Why are you recommending a more expensive laptop?

An old saying goes along the lines of, "There are no free lunches." Laptop computers are expensive to produce, chiefly due to the cost of miniaturization, so the saying is rather appropriate. When you see a computer available for an unusually low cost, it is reasonable to assume that some sacrifices have been made. Here are the common things that you give up on such "inexpensive laptop" deals:

Display: Most inexpensive laptops have XGA screens, as opposed to SXGA+ or UXGA. The big difference here is that there are less resolution elements in an XGA screen than in the better types. For example, a 15" XGA laptop will have 1280x1024, while an SXGA+ laptop will have 1400x1050 or even 1600x1200. Even at 1400x1050, you get 10% more viewing "area" in the same screen size. This can be a big difference when viewing image data.

Memory: Many inexpensive laptops only have 256MB of RAM. This is simply not enough for XP or running astronomical data reduction under Linux. These days, the laptops ordered by the group have at least 768MB of memory or, if possible, 1GB.

Size, Weight, and Construction: Dimensions and weight can be everything when traveling. Many inexpensive laptops are larger (thicker) and heavier, because they have cut corners somewhere in the design to deliver that low price tag. It has also been our experience that "business class" laptops (such as Dell's Latitude series) are more solidly constructed than their consumer counterparts. They simply have held up better for traveling and have resulted in less service calls.

Drivers: Linux developers and driver writers often rely on hardware companies to release the interface information for their chipsets. These chipsets are the critical components in graphics cards, ethernet devices, and wireless cards. Inexpensive machines tend to have less expensive chipsets; since releasing the engineering information on your product costs a fair amount of money, this results in the fact that often the driver information is not fully available from the manufacturers. This means that Linux developers have a hard time adapting the OS to them and (often) we aren't able to get everything working.

Warranty: Many inexpensive machines sold only have a one year warranty, our Dell systems have a four year warranty. If the machine breaks in any way (other then being dropped or abused) Dell replaces them. End of story. Well worth the additional cost.

This information was part of a reply to an informal email inquiry and in no way attempts to provide complete coverage on the issue. It was written 21 September 2004 by C. Wilkinson