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    Decision time coming - opinions on this spec please

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by OZGOD, Jan 17, 2008.

  1. OZGOD

    OZGOD Notebook Guru

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    G'day all, I've decided to take the plunge, defect from Sony and go back to Dell after a 3 year absence. Despite some of the more disconcerting posts here re: the M1530's build quality, I think this notebook offers what I'm looking for (it will be used mainly for MMORPG gaming - WoW, Guild Wars as well as RTS and TBS games like Civ4 and MTWII, I may play FPS but I'm not really a big fan).

    So here's the spec - $1704 (includes $49 docking station which I think is just a powered USB hub?). Comments/suggestions before I go ahead?

    Code: 
    Catalog Number:   	  29 DYCCHAP
 Module 	 Description 	Show Details
XPS M1530 	Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB, 4MB Cache) *
Operating System 	Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
System Color 	Tuxedo Black
Memory 	2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms) **
LCD, Color and camera 	High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440x900) & 2MP Camera
Video Card 	256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
Hard Drives 	Speed: 200GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
Software - Adobe 	Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
Combo or DVD+RW Drive 	Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
Sound Card 	High Definition Audio 2.0 
Wireless Networking Cards 	Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card***
Productivity 	No Microsoft Office
Software - Antivirus 	Trend Micro Internet Security 15-months
Primary Battery 	56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Warranty & Service 	1Yr In-Home Service, Parts Labor,24x7 Phone Support
Accident and Theft Protection 	1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection (CD Shipped Separately)
Dial-Up Internet Access 	No ISP requested
Digital Media Edting Software 	Adobe Photoshop + Premiere Elements
Bluetooth Options 	Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
Processor Branding 	Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor
Dell Printer Driver 	Windows Vista™ Premium
DataSafe Online Backup 	Included 10GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Year
    Things I wanted to query:

    * Will a 2.2GB Core Duo be adequate for my needs? I'm going from a 2GB Pentium M, will I notice a difference?

    ** I should be ok with 2GB RAM on a temp basis until I upgrade to 3 or 4GB right? I want to upgrade but will buy my own instead of paying $500 for Dell to do it for me.

    *** What's the diff between the Dell Wireless card and the Intel Wireless card
     
    OZGOD, Jan 17, 2008
    #1
  2. DTTM

    DTTM Notebook Enthusiast

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    Why not order 1GB of RAM instead of 2, then order a 2 GB stick on newegg. When you're done, you get 2.5 GB and about 50 bucks saved. This was what I did, though I only got a 2.0 GHz CPU
     
    DTTM, Jan 17, 2008
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  3. themanwithsauce

    themanwithsauce Notebook Evangelist

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    * = That processor is plenty for the other options. Your video card and maybe ram will be the "bottleneck" of the whole system and they're still not that bad.

    ** = 2 gigs of ram is great so long as you plan on not having max settings on games. Seeing as how you have a 8600gt you can't run max anyways so 2 gigs is fine and upgrade memory later if needed with ram from someone other than dell who overcharges on ram.

    *** - dell should be a/b/g whereas intel supports the new wireless n frequency. It's not that widely used yet but it is nice to have for future proofing the laptop.
     
    themanwithsauce, Jan 17, 2008
    #3
  4. nhbound20

    nhbound20 Notebook Consultant

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    I agree with DTTM, 2 gigs from Dell is throwing away cash. Also for the processor, sweet choice, you will definitely notice that! Lastly, have you looked for any coupons, it is a really sweet setup, but Dell runs coupons almost constantly and that definitely seems like a before discount price.
     
    nhbound20, Jan 17, 2008
    #4
  5. OZGOD

    OZGOD Notebook Guru

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    Well, I took the plunge. Here's my machine. ETA 1st week Feb.

    Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB, 4MB Cache)
    Tuxedo Black
    3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
    High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440x900) & 2MP Camera
    256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
    Size: 200GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
    Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
    Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
    Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
    High Definition Audio 2.0
    Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
    No Microsoft Office
    No Security
    56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
    2Yr In-Home Service, Parts Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
    1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection (CD Shipped Separately)
    No ISP requested
    Adobe Photoshop + Premiere Elements
    Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
    Free Recycling Kit
    Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor
    Windows Vista Premium
    Included 10GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Year

    Unit Price: $2,093.00
    - $549.00
    Subtotal: $1,593
    Total: $1,687 after tax and shipping

    Excited!
     
    OZGOD, Jan 18, 2008
    #5