Seeking opinions on my Dell Inspiron build choices

I'm an Irish student and will be purchasing a Dell Inspiron notebook in the next couple of weeks. The tasks I will be performing include the following:

• Web browsing
• Instant messaging
• One game only (Football Manager 2007 - isn't graphics intensive)
• DVD playback
• Music playback
• Music downloading
• Video streaming
• Video downloading
• Word processing
• Streaming media to Xbox 360

I know very little about computers, so my minimum acceptable specs were governed by my most processor-intensive application, Football Manager 2007, whose recommended specs as per the DVD case read: 2Ghz [solo] processor and 1GB RAM.


This is the model I will building from, everything on default:

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=ie&cs=iedhs1&l=en&oc=N12646&rbc=N12646&s=dhs&sbc=iedhsrsinspn_6400_2


Here's are my component choices:

• 1.66Ghz Core 2 Duo processor, 677Mhz FSB, 2MB L2 cache
• Windows MCE OS
• Vista Home Premium upgrade
• Collect & Return 1 Year Service
• 15.4" WXGA with TrueLife
• 1024MB RAM, 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2x512)
• 120GB HDD, 5,400rpm
• Intel® Media Accelerator 950 Graphics Up to 256MB shared graphics memory
• 9 Cell, 85Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery

Everything else I have left on default, bar selecting the following:

• Dell Optical Mouse

Price (inc. VAT and del.) comes out to E954.62, which equals Stg£640.97 and US$1257.71, at todays rates. Source: http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html

Given I a maximum budget of E1,000, but a desire to go under E900, if at all possible, I would like to garner your opinion on my build. All relevant thoughts are welcome, and I invite all nationalities to have their say.


I do, however, have a couple of specific things I would like you to touch upon, in addition to all other relevant advice you wish to give:

• Can I upgrade my support services at any time post-purchase?
• In the event that I drop and/or spill liquid on the notebook (not that I have any intention of ever doing so! ), can I pay Dell for repairs, even if I haven't selected the Standard package?
• Do you recommend a TrueLife screen option or the default one? Why?
• Is it worth the extra E12 (~Stg£8/US$16) for 667Mhz speed RAM instead of 512Mhz?
• Are Dell Inspiron's RAM upgradeable, should I ever wish to install Vista in the future?
• The graphics card I've chosen comes default. It says "up to 256MB shared graphics memory". Your thoughts?
• My laptop will almost always be in my room. I don't plan on taking it out and about with me. Therefore a wall socket will always be nearby. However, I would like as much battery performance as possible all the same. Using best guesstimates, how much will the 9 cell option improve upon the 6 cell one time-wise, both at full charge? Is the 9 cell option worth the extra E18 (~Stg£12/US$24)?
• Is it worth E12 (~Stg£8/US$16) for the mouse? Football Manager 2007 is a cursor-heavy game, so how capable are trackpads in terms of quick, broad movements?
• Is it worth an additional (not included in the overall price) E36 (~Stg£24/US$47) for Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD™? What if I bought speakers. Still worth it? Why?

I realise that this is a very long and detailed post, so I would like to take this oppurtunity to thank you for taking the time to disseminate it, and offer your opinions. It is most appreciated, I can assure you. And all opinions are welcomes. As many as possible. You can never have too many opinions!

 

1. Yes, you can as long as the warranty (1 year) doesn't expire.
2. I believe so, not 100% sure
3. I do, since I prefer the glow on the computer.. better for gaming / watching movies.
4. Convert that into American Dollars please... but no, I don't think it's worth it.
5. MUST GET the x1400 -- DEFINITELY
6. If you can afford it, get it. The 6 cell lasts about 3 hours, and the 9 cell about 5 I believe.
7. It'll be cheaper to buy a mouse elsewhere, than from Dell.

I'd upgrade the Video card, definitely -- MUST. If I could then afford more upgrades, I'd upgrade the processor to a T5600, or T7200 if I can afford it. Finally, I'd upgrade the RAM to 2 Gigs.

Happy Hunting.

 

Thanks for your answers. Appreciated. Two things:

That's approximately US$16

Why do you not feel the default card is enough?

If it is in any way related to gaming, I only play Football Manager 2007 on Windows, and it has more in common with an Excel spreadsheet than the latest 3D games. It's more a stats-based number crunching game than a visual feast. That one game apart, I do all my gaming on the Xbox 360

That aside, are there any other reasons? Vista AERO-related maybe, in the event that I ever decide someday to go Vista (which, right now, I have no intention of doing so, given the RAM requirements)? DVD playback reasons?

 

well the vista aero will definately need a graphic card sumthing better than gma950 atleast ...the x1400 is gud all round

 

Not that I plan on going Vista anytime soon, but what if I were to disable Aero, if and when I do so? What would your opinions on the gma950 be then?

 

the gma runs vista aero very well
jim

 

Really? But the others seem to think it doesn't?



Still after full and complete critiques of my first post by the way!

 

I heard you wanted at least the X1300 for aero. I ended up getting the X1400 because it wasnt much more.

 

Overall, given your pretty modest requirements I'd put my money on 2Gb RAM. That will make your computer more responsive and it will last longer.

True. I've upgraded warranty even after three years.

Me neither.

Get truelife unless you have a strong light source right behind you....

I don't even think the 667 RAM is any faster. There are other threads on this, but no, don't buy it.

I disagree. For your purposes, no need. The Intel card is a good 2D card (movies and stuff), and has *way* better battery life (50-70% better). For *any* kind of 3D gaming, you'd want to upgrade though. Note that if you choose the intel card, you *cannot* upgrade the card, as it's integrated into the motherboard. It *will* "steal" a bit your RAM, though, so get more. (But maybe the X1400 will too?)

It's very simple: 9:6 = a 50% increase. So if you get 3 hours with 6 cell, you'll get 4.5 with the 9 cell. Note that the GFX card will matter too...

Agreed. Don't rely on the touchpad when stationary, it will eat your wrist.

Plus:

* Yes you can buy RAM later. It's also cheaper than Dell, and easy to install yourself, and won't void warranty.

* The sound upgrade is *not* worth it, on a limited budget. It's only a software upgrade - the hardware is the same. If you later feel you need something special, you can get an external USB sound card. Plus speakers, the built-in aren't very impressive.

My priorities for you would be:

1. RAM
2. Processor
3. Graphics

and of course battery, depending on your needs

 

Great post mini. How much does a 256MB shared GFX card rob from the RAM exactly, on average, given the tasks I will be performing? How much would a standard integrated 128MB card rob?

Still soliciting for more opinions by the way. No such thing as too many!

 

"Hypermemory" also means it uses system RAM (TurboCache is the Nvidia term). So both of these options will use your system RAM. A 256Mb card will use a maximum of 256 Mb, etc.

But it will use only if there is demand. Thus, for non-memory-intensive apps you won't see that much stealing. There usually is enough on board RAM on a dedicated card to hold a single framebuffer, so for everyday 2D apps, you will probably see close to no usage. It's mostly when it comes to complex 3D textures etc that the rest is needed. The intel card won't have any onboard RAM, I think. But for everyday 2D use, not much is needed (32-64Mb).

 

Well, I certainly won't be playing any 3D games on it, that's for sure. And Football Manager 2007, in case you are not in the know, is a number-crunching stats-based management simulator, which has more in common looks-wise with an Excel spreadsheet than Fifa 07!

Once again, here are the tasks I will be performing:

Do you forsee much RAM stealing by the graphics card here? And given that all three choices were 'shared' options, would they not all be much of a muchness, with the Intel card merely having the highest usage ceiling?

 

I have the gma950 with 2 gigs of ram on my 1405 it runs vista better than my nvidia (due to driver problems) the video shares my memory 224 megs
but with 2 gigs i dont really miss it
the 9 cell battery gets me 7 hours and 40 minutes of usable time verses 4.5 hrs on the 6 cell all and all i really like the intel video because there is no heat issues laptop stays cool and stability seems better
hope this helps
jim

 

I think the intel will be perfect for you. Spend money on RAM instead...

 

Okay, as per the advice I've received, I'm now considering building off the premium SKU in the Inspiron 6400 range, instead of the middle one. That means 2Ghz Core 2 Duo processing, 2GB RAM, 160GB SATA hard drive, etc. All in all, it will come out to about E1,300 (~Stg£872/US$1,543).

This is over my budget (although I could add to my own money with a loan from my Dad) and I fear I'm waaay over-specced for the tasks I'll be running. But then again, I know it will be powerful enough to multitask at blazing speeds, which is among my highest priorities*, will run Vista and will be future proof for at least the next 3 years, I would have thought.

What do you think? Am I over-specced? Also, is there any point in going with a 256MB Hypermemory ATI GFX card instead of 128MB? I'm thinking purely of Vista's Aero and 3D icon effects now. I repeat, I have NO intention of 3D gaming with my laptop. None whatsoever. That's what my Xbox 360 is for.


* Will this hold true running Vista, seeing as it is a more powerful OS, requiring more system resources?