E1505: Help With Configuration, Please! :)

hey everyone,
We're in need of an E1505 and I've been going through various configurations.

Other than an arcade game or two, we do NOT need this for gaming.

We do a lot of DVD viewing, internet surfing, downloading, etc. Possibly some Photoshop, etc.

I'd like the machine to be a bit "future proof" but do not need cutting-edge specs across the board.

Is this a good medium between budget and future proofing? Let me know and please offer suggestions!!

Inspiron E1505, Intel Core 2 Duo processor T5500 (2MB/1.66GHz/667MHz)

15.4 Inch TrueLife Wide-screenWXGA, for Inspiron 6400/E1505

1GB, DDR2, 533MHz 2 Dimm for Inspiron 6400/E1505

256MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1400 HyperMemory, for Inspiron 6400/E1505 $0.00

60GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive for Inspiron 6400/E1505

Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

Integrated High Definition Audio
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini Card (54Mbps)

53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery


Sub-Total $803.00
Shipping $0.00
Tax $56.21
Total Price $859.21

 

I suggest you get a bigger hdd, altough nothing to do with the futureproof thing, 9-cell battery as well. If you won't be playing games, it looks ok. may be you can upgrade t7200 since t7** series 4mb cache.

 

I would go with a 120GB HD

 

i agree with the bigger hd suggestions. my e1705 currently have a 60 gig hardrive and its not enough to hold all my games/movies/anime/etc. i'm going to end up buying a cheap external drive when i see one on sale.

 

If your going to be using photoshop I would definately get a larger or atleast faster hard drive and maybe bump up to two gig of ram, but that can wait till after you get it. Order it with the minimum ram unless it comes with a free upgrade to 1 gig. Once you get it head over to tiger direct and buy yourself 2 gig of ram.

 

I would really recommend a 7200RPM HD. You can free up HD space, but you cannot make a drive spin faster. Other than that - looks good!

another gig of ram (total of 2gb) would be useful to you, but dell upgrade prices are ridiculous, so you might just get 1gb (or even 512mb) and then get one or two 1gb ram sticks. If you don't plan to upgrade RAM right away then 1GB should be pretty good

 

Thanks guys!

The HD size is not that big of an issue. I have a pair of external HDs I can use to store media and such.

The memory -- I intend to do just what you all recommend, and that's upgrade eventually and go elsewhere to do so. I figure 1GB ought to suit me well for now.

Glad to know it looks good otherwise! I attempted to keep the price down and get the basic essentials with the processor and graphics card that'll keep it "current" as long as I can swing it.

Thanks again!

 

got the EXACT same configuration on the way. I think thats the key spot for price/performance. You can always add things here and there, but all those little things end up skyrocketing the price.

 

1GB of ram is fine for the casual user of photoshop.

If you don't work with hi-res full page images, Photoshop is not that hard on the system. You could work with digicam pics and make web and video graphics fine with 1GB.

2GB is good though, for having Firefox open (wow Firefox gobbles teh ram), e-mail client open, Photoshop open and maybe 1-2 more apps open.

 

I agree if you are doing lots of downloading you should get a bigger HD