Acer Extensa EX4420-5239 - $430 - DEAD

Just wondering if the 8600M GT is worth the £40 extra? This laptop needs to last me about 3 years, now I don't play that many PC games but wouldn't mind playing the odd few that I probably have missed out on during the last few years, so would the 8600M GT suffice for this?

I'm going for an XPS because they seem to be of a good build quality and should last 3 years without too much of a problem if looked after. I just don't want to drop a fortune and they want to get rid in a year.

Is the 8600M GT a big step up from the 8400M GS?

 

If u are plannin to use it for 3 years, its definitely worth it. Dont just think games, the OS's of the future will definitely need a good graphics card support. And guess what, the 8600 GT is about 3 times faster than its lil' brother , the 8400GS... I'd say just go for it.

 

Yes, as far as performance goes, you will be able to play games at a higher level...and it will enable to you at least play newer games, where the 8400 would not.

 

Better still, wait for a month or two, XPS's will come with montevina and 9XXX GS/GT cards.

 

What is the chance of these XPS's becoming more expensive? Didn't the XPS used to start at around £800 in the UK, where as now they start at about £580.

I assumed that they dropped in price as montevina is on its way?? Will the 9600M GT really be that much better than the 8600M GT?

I don't really use it for games but I think its a good point about having a half decent card for the future. I have integrated graphics at the moment and I sorta of feel like the system is crippled by it even though I don't really do stuff that needs it.

 

Acer Extensa EX4420-5239 - $430
	Link to Product Deal Office Depot has the Acer Extensa EX4420-5239 for $429.99. Free Shipping. Features include: 5.3lbs; 14.1"; AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-57 @ 1.9GHz; 2GB RAM; 120GB HDD; DVD burner; 802.11b/g; Vista Home Premium; 1yr warranty. [added 7/14/2008 | expires 8/2/2008 11:59:59 PM ]	tell a friend report expired deal

 

Hmm I wonder if the 9xxx series first batch will have any problems though. Maybe the most sensible thing is to wait and see what happens with them.

In the past would the price usually go up when the new cards are put into them though or should the cost stay the same roughly at the next refresh?

 

the 9500 and 9600 isn't that much different from the 8600, infact scores lower in some areas...

 

lol you know the answer to that. As you said the M1530 started at £800 and now its from £530... I believe that is more wishful thinking than a question lol

 

Performance increase won't be all that big of a deal really with the replacement 9x card over the 8600gt. It will still be mid-range, just better mid range. But yes, you will want the 8600GT if you decide to order now.

 

Hmmm real tempted to order one tomorrow with the 8600M GT as I do expect the price to jump back up. I'd probably spec it out to about £650 - £690. I doubt i'll get one as well spec'd for the same money in the future.

Might just get 3GB of Ram to start with as I think you only get 32-bit Vista with a Dell order??? RAM is always cheap to add more of later even if it would lose 1 stick to do it.

 

Yeah, just keep in mind that regardless of what you do, the value of the laptop you purchase decreases daily...perhaps hourly?

In my mind, you've got to decide if the increase in specs (9600GT & Montevina) are worth the extra $ AND the wait.

If not, then you'll still have a very very capable laptop, especially if the 8600GT that comes in the XPS is the DDR3 flavor (I believe it is).

Re: x64. I've heard rumors/claims that a simple phone call gets an x64 Installation Disc to your doorstep (provided your laptop comes with Vista). You may be able to have them ship the disk with the laptop (not sure if this was just a US thing or not). You'd have to call and ask a rep.

Re: RAM upgrade. I'd almost recomment buying as little RAM as possible. Upgrade on your own, and then sell your chips on E-bay. I did this and ended up buying 4GB (2x2) RAM (OCZ w/lifetime warranty) for $60AR and selling my 2GB (1x1) for $35.

Hope all those little diddies help

 

Yeah, as soon as montevina hits, the price will jump pretty high for a small performance upgrade. Honestly, If I were you, I would jump on that m1530 deal. Just do yourself a favor, and upgrade the ram yourself.

Anyways, x64 isn't hard to install at all. You just need to get your hands on the disk, which, iirc, you can even torrent legally so long as you activate it legally. I may be wrong though.

Anyways, 8600M GT's come with DDR3 on m1530's nowadays (I get around 30 FPS in Crysis on medium specs overclocked), so they are very, very capable. Even if you got one with a 9xxx series, the improvement wouldn't be too great, not enough to warrant a price hike.

 

Yeah cheers dude, im pretty much sold on ordering one maybe tomorrow. Just can't decide on Spec. I was thinking about this spec if anybody can offer any advice. It's up to £629 so far and I can't decide on which of these upgrades to go for. Any more than 1 of them and I feel im spending too much on it tbh. In reality its only to last me 2 years most likely.

£20 - Slightly Higher Res screen (1400 x 900 I think it is).
£20 - Take up to 3GB of RAM
£30 - Go from 160GB to 250GB

Surely even with just 2GB of RAM to start off with this machine is going to absolutey tear apart the Acer in my Sig?? I actually have 33GB of space left on my internal drive on the Acer at the minute including ALL the apps i'll need and all my pictures and music, i'm thinking the screen is impossible to upgrade later and the HDD is a tiny bit more of a hassle than RAM which is simple.

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5750 (2.00 GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 cache)
Genuine Windows Vista SP1™ Home Premium - English
1 Year Base Warranty
2.0 mega pixel Camera & Midnight Blue for CCFL Display
15.4" Widescreen™ WXGA (1280x800) TFT Display (220nits) with TrueLife™
Biometric Fingerprint Reader with BLACK accent
2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
160GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8600M GT with 256MB dedicated graphic memory
Fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load drive, including SW
Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)

 

If I were you I'd go for the screen. I LOVE the resolution of my monitor (1680 x 1050)...I couldn't imagine going any lower than 1400 on a 15" screen...you won't regret the higher res...unless it's grainy (haven't heard much on this lately).

 

Hmm I have 1200 x 800 on my Acer and its never bothered me before but I do have it hooked up to a 17" External monitor aswell most of the time. I find it really horrible to get actual work done without two monitors. Really helps.

I don't have two monitors for my job any more, just at home. But at work I get to use this Dell monitor @ 1600 x 1200 so it's not like i'm stuck on a single 17"
Dell UltraSharp 2007FP 20.1-inch Black Flat Panel LCD Monitor

Hmm can't decide. I'm thinking the extra HDD space and screen res would be good but they would be £50 and having 160gb is double what I have now and I haven't even used all that. Think I will just get the screen upgrade, bit worried though to hear you say it may be grainy? lol. Has there been reports of this?

 

You can upgrade the RAM , HD and CPU at anytime in the future when you find a good deal - RAM shop for rebates, HD always on sale somewhere, CPU prices seam not to move so much.
ie in the US new egg has a 320GB 7200rpm for $180-thats less than the dell upgrade cost -I would think you have a similar online PC shop in the UK -you will have an extra HD for back up or sell.
But you can not upgrade your Screen or GPU without great expense.
So go with the 8600GT and the best resolution you think you will need.
I have the 1440x900 LED and its is brilliant!!! I Just wish they had a 1680LED!!
Good luck and pull that trigger. I love both my M1330 and M1530.

 

Remember also, if you got the 72K HD...you're still left with the HD that you purchased with your laptop...makes for a nice external HD if you pick up an enclosure. =D