Vostro1500 or inspiron1520

Not really sure which to go for...but leaning toward the vostro. Since they both cost essentially the same with the same specs, gpu, etc....then why would anyone want the 1520? The 1500 is the 1520 with better builtness, no bloatware, and no re-stocking fee. The only reason to pick the 1520 is for the color selections, but I feel the all black beats out any of the color options anyway. What do you all think? You think the extra sturdiness they claim the vostro has truly is noticeable? That is actually my main concern, because if they are both built the same then I guess there is not much favoring.

 

The Vostro also starts out at a lower price with a basic configuration. I purchased a Vostro 1500 for $599 with "NO" bloatware and the minimum specs. Even those specs were beefy. You get a 120GB HD, 8X DVD dual layer writer and a 128mb nVidia discreet card.

The 1520 gives you a 160GB standard but you pay extra for the rest and the price starts out higher. The Vostro is the clear choice in looks and price IMO.

 

i just ordered the vosotro just a few mins ago. spent all day yesterday looking at the vosotro 1500 and inspiron 1520, and the vosotro was defenitly cheaper for me.

got it for $821.76 after taxes. the specs are in my sig. the 1520 with similar specs was $1050 before taxes

 

Good luck with that amount of RAM and that processor.

 

I've recently upgraded both my desktop(gaming use) and laptop(non-gaming use) from 1gb to 2gb, and haven't noticed any performance increase even in benchmarks for games(Company of Heroes and FEAR etc)

Games are rarely limited by processor, my crappy Pentium D 2.8 gets the same FPS as those anandtech reviews with their X6800 with the same GPU of course

 

RAM is very cheap to upgrade. The processor isn't that big of a deal either since the GPU will be the main bottleneck. The extra cache doesn't do much for gaming.

 

The dell vostro page at http://www.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/vostronb?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
mentions that these have magnesium alloy cage and strikezone hdd protection. Do Inspirons also have these?

 

I went with Vostro for the low price and for Windows XP

 

inspiron have the magnesium chasis as well, but i doubt it has the shock absorber and spill proof keyboard

 

Vostro's also have a special team of dedicated tech support people, so better support. Something like 1600 or more employees just for the Vostro line.

I'd be worried the build quality was worse though?

 

im going to upgrade the ram on my own. i not going to pay dell $150 just for 2gb. as for the processor, you really dont need a monster to play modern games at medium-low settings and by the time i need to upgrade, the processor should be cheap. right now it only costs $256.99

i also love how the people who bash the vostro show that they ordered a 1520. this is just like the 1505 and 6400. both were exactly the same notebook, except the business line was considerably cheaper

edit: just looked at the 1520, and just the basic model cost $870 before taxes. it doesnt even include a discrete video card and has a 1.5ghz c2d lol

 

you don't even need a good processor to play moderns games at max settings(at 1280*1024 resolution) my Pentium D 2.8 and 8600GT plays games like Oblivion, Rainbow Six Las Vegas all at max settings.

 

I spoke to a dell rep because I thought the same thing and he said the build quality on the vostro is higher than 1520. But they guy was also a small business rep so of course he things the quality is better. He said this inspiron<vostro<latitude<xps

i ended up getting a little slower processor and smaller hdd but better battery and screen and saved 300 bones over my canceled 1520.

 

um, i believe the build quality is the same. Vostro just has the extra keyboard guard against dust and water build up and I forgot... something else

 

It's black