T7100 or T7300 dell vostro 1500

Is it worth the extra £50 to upgrade to the T7300 from the T7100?
Will I notice the difference?

 

Yes, most definitely...

It is a major difference between having a 2MB cache and a 4MB cache... Get the upgrade, it's well worth the money. Don't forget that with a laptop, you are stuck with your config for the life of your computer. So don't skimp now, that extra 2MB in cache will allow for more usability down the road.

-Tzale

 

Depending on what you'll be doing, the T7100 may be fast enough.

 

maybe some light gaming, but otherwise just movies, internet, phtotshop

 

Listen, definitely go with the T7300... The T7100 will be plenty fast enough for "most" stuff, but seriously... Not upgrading to the T7300 is equivalent to shooting yourself in the foot. If there is one upgrade you go for, go for the T7300. It's only $100.

For photoshop, you're going to want a good GPU and a fast CPU with a big cache... Any for gaming the same. You're adding much more life onto your laptop than if you go with the T7100 which will become sluggish faster due to the limited cache on it.

-Tzale

 

Hmmmm......last I checked upgrading the CPU on your own is actually pretty easy. Granted you won't want to do this under warranty but once the warranty is gone it is a 20 minute process.

Also 2mb cache to 4mb cache is like a 2% to 4% increase in performance. It doesn't even help in some programs. The most important upgrade is the GPU....8600gt is more important than getting a T7300 over a T7100.

 

right i'll definatley get the 8600gt, still not sure bout the CPU, just the screen now WXGA with ot without Truelife

 

True life is good if you watch DVD's/Play games in areas where you can control the light. (colors more vibrant/crisp) If you will use your notebook in an office type setting (Bright lights from every angle) then I suggest NO truelife, the glare would make the notebook un usable in that situation.

 

I think Truelife would be nice...If you're getting the 8600GT i'd recommend the T7300. That faster processor will give you a fair bit of adventure down the road especially with the 8600GT.

 

the 8600gt will be the bottle neck in the system not the T7100.

 

Well quite frankly it doesn't make a lot of sense to upgrade your CPU years down the road when you could just upgrade it now... You can only use a certain series of CPUs in your laptop and it just makes sense to go with the bigger cache NOW. I also beg to differ about the 2-4% increase, I think it's more in the range of 10%+... I heard that it is the most worthwhile upgrade you can get currently for your CPU.

-Tzale

 

You're not really doing him a favor by telling him that it's not worth it to upgrade the CPU now. The GPU is the most important thing if you're into games, but the T7300 is VERY much worth it over the T7100. Most people will say the same. The other CPU upgrades really aren't worth it, but if you are going to pay for a T7100, you might as well just spend the extra money and go for a T7300. If you aren't going to get a T7300 then don't waste your money with a T7100.

You will see a major difference if you are using photoshop... TRUST ME...

Do a search on this forum for other threads about the T7100 VS T7300, there are many... If you are just surfing the internet and reading e-mail, you're not going to see a difference. Well, if you're just doing that you wouldn't see a major difference between a computer from several years ago and one today.. Get 2GB memory (you can upgrade this yourself) , best GPU you can get and the T7300...

-Tzale

 

T7100 is perfectly adequete as the difference is only 4% or thereabouts.

 

Sure it'll work.... But don't expect it to work as good as a PC with a 4MB cache... If you're playing games and using photoshop it is stupid not to go with the T7300. With a laptop, you want to have the best components for the money since upgrading isn't often easy or cheap as with a desktop PC.

-Tzale