Help with laptop purchase #2

Vayne · 07-06-2008, 07:27 AM

(I saw somebody else post one recently, thus the #2 in the title)

Anywho, I'm planning on buying a new laptop soon, considering my old Dell Inspiron B120 just isn't cutting it anymore.

There are two laptops I'm currently interested in, the XPS M1530, and the Studio 15 (with upgrades).
Now, I drew everything out on paper, and it APPEARS that I can upgrade the Studio 15 to a point where it's better than the XPS M1530; and still have it be cheaper.

My budget is $1000 maximum.
The main thing I will be doing on my laptop (for now) is gaming, not TOO TOO demanding games, and I can always upgrade the graphics card later on.
The games I intend to play on it are as follows:
Ragnarok Online, Ragnarok Online II, Battlefield 2142, World of Warcraft, Starcraft II, Rakion, and perhaps other future games of those grade-graphics.

I will also be using it for school/college related things.
As well as for music.
I won't be watching movies on it, so that doesn't matter.

Also, I'd like to have this laptop last until the end of college (mind you I don't even start it for another year and a half), and hopefully thereafter.

Here's the full specs on both laptops:

XPS M1530

Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 (2.0 GHz/667 MHz FSB/2MB cache)
Windows Vista Home Premium
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch LCD
2 GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667 MHz (2 Dimms)
160GB 5400rpm SATA hard drive
128 MB Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS (Graphics Card, obviously)
$999

Studio 15 (Dell's Offered: "Better" Version

Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 (2.00 GHz/667 MHz FSB/2MBcache)
Windows Vista Home Premium
Glossy Widescreen, 15.4 inch LCD
3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2
250 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
256 MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 (Graphics card, obviously)
$949

Now it's obvious which one is better in terms of Hard Drive, Memory, and Price; however the one thing I'm stuck on are the graphics cards.
I did some research on both of the cards, compared them, and it appears that both of them are essentially equal in power? Although I haven't looked at the difference between the ATI Radeon being 256MB as compared to the Nvidia GeForce only being 128MB; I haven't been able to find any comparisons that in-depth.
To be quite honest, the quality of the graphics don't matter to me as much as the lag/latency reduction and increase of smooth gameplay does.

So any advice any of you could offer would be great, as I'd like to make this decision relatively soon; I hate not having my mind made up.

Thanks!

cohen · 07-06-2008, 07:57 AM

Here we go:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115458 - 3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220303 - Best one, good memory, very good everything. - 1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220342 - 2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220342 - 2

They have a number next to them, because that is what i rate them as, 1 being the best and going down to the lowest.

Sir Travis D · 07-06-2008, 08:06 AM

Yea, newegg offers much better offers than base dell for the price.

cohen · 07-06-2008, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sir Travis D

Yea, newegg offers much better offers than base dell for the price.

Yes i agree,

out of what i listed, what would be the best one to get?

Jhow · 07-06-2008, 03:43 PM

I like the one cohel says is the best one, you're paying the same amount as you would with that dell but you're getting so much more graphics power and the 3 gigs of ram and a bigger hard drive. It also gives you nice added features of a fingerprint reader and a webcam as well as a two year standard warrany over dell's one year standard.

soccerdude · 07-07-2008, 04:17 AM

If you do not start college until another year and a half why are you interested on buying a laptop so early?

Technology changes very fast and what seems to look very good today will be outdated in a couple of months... especially in a year and a half from now.

Personally what you should do is 3 to 5 months before you start college you start looking for laptops and during those three to five months you buy one. You would be better off knowing you have a newer laptop with better features and a greater chance of it lasting through your whole college years since technology changes so rapidly.

cohen · 07-07-2008, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soccerdude

If you do not start college until another year and a half why are you interested on buying a laptop so early?

Technology changes very fast and what seems to look very good today will be outdated in a couple of months... especially in a year and a half from now.

Personally what you should do is 3 to 5 months before you start college you start looking for laptops and during those three to five months you buy one. You would be better off knowing you have a newer laptop with better features and a greater chance of it lasting through your whole college years since technology changes so rapidly.

yeah, i have to agree.

07-06-2008, 07:27 AM	#1 (permalink)
Vayne New Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 2	Help with laptop purchase #2 (I saw somebody else post one recently, thus the #2 in the title) Anywho, I'm planning on buying a new laptop soon, considering my old Dell Inspiron B120 just isn't cutting it anymore. There are two laptops I'm currently interested in, the XPS M1530, and the Studio 15 (with upgrades). Now, I drew everything out on paper, and it APPEARS that I can upgrade the Studio 15 to a point where it's better than the XPS M1530; and still have it be cheaper. My budget is $1000 maximum. The main thing I will be doing on my laptop (for now) is gaming, not TOO TOO demanding games, and I can always upgrade the graphics card later on. The games I intend to play on it are as follows: Ragnarok Online, Ragnarok Online II, Battlefield 2142, World of Warcraft, Starcraft II, Rakion, and perhaps other future games of those grade-graphics. I will also be using it for school/college related things. As well as for music. I won't be watching movies on it, so that doesn't matter. Also, I'd like to have this laptop last until the end of college (mind you I don't even start it for another year and a half), and hopefully thereafter. Here's the full specs on both laptops: XPS M1530 Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 (2.0 GHz/667 MHz FSB/2MB cache) Windows Vista Home Premium Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch LCD 2 GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667 MHz (2 Dimms) 160GB 5400rpm SATA hard drive 128 MB Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS (Graphics Card, obviously) $999 Studio 15 (Dell's Offered: "Better" Version Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 (2.00 GHz/667 MHz FSB/2MBcache) Windows Vista Home Premium Glossy Widescreen, 15.4 inch LCD 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 250 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM) 256 MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 (Graphics card, obviously) $949 Now it's obvious which one is better in terms of Hard Drive, Memory, and Price; however the one thing I'm stuck on are the graphics cards. I did some research on both of the cards, compared them, and it appears that both of them are essentially equal in power? Although I haven't looked at the difference between the ATI Radeon being 256MB as compared to the Nvidia GeForce only being 128MB; I haven't been able to find any comparisons that in-depth. To be quite honest, the quality of the graphics don't matter to me as much as the lag/latency reduction and increase of smooth gameplay does. So any advice any of you could offer would be great, as I'd like to make this decision relatively soon; I hate not having my mind made up. Thanks! Last edited by Vayne; 07-06-2008 at 07:31 AM.

07-06-2008, 07:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
cohen Diamond Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 15 Posts: 8,361	Here we go: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115458 - 3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220303 - Best one, good memory, very good everything. - 1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220342 - 2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220342 - 2 They have a number next to them, because that is what i rate them as, 1 being the best and going down to the lowest. __________________ Cohen

07-06-2008, 03:43 PM	#5 (permalink)
Jhow Silver Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 164	I like the one cohel says is the best one, you're paying the same amount as you would with that dell but you're getting so much more graphics power and the 3 gigs of ram and a bigger hard drive. It also gives you nice added features of a fingerprint reader and a webcam as well as a two year standard warrany over dell's one year standard. __________________ New Macbook Pro! Intel Core2Duo 2.53ghz 320GB Hard Drive 7200rpm 4GB DDR3 Memory Nvidia GeForce 9400M + Nvidia GeForce 9600m GT 512 MB Hybrid SLI AMD Athlon X2 5000+ (2.6ghz)/Ram 3GB DDR2 500GB Samsung Spinpoint/400GB Hitachi Deskstar ECS 512MB Nvidia 9600GT/OCZ Gamexstream 700W

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07-06-2008, 08:06 AM	#3 (permalink)
Sir Travis D banned Join Date: Apr 2008 Age: 15 Posts: 1,612	Yea, newegg offers much better offers than base dell for the price.

07-07-2008, 04:17 AM	#6 (permalink)
soccerdude Platinum Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 839	If you do not start college until another year and a half why are you interested on buying a laptop so early? Technology changes very fast and what seems to look very good today will be outdated in a couple of months... especially in a year and a half from now. Personally what you should do is 3 to 5 months before you start college you start looking for laptops and during those three to five months you buy one. You would be better off knowing you have a newer laptop with better features and a greater chance of it lasting through your whole college years since technology changes so rapidly.