Opinions on Vostro 1400 vs 1500 which will hold up.

Hello, Im new here, and have been searching through the threads the past few days and decided to just make my own.
For starts i have narrowed my search for a new notebook down to the V1400 and the V1500, but an unable to decide between the weight of a few options as i have limited to no expierence with these newer options and what not. I recently purchased a Dell c610 latitude P3m 1.2 (first notebook), and loved it but it does seem a bit out dated and as i no longer have the use of a desktop i would like to get a new Vostro notebook.

As far as usage goes it will be used for Internet, basic word processing, Mild gaming (Doom3) Dvd burn/play, small ipod music managment (less than 5gigs)

i am looking to keep it in the 700-800 range

I will need it semi portable, wont be traveling with me all the time but it would be nice to take it around time to time.

I prefer 14 inch screens and the case design on the v1400 opposed to the v1500

I would also like one that i could maintain and use for a few years to come.

I prefer XP but would go Vista if others deem it ok as soon it will likly be standard OS i dont want to get stuck with outdated XP in a year or so and wont pay 400 for a new OS on an old lap.

it seems that a lot of people keep the 1.6 c2duo leading me to believe this is a quite capeable processor. is 200 worth the 2.0 c2duo with 4mb L2???
if it is i would rather get it now as i have heard you cannont change them, same with the GPU the 1500 comes standard (mid grade 650) with a 8400m gs and the GT option for 100 more, where as the 1400 (700) comes with the GS but cannot accept the Gt will i need this GPU or will i be plenty fine with the gs? is there a big difference? I am very elctronic minded and am capeable of taking this apart to resolider a new GPU but is this worth it?? or would there be compatability issues if i decided to do this down the road? It kind of sucks that the 1500 comes with more standard options and higher capabilites than the small 1400 which has less and less max.

As i wont need the utmost in portability i guess the 15" screen isnt so bad, the price seems obviously right, my c610 is a 14 and i love it porably, is the extra 1.3" worth its increased size? i noticed that the width dimensions defference is almost 2"!!!

as for RAM i will start with 1 and get aftermarket memory later.

Just to clarify is it possible to later upgrade processor and GPU or is it cost inefficiant and will it be problematic?

Well i have been browsing this site religiously the last few days and love it
thanks for any insight you can give me.

 

I hear you can upgrade the 1500/1520s GPU but still, sounds difficult.

Anyways, whatever you, whether it is after market upgrades or from Dell, is get 2 gigs of RAM. Vista will lag otherwise. Anyways, my Vostro 1400 suits me quite well and I am very happy with it. Vista is a fine OS, more stable than XP. At least with Vista, you know what is compatible or not while you assume on XP everything is and things crash once in a while. Vista has a lot of good tweaks under the hood. It's not perfect but it'll do its job.

Well for your graphics needs, you could get the 8400 GS. I'm pretty sure that'll run your games.

 

if you decide to go with Vista, i'd recommend upgrading to Home Premium and 2 gigs of RAM at the least.

otherwise, both computers will offer you the same functionality - they're both based on the Santa Rosa platform and have like configurations. the greatness of the C2D is that you really can't go wrong with even the lowest option (the 1.6ghz). it runs business/web work just fine, and is a capable multimedia processor.

also, how much of a gamer are you? even the GS is a capable card for most current games. neither card will offer you much performance with heavy DX10 titles in the future.

personally i'd go with the 1400, but i'm a sucker for 14" laptops (own a D630 myself). the only caveat i would add would be to look for a resolution above WXGA. a WXGA+ resolution (1400x900) on a 14" screen is a nice sweetspot.

 

Ah, well that helps a bit im not a heavy gamer by any standards id rather play on game platforms build mostly for gaming, x360, ect. but i would still like to take some basic games with me like said Doom3 ect, and i suppose perhapse a newer title, i dont mind lower settings i dont need the highest graphix settings with my games. would my money be better spent on GPU or Processor?
thanks again and open to as may opinions as i can get.

 

GPU is the way to go

 

For you the Vostro 1400 will suit your needs and surpass them. Plus the 1400 is lighter and thinner than the 1500!

 

Ok, i guess the big decisions are is more money worth justifying a smaller screen and profile on something i wont be transporting all the time?

for light gaming, dvds and vist home do i need the GT?

if in the future my 1.6c2d would fall a little shy would the 1.8 make a diff?

can i later upgrade video cards?

 

for what you want the GS is fine. i personally would stick to the 1.6ghz and upgrade to the 2.0 or 2.2ghz (which importantly has a much larger cache) when prices drop a bit.

 

Might make sense to order it with Vista. But after 3 weeks with Vista I've finally had enough and last night went through the steps to put XP on. Vista is really pretty and never gives your hard drive a break.. but this laptop's performance with XP is mind-blowing.

 

OK, so for now stick with the 1.6 c2d and later i can purchase the 2,0 or 2.2 and add it??? will this be a direct replacement will it be the same as if i purchased it now? or will there be differences? is the bus the same or what ever it its just a matter of swapping one cpu for a nother straight up done deal that that would be great, i was just told that once you purchase this (or a) notebook that you cannot swap it for another later due to compatability issues. i would really like an explaniation on this relative to the Vostro if anyone can, what else is necessary?
that would be great if i could make it work that way and later upgrade to a larger processor. is the GPU the same can it later be swapped out in the same manner? some insight here would be great, if possible i could purchase a mid package and upgrade later.

Do you think xp will be ok for time to come or will it be outdated and usless in the next couple years?

 

does anyone who has a vostro gamed with the gs? (light gaming.) and what are Dx10 games?