E1705 configuration advice

HAve the following sitting in my shopping cart and ready to buy. Would like some opinions on the configuration. I will use it for some gaming but mostly photo and video editing and watching DVDs.
Am purchasing through EPP, have a coupon and also get additional 12% by purchasing 3 to 4 year warranty. By the way, purchase of a 4 year warranty is about $60 more but then there is a $50 rebate so wonder if that's worth it. Neither of the warranties are complete care. I currently have a Compaq
X1000 with WSXGA+ I do wear glasses sometimes but can generally read most text on the X1000 in native resolution.

Thanks for any advice. I have read through many posts here and this is a very informative forum!!!

Inspiron E1705 Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2500 (2GHz/667MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
LCD Panel 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
Memory FREE!1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
Video Card 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 7800
Hard Drive 100GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Combo/DVD+RW Drives FREE!8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card (54Mbps)
Office Software (not included in Windows XP) No productivity suite- Corel WordPerfect word processor only
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) No Security Subscription
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
Wireless Personal Networking Card Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal(2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
Operating System Backup & Recovery Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition backup CD
Dell Digital Entertainment Starter Entertainment Pack - Basic digital Music, Photo and Game experience

 

I personally find WUXGA obscenely small, and I dislike the glare and reflections inherent to glossy screens.

I would also recommend trying to price the system with a coupon through the home sales section. Accidental damage protection is available, you have more options, and I think the prices tend to be at least as low, if not lower.

 

First of all, I think you should downgrade the screen if you are going to play games. Having a widescreen alone will make the game display in a smallish rectangle (unless the game has widescreen support, which most dont)... And because the resolution on the UXGA is so high, they will be even smaller then on a regular widescreen.

Also, this notebook for whatever reason sucks up a lot of energy, so unless you are going to be spending very little time un plugged, you should get the 9 cell if you can afford it.

 

Thanks for replies. Did price on Home side but better with EPP...have a 30% off coupon and then get 12% off for 3 year warranty. Can do 650 off with home but best price point with that is around 2K mark. A bit above 2K the EPP deal seemed better. Is complete care worth the extra money? I've had my Compaq for almost 3 years...don't lug it around much from place to place and have not had any kinds of accidents with it. Also, will be doing just light gaming but more video/photo editing and watching DVDs. Do like the resolution on my WSXGA screen and would prefer not to go down from there. How would the XGA compare with my current SXGA? I've read that DVDs look better with the UXGA. However, don't want to look at extremely tiny text. Will probably get a 9 cell down the line, maybe through ebay. Need to purchase by tomorrow since my coupon expires then.

Thanks again.

 

The warranty is totaly up to you. I personaly can't justify getting an expensive warranty, because like you, im very careful with my things.

The XGA is a pretty good screen. Its also going to be much wider then your compaq's. SXGA has a resolution of 1280x1024. That's pretty narrow. The XGA on the dell is 1440x900.

Also as for DVD viewing... the regular XGA should be fine. 1440x900 is a higher resolution then what alot of HD TVs have. So thats pretty good considering its only a 17in screen.