Please Help Me Pick Specifications

I am about to buy a Del 1520 or Vostro and need to know what specs to pick it certain areas. I do not game and use it mainly for web browsing, school stuff, music, etc. I would also like to keep this 1000 or below (there is a 300 off 999 coupon right now keep that in mind). Which Core 2 Duo processor should be good for me? (Dont want anything slow but dont need anything extravagant for games either). Would I need a High Resolution display or regular? Am I okay with the regular Intel Graphics card or do I need a 256 NVIDIA like alot of people are getting? Is the standard wireless network card good or do I need the Next Generation one? And last but not least is the 85 Whr 9 cell battery good enough?

 

Since you do not game, you can skimp on the graphics card, go cheap there (intel graphics). If you plan to use CAD, don't skimp on it, but it will cost you. I don't think the upgrade is much in most cases, though.

If you do not encode videos, you can skimp on the CPU and improve your battery life a bit. I would HIGHLY recommend XP because you can get by with 512 mb to 1 gig of ram. Vista, you're pretty much forced to upgrade to 2 if you don't want to wait for your Operating System. If you need to get added to a domain, you need XP Pro or Vista Business. If not and you can just plug in to your networks, you can go with XP Home.

You're at an advantage that you can make this cheap. You can go with the standard wireless...wireless N is not solid yet. 9 cell battery should give you around 2.5-3.5 hours on avg. Hope this helps.

 

Make sure to check out Dell Notebook Smart Values for some good deals. The Vostro 1500 for $599 looks like a good fit.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/hot_offers_nb?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

 

Would this be a good build for me? Only difference is I plan on buying 2G off Newegg and installing and upgrading to vista premium





PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5470 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic edit
LCD PANEL 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display edit
MEMORY 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM edit
HARD DRIVE 120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability edit
VIDEO CARD 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS edit
WI-FI WIRELESS CARD Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card edit
BLUETOOTH WIRELESS Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate) edit
BLUETOOTH WIRELESS Dell Bluetooth Travel mouse edit
WEBCAM Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera edit
SOUND OPTION High Definition Audio 2.0

 

Looks like the $599 Vostro with BT and camera? If so I'd say that it's hard to beat for the price.

 

Not sure about where you are ordering from, but 2GB is standard on new inspirons right now...

 

since the 2gb is standard should I get the inspiron or just get it off newegg and install?

 

If no gaming, then you can get the x3100 GPU for best battery life (and price).

Display resolution is just personal preference.

I don't know how much battery life you're looking for, so I don't know what's "good enough".

 

is the 5470 the x3100 GPU? and what coupons are available for vostros right now or is it just for inspirons?