Need help deciding....

Hello, I've been lurking around here reading what you all have to say as I've been looking to buy myself a laptop as I enter college.

I've narrowed my choices down to either a Dell Inspiron E1505, Dell Latitude D820 or D640.

What I'm generally looking for is a laptop that will sustain me for at lesat 4 years through undergrad, be able to work cleanly with whatever reportwriting, research I do. On top of this, I'm looking for a machiene that'll satisfy my need to always constantly listen to music (mostly through headphones) while working, and something that can handle whatever gaming impulse I may have to give myself a break from studying. I also dabble in a little bit of photo editing and also may end up using the laptop to record and edit music being I'm a musician.

Right now, I'm heavily leaning towards a D820 due to it's reputation of having a solid build and a dedicated graphics card. How is the E1505's build quality in comparason to the Latitudes and will having an intergrated graphics card in the D640 really be noticable with what I'm looking to do?

Thanks for helping me out.

 

If you have more money I think the Latitude D820will satisfy you better. Iam also going to buy a laptop for college this August but I choose e1505 because I don't have that much budget to buy the D820. If I have then it's guarateed that I will buy it.

 

I'm with Equinox. The best laptop out of the two is the Latitude. It is made to travel everyday, and will last longer. It also is made with better materials than the Inspirons. You'll also get USA base tech support, instead of it being outsourced. I've had my Inspiron for a year, and it is starting to show damage (1 part is being held together by superglue).

It depends on the games that you are wanting to play as to whether your graphics card will hold up to your need. The graphics card on the D820 should be able to handle most games, but you might have to adjust your settings. Integrated cards are never good for games. If you want more info on the graphic cards, check out our Gaming forum. Chaz has created some guides that might help you decide which card is the best for you.

 

If you are not 100% set on a Dell, consider completing our FAQ in the What Should I Buy forum for more recommendations.