The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.

College Lappy-E6400 or E6500?

Discussion in 'Dell Latitude, Vostro, and Precision' started by rock3ralex, Sep 7, 2009.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
Page 2 of 3
  1. skyandspace

    skyandspace Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    139
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    1440x900 is small for a 14.1 for most people. However, keep in mind that Windows 7 will have a scaling feature so that you can increase the DPI and size of the icons and fonts.
     
    skyandspace, Sep 7, 2009
    #11
  2. rock3ralex

    rock3ralex Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    38
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I'm going with a 14.1" at 1280x00. This res isn't too bad and I've never had a problem with lower res on the same screen size. Even 1280x800 on a 15.4" wasn't too bad.

    basically I found the lappy with a 2.66ghz C2D, 80GB HDD (plenty for just programs and OS), 3gb DDR2, Vista 3.5 year warranty from dell, the vid card I want in new/return refurbished condition for $400 less than If I ordered it from dell + no tax and no long shipping wait.
     
    rock3ralex, Sep 7, 2009
    #12
  3. gauden44

    gauden44 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    55
    Messages:
    263
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Sounds like it has pretty good specs! My only hesitation would be the warranty. I'm not sure how Dell handles warranties when it isn't the original owner--perhaps someone else can chime in?
     
    gauden44, Sep 7, 2009
    #13
  4. booboo12

    booboo12 Notebook Prophet

    Reputations:
    4,062
    Messages:
    4,272
    Likes Received:
    91
    Trophy Points:
    116
    There is a "ownership transfer" wizard on Dell.com/support. Do the ownership transfer from the computer that is being transferred for quicker results.

    http://support.dell.com/support/top...order/tag_transfer?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~ck=anavml
     
    booboo12, Sep 7, 2009
    #14
  5. HerrKaputt

    HerrKaputt Elite Notebook User

    Reputations:
    444
    Messages:
    2,510
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    At start, yes. After a while I got used to it, and the extra space is useful in some situations. In my case, I leave a CPU and RAM monitor open in Vista Sidebar while I run MATLAB, so I can keep a look at CPU and RAM usage and tune my programs accordingly.

    But 1280x800 is by no means a deal breaker.
     
    HerrKaputt, Sep 8, 2009
    #15
  6. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

    Reputations:
    7,197
    Messages:
    28,839
    Likes Received:
    2,157
    Trophy Points:
    581
    I find 14.1" WXGA+ to be the best compromise between portability and screen real estate. The pixels are bigger than 15.4" 1680 x 1050 which my eyes couldn't handle.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Sep 8, 2009
    #16
  7. antskip

    antskip Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    146
    Messages:
    795
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    XP and Vista are already easily and quickly configurable for high-density screens - PPI, icons, fonts, etc. If you know how to do it, you can't have too high a PPI. The size of the screen is irrelevant - the higher the res the further one has to tweak (with some compromises), but it is only a matter of degree. The result in very case is a clearer/easier on the eyes image/text than a lower PPI, once software is set to suit the hardware and the user.
     
    antskip, Sep 8, 2009
    #17
  8. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

    Reputations:
    7,197
    Messages:
    28,839
    Likes Received:
    2,157
    Trophy Points:
    581
    Maybe I never managed to crack the optimum tweaking, but as pixels get smaller then a 1 pixel wide line tends towards invisibility.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Sep 9, 2009
    #18
  9. antskip

    antskip Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    146
    Messages:
    795
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    If computers were just hardware, then more pixels per inch might well be harder on the eye. However, as pixels get smaller, there are more available for any same-sized image created by software interacting with hardware. The future of computer screens, just as for television screens, is greater and greater HD. The improved ability of software to profit better from HD screens is certainly going to help that.
     
    antskip, Sep 9, 2009
    #19
  10. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    7,857
    Messages:
    16,212
    Likes Received:
    58
    Trophy Points:
    466
    I'd say the E6400 with the WXGA+ screen is the way to go. Higher resolution, good battery life too, and it just seems to be better than 1280x800...those extra 100 pixels really do make a difference.
     
    Greg, Sep 9, 2009
    #20
Page 2 of 3
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page