Ditched My 1520 - Need Your Input!

Hey guys, after a number of factors I've decided to return my Inspiron 1520, including:

-Lacking a lot of driver support in Windows XP (though I'm sure they'll fix this later on...I just don't have the time to wait)

-8600M GT being GDDR2 I was trying out some games and I came to the realization that if I wanted to play games like Crysis, etc. performance would be pretty bad (but I hear it can be OCd....and along with it pop goes my battery life)

-Bulky, bulky, bulky! I didn't really care about the weight itself, but the machine is just beastly in size...but this was a very small factor for me.

-***Sound*** this was the biggest deciding factor for me...so much high pitch noise and interference when I plugged in my headphones and no matter what I couldn't get rid of this. There's another thread dedicated to this on this forum. All I can say is...if I can't listen to what I want to listen enjoyably, there's no way I'm sticking with the computer.

Given all this, I will list a few PROs though that I will miss:

-Great screen...just amazing IMO
-Great keyboard...very nice size and solid feel
-Great built in speakers for a laptop


Ultimately, the headphone port and the inability to run windows xp (for which there are no sound drivers working at the moment) just made this a huge turn off.


So...what now? I'm thinking about a fully decked out Inspiron 1420 and later if I really want to game just build myself a desktop. But for now...I need some help. What kind of notebook should I get if I want:

-3.5 + Hrs minnimum battery life
-14-15 Inch Screen (Glossy with great contrast and brightness)
-Reasonably Portable (Like 1.5 inches thick MAX)
-Can run windows XP
-The best graphics I can get for the screen size
-Core 2 DUO
-A SOUND PORT WITHOUT INTERFERENCE, NO HIGH PITCH NOISE PICKUP!!!
-7200 RPM HDD
-Great warranty and accidental damage service for at least 3 years
-Built in bluetooth, 802.11n, card reader, firewire, usb ports, etc.
-I'm open to the price at the moment...but I'd like to cap it at $1650 if you are recommending me a really high end machine

I have currently taken into consideration:

-Sager 2090 but do not like because no accidental damage protection (that I've found)
-Regular Macbook (no dedicated graphics)
-Macbook Pro (Too expensive unless I can get it for$1650 w/ tax)
-Asus G1S (Ugly as hell and bad battery life)


Thanks in advance everybody for reading my long long post!!!

 

get an hp dv6500t

 

i think the dell inspiron 1501 would be good if you sacrifice:
-Core 2 DUO(does have turion x2 though)
-7200 RPM HDD(i dont know for sure if its offered but that means better battery life though)
with a nine cell and 2 gigs ram and turion x2 tl-60 its pretty fast

 

Can't get the dv6500t because it makes a lot of noise when doing basic tasks and it only has an 8400 for a 15 inch screen. I would also not go for the 1501 as it is an outdated model and I definitely need a core 2 duo and 7200 RPM HDD...thanks though for the updates.

 

no its not the e series is out of date the 1501 came out in december and also can support 65nm (likec2d)im not a fanboy or any thing just posting facts

 

If the sound is really the dealbreaker, why not just get a USB or expresscard sound device.

I haven't used it, but this one's supposed to be good:
http://www.amazon.com/TURTLE-BEACH-Audio-Advantage-Micro/dp/B0002ICGDY

There's also this but it's a little more expensive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102185
I'm not sure whether your laptop can take PCMCIA cards or not.

Oh yeah... here are the XP drivers for the 1520: http://support.dell.com/support/dow...ceTag=&SystemID=INS_PNT_PM_1520&os=WW1&osl=EN
Oh I see, I bet Dell just forgot to put the sound driver on there. Here's the drivers page for the Vostro 1500... it's basically the same machine, so I would expect the drivers to work: http://support.dell.com/support/dow...stemID=VOS_N_1500&os=WLH&osl=en&catid=&impid=
Or if you get an external sound device like that Turtle Beach one, that will hopefully come with XP drivers.

 

Even though you dont like it, i second the hp 6500t

 

ok wait until the 22nd when the new gateways come out. They will be very nice machines
http://www.gateway.com/programs/tmseries/

 

turion x2 is terrible compared to the c2d

have you seen the DV2500T?

 

thats everyones first response but the difference in cache is miniscul because of the memory controler they are very good proc actually just amd hasnt got really high clock speeds but the new 65nm turions are very fast actually even against c2d

 

get the sager2090 and dont be clumsy haha
the amazing service powerpro or xoticpc warranty gives ya should be sufficient enough from there =)

 

i don't know why you're posting this in dell forums (magnet for fanboys). I don't think anyone on these forums are too much of fanboys anyways, lol. Check out the compal ifl-90 from xoticpc or powernotebooks.com. They have 3 year warranties with them. The sager you listed isn't the name of the actual model. That's just the brand name model. It's called the compal ifl90

 

I have lappies with both c2d and x2's ... no comparison in performance -- Intel wins hands down. The AMD also generates tons of heat, and you need energy (power) to generate heat, meaning ta-ta battery life.

 

Mine Beats Similair Intel Procs With More Cache AND IT PRODUCES LESS HEAT WHAT ARE THE SPECS OF THE 2 SYSTEMS?

 

in what ways?

 

Response to everybody so far:

-I am not getting another sound card...that's ridiculous...the built in headphone slot either works or it doesn't. I'm not going to put in even more money for something that should already be working as it does on 99.9% of laptops today...plus it'll just take up my slot and battery life.

-No I will not get an AMD processor, C2D beats them hands down atm for a fact.

-No dell doesn't have the sound drivers for the 1520...they didn't forget...they're not on the vostro 1500 site either. I've searched many hours and tried 15 different drivers and 3 reinstallations...none of which worked.

-Compal IFL90 is a very possible choice at the moment, just wondering if I should dish out that much $$ or just forget about the graphics card and go for a 1420 for like $700 less and then build a powerful desktop w/ that money.

Do you guys think an 8400GS can play games like Warcraft 3, BF2 and CS: Source at max settings? That's probably all the gaming I'll be doing...

-HP 6500...what's the battery life like on this?

Please feel free to make any other recs...ty in advance!

 

dude trust me wait for the new gateways on the 22nd they will rock your world
and yea the gs will do those fine except maybe battlefield

 

Hunter, I'm surmising that you plan to retire on a big hunk of AMD stock? And yes, at the rate computers are progressing, as seeing as all the new systems and technologies came out in the spring and summer (not to mention that the system you're suggesting has already been superceded by Dell's new models), anything that came out last December is "last generation". I've made that mistake myself and learned the hard way.

 

the 8400gs will defiantly be able to play all those games easily. i dunno about max though. and its gonna be hard to pull of future games on a 8400gs.

 

Hunter your posts are the most factually inaccurate and useless ones I've read in a while. Don't listen to him. C2D's empirically give better battery life and performance, albeit at a higher cost - but at the price range you're at the CPU price doesn't matter much.

I think there was a thread entitled "8400GS vs X3100" on here yesterday and someone said they had an X3100 and could play CS:S fine. X3100 = Santa Rosa integrated.

Powernotebooks and xoticpc seem to have really good customer support, plus solid build quality from what I've heard all over these forums (never ordered there). The dv6500 is kinda just the same as the E1505/1520 except it's from HP. And I'm guessing the gateway is kind of the same, except it's gateway.

 

Hunter, if you read the original post you'll realize that he's looking to play games as well. The 1501 that you are suggesting only comes with an integrated ATI 1150. It's pretty much unsuitable for the poster's needs. Claiming that the turions are better, or even comparable, to core 2 duos will also put you into a very small minority of laptop users. Looking at your sig, I'm guessing that you actually have a 1501, but I think your defense of it is a bit overzealous.

 

I'm not a very futuristic gamer at the moment...usually I might just try something to check out the graphics but I have my desktop for that...and if needed in the future friends' computers I can go check that stuff on. Very few games actually keep me coming back...mainly those I listed above previously, and as you've seen, they're all a couple of years old already anyway. But, I would still like the option to play recent games if possible...so yes a graphics card is still important to me.

chesieofdarock, I'll start to research the new gateways right now on the internet, I remember reading an article previously on them but I forgot most of the details. can anybody attest to gateway's peformance, reliability, tech support, warranty support, etc? I'm hesitant to buy a gateway...mostly because I never hear about that company anymore.

 

I don't know about what you mentioned, but my friend has a gateway and HIS KEYBOARD IS ATROCIOUS. The keys are all in the wrong places, you hit page up when you want to backspace, and the FN and control are switched (in my mind). The close-up of the media control buttons on that gateway page with the M-150 next to it has the same type of keyboard. If you're that OCD type person like me and needs a desktop-ish keyboard... personally I wouldn't get a gateway if it was just for that reason.

But if you're not crazy like me the rest of its features look really cool, so don't take it out of consideration.

 

I will preface this with the fact that I've never owned a Gateway and have no personal experience with them, but everyone I've spoken to who has owned one swears that they have turned to crap in the last decade as far as reliability is concerned. I'd check C-Net, bestbuy, etc. for current Gateway models and look at the user opinions on them to get a feel for how actual owners feel about their machines. I heard the same horror stories about Dell and currently do not believe them to be true.

 

okay so I've looked at the new upcoming gateways...

http://www.gateway.com/programs/tmseries/

for your reference


All I can say is that they look great and most of the features are what I'm looking for. But again, we have a deal breaker...

!!!Integrated graphics!!!

If there's one thing I can't stand...it's integrated graphics. In addition to this, from reading reviews and the posts above, Gateway reliability and support/service is very risky...so I'm gonna have to kick gateway out of the pool.


but...nonetheless...those machines look slick

 

Oh yeah - have you considered a Thinkpad T61? I *might* have gotten that if my budget wasn't capped at ~1000, the only requirement it doesn't meet of yours is a glossy screen, but the Thinkpad screens are pretty nice. Or maybe even a T60p/T61p (performance) for better graphics?

 

Yeah I have been considering lenovos...that's another I'm looking at right now. Just seems that the features/price ratio isn't so great...

Right now in the lead: Inspiron 1420
Followed by 2nd Place: IFL 90, T61P

What about Asus V1S? Anybody know when it's coming out and perhaps the battery life on such a machine?

 

the solution to your answer 1420

no weird headphone problems
CAN run cs:s on max and WC3 lol dunno about bf
good battery and price = win
and NOT fat (actually is thinner in real life than in pictures)

seems like desktop = futureproof gaming machine

 

Notice the 14 and 15'' model show as if the 15'' has more screen real estate when in fact they are both WXGA ...


That's falls advertising.





--

 

lol yeah...I guess their intent was to show the size of the screen rather but good catch

 

i just returned my dv6500t to get a 1520.... with the high capcity 6 cell i got almost 3 hours use... but the 8400Gs graphics card, was just plain not good enough..it wouldnt play oblivion very well on mid settings... lowest settings yes, but not myuch more than that, plus that machine would get pretty hot, definitly not good on the lap for more than a little while.plus it had a nice whine to it when on battery (kinda annoying...but not too bad)... so...thats my opinion...i would say go for something else

 

Alright then dv6500t is out....gbear I'd also stay away from the 1520 for the reasons I mentioned...

 

The Sager 2090 (512 8600M-GT DDR2) is pretty big:

Physical Characteristic
7.0 LBs with Battery Pack
14.25" (w) x 11.25" (d) x 1.5" ~ 1.7" (h)

If you want thin+power then get the macbook pro. Certainly more expensive but you only live once. The resale value will be awesome.

edit for more specs:

Inspiron 1520 (8600M-GT DDR2)
Weight & Dimensions
42 mm x 358.7 mm x 269 mm (1.65" x 14.12" x 10.59").
Preliminary starting weight at 2.87 kg (6.33 lbs)

Macbook Pro 15" (8600M-GT DDR3):

Size and weight

* 15-inch MacBook Pro
o Height: 1.0 inch (2.59 cm)
o Width: 14.1 inches (35.7 cm)
o Depth: 9.6 inches (24.3 cm)
o Weight: 5.4 pounds (2.45 kg) with battery and optical drive installed


ASUS G1S (8600M-GT GDDR3):

Dimension & Weight

Black
6.8 lbs
13.9" * 11.2" * 1.5"


Vaio FZ (8400M-GT):

Dimensions 14.0" x 10.02" x 0.98-1.4"
Weight 5.75 lbs.



You might also want to consider the ASUS F3Sv (8600M-GS):

Dimension & Weight

6.5 lbs
14.2" * 10.5" * 1.1"-1.6"

 

in regards to the headphone problem... i dont think i would really mind it... i never use headphones, so as long as the speakers are good then i'm fine... though i dont want it broken, i dont much mind because i never use it. and i think i'll stay with windows vista for now... i know xp is better for gaming, but i like how vista looks (almost like a cheaper version of osx) plus i guess as bob barker knew for oh so many years... the price is right!.... for $100 LESS than my 6500t, i get a better screen, graphics card, cpu, hdd, longer warranty so to me thats awesome. I wish t was a little smaller in size, in terms of thickness, but i'll deal with it; i dont mind the weight (its the waiting that sucks!) haha... pardon the pun

 

Keep in mind that the MacBook pro that has 256MB GDDR3 is the mid-range one - it'll definitely give you better performance, but it's also significantly more expensive. If you're going to play advanced games (you cited Crysis in your original post) 128MB of the base model MBP is going to be limiting.

 

no there will be an option for a radeon hd 2400xt which is the radeon 8400gs basically. Its dedicated

Also, my bro has had a gateway for 3 years with no problems yet

 

heres the link for the source of dedicates gfx on the laptops
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=8023

 

Yeah I see it does have a 2400xt...just so many negative reviews I've been reading all over the web about gateway's service. I'm thinking maybe I should just reorder another 1520 but this time with that creative x-fi sound card to take care of the sound issue? Also, it seems dell has dropped their prices since my initial 1520 order...by about $300...so I may be leaning back towards it.

 

you'd better get the express card sound, because i think the software version uses the same sigmatel chip/PCM channel for output...which means your earphone jack connection is still going around the places with the most interference.

 

you'd better get the express card sound, because i think the software version uses the same PCM channel path for output...which means your earphone jack connection is still going around the places with the most interference.

edit: ARG double post by accident sry guys (internet is so slowww...hit stop button, and what do u know...it posted anyway)

 

yeah I think I'll go for the expresscard one