Loaded Vostro 1500 for $900 or XPS 1530

Hey guys. I recently ordered the vostro for $901 with tax and everthing shipped to my house but I'm thinking of sending it back b/c I just don't love the looks of it. Also the 8600GT uses DDR2 on the vostro and DDR3 on the XPS(which I didn't know when I ordered the vostro)

Do you think the XPS is worth the extra $500 or so it's going to cost to have similiar components? I'm really torn right now, obviously I don't want a bland computer but I'm not sure if the price difference is worth it. One upside that I see right away is that I can use my dell preferred account and get no interest for 12 months if I go the XPS way. Also the XPS has hdmi, dedicated support and is much cooler looking imo. Any thoughts would be helpful.


Vostro 1500 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)

LCD Panel 15.4 in Wide Screen XGA+LCD Display(1440X900) w/TrueLife™
Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
Video Cards 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GT
Hard Drive 120GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
Integrated NIC and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
Optical Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/ Roxio Creator
Sound Card High Definition Audio 2.0
Wireless Cards Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Wi-Fi Mini Card
Camera Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera
Bundle Microsoft® Works 8.5 Does NOT Include MS Word
MediaDirect Dell Exclusive MediaDirect™ Instant Play Software Application
1st Software No Pre-installed Anti-Virus/Security Software
Primary Battery 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Limited Warranty, Services and Support 2 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 2 Year NBD On-Site Service
Installation Services No Onsite System Setup
Automated PC Tuneup 1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup

 

I think the XPS is definately worth it. You didn't even get the Vostro yet and you're already having 2nd thoughts! I had an inspiron, sold it, and bought an XPS. Aside from being able to run games at higher settings, both machines will perform the same. You just have to decide if playing games at higher settings and having a slimmer/lighter machine is worth the extra $$$

 

If your planning on gaming on it at all, then you will want the DDR3 that the M1530 offers.

 

I would say stick with the Vostro, which is close to as good as the XPS on performance anyways, for the reason that you mentioned you'd be paying for it on a monthly basis, thus incurring at least a good amount of interest even if there weren't any the first year. The difference between DDR2 and GDDR3 is fairly low, everything else is near-equal except weight/aesthetics, and $500 is more than a 50% increase in cost. If you had the extra $500 sitting in the bank with nothing to spend it on I could see going for the XPS as a bit of a luxury item, but if you have to pay it monthly I'd say go the more fiscally conservative route and stick with the Vostro.

The Vostro 1500 will be able to game well on anything except perhaps Crysis, albeit possibly at a bit lower settings/resolution. Medieval II Total War, for example, runs at maximum everything (including antialiasing) with no problems. Call of Duty 4 runs extremely smoothly at 800x600 Medium, probably quite a bit higher settings as well, though I haven't tested them much.

 

Hmmm... COD4 at 800x600? surely you should be able to run it at your native res.. assuming its not higher then 1280x800 lol.

 

Yeah, I know, that's just what it defaulted to and I haven't got around to changing it yet. I've got more games than time to play them right now and have hardly played CoD 4 as a consequence. Spring break is coming up though, maybe I'll get to really test it out then.

 

COD4 runs almost maxed at 1280x800 with 30+ fps. My specs are on my signature.

Crysis will run on medium at 1024x768 (looks good enough) or all high with shadows/shaders on low (haven't tried to see how it looks).

 

Crysis will run 1200x800
ALL high, only Shadows/Shaders low.
FPS is stable 25~40.

Get Vostro, the small upgrade isn't worth, seriously.