory keys definately.

I think I'm going to talk it over with folks, more friends. more comments highly welcomed.

I think my computer bud put it this way: This laptop will do well for a couple years, or I could get like a 2.4Ghz and last 2 and a half years......

Invest more now, or get this and upgrade later.

I might get this now, as if it doesn't keep up sufficiently, my dad could use it for business in two years, and I could get a newer model.

[rwh11385]

BUMP

So James, Kris, Jonathan, etc. Do you think it'd be better to wait for the perfect refurb DELL to pop up.

With their $150 promotion deal, I can get:
Inspiron 1100 Notebook: Pentium®4 processor 2.4GHz, 15 inch XGA, 512 MB DDR 266MHw/ z SDRAM (2 DIMMs), 40 GB EIDE Hard Drive (5400 RPM), 24X CDRW/DVD Combo Drive, w/ 128MB USB Smart Card for $1188

maybe I just answered my own question: It woudl be better to spend $300 more to get the 2.4 P4 and the ram and the bigger HD, as well as CDRW.

[jweb]

I would wait and get the better dell refurb. I got mine last week and I love it.
(Inspiron 9100)