Dell Inspiron 1525 for casual gamer?

Hi! =D Now, I've been reading up a lot on the Inspiron 1525, and of course in most reviews I've heard the thing I've dreaded most to hear - 'NOT FOR GAMERS'. However, most of those reviews were for the 2gb RAM versions. Anyway, this leads me to my question.

I'm a teenage female, and I'm a CASUAL gamer. I'm sort of in between, because while I do enjoy some PC games, I'm definitely not hardcore enough to desire getting the XPS laptop instead. The games I would play are Left 4 Dead, Maple Story (which basically runs off of crap, I know XD), perhaps a little WoW, Sims 2, etc... I'm more of a console gamer, but I'd really feel kind of cheated if I didn't get a laptop that could provide me with decent PC game gameplay. So I was wondering, since most of those reviews that I read were for the 2gb default model, what if I got 4gigs of RAM instead?

Other things I would use this laptop for are creative writing, art (Photoshop), and basic stuff really. I just want this laptop to be well-rounded. One reason I'm sold on this laptop is a pathetic one - as I mentioned up there I am a female, meaning I am attracted to pretty things. I like the shape and style of the Inspiron 1525 laptop, and the fact that you can get different colors for the laptop itself. I want one to be pretty and colorful. =/

This may all sound really dumb when it's compiled like this, but I figured this would be the only way to get a general answer. Again, I think that 4 gigs might be a bit over-kill, but it's better to be safe than sorry, right? Any feedback is *greatly* appreciated. =D

 

The 1525's very limited gaming ability doesn't come from lack of memory, it comes from the Intel X3100 integrated graphics. It should play world of warcraft.

 

4 gigs will be an over-kill...Vista wont even use more than 3.2 gigs ..Yup there will be Dual Channel in 4 gigs but that wont make any big difference ...
I am yet to come across something which wont run in 3 gigs but u surely cant make up for graphics by increasing RAM beyond a certain level..

.Why dont you try Studio 15 ....It is a decent Gaming Machine and is at a reasonable cost and also has nice design and pretty colors

 

yea, you're looking at the studio 15 at least for the kind of titles you're talking about. better still though would be the HP DV5t, has the geforce 9600 in a similar price range...better bang for the buck IMO.

and vista will use more than 3.2gb if you install vista 64 bit. 32 bit can only use about 3 gigs.

vista 64 can use up to well, a few thousand gigs

sims2 has pretty high requirements btw!

 

yeah ...sorry i forgot to mention .....i assumed 32 bit only ....

 

l4d will run just fine if you have the settings on low.

I have a studio 1537, with the ati 3450 card and 3gb of ram, running 32bit vista. and it runs like . well to me anyways.

 

If I were you, and assuming I only wanted a dell then I'd have a look at the studio 15 instead.

Over here at least, the studio 15 is pretty much, if not the exact same price as the inspiron 1525.

Plus it will handle light gaming - like the games you listed and its much more 'pretty' as well as having a lot more colour options including custom artwork patterns.

Bty the amount of ram will have no effect on whether your laptop will play games or not, the integrated graphics card (x3100) of the inspiron kills all hopes of game playing WELL before you have to consider the amount of ram available.

Granted the graphics card in the studio isn't amazing either but it is lightyears ahead of the one in the inspiron.

 

For the games listed, I'm thinking that the Intel GMA 4500MHD (successor the X3100) might even be sufficient. But the 256mb ATI Radeon Mobility HD 3450 is an even better choice.

Here's a great configuration of the Studio 15 for $799 (includes 2.26GHz Intel P8400 processor, WXGA LED display, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive and the ATI Radeon HD 3450 graphics card)- http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?cs=19&kc=6F968&oc=DNPCUZ2&x=10&y=7

 

Now that'll be decent enough for some gaming.