Another "help me choose!" thread

dragon-emperor · 08-23-2005, 08:57 PM

Alright! as title states, I am coming to this forum hoping to have all my questions answered while doing nothing at all!

Just kidding! I know a little about plain ol desktop computers and what not so Im not a complete computer-illiterate bastard FPRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT="

I am a student whome wants a laptop basically for MSword and.. games. I play World of Warcraft primarily and might play some HL2 later, but really mainly World of Warcraft (3d capabilities NEEDED!). Also the fact that I am a student so NOT looking for the XPS Gen2 because that is imposability for my wallet! To give an idea of budget, I am CANADIAN and looking for no more than $2000 and preferably even less. and of course I want this to use wireless internet on campus for msn/games.

What I've narrowed down in my mind is that I want atleast 128mb of dedicated video card memory (no integrated shit), 512mb of ram (will I need more?) and likely the 17" viewable screen. Thats whats needed I think.

my current "ideas" from looking around on the net, and scrounging the weekly flyers has had me come up with the listed below.

HP Intel Pentium 4 630HT 3.0GHz Laptop (ZD8210)-
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...36&catid=22496

Toshiba Satellite P30-RV2 Intel Pentium 4 532 HT 3.06GHz Laptop (P30-RV2)
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...84&catid=22496

And ofcourse the Dell Inspiron 9300, it seems to be just below $2000 canadian but only with an ATI x300 3d card..

MSI MS-1029 (not sure on where I can get it in canada but damn i hear good things about it!)

Asus Z71V (www.canadasys.com is where I was directed for it. though looks very unoffical..)

Please! Evaluate what I am considering and feel welcome to share new suggestions!
THANK YOU!

-Keep in Mind I am a canadian resident with canadian funds, looking to save money but also want a kick ass laptop!-

alanuofm · 08-23-2005, 09:04 PM

please look at the following thread

http://computerforum.com/showthread.php?t=20068

dragon-emperor · 08-23-2005, 09:21 PM

Ah I too saw that thread and an inspiron 9300 with the 6800 go would be great! But.. Those prices are in american, right? and Those coupons only work for american residents.. right?

flame1117 · 08-23-2005, 09:29 PM

I would get a gig of DDR400ram. it will be worth your money, trust me.

elmarcorulz · 08-23-2005, 09:53 PM

have a look on www.tigerdirect.com and www.zipzoomfly.com im sure one of those ships to canada

alanuofm · 08-23-2005, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragon-emperor

Ah I too saw that thread and an inspiron 9300 with the 6800 go would be great! But.. Those prices are in american, right? and Those coupons only work for american residents.. right?

dell does ship to canada and i wouldnt see why the codes wont work for canadian residents.

alanuofm · 08-23-2005, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flame1117

I would get a gig of DDR400ram. it will be worth your money, trust me.

you can always upgrade later for a lot cheaper. 1 gig of ocz ram is less than 100$ off zipzoomfly.

dragon-emperor · 08-23-2005, 11:10 PM

Hmm on dell.ca the codes dont seem to work. They say not eligable and if you go to the details button, it brings up a blank window. I may have to have this shipped to a relative in the US i beleive.

Also, you mention the ram is much cheaper on zipzoomfly? so would it be a good idea to order the lowest ram choice possible on the dell 9300 qnd then just go buy a 1024 chip of zipzoomfly?

alanuofm · 08-23-2005, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragon-emperor

Hmm on dell.ca the codes dont seem to work. They say not eligable and if you go to the details button, it brings up a blank window. I may have to have this shipped to a relative in the US i beleive.

Also, you mention the ram is much cheaper on zipzoomfly? so would it be a good idea to order the lowest ram choice possible on the dell 9300 qnd then just go buy a 1024 chip of zipzoomfly?

ram is cheaper at a lot of places. you can go to any retailer or any computer hardware seller and get laptop ram and its very easy to upgrade.

i'll see if canada has any deals or extra percentages off a little later on. im on the can right now and i also have some stuff to do afterwards (yes i took my laptop with me to the bathroom)

dragon-emperor · 08-23-2005, 11:45 PM

ALRIGHT! after a little research I find that I CAN have my dell shipped to a relative in the US (therefore taking advantage of the US 35% off!)
Questions on the Dell 9300 though..

1) IS a 5400rpm harddrive like it has alright for gaming?

2) Dells ram seems very expensive and I hear I could buy 1gb of ram from Zipzoomfly.com for like $100. Is this true? What kind of ram would dell 9300 laptop accept? and would adding different ram to it screw with the dell warranty?

3) Is the warranty worth it? the $23 1 year one seems like a good idea because 1 year should reveal any flaws if it has any, right?

4) There are 2 options for the display.
17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display
17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™ (+$100)
Dell says the Truelife one looks so much better etc etc. Is it worth the extra $100US?

5) It gives me the option of getting a soundcard, and the audigy2 ZS dosn't look half bad but is it worth it? I'll just be playing games really and also, will this thing be sticking out of the side of my laptop? or will it slide right in nicely/not have to be removed neach time i put it in my bag?

6) As for clock speed.. It ranges from 1.6Ghz to 2Ghz. Would I notice much difference performance wise between the 1.6 and the 2ghz per se? I am not sure how Pentium M clock speeds compare to pentium4 after all.

So given the situation 1.6ghz is fine, and that I can choose the lowest ram the 9300 has to offer and buy some cheap stuff from zipzoomfly, and that the truelife screen is useless/not noticable.. I can have myself a very good laptop for very cheap!
What do you guys think?

and LOL, oh my.. one thing to lookforward to if I get a laptop! Sorry if all my questions seem repetative, but Im asking a lot of people and really just want to be sure =D
You've already aswered the question about the screen so no need to answer that I guess =D

08-23-2005, 08:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
dragon-emperor New Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 10	Another "help me choose!" thread Alright! as title states, I am coming to this forum hoping to have all my questions answered while doing nothing at all! Just kidding! I know a little about plain ol desktop computers and what not so Im not a complete computer-illiterate bastard FPRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT=" I am a student whome wants a laptop basically for MSword and.. games. I play World of Warcraft primarily and might play some HL2 later, but really mainly World of Warcraft (3d capabilities NEEDED!). Also the fact that I am a student so NOT looking for the XPS Gen2 because that is imposability for my wallet! To give an idea of budget, I am CANADIAN and looking for no more than $2000 and preferably even less. and of course I want this to use wireless internet on campus for msn/games. What I've narrowed down in my mind is that I want atleast 128mb of dedicated video card memory (no integrated shit), 512mb of ram (will I need more?) and likely the 17" viewable screen. Thats whats needed I think. my current "ideas" from looking around on the net, and scrounging the weekly flyers has had me come up with the listed below. HP Intel Pentium 4 630HT 3.0GHz Laptop (ZD8210)- http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...36&catid=22496 Toshiba Satellite P30-RV2 Intel Pentium 4 532 HT 3.06GHz Laptop (P30-RV2) http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...84&catid=22496 And ofcourse the Dell Inspiron 9300, it seems to be just below $2000 canadian but only with an ATI x300 3d card.. MSI MS-1029 (not sure on where I can get it in canada but damn i hear good things about it!) Asus Z71V (www.canadasys.com is where I was directed for it. though looks very unoffical..) Please! Evaluate what I am considering and feel welcome to share new suggestions! THANK YOU! -Keep in Mind I am a canadian resident with canadian funds, looking to save money but also want a kick ass laptop!-

08-23-2005, 09:53 PM	#5 (permalink)
elmarcorulz VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: UK Age: 22 Posts: 6,033	have a look on www.tigerdirect.com and www.zipzoomfly.com im sure one of those ships to canada __________________ C2D E6300 @ 2.6Ghz Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 2GB DDR2 667 1TB (1x500GB 2x250GB HDD) BFG 8800GTS 320MB PFC Til I Die

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08-23-2005, 09:04 PM	#2 (permalink)
alanuofm Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 1,630	please look at the following thread http://computerforum.com/showthread.php?t=20068

08-23-2005, 09:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
dragon-emperor New Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 10	Ah I too saw that thread and an inspiron 9300 with the 6800 go would be great! But.. Those prices are in american, right? and Those coupons only work for american residents.. right?

08-23-2005, 09:29 PM	#4 (permalink)
flame1117 banned Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,770	I would get a gig of DDR400ram. it will be worth your money, trust me.

08-23-2005, 11:10 PM	#8 (permalink)
dragon-emperor New Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 10	Hmm on dell.ca the codes dont seem to work. They say not eligable and if you go to the details button, it brings up a blank window. I may have to have this shipped to a relative in the US i beleive. Also, you mention the ram is much cheaper on zipzoomfly? so would it be a good idea to order the lowest ram choice possible on the dell 9300 qnd then just go buy a 1024 chip of zipzoomfly?

08-23-2005, 11:45 PM	#10 (permalink)
dragon-emperor New Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 10	ALRIGHT! after a little research I find that I CAN have my dell shipped to a relative in the US (therefore taking advantage of the US 35% off!) Questions on the Dell 9300 though.. 1) IS a 5400rpm harddrive like it has alright for gaming? 2) Dells ram seems very expensive and I hear I could buy 1gb of ram from Zipzoomfly.com for like $100. Is this true? What kind of ram would dell 9300 laptop accept? and would adding different ram to it screw with the dell warranty? 3) Is the warranty worth it? the $23 1 year one seems like a good idea because 1 year should reveal any flaws if it has any, right? 4) There are 2 options for the display. 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™ (+$100) Dell says the Truelife one looks so much better etc etc. Is it worth the extra $100US? 5) It gives me the option of getting a soundcard, and the audigy2 ZS dosn't look half bad but is it worth it? I'll just be playing games really and also, will this thing be sticking out of the side of my laptop? or will it slide right in nicely/not have to be removed neach time i put it in my bag? 6) As for clock speed.. It ranges from 1.6Ghz to 2Ghz. Would I notice much difference performance wise between the 1.6 and the 2ghz per se? I am not sure how Pentium M clock speeds compare to pentium4 after all. So given the situation 1.6ghz is fine, and that I can choose the lowest ram the 9300 has to offer and buy some cheap stuff from zipzoomfly, and that the truelife screen is useless/not noticable.. I can have myself a very good laptop for very cheap! What do you guys think? and LOL, oh my.. one thing to lookforward to if I get a laptop! Sorry if all my questions seem repetative, but Im asking a lot of people and really just want to be sure =D You've already aswered the question about the screen so no need to answer that I guess =D