Which Dell Notebook

I'm looking to upgrading my Inspiron 8000 series laptop it only got 2 hrs 30 mins on 2 batteries I'd like 4 hrs plus.


I have 3 finalists



1.Dell E1505
2.Dell M1210
3. Portable One MX With Trioview

Which one of these notebooks would you choose

How much battey life would you expect on 9 cell and graphics Acc on each?

How heavy are each of these laptops

Which of these 4 will have best looking screen with graphics acc


Uses for my laptop

1. Microsoft Office
2. Surfing the Net
3. Programming Game Design

 

consider filling out the faq.

 

I'd get choice 1 or 2. I have an e1505 with the 256mb x1400 and with the exception of gaming and DVD watching, I constantly get 5.5 to 6hrs with the 9cell battery. I hear that the E1405 gets even more but I haven't tested it personally.

filling out the FAQ couldn't hurt either.

 

Depends on many things buy the 1705 is the best one there.

 

The 17" is considerably heavy so unless you need/want the 17" I would suggest one of the other two. The only advantage you get with the 17" is a greater, but not much greater, screen resolution, and larger screen size. Portable One makes good laptops but I find their prices to be a bit steep, at least for my budget.

 

I can only speak of how I made my decision. I looked very closely at the same models. The advantages and disadvantages of each. Then I went to a Dell kiosk near my home and played with each one....some observations


1405: Excellent battery time. We're talking upwards to 8 hours. Cons: Nice screen at 1400 x 900, Core 2 Duo at varying speeds (sweet spot is 2.0 GHZ), memory at 533mhz, 8X DVD burner, 1 GB of Ram...choice of wireless card...good mainly for multimedia, apps and very little if any gaming.
Weight about 5.5 lbs...13.1 inches wide.

Con: Intel Integrated Graphics. When I actually used the machine...the screen was somewhat grainy...even with the good resolution. Machine seems a bit slow due to the pokiness of the Intel Graphics.

1505: Good battery time...upwards to 4.5-5 hours depending on settings. Excellent screen at 1680 x 1050 (WSXGA+), Core 2 Duo......memory at 533 mhz...8X DVD Burner...choice of wireless card. ATI x1400 with 256 mb of Hypermemory...Excellent multimedia machine...excellent at photo editing and apps and medium gaming. (I am an every now and then FPS gamer...)...most older games at full resolution and settings and most newer ones on medium.

Weight about 7 lbs...14.1 inches wide

Cons: None that I can speak of.

1705. Decent battery time...maybe three hours to 3 and a half depending on settings. WSXGA+ on this machine would be 1900 x 1200...a bit overdone for my taste. Video card either ATI x1400 with 256 mb of Hypermemory or Nvidia Geforce 7900GS with 256 mb of DDR3 SDRAM (Excellent if you plan on playing a LOT of games). Excellent for gaming, multimedia or any other app.

Con...Weight about 10-12 lbs. Size is pretty big...about 15.5 inches wide

I chose the 1505. For my gaming taste (Half Life 2, Call of Duty 2)...these games are playable on high settings at 1680 x 1050 and Ultra High at 1400 x 900...which is fine with me. Clarity of DVD video or any video for that matter on the 1680 x 1050 screen is absolutely gorgeous!!! I can't find enough superlatives about the 1505. It is a well rounded machine...with lots of power to spare.

Prior to purchasing the 1505...I had a Toshiba 5205-S705 (prototype of the Qosmio)...full multimedia machine with 15" glossy screen...2.4 GHZ Pentium 4 M...TV Tuner built in...and all the goodies. I lugged this 12 lb monster around for three years...and let me tell you...there are times that 12 lbs felt like 32 lbs...running through airports and such...this new 1505 is a pleasure...and does more than my old machine.

I truly feel that the 1505 can be loaded up to fit your every need...and even scratch your gaming itch. Here is my final description of my machine

Dell E1505
2.0 GHZ Core 2 Duo w 4 mb of L2 Cache
WSXGA+ 1680 x 1050 Glossy Screen
1 GB of 533 MHZ DDR2 SDRAM
ATI x1400 with 256 mb of Hypermemory
120 GB 5400 RPM Hitachi HDD SATA
8X Tosiiba / Samsung TS-L632D DVD Burner
Dell Draft N Wireless Card (chose this because it IS fully backwards compatible with my Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 router...and Intensi-Fi is the lead to win the N War...Broadcom chip...)
9 Cell Battery
Sigma Tel High Definition Audio (all three machines use this)...Dell included the Soundblaster Audigy software upgrade on their own...and I use the graphics EQ of it...to sweeten the sound

Battery time: I am averaging 3 and a half hours...but understand...I like my screen bright even on battery. Dell recommends a setting of Level 3 while on battery...I run level 5. Also...I do not shut down the screen at all, nor the hard drive. I also don't like hibernation...

One of my best friends purchased the 1405 a day after I purchased mine...so I have had more time to play. YES...he gets 7 hours of battery time on his 9 cell. YES he runs his brightness at level 3. He hibernates alot...He does all that is recommended....but for me...3.5-4 hours is quite sufficient. I am very happy with my machine....and he tried to run Half Life 2 on his 1405...with Intel Integrated Graphics...very grainy...and had to run at 1280 x 800 and textures and everything else minimal...

You don't want to try much if any gaming on the 1405.

If I had to choose again and again...a loaded 1505 would be my sweet spot.

I hope this helps a bit...

Bob

 

I agree with you Bobmitch. Although I havn't receive my E1505 but all your comments just fits my thought.

 

Matiases

I can't tell you how much I enjoy this machine. Even if you have to game at a lower resolution...the screen is beautiful. I have the Viewsonic VX2025wm on my desktop with the same 1680 x 1050 resolution. Example...I run Need for Speed Most Wanted at 1400 x 900 with My ATI X800XT...and the visuals are still stunning! A lessor resolution with these screens are still great. Overall...the 1505 is a sweet spot if you want to balance apps, video, Photo and gaming with portability. That is NOT to say that the 1705 isn't a beautiful machine as well...but I can't imagine a 17" screen with that weight being something I want to go running through airports with. If I wanted to totally replace my desktop with a laptop...I would get the 17" XPS series...and go for broke...no need!

 

Thanks alot Bob I appreciate your effort. I updated my 3 finalists above and removed 1405 because of graphic accl might not be best after all. Funny thing is I like all three lol. I would think about 17" but, I wanted light this time I carried a 12.5 lbs laptop last time it was heavy to lug around.

 

I personally recommend you order E1505 because the screen is bigger, and the performance isn't bad either. and battery life lasts at least 5 hours
That 1202 may have a better performance and a little better style, but the book is too small (only 12 inches), the battery life may last more than 8 hours (i guess?)