Help me dicide on what I should get on my Vostro 1500. SO CONFUSED!

Purpose of laptop:
Foremost it's for school. Word, power point, excel, accounting programs, and so on.
Laptop will also be used for viewing HD content, movies and so on.
Music
and Some light-mid gaming.


Items I am stuck on:

1) Screen: Choices are between XGA, XGA+(+50$) and SXGA (+100$). What are the resolutions of all those on the 15.4" screen.

2)I'm really stuck between the 8400M GS and 8600GT ($100 difference).

3)Also stuck on the wireless cards. Dell Wireless 1390 is included. 1490 is $10 more and the Intel PRO/wireless 3945 is $29 more. I've heard that Intel is better. Is this true and worth the $29?

4) 6-cell vs. 9Cell battery. HOw long do both last? worth the $40 upgrade? does the 9cell really stick out the back?

Processor i'm sticking with T5470 1.6Ghz.

Memory is 1GB and I got 2GB crucial for $50 AR so I'll use that and keep the 1GB aside.

At one end, I could Spend Under $700 Shipped and get the XGA screen with 8400M GS, 6 Cell battery and the 1490 Dell wireless card.

it would be about $1000 if I get the upgrades.

I'm SO STUCK. is the $300 worth what I will be doing? grrrrrr

 

The screen is going to be a matter of preference. If you want better colors, you are going to have to deal with the great number of reflections from the glossy screen. The matte screen's contrast will not be as good, but there are no reflections of light. I have the matte screen and I love it. The contrast is not bad at all.

There is a large difference between the 8400 and 8600 cards, but it depends on how much gaming you will be doing. If you will only do it casually, go with the 8400. It will not drain the battery as quick at the 8600 will.

The 9 cell battery will indeed stick out the back of the laptop. The 9 cell provides 50% more battery life, but I feel it all depends if you will be away from an outlet for extended periods of time. I always stay plugged into an outlet, so the 6 cell is fine for me.

I have the Intel 3945ABG card, which came standard with my 1420, but I am not sure which is the better choice. Someone else will have to account for that.

 

I remember the day they changed the 3945 from default to a $25 option. I got the 3945 anyway because I had it with my HP dv6500t and I heard it is supported in Linux better (just because it's so common).

 

WXGA = 1280 x 800
WXGA+ = 1440 x 900
WSXGA+ = 1680 x 1050

("Widescreen XGA" = WXGA)

 

I'm now leaning towards

WXGA+ w/ Truelife.
6 Cell battery
8400M GS
Intel Wireless card.

I think that should be plenty of desktop space at 1440x900.

You guys think i'll be ok with HD content with 8400M?

That would put me at $760 shipped as opposed to $960 shipped.


After much thought:
FINAL CONFIG:

would you change anything?

My System Details
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Home
15.4 in Wide Screen XGA+LCD Display w/TrueLife™
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GT
Dell Exclusive MediaDirect™ Instant Play Software Application
Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Wi-Fi Mini Card
No Webcam Option
High Definition Audio 2.0

 

I'm also looking at the Vostro 1500 and I have similar indecisiveness. My thoughts on your config... I'd go with the T5470 over the T7100 since they both have the same L2 cache and the clock difference seems negligible. Windows XP = No DX10 (but 1GB of RAM should be fine whereas you'd probably want 2 gigs with vista). 8400m GS should be more than enough for HD content and light gaming. If it was me I'd go with at least the 2 year warranty and I'd probably add complete care. Hope this helps.

 

Have a look at this link (posted by noxmad in another thread) to be sure that that's what you want. Glossy screen are great to watch movies and playing games, especially in dimly lit or dark rooms.

I guess, yes. I have a 8600M GT but being no gamer I regret to have chosen such a power hungry card. My system was dispatched the day I called in to cancel the order (it's a long story). But if you're not a gamer, you will be fine enjoying a tad more of battery life.

This

and this

 

It's a little ridiculous for me to spend the extra money on something I should not be doing.
I'm gonna be taking about 15 units of upper division classes per semester along with 20-30 hours or work/week.

Don't think i'll be doing much gaming if at all. The extra Processor power is also a waste for me, 1.6Ghz Core should be plenty.

My System Details
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5470 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic
15.4 in Wide Screen XGA+LCD Display w/TrueLife™
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability
128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS
Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Wi-Fi Mini Card
No Webcam Option
High Definition Audio 2.0

$750 Shipped.

 

What is the return policy on th Dell Laptops?
If I don't like the computer?

 

Vostro has a 30-day return policy, no questions asked.