Torn Between 1420 and the 1520

Gunner: Thanks, I ordered the glossy screen yesterday.

WorkInProgress: Good choice with the 14 inches As for the games, well, in the NBR review, they said it plays Half-Life 2 very well. And WoW is played decently. I think WoW just needs Ram, so if you have 2GB, you should be fine. Company of Heroes, well, I am sure it will play if you play it on medium settings.
As you can see, I myself was deciding between the 2 and have just ordered the 1420 yesterday.

As for buying in Q2, 2008, that was my initial plan, to buy a Montevina based laptop. But I really don't think the prices are going to come down, more like they'll stay the same, as mace2 mentioned, with better specs.
The thing with laptops, or computers in general is, whenever you buy, there are going to be new ones out a year from then which are going to be much better. So just relax and buy.

This is the perfect time to buy, because Santa Rosa has just come out and it will be unmatched at least for a year, till Montevina comes out. Montevina comes out in Q2, 2008, but I wouldn't expect actual working systems with bugs fixed before Oct-Dec 2008.

So if you were buying a laptop in July, 2008, I would have recommended you to hold off your purchase and wait a few months.

So what are you waiting for? Just order fast and enjoy your system

 

that makes sense mace2, I really do like the stuff in my present set up though; the only thing I would consider an upgrade for is the gphx card but I'm cool w/ what I have, it would also mean less batery consumption w/ the 8400.

Congrats on your purchase phoenix lol. And thanks for your advice, your arguement is so convincing that I might just buy the vostro very soon lol.

??
is the Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini-card worth it? I don't think I'll be using it for the N but it has a better range. If not the N, then would Intel card be better than the Dell card? I have a card w/ my old lapotp and I'm really tired of it pooping out, its external btw.

 

Do you guys think the 1.8 ghz proc. is worth it? I just want something faster so that I can load up programs quicker since I'm used to it on my desktop

 

That's the reason why I got a 14".

When this lappy gets old and does less gaming, i'll shell out a few hundred dollars for a desktop, where expandability is easier. And this lappy will still be 14" and I can still carry it around.

2 years from now, the 15" will be a 15" brick that doesn't do any more than the 14.

 

wow...that was poetry...

 

I'm set on the 14 in. now thanks lol. I just have a couple of questions:

what wireless card should I get/ dell or intel becuase I had some pretty bad experiences w/ bad wireless cards.

What is the difference between the 1.6 and 1.8 ghz in power?

 

Definitely get the 1.8, as its got 800mhz FSB, which will provide better bandwidth in some applications. It's also the cheapest 800mhz FSB one, that's why I got it. My original plan was to go for the 2.0ghz, which has 4MB cache as well, but then decided to drop it due to my budget
The extra 2MB of cache is also noticeable as your cpu does less work with every cycle and in theory, it also means a bit better battery life.

However, as you may know, in practice, they're almost the same so get the 1.8 or get 2.0 if you can afford it, because its obviously better. Don't get the 1.6ghz, low cache and low FSB, it's not a good buy.

Personally, I would get an Intel wireless card (not sure if that's the one which is N) as they are the most compatible. I know I had problems with a non-Intel card under Linux a year ago. Even if you know you're not going to install Linux, I feel its a better choice. Just get the Wireless-N card. A year from now, when wifi nets start to get 802.11n connectivity, you'll be sorry you didn't get it

I am not aware of the cost differential, so if it costs a lot, then a 802.11g card should suit you just fine (and its not like G infrastructure is going away, there's too much invested in it already).

 

dude thanks again phoenix for your response, the 1.6 is also 800mhz though, does that make any difference. I may actually hold off buying the vostro for a while, maybe a couple of months [do you think special offers like the free 2gb and free upgrade to 8400 gs will still be around?] and prices may go down.
Yea, I was thinking about getting the N card, but I did think Intels cards would be better. Thanks again

 

The 1.6 ghz low cache low FSB he's talking about is the T5450.

that's the T7100


I'd go with the T7100. Its only a $75 upgrade and it's the sweetspot right now, best bang for your buck. It's also the entry level processor for the Santa Rosa combination. If you are looking for deals, I say call Dell up. Keep in mind the CSRs are on commission and they'll pull some strings for ya if you remind them you'll pull the trigger. I personally gave em a set of specs and my price and asked if they could configure it to that price. They tacked on an expire coupon and bingo, bought it that day.

 

so are you saying I should call CSRs while I config my dell or do i just call them up after I made my purchase. I think I might actually buy it soon since the deals seem really good with the value deal - free 2gb upgrade and 8400gs -. do you guys think this deal will hold out?

 

I'm saying, sometimes if you don't like the current deal, you can try to get a CSR to get you a previously expired deal instead. Like I don't like the current 2gb of free ram because it's cheaper for me to buy 2gb of RAM and install it myself.
The free card though is pretty nice though.

My point is, if you don't like the current deal, try calling Dell and see if the CSR will pull some strings for ya. I personally would configure my Dell online and then after I had a list of the specs I wanted, I would call a CSR.

 

how would I go about bargaining? Do I just simply put it out there that I would like something free?

 

The 8600GT blows the 8400GS out of the water. If you want to play newer games, you should get the 1520. If you don't plan on playing the newer games that are coming out, the 1420 should suffice.

 

I am pretty shy when it comes to bargaining too, but this is how I went about it.

Just keep asking them what the lowest price they can offer is, be firm. They will tell you that they can't go any lower, then compare them with other brands like Lenovo/Sony/HP and tell them what a great deal you are getting but want to try Dell as your business is looking to buy from Dell.

If they still don't lower the price and you feel you've made good effort, ask them what freebies they can give you to make you feel nice about the decision that you've bought a Dell.
I straight away told the guy that I wanted something..and asked what he could give for free. He told me he can either give me the BT headset free or the wireless mouse. I took the mouse and a bag.

 

I would get the 1420 just cuz of the wait for the 1520 is rediculous!

 

Not unless you get jet black, lol.

 

I'm already decided on the vostro 1400 but wonder how I could bargain w/ the csr's. U think I should just straight up ask

 

Check this out: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=153497

 

dude, thanks so much for that link faceman

 

I'm a fan of matte displays vs glossy. However I've read some comments that the XGA matte display on the Vostro 1500 has fairly poor viewing angle (both horizontal and vertical), which I assume is the same matte screen available for the 1520. No higher res option for the matte display.

Is it possible that the 1420 matte XGA display would be better in this regard, or most likely the same? Who has the 1420 anti-glare display and do you like it?

I'm getting nervous about some of the little querks I've heard about the Vostro / Inspiron. For example, humming noises when lowering display contrast is just one example. I was just about ready to pull the trigger and now thinking more. But will still likely return my unopened Toshiba A215. Part of my concern with the A215 is battery life. But the review of the Vostro didn't report very good battery life either it seemed (partly due to dedicated graphics card perhaps?). Will the 1420 have better battery life than the 1520?

 

I have the anti glare screen on my 1420. It's a tad darker than my desktop 19" (a Dell also, lol) but it's not that noticable to me. Then again, I'm not a graphics designer or such so as long as blue looks like blue and not purple, it's ok with me. The viewing angle does have quirks if you decide to view it from like 8 feet away. If you try to watch a movie lying on your bed with the laptop on the end of the other bed, it's real hard to see. Then again it's a 14" about 8' away. That's good for privacy though if i'm surfing porn at the cafe, lol.

there is a hum if you turn up the speakers. It's not like the HPs though where its a constant hum or whine no matter what. If it was anything, I took apart my notebook to clean up the wires. I hear that MAY help.

 

And what would you do if someone SAW you doing this...

 

lol

U DA MAN!

 

I'm thinking seriously about the Inspiron 1420 (or Vostro 1400). Some more questions.

1) If on a limited budget, if you had to choose between upgrading to the T7100 processor versus upgrading to 2GB ram, which would you choose? Clearly I'll need to get to 2GB eventually, but at least that's easier to do later (though perhaps requires lifting the keyboard). I'm leaning toward the T7100, knowing there will be a performance hit until I eventually get to 2GB. I don't really need the T7100 to be honest, but it would make me feel better. Could the processor be pulled later if I wanted to use in another laptop in the future?

2) What stores carry Dell if I want to see one in person? Unfortunately they probably won't have an anti-glare version on display, which is one of the things I want to see for myself.

3) Which operating system to get? Inspiron offers Vista Premium, Vostro doesn't. So if getting Vostro probably get Vista Basic? I need to read up on the differences.

4) I wish these had an option for a fingerprint reader, seems like it would be a real convenience booster.