17-inch PCI Express budget laptops, sub $200 6600GT cards

IF YOU know of any good value IT sales (auctions, rebates, one-off, clearance, surplus, classified ads) going around in the United Kingdom, France, USA or Singapore, don't hesitate to contact me, at least 24 hours before the sales end.

UK
Right now, I am looking forward to buying a cheap 17-inch laptop. Two of the best deals I've got come from Acer Notebooks. The first one is the Acer Aspire 1711SCi. As one might guess, such a laptop can be nothing more than a desktop replacement system. It is powered by a Pentium 4 2.8GHz and uses an Intel 865G, quite a surprising choice - the i865G is probably the most expensive Pentium 4 integrated chipset.

In addition, you get 512MB memory - out of which up to 64MB can be dedicated to the shared Intel Extreme Graphics module - and a spacious 80GB hard disk. The secondary storage is a CDRW/DVD Writer. A DVD Writer would have been preferred though especially at this price. The 17in TFT matrix supports 1280x1024 pixels at 24bit.

Other interesting characteristics include wired and wireless Internet - 802-11b/g, including Gigabit Ethernet, stereo speakers and subwoofer, onboard modem and four USB ports as well as Svideo and D-Sub connectors. A useful 4-in-1 memory card and a PCMCIA readers are also bundled in. Some drivers and utilities as well as Windows XP Home round up the package.

Two aspects of the 1711SCi which might make you frown however are its sheer size and weight and its smallish autonomy. At 378x320mm, the laptop covers an area similar to an A3 sheet - roughly the size of a tabloid - and weighs in at 7.1Kg, definitely not something that you would carry around everyday.

Now I don't know if the 1711SCi deserves the name Laptop or whether it would be more appropriate to call it transportable like in the good old days. Still at £909 inc. VAT, it is a fantastic bundle to be reckoned with.

The second laptop being considered is the Acer Aspire 1801WSCi which costs £950 inc VAT. Though it is more expensive, it still carries some very reason why it is the one. First, it includes the very best from Intel. It is one of the first notebooks to be PCI-Express enabled.

It uses the Pentium 4 520 - 2.8GHz, 1MB cache, 800MHz FSB and Hyperthreaded - together with an Intel i915P chipset. You get the same 512MB memory as for the 1711SCi as well as the CDRW/DVDROM combo. However, the hard disk space is halved at 40GB. On the other hand though, you get an ATI Mobility X600 graphic module with 64MB of memory with a widescreen TFT display - 1440x900 rather than the usual SXGA. The X600 is based on the 9600 family and should perform slightly better than the Radeon 9700 non pro.

Networking specs are pretty impressive as well with both wired - Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet - and wireless modules - 802.11 b/g - integrated. The rest of the configuration is pretty much the same as for the previous laptop. Somehow though, there is a remote control provided with it - see below - and that laptop weighs in only at 4.5Kg, a full 2.6Kg less than the other laptop. Quite a feat indeed.

France
Looking for a 17in laptop in France, try that Acer Aspire 1802WSMi which features almost the same specs as the 1801WSCi above but with some notables differences. Firstly, it features a 3GHz Pentium IV, secondly, it has a 80GB hard disk instead of the smaller 40GB and thirdly it has a Dual format DVD Writer. It also supports SPDIF and has an integrated microphone. You get a bonus Firewire port and the remote control.

The latter is used in conjunction with Aspire Arcade which allows you to watch DVDs and CDROMs without having to fire up Windows XP. Click your way over here on ebay and grab it for Eur 1790. And if you are still interested in the Acer Aspire 1801WSMi, then grab it with a slightly better configuration - 1GB memory and a 60GB hard disk at for only €1601.82.

USA
Bill Woelk sent me this one. " Micro Center in the USA has the WD-800JB 80 GB hard drives for $29.99 each after three rebates. The list price is $89.99. A $30.00 rebate from WD and another matching $30.00 rebate from Micro Center brings the final price down to $29.99. The drive is rated ATA-100 and has a one year manufacture's warranty.

I have it sitting in an open external box on top of my desk running and it's very quiet and very cool while running. I stuck mine in an external USB 2.0 case I picked up at a computer swap meet for $29.95. Makes a good external backup drive." The drive has a 8MB cache and a 7200rpm speed.

From Freddy, " Circuit City also has some really good deals on Kingston Memory 512 MB 400mhz DDR PC 3200 DIMM 69.99 after a rebate of $30. They have even better price on a stick of 256 DDR PC2700 for only 29.99 after a 20 Dollar Rebate". You won't find anything cheaper anywhere.

Two Geforce 6600GT should give you more firepower than a single Geforce 6800 Ultra according to what Anandtech found out in one recent article, at least in Halo and in 3DMark05. The cheapest 6600 GT comes from Antares Computing. The Leadtek PX6600 GT TDH comes with 128MB DDR3 memory and has HDTV. It comes in a retail box and also have a HDTV output cable included. Two of those babies should cost you $ 398, this compares well with the cheapest Geforce 6800 Ultra which is the eVGA at $530. The PX6600 GT TDH has eight pipelines and runs at 500MHz/500MHz, core/clock speed. The software bundle includes Muvee Producer, Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow, Prince of Persia Sands of time and Winfox II.

Bear in mind though that the nForce 4 SLI will probably only be available before this Christmas, which gives you some time to save your money for the cards, the motherboard and the CPU.

Singapore
The cheapest 17-inch laptop in Singapore is again the Aspire 1802WSMI featuring the Pentium 530 HT. The model is available at atnotebook in Singapore for only $$3398. The model is well suited for people who need large displays for presentation or if you plan to move frequently around. µ