Dell Inspiron 1520.....gamers laptop?

Ok, I'm sure I'm missing something important here, so I had to ask.....with the right configuration, couldn't this be a great gaming laptop for someone that only wanted a 15in screen? I've been comparing the Asus G1s, but the Dell Inspiron 1520 seems to have very similar specs if customized, and it also had the added benefit of a blu-ray burner.

So why don't I see/notice a bigger hype for the Dell Inspiron 1520? What is it I'm missing here?

 

The video card in the Inspiron uses GDDR2.
The card in the Asus G1S uses GDDR3.

 

I didn't think that was a MAJOR ground-breaking difference though.

....or is it?

 

It's not really 'ground-breaking' as it is just a difference in memory clock speeds. From what I can tell, it's the difference from having and not having AA. Otherwise, it'll play most games maxed out. If you plan on getting Bioshock, though, I'd recommend GDDR3........

 

It's ground-breaking if you must have the best of everything and won't go above 15 inches. Otherwise it performs well. The only programs I've tried that haven't run on High or above are World in Conflict (a bit slow on Medium) and Crysis (3-4 FPS on Low, I'm guessing this will improve with the final release or first patch, though). Both of those are DX10 titles. All the DX9 games I've tried have done very well. Call of Duty 4, Trackmania, Company of Heroes all ran very well. The 3DMark 06 Score of my machine is 3261.

It certainly can be a good gaming laptop. It's not the best for a 15-inch, but it's still very good. And it does have a Blu-Ray option. Combine Blu-Ray, the 8600GT, and a 1680x1050 resolution and you've got an excellent gaming and movie-viewing laptop.

Note that the 1520 only has a Blu-Ray reader, not a Blu-Ray burner. That's why it's $160 to upgrade and not twice that amount. It'd still be a nice feature if you wanted to watch movies, though.

 

....Crap.

I thought it was a burner. Looking at the Dell site now, there's 2 options for customizing the optical drive into a blu ray player.

Blu-ray Disc Combo (DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM) [add $200 or $6/month1]

Or

Blu-ray / DVD / CD writer (Blu-ray Disc Drive) [add $400 or $12/month1]


I thought the $400 option was a burner, where as the $200 was just the player. If thats not true, then whats the difference between the 2 options, besides the price.

 

Oh. I was looking at the U.S. site. The options are different in the U.S.

For you, the $200 option is a Blu-Ray reader and DVD writer, and the $400 one is a Blu-Ray reader and writer (along with DVD and CD). Sorry, didn't notice that you were in Indonesia before I posted.

 

Actually, I am customizing it using the US site.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DNDWKA2&s=dhs
Just click the Internal Optical Drive icon at the bottom, and it will show the 2 Blu-Ray options I'm posting about.

Since the Inspiron can be configured with the Nvidia 8600, doesn't that mean it's also dx10 ready? I know I won't be able to play Crysis at FULL details, but I was expecting to atleast play on Medium......having to switch to low is kind of lame

 

the inspiron 1520 is the best you can get for the price. if you get the g1s-a1 you will have to spend $600 more for a comparable laptop. additionally, you will have to sacrifice the tremendous amount of heat that the g1s makes and the mediocre battery life (as well as the slightly cheesy gaming design)

 

The design IS pretty cheesy!! I hate those damn lights!!! It makes a $2,000 laptop look like a $2.00 toy.

Although admittedly, I'm not a big fan of Dell either. Had a bad experience with them years ago, but the Inspiron really does look like a sweet deal, especially if it does have a Blu-Ray burner ((Still can't figure that one out, I'll have to email Dell about it and find out.))

 

BuleGila,

Play Crysis on DX9, not DX10...I know that's the whole point of your graphics card and Vista, but you should be able to play it on DX9 all on Medium settings and the framerate is solid. The graphics are still pretty good, (but obviously not as good as DX10).

 

I see the Blu-Ray burner option now. IDK why it wasn't there before, possibly Dell changed their options for a few hours (they're known for changing options and prices all the time). The most expensive option is a Blu-Ray burner.

Crysis Demo on DX10 ran absolutely horrible for me on low, I'm thinking it must be a problem with the code and with the first patch performance ought to improve. DX9 mode should be better, though. The 8600M GT and Vista does allow DX10, but with Crysis I don't think DX10 is worth it.

 

Heh, read my mind like an open book! Well in that case, the performance should be the same as the Asus then. With the same graphics cards, 2.2ghz processor, the difference, if any, should be VERY minor. With the benefit of a Blu-Ray burner, I'll suffer the minor difference

Now, my next battle will be to get it shipped here....

Thanks for the help everybody!

 

It does offer a blue ray burner option(I got it), just make sure you get the right one(the $400 one is the burner, the other is just a reader).
2x burn speed, so it's pretty slow, but does the job.

Most people don't get it just because the 1520 lacks HDMI/DVI output, but Dell offers a component video option, so you can still output 1080p.

Also, I just saw your signature.
Your system may not be able to handle 4GB of RAM(it will handle it, but will only give you about 3 Gigs). Save some money, and get at most 3 Gigs. If you want 4 Gigs, you will need a 64bit version of Vista, so careful with that.

 

Very true. I already own Vista Ultimate 64 Bit, so I plan on updating the home version to Ultimate once I receive the laptop.

 

your getting the 4GB ram from dell? I am just going to order my ram from newegg $59 for 2GB of ram each versus $125 x 3 lol

 

No way! Dell wants too much $$$ for that. I'm planning on doing a similar thing. While I can't order from newegg ((Working in Indonesia)) there's plenty of hardware stores in the area where I can purchase it from.