Need help on reviewing a sorta gaming laptop - Inspirion 1520 and reviews.

Jet Black
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5250 (1.5GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
Anti-glare, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GS
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
Size: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini-Card
Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™HD Software Edition
My Software & Accessories
No Security Subscription (30-day trial)
Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
My Service
DellCare Value
No Dell On Call
DataSafe included with DellCare Service bundle
6 Months America Online Internet Access Included
Also Includes
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.08
Jet Black color w/ 2.0M pixel Camera
Windows Vista™ Premium
Intel® Core™2 Duo Label



I was wondering how good is the integrated webcam? Should I need to upgrade on anything like better processor or so.

The Games I am trying to play are like CS , CS:Source , SC2 ( in the future ) , wc3 and so on.

also for the wireless card , I live on the 3rd floor and the verizon modem with wireless is on the 1st floor. Will the wireless card I choose have access or strong connections from where I am at or do I need to upgrade.

my budget is up to 1500 with the 325$ coupon discount

please help me thank you!

 

I would suggest you upgrade the Processor to a T7100 becuase it will last you longer. While the 8400M will run all of your current games well, a 8600GT would probably be quite beneficial when running games such as SC2.

Don't get the sound blaster, its only software, not worth it. I don't know if you can but I would opt out of getting the 6 months AOL, you probably already have internet, and if you didn't there are much better alternatives than AOL.

 

Consider upgrading the battery.

If you want to play games and get a 1520, definitely get the 8600m GT. Thats one of the perks of the 1520 over the 1420.

 

can't I get a 8600m GT later on and install myself?

I really wanna know about the wireless card I mention earlier and the webcam.

Don't upgrade the sound card.

Also do you think a cooling fan a option or don't get one since laptops get easily hot.

 

no most likely the video card will not be upgradable unless you buy it from dell and even then if they sell it they will charge a large premium for it..

yes the wireless card will def affect the range you get.. i would get the intel and the n based card at that...

imo i would not upgrade the sound unless you will be using it for a lot of audio for the games you list the built in will be fine

these dont get very hot.. i think you will be fine

 

Might I suggest looking at my specs? I love this laptop!

You definately should upgrade to the 8600m GT. It's well worth it.
Don't get the software sound card thing, the high definition audio is fine and will save you money.
Get rid of the AOL since you already have wireless.
Upgrade the processor to atleast the 2.0ghz one, it will be much faster and be on par with the 8600gt.
Better battery especially if you plan to game without it plugged in. The smaller battery gives me about 3 hours just doing general stuff and the bigger one gives me about 5 hours.
I got the anti-glare screen and I like it. I am not sure about the glossy screen but I hate glares so this is good enough for me.

Also, if you get a 1 year mail in warrenty and upgrade to what I have in my signature, you should come up with about $1000 after you get the $325 off, so you will have $500 more to get whatever you want, such as a better warranty or something.

Call them and configure it over the phone to see if you could save some more money. It'll be better in the long run. Hope you get your laptop soon! Mine shipped and recieved in 7 days. Maybe I am lucky

 

1440x900 screen
8600
and the 2ghz c2d cpu if u want to game on it.


A 7200RPM hard drive would improve gaming performance as well

 

The tradeoff would be that the 7200 (supposedly) gets hotter than the 5400.

And laptop video cards are not the same as desktop video cards so most likely, unless you plan to also buy a 8600m gt card for the 1520 later from dell (i dont see why you'd want to pay extra later) and go through a bunch of pain to install it (including voiding your warranty) you should just get it now.

 

if your budget really is 1500$ then i would suggest this,

Inspiron 1520, Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 2.0GHz, 800Mhz, 4M Cache
et Black Color with Matte Finish
3GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1440x900)
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
120GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English
DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP INSP 1520
Internet Search and Portal
Icon Consolidation Application
Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
DELL SUPPORT 3.4,DIM/INSP
Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access
Media Direct 3.3
Dell Support Center 1.0
Integrated 10/100 Network Cardand Modem, for Inspiron
Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0, for Inspiron
8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive
Roxio Creator Basic
Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0
Intel 3945 WLAN (802.11a/g) Mini Card
NO WEBCAM OPTION
Security 30-day trial
5 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for Inspiron 1520
No ISP Requested
MS WORKS 8.5
1 Year Limited Warranty
No Warranty, Year 2 and 3
Dell Hardware Warranty Plus Return To Depot, Initial Year
Type 12- Mail-InService, 24x7 TechnicalSupport, Initial Year
Warranty Support,Initial Year
Inspiron, No Dell On Call
Thank you for choosing Dell
TV Tuner and Remote Control Vista Home Premium, English Inspiron
Jet Black color w/o Camera
Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor
You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System
DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS
DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS 1YR-FREE
Insp Datasafe 3GB,1YR(Incl in price),DHS
To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online

$1,468.00 with the Save $325 on select Inspiron notebook purchases of $1299 or more (before tax, fees, shipping & handling)

 

nice setup but i got mine for $721...i dont think that setup is worth 2x mine!

 

I personally went with the 1280 Glossy for gaming. Lower resolution less strain on the GPU and can potentially play more games. And as everyone else said definitly get the 8600M GT and a 2ghz processor.

 

TV Tuner and Remote Control Vista Home Premium, English Inspiron
um what does this do anyways lol ? is it worth getting ?

3GB? isn't 2GB good enough?

I am going for the Anti-glare, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)

also about warrantly, should I get any?

im thinking about ordering it tonight.

I might think about getting a mx518 gaming mouse and a headset from dell or somewhere else?

 

definitely get some type of warranty. you don't want to be screwed if your notebook suddenly dies. Also, I would go with the glossy screen, i didn't want to get it because I was worried about the glare, but i'm using it right now, and there's no glare at all and the colors are wonderful.

 

Whats the difference between the glossy screen and the anti glossy screen?

Which warranty btw.

 

One makes everything look shinier... the colors seem more vivid, like if you printed something out on glossy paper. The other one is basically a flat image, but it blocks out glare from lighting sources.

 

so what would everyone choose then?

glossy or anti glossy?

 

Anti-Glare (or anti glossy as you like to call it), because I am not the suns ***** and refuse to let it blind my outdoors laptop use on sunshiny days.

 

I chose glossy for my 1520 because I liked the look of it. I also want the 1680x1050 screen, which is not available in matte. Most of the time I'll be using the laptop indoors in places where reflections shouldn't be a problem -- in other words, no bright window behind me while I'm using the laptop.

Having seen the 15" MacBooks in the brightly lit Apple Store, one with a glossy screen and the other with a matte screen, I can certainly understand why some people would want a matte screen. If I had to use a glossy screen laptop in an Apple Store, I'd probably be throwing a blanket over my head to get rid of the reflections. They were pretty aggravating.

 

i might just go for the anti glossy.

TV Tuner and Remote Control Vista Home Premium ? whats good about this?

 

heres my final list:

My Components
Jet Black
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
Anti-glare, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
Size: 120GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card
Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
No Webcam Option
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
High Definition Audio 2.0
My Software & Accessories
No Security Subscription (30-day trial)
Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
My Service
DellCare Value
No Dell On Call
DataSafe included with DellCare Service bundle
No ISP requested
Also Includes
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.08
Jet Black color w/o Camera
Windows Vista™ Premium
Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor

$1,677.00 to $1,311.44 after the Save $325 on select Inspiron notebook purchases of $1299 or more and Save 3% off your total system order with the DellCare Value Bundle!

any changes i should make? do i need more ram or w/e