Dell 1520's and 1720's questions - Need quick help please

Hey everyone, I am purchasing either an Inspiron 1520, 1521, 1720, or 1721. I have until midnight tonight to decide. I am going to list all my questions. Let me note that I will basically be using this for simple processes as I'll do my business work on it. Mostly just work in office and on the internet and such.


1. Which processor is better? Is it better to go with the 20's model and the Intel or the 21 model and the AMD? What will get me the most bang for my buck?

2. If I don't upgrade video card and screen resolution, which one is better to pay more money for. Should I leave resolution at 1440X900 and upgrade to a NVIDIA video card, or upgrade to a 1920x1200 resolution and leave the video card as the ATI or Intel card that is default? I know nothing about video cards and resolution.

3. How much difference is there between the simple 1390 networking card and the best one? What is the best to go with?

4. This is a dumb question, but I cannot tell from the pictures. Is the colored laptops shiny, or a dull color?

I appreciate the help. Also, if someone has a good picture of their laptop, color doesn't matter, I would appreciate you posting it.

Thanks.

 

1. You'll get better performance from an Core 2 Duo than from an AMD.

2. It'd be better to go with the 1440x900 resolution and a dedicated (in this case, Nvidia) video card, because the default integrated Intel graphics card will have trouble handling the large resolution in games, multimedia, etc. However, since you're only doing basic tasks, you can go for the large resolution because it won't be very demanding on the graphics card.

3. All I can say about this is that the best option has compatibility with Wireless-N, so unless you have an N router in your home, you don't need it.

4. Colored laptops come with a microsatin finish, so I believe they do give off a bit of shine but aren't the same as the HP glossy finishes for example.

 

If you want something that is not too big i would just go with the 1520 Intel dual has it hands down

If you are bugeted you can go with the 1.8GHZ if you want a little better get the 2.0 both no real need for 2.2

Go for upgrading video card over screen reso, it is worth it for future games programs etc.. the screen is decent at 1440X900

I sticked with the stock wireless card but the 39... will do fine

Colors are just more of a suade not really shine finish

 

1. Processor -- I don't know. I've heard that the 21 models don't get quite as good battery life and aren't quite as fast. But someone suggested that they might not have the problem with the high pitched noise that the 20 models seem to be prone to.

2. If you want the highest resolutions (1920x1200 on the 17" or the 1680x1050 on the 15") you'll have to upgrade from the onboard graphics. The only advantage of onboard graphics is battery life and price.

3. The simplest net card won't do 802.11a or 802.11n, but will work with 802.11b and 802.11g access points (which are the ones most commonly used).

4. The colored laptops have microsatin finish. They aren't enamel shiny but do have a luster to them. From seeing the lids on display at the Dell kiosk, the lighter colors (green and yellow) show the luster better. Unless the room is fairly bright, the darker colors (brown and blue) tend to look matte.

 

ok, thanks for your replies.

I can only afford to either upgrade the video card or the resolution. So most of you are saying to go with the video card instead of the resolution? and I understand that the intel processor is probably better, but I've also heard that the AMD X2 is probably a little better than the Intel 5000 series, which is what I would probably end up having to go with, instead of the 7100 or better. Does that make sense?

 

Just a little aside: it doesn't help your advertising "Make thousands a day" when you say you can't afford a $50 upgrade.

 

oh ****!!! hes gotcha there lol
anyway if you dont plan to game upgrade the screen.

 

Lol, good point... I budget in a laptop every year, and I don't like to go too much over what I allow in my budget on it. I'm already over a little, and while it's not really important to me, I would like the screen to look good.


So basically, I won't be gaming, but will be watching dvd's. Now I'm taking it that I should upgrade the screen, but not the video card. Only game I would probably ever play is Tiger Woods. If I did that with better resolution and not the upgraded video card, would I run into problems?

 

I say stick with the upgraded video card and the reduced resolution. You never know what you will be doing with the laptop in the future and the dedicated vid card is better for the future.

Also the 802.11n cards give you better speeds and better signals on older 802.11g routers.

The 802.11n cards will stay at 54mbps when other cards are on a 802.11.g router.Plus the expanded rrange of the n card.

 

ok, so the N cards work on routers other than a n-router? I have seen some people say that they won't work on g-routers, etc.