Laptop Recommendations?

[Scott Taylor]

No doubt. More memory = better performance under XP. XP runs like total crap on 256.

 

[John Diel]

I'm running an older Dell Latitude. Really small, no CD, floppy etc. I've got the external CD for software though. I picked up the whole thing for about $250 and just added a 256 MB RAM Chip this weekend. Total investment is less than $300. Works pretty well for me. It's not the fastest or latest, but for running Delorme and getting the occasional Wi-Fi update, it's perfect.

I've got a Jotto Desk for it and so far, that seems to be pretty stable ($80). It's powered by an inverter that also powers the video camera and anything else that needs AC power.

Space is at a premium in my truck (small pickup) so this set up made a lot of sense.

 

[Scott Taylor]

Nicely done John, that's getting a lot out of 300 bux.

Speaking of power inverters, I suppose I should've included that in my original question. I'll google this very soon to see what I can find, but is there any standard name that people tend to go with, or will any pretty much do?

Thanks again folks for all the help!
Scott

 

[Amos Magliocco]

I've suffered in the past for using cheap inverters. I threw a Rat Shack model in the trash outside some truck stop in 2001, walked in and bought a Cobra and it's worked like a charm ever since.

If you're running a laptop through an inverter, which I don't recommend, then it's even more important to get a good one. Best thing for an inverter is cell phone / camera charging. With power-sensitive stuff like GPS or especially XM, better to run the computer directly if you can.

 

[Scott Taylor]

Originally posted by Amos Magliocco

If you're running a laptop through an inverter, which I don't recommend, then it's even more important to get a good one. Best thing for an inverter is cell phone / camera charging. With power-sensitive stuff like GPS or especially XM, better to run the computer directly if you can.

Ahhh.. I see. Is there a tendency for non-steady currents in power inverters? If so, I could see why you recommend against them for running the laptop. Would it be OK or at least be safer to simply charge it while not having it on?

Thanks again, good info.

Scott

 

[Amos Magliocco]

Originally posted by Scott Taylor

Ahhh.. I see. Is there a tendency for non-steady currents in power inverters? If so, I could see why you recommend against them for running the laptop. Would it be OK or at least be safer to simply charge it while not having it on?

Scott,

Lots of folks on ST know far more about electronics than I do and can answer that question more accurately. The truth is that I don't know why cheap inverters perform badly, but I've seen two examples versus the Cobra inverter.

I have an arrangement in my 4Runner now that I don't need to run the inverter (enough cigarette lighters plus a home-style AC outlet in the console), so I haven't dealt with the issue in a couple years.

 

[Rockwell Schrock]

Has anyone here ever tried running a small inkjet printer off an invertor? Were there any problems, or should there be?

 

[John Diel]

I can't remember the brand name of mine but it's a 1000/1600 watt model. I've run the Laptop and camera off of it as well as battery rechargers all at the same time with no issue at all.

I remember that when I bought it, it was creating a "conditioned waveform" in that rather than a straight charge, it has some circustry that will give a better AC waveform getting out to the equipement. Of course I have the standard surge protectors on the machine just in case. I also have pretty beefy input cables going into the inverter as well (8 guage wire from a distribution block). Anyway, mine is the same model we use in the radio vans for remote power when we do on location stuff. It's not top of the line, but certainly not bottom of the barrel either.

To answer the last question, I ran the computer and a Canon S9000 printer for on site printing at a football game last year. Worked out pretty well. I ran an extension cord from the inverter to the power strip and ran the computer and printer from there. Not one burble. Worked out pretty well.

 

[Jay McCoy]

I have used power inverters for a most of my chase career until recently. I had too many problems with power fluctuations even with more expensive inverters. last year I swithced toa direct supply and it works great.

I recommend the Targus 120-Watt Universal AC/DC Notebook Power Adapter. it has multiple plug ends to fit any laptop. You can get one for about $100 which any good converter will cost. I got mine on sale at Best Buy for $90. Now you wont have any plugs for a camera charger etc... but i prefer to run my laptop seperately. i have a converter for my camera.

 

[Mike Sharp]

Regaeding printers,as all my laptops are pre-XP i picked up a cheap Dicionix 150Plus printer secondhand. alll I had to do was replace the Nicads. Great thing is it runs with Single sheet or tractor feed.

 

[Tony Laubach]

I'm gonna put in a plug for Compaq. After selling off my old Dell Inspiron and trading in the Dell 1150 I bought, I settled happily for the Compaq Presario R3000z model. I paid $1304 w/ free 2-day shipping and scored well.

- Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with SP2
- AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1.80 GHz
- 15.4" WXGA Widescreen (1280x800)
- 64MB (dedicated) NVIDIA GeForce 4 440 Go + 1394
- 1.0GB DDR SDRAM (2x512MB)
- 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
- 54g Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth
- 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

So far, I have had NO problems with anything I'm doing. I've been able to capture and render video; connect wireless internet, cable, and network; use bluetooth hardware (wireless cool stuff); play graphic intensive games with no lag; and all the room in the world to store stuff. I feel I got an excellent bargin for the features I got. Dell couldn't touch this deal, I don't think, nor could anyone else, and as everyone knows, I shopped around for a while to finally get what I was happy with! It even arrived two days before its estimated ship date!

Hope you find one you're happy with. Don't be afraid to spend money to get some stuff now. It'll help you stay happy for a lot longer!

 

[Scott Taylor]

Hi Tony. That deal you got does sound pretty nice, that's for sure. lol, one gig of ram in your laptop?? Nice!

I agree with you about loading one up if I were planning on doing a lot of processing with it. Right now the main need I have through mobile computing is web access, so I'll likely try to find something a bit cheaper. If I can't though, I'll go for as beefy as I can for a grand!

Thanks!
Scott

 

[Robert Dewey]

Originally posted by Tony Laubach
Hope you find one you're happy with. Don't be afraid to spend money to get some stuff now. It'll help you stay happy for a lot longer!

I agree with that... For the past 5 years I was playing "catch up" because I was buying old laptops... As soon as I would bought one, software requirements would go up. Since I was actually losing more money that way ($400/laptop), I finally gave in and bought the same laptop as you, but with the P4 chipset and the ATI Radeon 9200 (overclocked)...

 

[KMcCallister]

If somebody is going to buy an inverter to run a laptop, it is a good idea to take the power output considerations seriously. The smaller inverters only output about 130 watts which is around the power requirements of most laptops. If the battery is being charged, (as in when you just left lunch on chase day to get back in the car), it can create problems with the inverter. I had that problem when trying to use an inverter too small once I started chasing with a laptop a few years ago.

 

[Bill Hamilton]

I chased last year with an 800 watt Tripp Lite inverter and never had any problems with it or any of my equipment. I also had it hard wire direct to the battery. I will chase next season with almost the same setup. No fears of using one here.