Is this a good Vostro build?

All I have to do is upgrade the 1gb to 2gb and get Vista Premium


Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display
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
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera
High Definition Audio 2.0
My Accessories
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
My Software
MS Works 8.5-Eng: Basic Spreadsheet, Word Processing & Calendar Program
Norton Internet Security™; 2007, 30 day Subscription
Free Microsoft Office Live Basics
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.08
My Support & Services
1 Year Limited Hardware Warranty with Mail-in Service
Purchase is not intended for resale.
10GB for 1yr Online Backup by Dell Datasafe
1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup
DellNetwork Assistant 1.7
No Onsite System Setup
Also Included
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Windows Vista™ Basic
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
Vostro 1500

 

What kind of tasks will you be doing with this laptop?

 

just general web browsing, school work, music

 

I reccomend more then 1 gig of RAM with Vista. If you're planning on updating it for cheaper on your own, then this is a good build. If you don't have the experience/don't want to risk it, I absolutely suggest getting more then 1 gig with Vista.

 

Since your needs are basic, look at the Dell Latitude D830(if you budget allows for it) or the D630(better for travel) since it should be built better and comes with a 3 year limited warranty standard).

 

I would drop the processor down from 1.8 to 1.6. there was a benchmark just recently done with a 1.5 ghz and his benchmarks were almost exactly what the 2.2 ghz was. Even with a slight decrease in performance seen in the benchmarks, it was small enough to not be felt. Word has it that the processor is not the bottle neck, its other components. Save $120 and drop to 1.6

 

Are you going to use media center? From what i've read the only differences with Premium and Basic are media center/aero/tablet support. If MS allowed me to install only what I wanted like the good ol days of Win98 then I might have gone with Premium, but I prefer Basic as to not have any extra bloat that's not needed.

 

^So the only difference between vista basic and premium is the media center? if so then basic should be fine for me. If I get basic is 2g still necessary? I changed it up a bit and got these specs which seem perfect for me for $649( Are there any coupons for this or should I just order the way it is, it already seems like a great price is there anything I should wait for or just order now?)

My System Details
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5470 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display
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
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera
High Definition Audio 2.0
My Accessories
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
My Software
MS Works 8.5-Eng: Basic Spreadsheet, Word Processing & Calendar Program
Norton Internet Security™; 2007, 30 day Subscription
Free Microsoft Office Live Basics
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.08
My Support & Services
1 Year Limited Hardware Warranty with Mail-in Service
Purchase is not intended for resale.
10GB for 1yr Online Backup by Dell Datasafe
1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup
DellNetwork Assistant 1.7
No Onsite System Setup
Also Included
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Windows Vista™ Basic
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
Vostro 1500

 

I like the $599 Smart Value on the Vostro 1400 better. It has everything you want, but a smaller screen/lighter weight, a larger battery, and the same price.

 

but the screen is smaller and since this will replace my desktop is that a good idea? also should I add the 2g from dell or get it after market and have it installed (I dont know how to install).

 

in premium you get semi-transparent taskbars 10% of the time too wow!!!!
hm well if you just plan to use it for internet, word processing, music, watching videos etc than 1gb with enough.

to tell the truth if you just plan to do all that, a 300-400 celeron M when its on sell in bestbuy/circuit city/office depot etc is enough too.

 

Oh, you didn't say that it would replace your desktop. If you are going to replace your desktop I would go with a laptop that has a 17" monitor, but that would just be my personal preference.

 

^lol well it will replace my desktop AND I will want to bring it with me places, trying to kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

 

You don't get the Media Centre or Aero, two of the biggest 'features' with Vista Basic.

 

you get Aero in basic, just not Aero glass.
aero glass turns taskbar semi-transparent when no window is full screened, and oh theres flip3d and live thumbnail in premium.

 

Really? do you have a link to that benchmark?

I'm not sure what to do now I was going for a T7500 CPU.....

 

in games video card is definitely the bottleneck, in loading up programs harddrive RPM is the bottleneck.

 

so am I good with the 15.4 as a desktop replacer? and is the standard XGA screen good or do I need Ultrasharp and True Life?

 

On Vista Premium, another nice feature is that premium comes with a DVD Codec. I have one of them 400 dollar celerons with the 950 graphics and I have had nothing but trouble with vista basic trying to find a codec that does hardware acceleration reliably in Vista. For 29 bucks... go for it.. Oh yeah and ditch the 7100, with a 8400GS you have no need for something that powerful unless your encoding H264 video or some such endeavor.