Just ordered Vostro 1400, did I do OK?

-Intel T5270
-2GB RAM
-128MB GeForce 8400M GS
-160GB 5400 RPM HD
-DVD/CD RW combo
-14" 1440x900 screen
-9-cell battery
-2 year standard warranty
-Vista Premium (I can always toss on XP if I want, but waiting for SP1)

Came to just a hair over $900 out the door. Should see it the first week of January.

Remember, it was either this, or some Best Buy special with a equal or slower CPU, much worse video card (Intel X3100), and lower-res screen.

Also remember this is only a supplement to my gaming desktop, this will be mostly for Word, Excel, internet shenanigans, watching DVD's, 2D AutoCAD, and general screw-around-ary. I wanted a 14" because it seemed to really be noticeably smaller and lighter than a 15", and this computer is going to be carried around.

Think I did OK?

Thanks!

 

Not too shabby with the warranty and all.

 

I figure it will be a rocketship compared to what I was initially thinking about getting (and the SAME PRICE):

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8525884&type=product&id=1186007267898

Another question: will the laptop I just purchased (not the HP linked, the Dell!) be able to run Half-Life 2 acceptably?

 

I would think so...but then again, I've never played it...<le sigh>

Go to the "Can I run XXX" area of the forum...you should find some good advise there.

 

Thanks. I see your CPU is 'undervolted' - does BIOS allow this on these laptops? I assume you did that to keep the temps/power down?

 

Yeah, when I'm in XP anyways (which isn't very often anymore). It keeps my cpu below 65C and usually below 60C when I was playing Crysis demo..it also brought my idle down to 45-50C...its a good combination if you want to OC even a little bit. I would search the forums for the 8400, I know there are people who OC them...it would help eek out the best performance in HL2.

Here's the post that helped me get the undervolting going:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=124420
I used Rightmark CPU, make sure you select a mobile processor (can't remember which tab it's on), so that you can see the lower voltages.

If you can't play HL2 and you find no use for it...I'd be happy to keep it company for you =D

In any event, let me know if I can give you any pointers (for what they're worth).

 

Thanks!

*Waits for January*

 

Nice. I ordered something similar for my wife - but mainly the basic stuff:

Core 2 Duo T5270 (1.4GHz)
8400m GS 128MB
2GB RAM
1280x800 TrueLife
160GB 5400RPM HDD
DVD/CDRW Drive
6-Cell Battery
1 Year Warranty with "Accidental Protection"
Windows XP Home SP2

All this for $739 (includes stupid 6% sales tax + shipping)

I'd say the Vostro's are great laptops considering the included 8400m GS and 2GB RAM. Most similarly priced laptops include crappy integrated Intel graphics and only 1GB RAM, plus you usually can't get Windows XP unless you buy it separately.

That being said, All 'Source' engine games should run great. Hell you should be able to run most modern games on it. Just drop the res to 1280x800 and sacrifice some graphics quality and you're good to go. This laptop is for my wife, but I'm sure I'll put it through its paces before I hand it off just curious how it'll perform with games like World in Conflict and Crysis, and of course how far I can go with an overclock.

 

Nice specs. Just so you know threads like this discussing your price and specs belong in the "I got a new dell thread" or whatever the heck is the title of that thread. Or maybe the Vostro owners lounge. We like to keep things neat as much as possible. There are to many posts for me to merge this and the time stamps on the posts will mix them up if I try so I'm just going to have to close this one. Sorry!

-Niki