Decided on Laptop, final info requests...

Hey,

I've decided to order a M1530, 2.4GHz CPU, 4GB RAM, 160GB 7200RPM HDD, 8600, 6-cell Battery, etc.

So, now that I've picked all that, I'm wondering about to two things -

Firstly, the colour. So far I'm thinking I'll go with Tuxedo Black as I won't get tired of it as I may with the other colours, and I am thinking of buying a skin to go on it anyway. From that, does anyone have any suggestions as places to get Skins from? I'm looking at Skinit, as I've found a design I like, and wondered if anyone had pictures of a laptop with their skins on? Preferably a M1330, M1530, etc. Just do see how they fit around the logo. Will I have to cut them, or will they go straight across? Will they cover the entire top, or leave the side metallic parts uncovered?

The next is Vista 64-Bit, as I'm ordering 4GB of RAM I'm going to put 64-bit on it, am I going to run in to any problems there?

Thanks all.

 

You may run into some problems as I don't think Dell has 100% drivers for Vista 64-bit. In my opinion, I'd drop to 2gb and go with an LED screen, or stay with the 4gb and spend a little extra to get the LED. Also, get the 9-cell battery as the 6-cells are on major backorder.

 

There is no option for the LED screen in the UK, and the battery isn't listed as being delayed at the moment - The 9 cell is also £100 more, which is a hell of a lot extra.

 

You can get skin from schtickers.com.Details in SIG.

 

there are posts here about m1330 +64-bit driver list.. search... u have to come up with ur own copy of 64-bit Vista though(step-by-step download also available thru this forum)
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=1326427

i would go for a better laptop protection skin like invisibleshield/bestskinsever, though u cant get any graphics/printing on them(you can draw using a sharpie marker on them if u want to customize

 

I would recommend that you get the 9 cell instead of the 6. If you decide to buy the 9 cell later because you want a longer charge you'll end up paying around $300.00 for it. I wish I had gotten the 9 Cell, just a thought.

For a skin go to www.gelaskins.com and make sure you get a shaggy matt to protect your screen from the keyboard keys, again, just a thought.

 

im from the uk, and i just got a laptop from them.
theres no delays as far as i know, but its £90 more which is alot more, so i guess u should wait until dell battery crysis ended.

id go with standard skins, they look nice and its free to change to any colour in the uk, others might stick out or not be a perfect fit on cover something. i think it looks nicer as standard black, blue or red. i like black most. (might have to ask sales people for red)

64 bit vista is not as "good" as 32bit as its got driver problems and dosent run certain programs, 32bit at the moment is smoother, you can upgrade to 64bit anytime, but 32bit is worth it at the moment

but if you are getting 64bit, 4gb shouldnt cause any problems compared to 2gb as 64bit takes up to 8gb ram for 64bit vista home (i think?, is it more)
while 32bit will take 4gb aswell and use it all even though it might not show when you get it.

theres not a good reason for getting 64bit if your only getting 4gbmax and wont upgrade it.

also, i cant find 64 on dell so you would have to buy it seperately

 

The problem with 32-bit Vista comes down to RAM.

32-bit has a hard limit of 4GB of RAM - This includes Video RAM and some other things, in the end the limit is actually 3-3.5 GB that you can actually use as RAM.

Using a 64-bit OS gets around this. I've not got any problems with programs and such running with 64-bit as I use it on my home desktop, so that's fine. It's just a matter of drivers being avaliable.

 

Do what i did, i ordered a 4GB from somewhere else online (newegg, frys..etc..) and then put it in yourself, it takes about 8 minutes to get a screwdriver, take out 5 screws, change the RAM's, screw the cover back on, and put away the screwdriver, lol..

And i have a 32-Bit system and it WILL recognize 3.58 Gigs of RAM, which is close enough to 4GB, and i wouldnt go through the trouble installing a 64-bit vista just so you can use all 4, 3.58Gb is good enough for me, and i NOTICED a incredible change in speed, start up and shut downs with the 3.58 Gigs of RAM..

Dell charges $100 to upgrade to 4GB from 2GB and i bought my OCZ ram Dual0channeled for $54

I say get the RAM from somewhere else because the money you saved can invest in a T9300 instead of a T8300, it is worth the $125 USD upgrade..

I would stay with the 6-cell, the 9-cell sticks out the BOTTOM and its ugly, sure, it gives more battery life but i just cant stand the fact that it sticks out the bottom, if it sticks outta the back then i would be fine with that and i woulda got a 9-cell..

Anyways, give it a thought about upgrading to T9300 and get your RAM from somewhere else..

 

get Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition....worth it!

 

Looks good, I would just buy the RAM someplace else, it will be cheaper. Vista x64 works very well you should have no trouble finding the drivers for it, they can easily be tracked down on this forum.

That is a waste of money.

 

i guess you dont have the sound blaster audigy?

you're missing a lot