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Comparing Compaq x6000 to the Dell Inspiron 9300
I used a Compaq x6000 for a month before I sent it back. Just figured I would post what I thought about them both here for anybody that is interested.
Looks: x6000 wins hands down. I really like the looks of the x6000 much better than the 9300. The top of the case looks more durable on the 9300 though, and I like the idea of the quick snap covers to preserve the top from scratches and dings. After 30 days my x6000 already had a few scratches on it. So, I think that gives the 9300 a few more points for durability.
Keyboard: I would have a hard time saying witch has a better keyboard. The good thing about the x6000 is the addition of the number pad. Other than that the Dell is better. The 9300s keyboard is firmer and quieter. I usually use an external mouse and keyboard when at my desk, so the keyboard is not a huge issue for me.
Display: The x6000 I used had the 17 inch WSXGA+ BrightView Wide Viewing (1680x1050) and it was bright and clear. I had no complaints about the display. The 9300 uses 17 inch UltraSharp Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife (1920x1200)
The Dell screen looks just as sharp and clear as the Compaq screen, and I noticed none of the sparkle effect some people complain about with them. I dont have both of them here to compare side by side, but I cant tell a difference in quality just by using both. I actually prefer the Dells (1920x1200) resolution because I love the extra room, and I can read everything just perfectly.
Applications: The 9300 has a 2.0 Ghz Pentium M and the x6000 had a 3.2 GHz Pentium 4. They both have a 7200 RPM HDD and they both have 1 Gig of memory. The normal applications I use (word, firefox, ect) are exactly the same on both computers. I notice very little load time and good performance all around.
Gaming: Here is where the differences became very obviously better on the 9300. I played Call of Duty, Halo, Brothers in Arms, and Farcry on both machines. In every instance, the 9300 can run the games at a higher resolution, and is smoother. WAY smoother. In fact the 9300 runs all games I played better than my desktop computer can. I can run everything I listed here at 1600x1200 everything set to high with very little or no video lag at all. That was one of my major complaints about the x6000. It just wasnt up to the gaming task. I justified it by saying well it is a laptop, and they just cant perform as well as a desktop. I dont say that anymore after using the 9300 with the Geforce 6800 256MB. The thing is great for games. There is a huge difference between the x600 256 and the 6800 256. The Geforce 6800 is better in every way.
Heat: The 9300 gets a little warm. The x6000 gets just plain hot. That was another thing I hated about the x6000. Now I can use the 9300s keyboard without getting 3rd degree burns on my lap and right wrist. The top of the 9300 stays cool to the touch. Thanks to the Pentium M. the 9300 is running at 27 C right now. FanGUI said it was 34C right after I got done playing COD for 2 hours =)
The 9300 has 2 fans. The x6000 has 3. The fans on the 9300 usually stay at a lower speed and arent as noisy as the x6000 fans.
Battery Life: I havent done a real world test of the battery life, but I have had it unplugged for 1 hour and 14 minutes so far, and it still says I have 3:45 hours left. On the x6000 I would probably be running out of battery power soon.
Sound: While watching a movie, I had to turn the volume to max on the x6000 sometimes, and it wasnt loud enough. I turned the sound down to ¾ on the 9300 and it was loud enough. The speaker quality is also very good. The 9300 and the x6000 had good sound and neither was tinny. I dont have them to compare side by side, but I think the 9300 has a better range of sound (probably due to the built in sub woofer)
Price: I paid $1580 For the x6000 and I paid $1554 for the 9300 (I used 35% off coupon code) I also bought 2 512 MB Memory chips that I have used in both of them at NewEgg.com so that isnt included in those prices.
Conclusion: I am glad I got rid of the x6000 and made a good decision buying the 9300. It is better in every way other than looks. I have always been the kind of person to take function over looks anyway, so I am 100% happy with the 9300. Dont get me wrong, I dont think the x6000 is a bad notebook, it is a good machine. The 9300 just has as good or better performance in everything that I care about. Gaming, Battery life, and Heat are all better on the 9300. And for about the same price, the choice is obvious to me.
Tim
Happy Inspiron 9300 owner.
Dell Inspiron 9300, Pentium M 2GHz, 1GB 533MHz DDR2, 256MB nVidia GeForce Go 6800, 17" LG WUXGA+, 60GB HDD (7200rpm), Sony DW-56A DVD+-RW DL
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thanks timak, I enjoyed reading your post, you put a lot of thought into it. It's tough to compare systems side by side. We do it all the time at work: we have one production environment, now we created a "copy" for test environment, why is TEST slower, they are the same? The answer is nothing is exactly the same even the same machine side by side. this is evident by the number of varied experiences on this board. The bytes are heaped differently on the disk, the memory is from a different lot/run, the monitor may be even LG or Samsung etc etc.
I like compaq machines as well - I like ibm hardware as well. I have both that run in datacenters that haven't been rebooted for a year or more. But with the Dell, I found their laptops really take a beating - and I really run my laptops hard. I've had many types, since in a past job I had to manage portable sales environments ( i had up to 6 notebooks at a time with me LOL ). Toshiba, Dell, IBM, Gateway, the Chinese brands that become Alienware, Hypersonic, Voodoo etc etc. The Dell's have worked best for me. I had my 3 yr old spill a drink on my IBM T40 notebook and PPPFFFFFTTTTTTTTT gone, bye bye. Maybe its luck or experience, I don't know, but I agree with you.
My 9300 has been a joy and has revitalized my otherwise burnt out high-tech lifestyle. Cell phone,Blackberry,256mg usb key, Dell Axim x30, 9300, toshiba tecra, gateway solo 2500, 2 sun sparc servers, homegrown linux boxes, and a Win 98 box for those games kids play that won't run on anything else, Dell D600 and a 700m on the way ( just ordered with that $750 off coupon ).
I was programming last weekend on my Dell D600 and only had 2 usb ports, what a wonder to have 6 ports. I love it, + firewire and SD slot. Glad Dell got on board with the SD slot - wish it was a 4 in 1 reader though [
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anyway - thanks for posting, i enjoyed your thoughts and enjoy your new toy !
Best Regards,
dba
Dell 9300 * 2.0ghz sonoma * 1gig ram * 256mg nvidia wuxga * xp media center * dvd dual layer * 80gig 5400 * bluetooth * wireless a/b/g * -
I am still amazed with just how much better the 6800 is than the x600. I have been playing my games all day today. It is almost like playing an entirely different game when I can put all the settings on ultra high. I am so glad I got rid of that old clunker x6000.
I posted this same comparison over on the x6000 thread, and of course all of the happy x6000 owners got a little mad. A few of them posted that if you want to play the latest games then you should do it on a desktop. They only say that because they HAVE to play the latest games on a desktop, because their little video cards cant handle it.
I didnt post it over there to tick anybody off. I originally bought the x6000 because of that thread, and everybody had nothing really bad to say about it. I got it, and I was disappointed in more ways than one. So I found a notebook that does everything I wanted (9300) and thought I would save some other poor sob like me the trouble and maybe they would buy the 9300 first.
Anyway, my next project I am considering is a paint job that should be fun. []
Tim
Dell Inspiron 9300, Pentium M 2GHz, 1GB 533MHz DDR2, 256MB nVidia GeForce Go 6800, 17" LG WUXGA+, 60GB HDD (7200rpm), Sony DW-56A DVD+-RW DL
Comparing Compaq x6000 to the Dell Inspiron 9300
Discussion in 'Dell' started by timak, Apr 21, 2005.
