Dell E1705 Questions.

OK, I'm seriously considering the E1705 but I have a few questions that I haven't seen answers for on the forum.

I will not be using this for a gaming computer but I do want a high performance pc for various reasons including work. I don't plan on travelling much with this notebook, but may take it with me on extended work travel from time to time.

1. What are the real differences b/t E1705 and the 9400? I know one is the business model, but what are the true hardware differences that may motivate my decision?

2. What sort of battery life are those of you with the E1705 getting with the standard battery? What about with the 9-cell battery? Does the 9 cell battery protrude from computer more so than the standard 6 cell. I understand that battery life isn't going to be great on a performance laptop like this with such a large screen, but is it worth getting the 9 cell battery?

3. What sort of battery performance (increase) are you seeing when you watch movies, listen to music, etc when using Media Direct vs. booting all the way to Windows?

4. How much does hard drive speed affect performance? In other words, is it worth it to upgrade to a 7200 RPM drive or should I go with a larger 5400 rmp drive?

Any other comments/suggestions are welcomed, especially if you have or use a E1705.

Thanks!

 

3. Don't let the battery price stop you. If, after others give better input regarding their own thoughts on the battery, you decide it would suit you needs better, go with it. As you mention though, how it fits with the computer itself is a good reason to think twice if it will be problematic for you.

4. I think the general consensus is that the upgrade in hard drive speed doesn't prove a worthhile investment for most people. It also has two disadvantage (on top of the nasty price hike): increased heat and decreased battery life.

A larger hard drive, however, has no drawbacks (although there is a sweet spot in terms of price - usually 80-100 GB, with 120 resulting in a ghastly price hike).

Best,
Howie

 

1. There's no difference between models but the name.
2. I really wouldn't know. It seems they're getting about 2:30 with the 9-cell and the 7800. You should probably get 4 hours with GMA 950. The 9300 can get close to 5 hours on a 9-cell with the X300, I would assume that since GMA 950 is not dedicated as the X300, it should have about the same battery life and since you're not looking for a gaming machine, it should work for you.
3. I don't know.
4. Already been explained.

 

1. I believe, though I may be wrong, that the e1705 comes preloaded with Windows Media Center Edition. The i9400 comes with either WinXP Home or Pro, but no Win MCE.

Actually that makes me wonder if i9400 owners can use MediaDirect functions?

 

i9400's MediaDirect should function... as I got the Inspiron 630m as opposed to the XPS M140, both can run MediaDirect, so the i9400 should as well, like the e1705 does.

 

You should get the 9 cell battery. I just tested my E1705 T2500 7800 Go 5400 rpm 100 GB system yesterday on battery power alone while at full screen brightness. I was browsing the internet while using my Dell USB TV / Media Center TV Windows and my processors both were running at 22 to 31 % max cpu. 1 battery going to 5% power left will last only 1:33 hrs. So I bought 2 more 9 cell batteries on ebay today for $71 each shipped.

The 5400RPM 100 GB hd is actually only a 94 gb hard drive - so Dell is ripping people off 6gb !

Maybe I got short battery life because of the USB power flaw of this CPU / OS system.

 

Thanks for all the input.

InpiredE1705 (or anyone else), have you had a chance to see what sort of battery life you get when using media direct to watch movies,etc. My main concern here is that I want to be able to watch a full feature film on one battery charge. 1:33 hrs is cutting it pretty close. My hope is that using Media Direct will give at least 2hrs viewing time, 2.5 hrs would be nice.