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    Dell Laptop to replace my Desktop ? Is it worth it?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by walkie999, Apr 8, 2008.

  1. walkie999

    walkie999 Newbie

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    Hi all,

    Great forum I’ve been reading all day!

    I am ordering a Dell Laptop to replace my current desktop and am wondering (hoping!) is it going to be worth it?

    My current computer specs:

    XPC Shuttle SB61

    Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.80GHz

    1008MB Ram

    Intel 82865G Graphics Controller

    153GB Hard drive

    My new laptop:

    Dell XPS M1530

    15.4” Screen

    Core 2 Duo – T8300, 2.40 Ghz (This looks lower than my desktop?)

    4096MB Ram

    Geforce 8600GT graphics card

    250MB Hard drive

    It’s just the processor that’s confusing me! Am I missing something, is it slower than my current one?

    I’ll be using the laptop for mainly work, but also for… FSX!! Will FSX run ok on my laptop (it barely runs on the desktop!)

    Thank you for your help!

    James :)
     
    walkie999, Apr 8, 2008
    #1
  2. DRTH_STi

    DRTH_STi can't.stop.buying.laptops

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    Great configuration! Except it's much cheaper to purchase ram from www.newegg.com they have great deals on 4 gigs for about 69 bucks.

    Don't be confused about the processor bro. The pentium 4 is single core, what you're getting is dual core. What you are getting is faster.
     
    DRTH_STi, Apr 8, 2008
    #2
  3. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    What exactly do you mean by "worth it"? If you're talking about plain old fashioned computing power, the M1530 kills the Shuttle. In fact, the T8300 kills the that 2.8GHz P4 by something like a factor of 4. Whether or not you need it is up to you; though judging by the fact that you've got struggling apps on the Shuttle, you probably could go for an update.
     
    Commander Wolf, Apr 8, 2008
    #3
  4. TheCleanerLeon

    TheCleanerLeon Notebook Geek

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    ireplaced my xp3200 system with my xps m1530, and it really kicks the old box's ass, and portable power to boot
     
    TheCleanerLeon, Apr 8, 2008
    #4
  5. kamehame

    kamehame Notebook Evangelist

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    Yeah, the Pentium series is so '90s, lol. Seriously, it would get wasted by the current Dual Cores.
     
    kamehame, Apr 8, 2008
    #5
  6. atbnet

    atbnet Notebook Prophet

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    Intel has changed its CPU architecture since the P4 series. Instead of focusing on the clock speed, they switched to the core architecture and as a result the clock speed went down. The Core 2 Duo is far better than the P4 and runs much cooler and consumes less power.
     
    atbnet, Apr 8, 2008
    #6
  7. Sparky 1720

    Sparky 1720 Notebook Consultant

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    Looking at a system as a whole and comparing to a desktop of similar spec. there are trade-offs

    Firstly, unless you opt for the highest end drives then hard disk speed is generally not as fast as a desktop. Video performance is quickly outclassed by the latest desktop cards.

    Bus speed, CPU, RAM should all be fairly comparable.

    Some questions you need to ask yourself are:
    1. Can I afford a laptop replacement instead of a new desktop?
    2. What am I going to be doing with it?
    3. Do I need portability?
    4. Am I going to want to upgrade video etc... when a game I want to play isn't playable on my current machine?
     
    Sparky 1720, Apr 8, 2008
    #7