Need Help With New Inspiron E1705 Build

So I have decided to pick up a Dell laptop for use in college, but I also play games too, mostly World of Warcraft. Anyway, I wanted to ask for some advice and knowledge surrounding video cards, processors, and LCD panels. I really like the TrueLife screen however it only comes at a 1920x1200 resolution and I am concerned running WoW at that resolution with the Go 7900GS and the below build will affect having at least a solid 30 frames/second (With UI mods and lots of actions going on). In that case I maybe should get the other screen that runs a native resolution of 1440x900, but does this screen give a disappointing picture in caparison. (I went to a local mall Dell Kiosk and they only had TrueLife screens) I am assuming the response time on both the screens will be satisfactory. Also, I am not sure if this processor will be "holding back" my video card. I don't have an unlimited budget and do not want to go much over the 1400-1500 range. I guess I just need assurance in some direction since the Dell rep was no help. (Maybe I should wait until Feb. and they put out a new line with a 7900 level video card in the 15.4" laptops. Possible? Likely?) Any advice and knowledge what so ever would be greatly welcomed and appreciated. Thank you in advance.


PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5200 (1.60GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533 MHz FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
UPGRADE TO WINDOWS VISTA Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium from XP Media Center Edition
LCD PANEL 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
MEMORY 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
HARD DRIVE 80GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW)
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS edit
SOUND OPTIONS Integrated Audio

 

I do not have World of Warcraft, but I would suggest you do a search under the Gaming (software and graphics card). You should find the answer you are looking for under there. This post might help you http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=90077&highlight=World+of+Warcraft
In regards to processor all Core 2 Duo's are fast enough for most operation and it is usually more then you need. If you don't do any demanding work such as video encoding, and a heavy Photoshop user then you won't need the T7200 or higher. As far as the screen goes that is a matter of preference, remember the higher the resolution the smaller the print size. With Deal Coupons you should find it well within that price range, just be patient.

 

I think the ATi X1400 should be more than enough to handle World of Warcraft. I'd go with the E1505 if I were you. You'll find it a nuisance to lug around the 17". With the 17", you might as well buy a desktop.

Sorry I don't have any useful information. Just something you might want to consider.

 

Yep, for college work 17" is not the best option; you will soon regret the size if you carry it around a lot. Better get an E1505 or consider some other brand like Asus which can be ordered with something like X1600 or GF7600 (both of which are twice as fast as X1400 but slower than 7900GS) in a 15” package. 7900GS is a very good card, but only comes in 17”.

 

Thanks for the advise thus far, I have a friend with the x1400 128mb version and it seems to have not great fps in WoW especially when more starts to occur on his screen, maybe around 20ish to 25ish. I thank you for the thoughts on the 17" laptop being to large. I believe you are mostly right it got my attention for having a higher video card option. Would the 256mb version of the x1400 make a large difference over the 128mb version like my friends, also should I consider getting 2gb or ram instead of 1gb. (Is there any value in the faster fsb on the ram). Last thing, I am not familiar of when Dell usually releases new products specifically laptops. I think I would have buyers remorse if a month or two after my purchase they come out with a laptop that contains a video card better than the x1400 256mb in a 15. Again any knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks again.

 

In general more video ram means more performance, BUT the performance increase is nowhere close to being proportional. The X1400 in E1505 with 256MB actually has 128MB dedicated and shares the rest from System RAM (ATI calls it turbocache). Therefore if you compare that with a one having dedicated 128MB like Lenovo T60 then they will most likely perform very similar (with 256MB leading slightly). But with a Turbocache 128MB (64mb dedicated) you may see a noticeable difference. Either ways 256MB won’t give you a huge advantage over 128MB on X1400; nevertheless if you decide to buy E1505, get the 256MB version.

Yes, both will increase overall performance, but are they worth it ? RAM FSB is a minor factor, faster is better but I wouldn’t spend more than USD 25 on that. 2GB is definitely good to have especially with upcoming Vista and all, but I wouldn’t call 1GB insufficient still. Depends on the price difference, I wouldn’t pay extra USD 250 on 2GB; I’d rather spend that on a different notebook with a better graphics card.

The next processor upgrade from Intel code named “Santa Rosa” is expected to be launched in April 2007, Dell will definitely release a new series based on that hopefully with a better graphics solution, however I still have no idea when that will happen.

 

Nvidia calls it turbocache if it matters.

 

Yep I got the two mixed up , nVidia calls is TurboCache and ATI calls it HyperMemory.

 

lol understandable.

 

PRO
not very many games cam be played at 1920x1200 with a single vid card, cept the 8800 series just released by nvidia. I have have the 1705 with the 7900gs and the 1920x1200 screen. I just adjust the screen size to a lower resolution when playing graphic intensive games. you will have to do the same with the 15.4" with a lesser vid card so you may as well get the most powerful card you can afford and have a higher resolution. I sat mine down beside my friends 17" acer with the 1440x900 and he was kicking himself for not getting a 1920x1200 screen

CON
on the other hand, you can save yourself around $500 b going with the 15.4". the 1920x1200 resolution can make text quite hard to read. seriously, I just ordered a 24" dell monitor with the same resolution. 1920x1200 simply would not be viable if it was used in anything smaller than the 17".


but all in all I would not have anything with a smaller resolution on my notebook. I love it. and I have gotten use to the size too. once you get use to it, its kinda nice knowing you have one of the largest and most powerful notebooks

 

I have a e1505 with 2g of ram and the ati x1400 video card and WOW runs very smooth on it.

 

lol that's what I would figure on my ability to play other games. I just wasn't for sure. Definitely go 15.4!

If you get 17 inch, you'll never carry it around. And when you do, you'll kick yourself in the rear for going 17" just for a game.

 

Blasphemy! World of Warcraft is not just a game, for many it is life itself.

 

it's a life that you choose over your real life. I've seen too many people fail college for this "life".

Good luck to you though Kreidel.

It's the reason why I sold my desktop and bought a laptop. With my desktop I was ALWAYS playing games. I just hope you guys have better self control than I did. Now I'm really good. School > games.

Future > Present

because your future will be your present condition some day. Two birds with one stone.

edit - WOW lol... sorry for going way off topic. COMMENCE! WOO HOOO!

p.p.s.

I'm not saying any of you guys would be doing this.

 

I made the decision to go for the E1705 mainly video card. Because the E1505 is a nice machine but I don't think much of Dedicated video cards that "steal" system RAM to help or in other words try to boost power. I use the E1705 for work and I carry it from Home to the Office and it is not bad as you think it is going to be. Yes the likelihood of me using it on a plane is not realistic. But now that I am using Windows Vista, 7900GS really makes the eye candy very nice and I don't see the slightest bit of lag on anything I do. Basically make your decision based on what suites your needs the best.

 

Taking a 17” from home to office and back in a car is one thing; I don’t know about you guys but I take my 14.1 to college frequently and sometimes to classes / labs; even the 14.1 feels bulky at times, therefore 17” is out of the question for me. But it depends on how you use it in college. For one thing you can’t fit a 17” to a normal bagpack, even if you find a large enough bag, carrying it around is even a bigger problem

 

that was my original point. People don't realize what an inconvenience it is to lug around a 17 inch laptop. I don't even think a regular bag holds a 17 inch. My 15.4 is borderline. 17 is overboard.

 

Again this is a matter of preference. You weigh the pros and cons of each. Yes the 17 is quite large but not as big as you think. Sure it weighs roughly 8lbs or more. But I don't think I could do the work I need to do without it. The 17 really gives me a lot of real estate that I can keep say Dreamweaver in one window and Fireworks in the other window allowing to improve productivity that way or multiple dreamweaver opens allowing me to say manipulate CSS and see the effects on the other pane. For my needs I don't think I could do without it. But if your just doing this for school work then a 15.4 should be perfectly fine. But if you see yourself really needing to see more of what your doing then the 17 is good. But one dozen, half a dozen of the other. Matter of preference.

 

that's a really good point you brought up. But for him, he stated school and games which led me to believe that 15.4 inch was perfect for him.

You're right though, the extra real estate is beneficial to those who need it.

 

I'm also looking into getting a e1705. One of you guys talked about the processor before saying that you wouldn't need to go over the T7200 probably. So does that mean I shouldn't waste my money on the 2.16ghz dual core 2 processor they offer over the 2.0ghz? Thanks.

 

What would you be using the laptop for? That is the determining factor in which CPU you should go for.

what I mean by what are you using it for, I don't mean "school" or "work". I meant what programs you would use and what you're going to be doing with it.

 

I'm going to be using it for school work, so word, powerpoint, etc. But also some gaming.

 

I would just stick with 2.0 GHz. That's my opinion. Hopefully others will add their 2 cents as well though.

 

I second the notion 2.0Ghz is what most people consider the sweet spot in the Core 2 Duo line up because you get the Extra Cache which will be helpful in certain cases. And the only difference between the T7200 and T7400 is just .16 Mhz and don't forget the extra hundred plus that Dell is going to charge you. I have the UltraSharp and absolutely love it. Clarity is amazing - you'll just have to get used to the font size but that is easy to live with. 533Mhz vs. 667Mhz not much of a difference considering most things. And you can probably update that later in down the road when ram becomes cheaper.

 

Hey everyone,

Happy New Year. I just registered with this homepage. I have a few questions. I have a HP Pavilion dv2120us notebook that I just purchased from Staples in October. It already had an LCD issue several weeks ago. The screen was dimming and I called their tech support to send it back to have it repaired. The material is too fancy. I dont know whether to keep this computer or not. It has a very low end graphics card in which you won't be able to play the latest games in the highest resolution.

I previously had two Dell computers, one desktop and one notebook. I only had one or two major issues with my Dell omputers in the past. I bought a Dell Dimension L Series desktop in 2000 had still have it. It still runs good. I only had one major issue a few years back but it was fixed when a repairman came over to my house and fixed it. I bought last year a Inspiron B130 notebook which runs flawlessly.

I have always liked Dell for the fact that you can build your own computer. I have vowed never to buy another computer from a store again. Plus, I am a in the military and Dells everywhere you go in the military. I guess because I am so used to them and they are easy to use. I like their warranty and at home service. I kind of gave me second thoughts about HP, I figured that I would give them a try. I also like Dell because I can get a military discount.

I was going to buy an E1505 before looking at the HP notebook that I have now. But I saw the better deal, LOL. I am having second thoughts. I looked at Dell's homepage and went to one of their service kiosks. I am debating between the E1505 and the E1705. I like the E1705 because of their larger hard drive and graphics card.

I used the computer for school, even though I take online college classes from my house. I will take it with me occasionally to the library or when I go on trips, deployments, or TDYs. I download videos and music. I burn CDs and DVDs. I also use my laptop for digital pictures. I want to get one with the True Life Screen. I want to get the largest hard drive possible. I am amazed with the 200GB hard drive as an option for the E1705.

The one thing that I am concerned about is the graphics card. I dont play many games. However, I play Flight Simulator X, the latest version of flight sim which was released in October. It is a very graphics intensive game. Has anybody played Flight Sim X on a E1505? Can anybody also tell me if the E1505 is suitable for a game such as Flight Sim X, or should I just go for the E1705? I hear that the NVidia GeForce Go7900GS graphics card is better than the ATI Radeon Mobility 256MB X1400 card. Plus, I want to be prepared for Windows Vista. I hear that the new OS will be graphics intensive.

The laptop that I will buy will be the only computer that I have as I do not have a desktop computer. I figured that the E1705 would suit me well as it is supposed to be a desktop replacement. However, I think that the E1505 can be better as it is smaller and lighter. However, it carries a weaker graphics card and a smaller hard drive. I have a 40 GB portable external hard drive.

Can you also please tell me the maximum amount of RAM that each the E1705 and E1505 can accommodate. From my understanding, you can put up to 4 GB of RAM on a E1705. Is this correct? Plus, I will be keeping the laptop for about four or five years, should I buy a Dell. I will be definitely buy the four-yr warranty and 4-yr complete care accident protection. I want to prepare the laptop for future use. I spoke with somebody at the Dell kiosk and they told me that the E1505 is the best one for me. However, I am thinking about the strength of the graphics card.

I want to know what you guys think. Thank you very much. Any inputs or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Can you also please tell me your experiences with the E1705 or E1505, if you have either of them? Thanks once again.