Which Dell Laptop to get? please help me choose.

I work for a large company that deals exclusively with Dell so all employees get substantial deals on any laptop once every three years so going with any other manufacturer is not an option (I'd rather have a Toshiba).

Anyway after considering my needs (minor office apps and alot of gaming and photoshopping) I've narrowed it down to two laptop configurations but am not sure wich one to get. I need one that can stay with me for at least three years as a gaming system.

1-Inspiron XPS Gen 2

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 770 (2.13 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)

2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm

60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive

8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability

17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™

256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6800 Ultra



2-Dell Precision Mobile Workstation M70

Pentium® M Processor 770 (2.13GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533FSB)15.4 WUXGA LCD

2GB, 533MHz, DDR2 SDRAM (2 DIMMS

60GB Hard Drive (7200 RPM)

8X DVD+/-RW Drive

NVIDIA® Quadro® FX Go1400 256MB OpenGL graphics

I'm waiting on Dell's price quote but expect both to be under the 2700 USD mark.

 

Gaming wise, the Dell XPS2 is the undisputed fastest laptop on market today, period. In *default* setting it will outrun it's nearest competitor (Go6800 based laptop) by at least 30%. There are even rooms for O/C.

The Precision m70 uses the Go6800 gpu, only tuned for OpenGL work. It really isn't a gaming machine, as a graphics workstation(OpenGL) has different needs than the pure pixel-pushing of games. Either way the xps2 will be SUBSTANTIALLY faster than the m70 when it comes to gaming.

If you want a pure gaming machine and it is within your price range, the xps2 is the fastest there is, bar none. Just make sure to get a decent warranty to go w/ it.

cheers,

yass

 

The workstations are more for graphics programs, not gaming. The xps2 will be the best. If you want something more portable, you could go with the latitude d810.

 

Thank you both, I've decided to go with the XPS then, just hope the price quote will get here soon :S

 

Take a look at the dell/epp site and compare prices. also take a look at the thread on coupons. There are constant deals going on and sometimes you may be able to get a better price on the home and home office site or sometimes at the epp site (employee purchase plan). Or the special offer from your work may be better than any. A while back the dell epp site offered a 33% off coupon good on the xps gen2. If you take a 3 or 4 year waranty through the epp site you get an additional 12% off. It worked out to 41% off list price plus a 100.00 rebate on the 4 year waranty. As well if you order using a dell preferred credit card you can get an additional 2% off the discounted price ( so an additional 1.59%) off. You can't buy a better gaming laptop period, and it's about half or less than the price the boutique laptop assemblers charge (VoodooPc, Alienware, Falcon-nw etc)