Just purchased studio xps 16 - Need help!

Ok,
I just purchased a studio xps 16 inch and I had a quick question. I am using the notebook for lawschool and moderate gaming. I only got a 2.0 ghz processor but I got the 1gb video card. Am I going to be hindering my experience with the notebook with the 2.0 ghz processor over a 2.4 ghz processor? Should i upgrade? Or will gaming / storage / media be fine. Here are the specs to my notebook. Also, this is going to be a moronic question but... Wireless N cards pick up a b and g correct? - Thanks!



1 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P7350 (3MB cache/2.0GHz/1066Mhz FSB)

1 Obsidian Black with Leather Accent

1 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)

1 Edge-to-Edge FullHD Widescreen 16.0 inch RGBLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP

1 ATI Mobility RADEON™ HD 4670 – 1GB

1 500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive

1 Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-bit

1 Integrated Gigabit (10/100/1000) Network Card

1 Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9, Multiple Languages

1 8X DVD+/- RW(DVD/CD read/write) Slot Load Drive

1 High Definition Audio 2.0

1 Intel® 5100 WLAN Wireless-N (1x2) Half Mini Card

1 6-cell Battery
1 3 yr In-home Service after remote diagnosis + Complete Care+LoJack, FL
1 $50 Dell Promo Gift Card - Arrives in 6-8 wks, carries a 90 Day Exp. Dell.com/giftcard
1 Edge-to-Edge FullHD Widescreen 16.0 inch RGBLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP

1 Intel® Centrino™ 2
1 Windows Vista™ Premium

 

Also, the processor could be upgraded later on correct?

 

N cards are compatible with b/g.

Processor can be upgraded later.

I think it should be OK for gaming with what you have now, but more is better if you can afford it.

The P8400 I think would be a worthwhile investment. I personally have the
T9550. My benchmarks on are page1 opf the 1640 + 4670 thread, Joker runs the p8400 and his system runs just fine as well.

Again you should be fine but 400mhz is a pretty good margin.

 

ok sounds good. thanks for the help. Also.. do you know how well the hdmi works with an hdtv? is the quality sexy?

 

It's a great xps 16 setup for "bang for the buck". I wouldn't though, stick with the P7350... I'd go for at least a P8400 (I see a P8600 listed at a $75 upcharge) simply because the extra 20% of CPU clock cycle isn't insignificant for that little of a price. Best of all, because of its low TDP (P-series core 2 duo CPUs max out at 28w with the P9700), you shouldn't see much of a "battery hit" from the P7xxx series to P8xxx series. One thing I would inquire about is this: Because you are ordering your laptop after June 26, 2009, are you elgible to purchase the Windows 7 Coupon upgrade for whatever the small price (if there is one) is.

Jason

 

I believe I am eligible yes. I am wondering if i should just upgrade it for 75$ or if I should just use the 75$ to put towards a faster processor than the 2.4 and install it myself if I find the 2.0 to be insufficient.

 

and i'm most likely just going to use the $50 promo card towards a 9 cell battery... if i'm able to.

 

The P8600 is only $75, it's well worth it. The $50 card can be used towards the battery, with DELL coupons, the price of the product usually has to cost more than the coupon, but that's the only rule. If you can use that card, that may subsidize up to a P8700 (2.66GHz / 3MB L2 cache / 1066MHz FSB). Now, if you're comfortable putzing about inside a laptop with working on it, you could also buy the cheapest cpu, remove that, and put in something faster. IIRC you can go upt to a T9800 from the factory, or put in a T9900 from a place such as excaliberpc.com. (that's if you want a banzai laptop).

Jason