New Dell Inspiron 6400 / e1505 Question

Hello:

I just purchased the Inspiron 6400 through the small business dept with the following specs:

** Intel® Core™ Duo processor T2300 (2MB Cache/1.66GHz/667MHz FSB)

** Windows® XP Home

** 15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen SXGA+ Display with TrueLife™

** 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm

** 120 GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive

** 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R

** Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950

** 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

** Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps)

** 4-year warranty with accidental damage protection

All of this, including taxes and shipping was $1473.

Just wondering:

(a) Do you think this is a good deal?
(b) I don't do video editing or play games at all, but do you think this machine will be sufficient without the dedicated graphics card? If you think I need an ATI card, what size do you recommend and is it possible to upgrade it later without voiding the warranty?

Thanks in advance!

 

(a) You could have got a dv5000t for about the same price but with a geforce 7400 gpu

(b) You can't upgrade a graphics card on a laptop with integrated graphics

 

Well, if you don't game or do video editing, then it's probably a smart idea to get a bad graphics card. However, if you don't use any power-intensive programs, then it may be even smarter to buy a cheaper laptop with worse specs.

 

Just priced the dv5000t out on HP.com and without the 4-year warranty that I currently have, but with the 128 graphics card, it came out at $1700 with tax & shipping. That's also with a smaller HD (100GB).

I do use power-intensive programs, but am just wondering if that graphics card will ever be an issue as I hope to keep this machine for a few years. I use all of the Office programs, Photoshop, Nero, and will use it to watch DVDs, etc.

Do you think it's okay as is or do graphics accelerators (with 1GB of RAM) really suck for this type of computer use?

 

lf you don't game then l guess you really don't need the 7400.

 

Wow, must say the V5000t looks like an interesting machine. That asside. If you don't game or do much intensive than the configuration will be fine for you. Congrads.

 

Thanks for the replies - yea, I'm excited about the new system.

I guess video cards really aren't necessary (if you already have 1gig of RAM) unless you use programs like AutoCAD, Video Editing software or are a gamer. Would most of you agree?

Cheers