Miscellaneous laptop discussions : Need some opinions regarding my new build. Thanks.
Need some opinions regarding my new build. Thanks.
by Mr.Gmp - 10/22/08 4:44 PMHello,
Thanks for checking out my thread and hopefully letting me know what you think of my system. I here that Dell can give you a nice system for not much money. I have also heard that when dealing with Dell it is wise to purchase a multi year warranty because they melt components to the motherboard? Is this true/bad?. Anyway, I think I have found the best possible system for my $1,500 and I am here to hopefully find out if I am making a good selection. But first let me say....
1.If you are paid or employed by Dell or any of the companies that you are recommending products for, please make this public knowledge on my thread. This will not negatively effect my view of your comments at all. I ask that you do this for the sake of transparency. Thank you for your respect.
2.I am looking for non-newbie posts, so if you really only know a little, please don't clutter up the thread. Thanks.
**************Below I will list my Dell build...
Studio 1537, Intel Core 2 Duo T9400, 2.53GHz, 1066Mhz, 6M L2Cache
4GB, DDR2, 800MHz 2 Dimm ( does it matter that my RAM is 800MHz and not 1066 like my FSB)
Hi Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1920x1200)
256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 (upper middle class card?)
250G 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition, English (:confused:32bit, I think)
8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy Advanced HD Software Edition
Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11AGNHalf Mini Card
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
Integrated Finger Print Reader
V220 Jet Black Cordless Optical USB Mouse
******Please take the comments below into consideration when posting your thoughts. 
1.)I am not a gamer. The only game I would play on this notebook would be Return To Castle Wolfenstein and that game is a decade old, or will be soon.
2.)I plan to watch a lot of online content on this notebook including DVD movies from time to time and I would frequently have many web pages open at the same time.
3.) Do I want to go for the 64bit Vista if I really only plan to keep my notebook with 4Gigs and do the above stuff?
4.) I was told that its nice to have 1066Mhz over 800MHz, something about the "pipes" being twice as large. Is this, coupled with the 2.5Ghz processor, a pretty good bang for the buck?
Thank you for taking the time to read through all the stuff I wrote. To steal a line from my favorite film, The Shawshank Redemption "if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a bit further". I do hope you take the time to tell me what you think of this build for $1,500. Thank you for your time. Thank you.
Build
by Renegade Knight - 10/23/08 9:18 AM In reply to: Need some opinions regarding my new build. Thanks. by Mr.GmpThe graphics card is a bit 'small' for the screen though since you said you don't do gaming and I've had 'smaller' (ram wise) for the same resolution and it's worked ok. You will be fine.
Ther RAM is good. You would probably not notice much difference between 64 bit and 32bit performance but 64 should not hurt you.
A glossy screen is better for video - IF you can keep the glare under control. A bit brighter, sharper, and the colors are more vibrant. However if you can't keep Glare out...it's pointless.
The hard drive can be small depending on how you store and use your media.
4bg is good. I find it does make a differenc when running 200 programs at the same time and keeping open multiple tabs. I can't say I've noticed a difference above 2gb for games and such.
The screen resolution is HD BUT it's also going to have small fonts and icons. You will either need good eyes, or need to up your fonts and icons to a larger size. I've run this ona 17" and it's small. On a 24" monitor it's about right.
As for the RAM speed. It's like sticking a 4 banger in a corvette body. Yeah it may handle nice but you sure won't go fast while doing it. If it's a cost issue, start with 2gb on a single DIMM then get the other 2 later. That said 800mhz isn't chopped liver.
Looks pretty good but be careful with Dell
by Jo59 - 10/23/08 6:35 PM In reply to: Build by Renegade KnightI agree with most of previous posters comments. If you want that high a resolution screen, you can make your icons and fonts larger by tweaking your settings. And a 250 GB drive is quite roomy for a laptop, unless you want to keep LOTS of video and pictures on your computer.
But beware of Dell. I ordered a computer from them Mon. and less than 24 hours later realized I should have configured it differently. I tried to cancel it and it had ALREADY been shipped. They are desparate to get systems out the door right now. Then I had a difficult time getting to someone who would allow me to return it with no restocking fee, even though I hadn't even opened the box and had tried to cancel in less than 24 hours. Many of their support people are outsourced and very difficult to understand. And they are not well-informed. It seems the right hand (support) does not know what the left (the corporate headquarters) is doing. So if you get it, make sure it is what you want, get the maximum warranty you can afford, and speak up if you aren't getting what you want. I called back 3 times and kept getting a run-around. I finally asked specifically to talk to someone I could understand and was lucky enough to get a very helpful agent (Rafael) who was able to help me and whom I could understand. We'll see if what he told me comes to pass. (That I would be assessed no shipping or re-stocking fees.) I have had two Dells, but both were purchased back when Dell was a stronger company. The desktop had a number of problems, but Dell was quite good about making the needed repairs at that time, and since then the unit has performed well and is going strong after 6 years.
Nice system, but here are some answers.
by icepop4who - 10/23/08 9:30 PM In reply to: Need some opinions regarding my new build. Thanks. by Mr.Gmp1. RAM: DDR2-800 RAM can run perfectly on a 1066MHz system. Think of the FSB (1066MHz) as a limit for RAM as the chips cannot get faster than that. The speed of RAM only covers about 50% performance, as other factors such latencies and channelling will affect the other 50%. In other words, DDR2-1066 with high latency will be slower than DDR2-800 with low latency, considering that these two have a similar price. (a little history lesson: The transition from DDR to DDR2 took a bit of time since DDR-400 was considerably faster than DDR2-533 or DDR2-667 due their higher latencies. It wasn't until the latency of DDR2 came down did DDR2 dominate the market. The same effect is observing on DDR2 to DDR3 transition, although to a lesser extend)
2. If you have 4GB of RAM, you'll need 64-bit to see all 4GB, or you'll be stuck with about 3.2GB of RAM. 64-bit is increasingly popular and by nature more stable/faster than 32-bit. Driver support is increasing everyday, so 64-bit is a good investment.
3. The V220 mouse: I'm currently using that mouse. I can't say it's a bad mouse, but it's really small. Too small for my hands, even though I got normal hands. I really recommend a V320 or V450, or even a VX nano if you're willing to spend the cash. All from logitech.
4. Dell sucks. Sorry, that was totally subjective.
P.S. I'm a CompTIA A+ certified IT Tech.
I purchased a similar model
by Weisus1 - 1/5/09 10:09 AM In reply to: Need some opinions regarding my new build. Thanks. by Mr.GmpMr. Gmp,
If you're still trying to decide, I purchased the Studio 1537 (P8400) and it has been good to me so far. I use it for Web Design, photo editing, and for DVD's-video streaming; I don't do much gaming myself, but I purchased FEAR about 1 year ago and tried running it on my XPS M140 and it would freeze up on the lowest settings. With this system I run it on mid/high settings and it played great. Here's a review of my system with specs: <br><br><a href="http://bestreviewsonearth.com/Studio1537Review.html" target="_blank">http://bestreviewsonearth.com/Studio1537Review.html</a><br><br> . They are similar, but you actually have even more capability. As someone else pointed out-you may not need that much computer. As for the 64 bit Vista-for what you are intending on using this machine for I think that 32 bit would be more than fine. If in the future you find a need for it, you could always upgrade to 64. Something to mention though, I ordered my system in October and it took 5 weeks to ship, I don't know if they are still this backed up, but you may want to contact their customer support if you're in a hurry just to be sure.
Good luck-Weisus1
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