E1705 Suggestions/Info...

Hi,

I am planning on buying a Dell E1705; here are my current specs for the one I would like to purchase:

Inspiron E1705 Intel® Core™ Duo Proc T2250 (1.73GHz/533MHz/2 X 1MB L2 Cache)
Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
LCD Panel 17 inch Wide Screen XGA+ Display
Memory 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS
Hard Drive 120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Combo/DVD+RW Drives 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Options Integrated Audio
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card (54Mbps)
Office Software (not included in Windows XP) Microsoft Works Suite 2006- Includes MICROSOFT WORD plus much more!
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) PC-cillin Internet Security: AntiVirus, Firewall, Spyware removal 36-months
Primary Battery 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Hardware Warranty 3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year At-Home Service plus Nights and Weekend
Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Dell Digital Entertainment Starter Entertainment Pack - Basic digital Music, Photo and Game experience

TOTAL:$1,577.60 (with dell's discount)


Anyways, I was wondering if anyone would reccommend any specific upgrades that are worthwhile. I will be using this for gaming (Battlefield, Halo, Oblivion), School Work, Music, CD and DVD writing, and Internet stuff.

Also, I'd like to know what people think of the standard screen vs. the wide screen.

Thanks for looking!

 

drop the ms office and security suite, go open source (free). get another stick of ram from newegg.com. I have the upgraded processor but I don't know if those games make use of it. Other than that, it looks good.

 

What is Open Source? Also, is it easy to add the extra stick of ram to the laptop if I buy it from newegg.com? Thanks

 

Also, can anyone give me a specific link to the RAM that I should get at newegg? I'm not too sure what I'm looking for.

 

Open source is freely distributed versions of software that publish their code for user modification (e.g. www.openoffice.org offers word, powerpoint, etc. to users for free and is compatible with the microsoft office applications and documents) Theres a whole thread with things from open office to free antivirus and anti spyware programs... give me a few minutes to find it. As for the RAM, give me a few seconds there too.

 

I wouldn't drop Office if you need it. Those free Office apps never review well compared to the real deal. I would suggest getting one of the free anti-virus suites available online over Norton or McAffee though... I use Avast and it uses minimal resources and I'm still virus free after all these years...

You can't just buy another stick. The 1GB the laptop comes with is 2x512MB chips. I would stick with that because it will be much easier to sell two 512MB chips on eBay when you decide to upgrade to 2GB. You'll have to buy two 1GB memory modules from a place like Newegg. I hit them on a sale day and managed to get 2GB of DDR2-667 for $136 after rebates. I just wish I could sell my two 256MB chips now...

I've got the 1.66GHz CPU and I can play both BF2 and Halo at max settings with no issues, so I'm not sure you need much more than the 1.73GHz CPU. Oblivion is a monster of a game, but I wouldn't spend any more money on the system to get it to play it better. Even the highest-end desktops struggle with Oblivion from time to time.

 

For the ram, here's the link

Any on that page will do.

 

the ram upgrade isn't necessary and 1.5 GB would be enough if you don't want to pay for the extra stick. However, by doing that you would sacrifice dual channel. Not that that's a big deal, from what I can tell dual channel doesn't translate into noticeable performance gains.

here's the link for the open source/free software (I haven't had any compatibility issues with it, I would download it and try it, and if it doesn't work for you , get MS office from a cheaper source)

 

Thanks for the clarification nick, but should I consider buying the two stciks of 1GB ram now? Or should I wait?

Thanks Again

 

Thanks for the link chris, and the help

 

upgrade to the 9 cell battery.

Also, i would suggest upgrading the proc because the laptop will last longer and you'll be able to max out settings on most(if not all) upcoming games.

 

Too Bad that sale isn't now on the ram at NewEgg