E1705 vs. M1210

I am looking at getting one of these two laptops for University and I was wondring some questions:
Many ppl have i9300s and E1705s. What is the total traveling weight of it (inc ac adapter)? is it difficult to carry? I will be taking it to all of my classes, will that be very difficult? As in, will the added weight be uncomfortable to a relatively strong guy who is conditioned to carry a bunch of textbooks?
I have heard of very subpar quality of Inspiron models. Is that so with the E1705?
Is the XPS M1210 decent for gaming? has any1 tried Need For Spped most wanted on it? This will be my benchmark game type thing, the newest and most demanding gaem I will play.
Is it possible to upgrade the E1705 past 2GB ram, as in can I put 4GB in it? Its not an opt from Dell, but a lot of the other ones are, so yea.
Does anyone know the ODM Manufacturer of either of these laptops? I dont really need definitive answers, rumors or educated guesses will be enough.

The configs I am looking at are the E1705 with the nvidia GoForce 7900, WUXGA, 1GB 667, 60GB 5400rpm hdd (saving money to upgrade to a hybrd/flash hdd later on), T2300E (saving money to upgrade to Merom later after warranty dies), DVDRW, MCE w/ backup, 9cell battery, and the $750 cuopon thing, for total of roughly $1300. The XPS M1210 is the Costco config: T2300E, 1GB, 80GB, Dvdrw, nvidia GoForce 7400TC, TV 2nr, 6cell batt, MCE for $1400.

Thanks a lot.

 

Perhaps you should consider the FAQ and post back. I don't think NFS is all that demanding. If you need any mobility I would recommend against a 17" notebook.

 

For college id definitly get the M1210. Im ordering one for college, if my mom will transfer the money so I can do it sometime this year. **** I want mine so bad, but I digress. The 1210 should be decent for gaming, look at the review for it on this site, its very good. Also go to this link and look and see if you can find your school.

http://www.dell.com/content/segmenter.aspx?c=us&cs=6009&l=en&s=eep&~topic=bn_login

My school's on there and Im basically getting 4 years of full warranties and 3 years of full anti-virus subscription, and a special education editon of office for free. Its a good deal.

I would definitly recommend the 1210 for gaming and protability for college. Also get the 9 cell battery, you can get alot of battery life out of that and it would be very usefull if your in a long class where your using your notebook for...more demanding...non school orented things...

 

heres the FAQ.

General Questions
1) What is your budget?
Around $1500 USD, preferrably less than that.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
a. Ultraportable; 12" screen or less
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
d. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen
Anything is finre, really, as long as its under 8lbs.

3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Notetaking, reports, etc, also some gaming and general internet use. Also, I am thinking of doing CSE major, and taking a lot of CS courses, so powerful cpu is a must. This laptop is going to replace my primary desktop, which is a pathetic excuse of a computer, so it needs to have reasonably high specs...Futureproofing is very important, my mom refuses to let me near anotehr computer store for another 4 years so this laptop needs to last.

4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Different places, pretty much just carrying it on the bus and between classes. However, weight is not much of a factor cause I am used to carrying a bunch of textbooks that I will not need to do next year.

5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Yes; all of the Need for Speed games, and I would prefer if it was able to run Most Wanted on high settings.

6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Prefer: Japanese brands, all the odms are china, Im kinda against Dell, but I dont actually care taht much.

7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
the more the better, definetly at least 2.

8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
Unless its Dell, yes, I have to be able to see the laptop (or a similar model) before buying. Its my dear mother's mandate, and she has the money...

9) What country are you buying this in?
USA

Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Widescreen, if its under 14" then standard is ok as well.

11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Doesnt actually matter, but nothing crazy like a WUXGA on a 12".

12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
doesnt matter.

Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
as long as it isnt really UGLY, then its fine. for example, it can be plain, like a ThinkPad, but no uglyness.

14) How long do you want this laptop to last?
until I finish university, so about 4yrs give or take 1. I may need it to run Vista in a couple of years as well.

Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
60gb, unless the upgrade to 80gb is under $10.

16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
DVDRW.

Other things: I really would prefer an S-Video out for gaming on my 51" HDTV. Windows not needed, I can get a copy of XPH for $20, but I really like MCE. 1gb ram needed, one stick prefered over dual channel because of easier upgrades.

Edit: Scheff159: dang, U of Washington isnt on there. Anyways, the config at costco is way cheaper than even one with a 12% discount, cause you save something close to $500 on it.
See my rationale is that M1210 = 4.5lbs+1lb ac adapter= 5.5lbs adn E1705 = 7.8lbs+1.2lb ac adapter=9lbs. difference=3.5 lbs which is one really small textbook. Therefore the added wieght shouldnt be a big deal.
There are a bunch of ppl that have 17" Dells, and I want to know from them if they are that heavy to carry around.

 

Go for the M1210. I was deciding between the two as well, and you're definately going to need a smaller/lighter laptop when carrying it around. Not to mention, you will also need a laptop that has a long battery life. All of these factors the M1210 includes. It also has a really great graphics card and can be expanded to 4gb of ram in the future. I had an XPS M170 that I tried out from Costco before returning it, and I can tell you that it was a pain to lug around. It's not something you can pick up with one hand, and you will need a huge backpack to be able to fit the 17'' screen into. Buying a 17"" laptop for college is a big mistake imo.

 

Its not the 12% discount that I really like about that deal ric3rboy91. Its the 4 years of free warranties, accandental damage protection, and the virus subscription, all for free. Well the 12% discount take away the cost of those warranties, so it is in essence free. Does anyone else know of any dell copouns for XPS's out now? I know there few and far between, but are there any out now?