Is This System OK?

I am thinking of buying the following:
I do not understand the Resource CD.. is there a downside to getting the CD?
Do I need the higher 95w wattage power cable? Is there anything else I am overlooking.. or overbuying?
This is to supplement and eventually replace my P4 Desktop. I plan to sometimes plug in my 19" LCD screen and flight simulator pedals/yoke.
I am afraid of getting Vista for a while.

Thank you very much for guidance !!! :

Latitude D531 AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Processor TL-50 (1.60GHz 512K)
Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2, with media
LCDs 14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA LCD Panel
Memory 1.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
Internal Keyboard Internal English Keyboard
Graphics ATI® Integrated Graphics RadeonTM X1270
Hard Drives 80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM
Floppy Drive No Floppy Drive
AC Adapter 65W, A/C Adapter
Media Bay Devices 8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio and Cyberlink Power DVD™
Wireless LAN (802.11) Dell Wireless™ 1390 802.11g Mini Card
System Documentation Resource CD and Quick Reference Guide
Battery 6 Cell Primary Battery
Hardware Support Service 3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year Mail-in Service
Installation Services No Onsite System Setup
Ship Group US System Documentation, Power Cord
Purchase Intent Purchase is not intended for resale.
OS Labels Windows XP Label

 

i personally would pay extra for an intel CPU
they're much better in all aspects. speed/battery life
you won't regret it

EDIT: so the equiv would be the D630
it's more, but worth it

 

The AMD processor is fine for basic stuff(office/web surfing ect). An intel proccessor(Core duo and Core 2 Duo) should give you more battery life and more performance in general.

What do you plan to do with this notebook(gaming/schoolwork business apps ect)?

Fill out the FAQ so that we can help you better.

 

Are you talking about the restore CD? At one point recently Dell was forcing you to manually check that you wanted it (roughly $10-20 as I recall), but I think they've gone back to always including it. At least on the "home" models.

 

D531 is a basic system for budget business needs. I personally would spend a bit more and get a D630.

I would also look at the XPS 1210, it is a hardy system, good performace, and very cheap for a basic setup

 

if it saves u significant sum of money, then go for it. If not then intel.
i m using turionx2 64, for office task, its more than enough and u still have one additional core that is seldom utilised, most program still work on single core.
another thing is the integrated graphics offerings of AMD is better than intel.
AMD machines actually run cooler when running in idle mode, doing lite task like word processing, web browsing, normally the core temperature is 7 C lower than intel and about 8 C hotter than intel when running at full load. Lower temperature means lower power consumption, so amd cpu consume less power on idle and more power in full load than intel.

Oh anyway, intel is about 20% faster in fpu and up to 40% faster in encoding (sse) at the same frequency, so u have to figure out whether the money u saved worth it.

 

The CD ( or DVD - is that better? ) is a resource with back up info. It is for free, so why not take it unless it means something more than just a backup. I also wonder about the Free Microsoft Office Live Basics and Ad Center. Maybe it's worth looking at it if it's for free.....
I did a system that would cost $ 329 more. Here it is. I don't know if I want to spend that much extra $, and I get confused when I see Acer, HP and other systems selling for $500, but please give me some feedback.
I do want Win XP. Still afraid of Vista software etc problems.
Will the Bluetooth permit me to go online using my LG8600 Bluetooth enabled cell phone?
Thanks !!

Dell Latitude D630
Unit Price$1,454.00 - $367.00 = 1087.
Latitude D630 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 (1.80GHz) 2M L2 Cache, 800MHz Dual Core
Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Professional, SP2, with media
LCDs 14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ LCD Panel
Memory 1.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
Internal Keyboard Internal English Keyboard
Graphics Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Hard Drives 80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM
Touchpad Options Touchpad with UPEK® Fingerprint Reader
Floppy Drive No Floppy Drive
Bluetooth Dell Wireless® 360 Bluetooth Module for Windows XP
AC Adapter 65W A/C Adapter
Media Bay Devices 8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio and Cyberlink Power DVD™
Wireless LAN (802.11) Dell Wireless™ 1390 802.11g Mini Card
?? System Documentation Resource CD and Quick Reference Guide
Battery 6 Cell Primary Battery
Hardware Support Services 3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year Mail-in Service
Ship Group US - System Documentation, Power Cord
Purchase Intent Purchase is not intended for resale.
OS Labels Windows XP Label
SOFTWARE FOR YOUR DELL
Free Microsoft Office Live Basics Qty 1
Dell Part# A0954428 Unit Price $0.00
Manufacturer Part# VBADCC
Dell Part# A0954428
Attract new customers with a FREE Web site and tools
Expires Friday, July 06, 2007

$100 Credit* towards clicks from Microsoft adCenter** Qty 1
Dell Part# A0954430 Unit Price $0.00
Manufacturer Part# PROOFFLV
Dell Part# A0954430
List your business on MSN and Live Search for as little as $5
Expires Friday, July 06, 2007

 

Thanks for your first hand experience. I did a more expensive system above, but perhaps it is overkill. I do like to edit music and use biz applications, but I do not play the games that eat up memory or resources.... so what do you think about spending that extra $ for the 630?

 

Sorry.. I hope this helps... thanks !!
General Questions

1) What is your budget?
Not above $1000 or so
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in.
USA
4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
no
5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Word, email, surfing, music editing with programs like Cool Edit 2000,
6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
I would probably start to take it a little once I get used to it. Otherwise, just at home and home office.
7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
simple games only.
8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
2-3 hours.
9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
no
10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
XP
Screen Specifics

11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
I guess wide screen... but not absolutely required.
12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
I would probably go for the upgrade if it is not much extra $. I think you can change the resolution in preferences.....
13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
not certain
Build Quality and Design
14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
no
15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
5 years or so...
Notebook Components
16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 200GB?
60 - 100 GB
17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
I want CD R/W but I would probably opt for the DVD/RW incase I want it in the future.

 

Looks like only Vista on that system.

 

The D630 looks to be $329 more, but you do get a faster processor, a higher resolution screen, a fingerprint reader, and bluetooth, not to mention a lighter laptop as well. You decide whether that's worth it.

To the person above who said ATI's integrated graphics are better that Intel's, that may have been true for the GMA950 and below, but the X3100 looks to be filled with potential. The recent unlocking of hardware vertex support in the drivers boosted performance significantly.

 

anyway not playing any new games that means any integrated graphics will do. they r ok for playing at resolution 800x600. 640x480

cpu
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/02/27/dual_core_notebook_cpus_explored/page11.html
t7200 2.0 ghz
t7400 2.16 ghz
t7600 2.33 ghz
tl-56 1.8 ghz
tl-52 1.6 ghz

since there is no direct comparison at closer frequency what you can do is guess by using calculator

I donno how much extra $ means a lot to you, bcoz with my currency, buying an amd system can save u up to 300-500, but US dollar it will be less... it really depends.

6 - Cell 53 W hour (on inspiron, with normal processor, not ULV ones) at lowest screen brightness will give u about 4 hrs life with either intel or AMD if u do surfing and word processing. (brighter screen will last about 3.30 hrs) But that's usually what u r going to do with batts on)

Dell Truelife is very reflective, unlike HP compaq CrystalBrite which is darker and much less reflective. Anyway glossy screens are still reflective, beware, some ppl doesnt like it. so i suggest you to look for Dell TrueLife laptop and have a look at it.
If you want performance, can go for a higher speed HDD, bcoz 5400 rpm drive is slow, average speed 30-40 Mbps normally, while desktop 7200 rpm average speed is 80 Mbps. But don't expect laptop 7200 rpm HDD to be as fast as desktop, although i do not hav one, but it is expected that laptop HDD is slower

For wireless card, I prefer Dell wireless with broadcom chipset than intel wireless
the reasons are here
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=127161&highlight=dell+wireless

 

The main thing to realize about the D531 is that it's not a proper 14" laptop. It's sized to fit a 15.4" display panel. If you select the 14" screen, they just put a thicker border around the screen. So it's bigger and heavier than a normal 14".

If you can afford the D630, go for it. If you want a budget 14" business laptop, look at HP Compaq 6515b. It's similar to the D531 except that it's a proper 14" laptop, i.e. smaller & lighter than the D531. Of course, if you don't really care about size and weight, then the D531 should be fine.

 

I am going to go for the 630. Thank you !!! I posted a few other questions that perhaps you could help me with.
Thanks !!