Advice sought for 9300 order configuration

Thanks for looking! Please note, I am not a gamer and I don't run any programs that require a better graphics card. I will be using this as my main computer. Here's what I'm thinking so far.

Inspiron 9300
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display
256MB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 1 Dimm <-- will buy 1gig from newegg
64MB ATIs™ Mobility Radeon™ X300
40GB Hard Drive
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)
6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (53 WHr)
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr Technical Support

 

I recommend you bump up to a 9 cell battery if you will be using it away from a power source, as the battery life is kinda short on my 9300 and I have a 9 cell, so I can only imagine the life of a 6 cell. If it's going to be plugged in all the time then don't worry about it. And some of us are under the agreement that the extra warranties aren't really necessary because ususally if something goes wrong with your computer, more often than not, it will happen within the first year and be covered by the default warranty. That is all just personal opinion though and if you feel safer with it, well there is no better product than self assurance. Other than that I think you'll have yourself one nice notebook.

 

Get the 256 video card, even if you're not a gamer. 64 Meg card is too low. It is like getting a Porche with bike wheels.

 

I don't know if that's true. I have an old Pentium 2 with 32MB of VRAM, it plays DVDs just fine, runs simple 2d graphics programs (like Windows Paint), and I've never had a problem rendering the desktop . Most productivity applications don't need 3D nor large amounts of VRAM.

If he is 100% sure he'll never need 3D nor intensive graphics, he won't get any benefit from the extra expense (my apologies if poster is female). After all, that's why built-in graphics chips and shared memory architectures exist.

Of course, if there exists a possiblity of using graphics intense programs, then it's worth it.

Food for thought: Longhorn (i.e. Windows Vista) may change the validity of my claims. Avalon will rely on DirectX for rendering parts of the Windows desktop but even then I wonder if the suggested video card is inadequate.

Just my 2c,

Vlad

 

hmm...of course the settings are at the bare minimum for the i9300, but the stuff is pretty good. i highly suggest you upgrade it to the truelife lcd since you will be using it as a main computer. you dont want your eyes to go bad also i think you should get the 9 cell battery like people said and defintely increase that hard drive. its just way too small.

and if you have some extra bucks throw in a dvd+rw. you might think its useless, but when it comes to backup tons of stuff, you'll be thankful.

 

yea...there's really no point in getting the 9300 if ur not gonna get the 256 MB graphics card!!!...get it..and it will last u a while

 

If he's never going to use it and only wants the 9300 for the large screen and low price then the Go6800 would be a waste of money. I agree, the trulife screen is very nice. If you want to speed up your computer, go with the 60 gig, 7200 rpm hard drive. You will notice more performance from that day to day than the graphics card.

 

Tomas - I don't plan on using this away my office or home, so the 6-cell should be fine. Just had to do the 2 years since though I know how to upgrade computers, I've never done it on a laptop (besides the usual upgrading memory), so just in case motherboard or screen needs to be replaced, I've got some assurance for a couple of years.

hln98 - I currently work on a P3 700Mhz Sony laptop now with integrated graphics. Getting 64mb is going to be a huge difference in itself.

Vlad - From what I heard Longhorn required 128mb dedicated. I don't plan on jumping on Longhorn, I'm happy with XP.

 

She likes it for the screen I work on a 13" TFT laptop now, having 17" is going to be a big jump. I do need this screen size, it's just so much more efficient with the work that I do. If I need to, I'll probably upgrade the hard drive, but 5400 should be plenty fast for me.

 

I wouldn't speak too soon on that one. Windows Vista (formerly Longhorn) is supposed to "revolutionise" the PC platform. From the BETA releases it looks to be going pretty good. I would at least get the 128MB X300 GPU for the extra money. You may be looking at Vista next year and kicking yourself that you did not get the 128MB GPU. Vista will be able to run on integrated graphics and older systems but to get the upgraded UI you will need a AGP or PCI Express GPU with around 64-128MB of dedicated RAM. The details of what Vista will require have not really been released and the BETA version does not have the upgraded UI.

I would upgrade the GPU to the 128MB X300, upgrade the HD to at least 60GB (you may fill up the 40GB HD with a lot of music or videos), upgrade to a DVD+-R/RW DL, and upgrade to a TrueLife display.

 

I feel the same way. I like the freedom of having multiple programs\windows open and running without having to shuffle between them. It sounds that you are looking for a desktop replacement more than anything. If that's the case, you should be very happy with the I9300.

 

I am definitely looking for a desktop replacement, with the space that I have its essential that I don't get a pc in my room. I'm going to go ahead and get the 9300 with the specs I've originally layed out.

I work on a P3 700Mhz laptop with only a DVD player. I don't download music or do any of that photo stuff--I also don't play games. I understand XP might take up 10gigs by itself, but based on my usage 40 gig should be fine.

With the 64mb, I figure it would at least be better than integrated (kinda makes you wonder if there will ever be a laptop with integrated graphics and Vista OS). Does anybody else have 64mb on their 9300? I'm probably kidding myself as everyone who gets the 9300 usually gets 6800, but again it's just not something that will benefit me.

Thanks guys! Your time is much appreciated!

 

If it won't benefit you, save some cash and stick with the 64mb x300. We play high end games with our 9300s but there plenty of other benefits to owning it. O and XP only takes up two and a half gigs.

 

hehe i did go overboard on that xp storage didn't i? i'm really missing those 750 off $1499 coupons. 40% is nice, but man it's perfect for what i've configured.

 

OH MY GOD, YOU DIDNT? If you dont want your eyes to go bad....STAY WITH THE WXGA resolution, text is WAY to tiny at native resolution on a WUXGA screen. Where did you ever come up with the notion that the WUXGA screen is better for your eyes???? Those true life screens (the glossy ones) only come in WUXGA resolution which is 1920x1200.
Go with the 6800 nvidia card now, more than you need now is less that you'll regret six months from now, also if you dont purchase the video card with yoursystem, you will pay double if not more than the upgrade price at the time of purchase of your system. A 5400 rpm drive is quite fine, get an 80gig or 100 gig, If this is your only system I would go with a 1.86ghz processor, buy your ram somewhere else besides dell, my system specs are WXGA+, 1.86ghz pentium m, cdrw/dvd rom drive, nvidia 6800go 256 meg card and 80gig 5400 rpm toshiba hard drive I got all this for just under 1500 dollars with a 750 off coupon. :750:

 

You might not think you need the 6800 card now, but buying it later will cost you soo much more, besides, who is to say that six months from now you wont be needing a better video card?? Food for thought, save until you can get the features you really want. Always best to get a little more than you think you need now, like I said. I almost went with the crap x300 card on my 9300 until i found out how much the upgrade to nvidia card would cost and that was IF they had any spare parts, which at the time i called about it they didnt. Thankfully, six months from now, I will not be regretting the addition of the 6800 card, I doubt anyone will be saying the same thing about their x300 cards.

 

Nickels,

Please please get at least 128 meg video card. If I know you better, I would give, let me repeat, GIVE you the extra money to get the 256 meg card. I know money isn't an issue for you but I just hate for people to settle than regret it later.

Let me try to convince you one last time:

Would you buy a Ferrari and put bicycle wheels on them?

No offense to those with 9300 and 64 meg card. I am just trying to make a point

 

if you cant see the text on a laptop screen then your eyes are pretty bad. its right there in front of you. but i do agree that the glossy might cause a little problem since its so reflective. so pretty much it all depends on what you want for your laptop.

 

For the money, the upgrade to the GeForce 6800 graphics card is probably one of the best that you can make. Even if you are not into gaming, the power of the card provides with the best ability to watch DVD's and anything else. Additionally, if you are playing on using the laptop for the next few years, it is a very real possibility that you maybe upgrading to Longhorn or Vista is it is now called, so it makes since now to take advantage of an upgrade that would allow you to upgrade in the future. I love my i9300, and notice a huge difference between my machine with the GeForce 6800 and my friends who only have 128 mb cards in their machines. This difference is not just in gaming but in viewing anything like DVD's and they have all commented on it. Hope that this helps you out.

 

Actually I have 20/15 vision at 35 , thats better than normal, no getting around it , the higher the resolution, the smaller the text in normarl settings and the harder your graphics card has to work in order to render all the extra pixels. More resolution does not equate better, far too often people associate qualities with screen resolution that have more to do with the model and manufacturer and little or naught to do with the resolution, the wxga resolution is more than adequate, especially if you are running your desktop at 1024x768 or less. You certainly wont find any websites that take advantage of 1920x1200 resolution, you will also find WUXGA users talking frequently about looking for ways to make their text larger and fix the jagged icons and using their high resolution screen in wxga resolution for every day use which begs the question, why buy it in the first place??? Brigther? NOPE, Glossy? if you like it go for it, personally I prefer to shave in a mirror. Ever watch Tv and the sun is shining through a window or the slats of your blinds right onto your tv screen??? thats kind of what those glossy screens are like looking at. Hope this helps you, if you are thinking about WUXGA screen, dont buy one without first loo0king at them at normal DPI in a store somewhere if you can even find one that high. I have used both on Dells and dont like the glossy but I especially dont like the higher resolution. Dvd's and games are not better on them.

 

You would be much better off using the money for a wuxga panel on the 6800 nvidia GO Card, but if you do go with WUXGA, you most definitely nee dthe 6800 go card as the x300 in my opinion based on use of it wiht wuxga screens is woefully inadequate to the task of handling all that extra rendering plus what ever graphical demands you are making on it web surfing or dvd watching or trying to play a game.