A couple of questions

I'm at the Dell website right now customizing my new laptop. I just have a couple of questions, since I'm not very familiar with computer stuff! I would normally call their customer service, but it's after-hrs right now, and I really need to buy a laptop ASAP. Thanks for your help!

1. Processor - is the Intel Core 2 Duo T73000 2.00 GHz faster than the 1.80GHz? What's the main benefit of paying extra for the 2.00 GHz?

2. LCD Panel - what's the difference between
Wide Screen WXGA LCD Panel and
Wide Screen WXGA+ LCD Panel?

3. Memory - if I'm not getting Windows Vista, do I really need 2.0GB?
Also, what's the difference between 1 DIMM and 2 DIMMS?

4. Wi-Fi Wireless Card - Is this for when I go to other places that have wireless internet and all I do is switch on a button and I can get wireless access? Is Intel 4965 the best one b/c it is fastes? or more powerful?

5. Bluetooth wireless - What?!

6. Productivity - It says tht Microsoft Office 2007 Basic and Adobe Acrobat 8 STD includes Word, Excel, and Outlook. So it doesn't include powerpoint?

 

1.the extra procceser speed is way worth it
2.wxga+ is a better screen
3.2 dimms is 2 memory slots which is way better and 2 gbs will help if you multitask or evintually get vista
4.only where theres wireless internet(if you get a mobile broadband card you can get on any where) 4965 is pretty good
5.so you can connect wireless blutooth mouses key boards cell phones etc
6. no it doesnt include power point

 

1. Processor - If you are planning on using your computer for 3 to 4 years you might want to go with the higher speed processor. For general use the 1.8 is fine. I haven't seen tests of comparative speed, but in computing it's also true every bit helps. Go according to your budget.

2. LCD Panel - What's the size of the screen? the WXGA will have a resolution of about 1280X800, the WXGA+ will have 1440X900. So the + allows you to see more stuff on the screen at one time (more open windows, for example, as in side-by-side views of windows). And it may provide a richer view of graphics and videos. But it will have smaller text (though you can adjust that). Go with WXGA+ unless there is a good reason not to.

3. Memory - You will be happy to have 2GB whatever operating system you choose. The difference between 1 and 2 slots is expandability. If you order 1GB now in one slot, the other slot remains open for you to later add a second 1GB card when you see you need more RAM. If you have 1 GB using 2 slots then you have 512 MB in each. On a notebook I set up recently I pulled the two 512's and replaced them with 2 1GB cards. The reason was that the RAM was less expensive from crucial.com than from the manufacturer of the machine. But that means two memory modules are now unused.

4. Wi-Fi. It's for any location that has wi-fi (e.g., your local coffee shop may or your office or the public library). And if you put an access point in your home it means you can use your notebook anywhere in your house. I don't know if Intel is best, but get one that offers 802.11 b/g/n (the "n" is the new emerging, faster system).

5. Bluetooth is the local area networking. You might have wireless headphones or a microphone or a printer that use Bluetooth for communication. It creates your own personal small area (up to about 30') network with other devices equipped for Bluetooth.

6. Productivity - Is the Office Basic just a time-limited demo? There are several versions of Office. So PowerPoint, Publisher, and Access are not in the Basic version. The Adobe Acrobat Reader 8 is a free tool. I'm guessing that's what is included?

I hope this helps. You are correct that there are so many choices to make when purchasing a computer.

 

As mentioned, you could easily live with a 1.8 or 2.0, both are very similiar. The only real difference would be numbers in benchmarking and potentially a few seconds in high demanding programs.

The larger it is, the more pixels, which means, the more real estate(more screen space) but at the result of smaller icons. It's a personal preference, so I'd recommend looking at in store models.

2gb should be universally recommended, it's enough to last a long time under regular usage. Notebooks have 2 RAM slots, so it would mean what it says

Pretty much yea.

If you don't really know what it is, most likely you wouldn't use it much. It's basically a wireless USB device.

As mentioned, Basic doesn't have it. Open Office is a free solution though.

 

Two additional comments: (1) there are some things you can upgrade later. Processor speed and wi-fi card are NOT among them. You CAN, however, add RAM later or add a USB Bluetooth device to enable Bluetooth if you later got some accessories that needed it. So if you are balancing the budget around several upgrade options, look first to the ones you can't change later. (2) If this computer has integrated RAM it draws from the total RAM of the system. So you may have 1GB or RAM, but if the video is using 128 or 256 MB or RAM you then have less than 1GB for the rest of the system. That's anothre reason 2GB is wise even if you don't get Visa.

So did you make a purchase? Let us know how it works out.