XPS 1210 vs e1405/1505

Trying to decide between these machines. I like the size of the 1210, but a similar configuration is 400-600 more.

I'm looking for a laptop to travel with sometimes, but not heavy travel. I want it to be good with music and DVD watching. Not a big gamer, but sometimes I find a game I like to play.

Thanks for any advice you can give me. My old Inspiron 4000 from 5 years ago is junk now so I'm shopping again!

 

E1404 is great for multimedia (I brought 3 of these for my cousins and they <3 em, of course they were girls so XD)
but don't expecting any gaming from it
E1505 on the other hand is also great BUT it's kinda of big... i dislike the size but it has room for a dedicated graphic card which is good for gaming.
M1210 which rocks your sox! Is awesome either way with it's dedicated graphic and portablility : ). If you have the money I wouldn't even think I would pick the M1210 blindly

 

Thanks for the reply! What are the upgrades I should seriously consider with the 1210 to get the most bang for the buck and the best performance? I mean I know ALL upgrades will help performance, but what is needed?

 

If I were you, I'd check out dell outlet... they have some great deals on new and refurbished m1210's. If your ever going to be gaming do not even consider the E1405. The integrated card is very weak. The X1400/7400 will play most games out on low-medium settings just fine. I personally like the M1210's design and the size a lot better. I'd go for it!

 

I'd go with the M1210, I was really looking at it but Idecided I wanteded something bigger and didnt really need the portability of it, but ithink its a great little performer and its very cool

 

Where can I see these machines side by side? I don't THINK the 12.1" will be too small but i'd hate to order it and then figure that out.

 

You could go to a Dell Kiosk store if there is one by you.

Otherwise, you could go to some other store (Best Buy, Circuit City) and check out 12.1" laptops against 14.1" and 15.4".

While they won't be Dells, it should give you a feeling for the size of each of them.

 

I looked at all of the choices you listed, ended up getting the e1405. I do not do much gaming, so that was not important to me, and I did not like the 12 inch screen for my purposes (grad school). I think the e1405 is the best value. It is very portable and powerful. One benefit about not having the dedicated graphics card is that an integrated card gets better battery life than your other choices. Don't get me wrong, i think the m1210 looks like laptop, but for my money the e1405 was a steal. I just couldn't see myself typing and staring at the twelve in screen for hours on end.

 

Anyone complaining of the 14" portability needs to each more spinach HOnestly, the 1210 is nice and compact, but when I carry my daily load backpack, it doesnt feel that much lighter, and this is comparing it to a 15.4 Lat 810 monstrosity! SOOO, after using the 1210 for a while, id say its nice to know its smaller and lighter, but at the end of the day, I wouldnt base my comp decision on a 12" being noticably more portable than a 14".

Also to people that think a 12" is too painful to use all day, Ill disagree. I use my laptop 10+ hours a day (not something IM proud of), and i worried about going from a a 15.4" to the 12" and it has turned out just fine. I dont even connect my 20" widescreen at home because the 12" is fine.

 

Yeah I love the 12" screen on mine. I can even use my 17" Dell Ultrasharp any more because the quality is so bad compared to the 1210 monitor. It really is a great notebook, especailly for something its size.

If you want alot of bang for as little money as possible this is what I would advise. The Core Duo is a very powerful processor, the 1.66 is more then enough for everyday use. Get the 7400, it clocks down when its full strength isnt needed to save power. But you will definitly see a major difference in ovarall system performance between the integrated graphics and the 7400. Also get 1gb of RAM, 2gb if you plan on using this alot in the next 3-4 years, you will need it then. The camera is cool, ive actually used it, but its more of a goodie, and not needed. Dont get the HD audio unless you plan on gaming, since it olny really enables EAX (better audio effects) and helps sound quality a little.Get a 7200 rpm hard drive. The speed makes a big difference in system performance, and it is a great upgrade. Finally if your going to travel, get the 9-cell battery, it doesnt stick out alot and its got great battery life.

 

i love my 1210

even though its "bigger" than other 12 inch lappys... u get your internal optical drive and its still pretty **** small to me... considering i've been using a 17 inch one in the past... its so nice and easy to move around

 

I went to Costco today because I know they sell some Dells there, but all they had were some 14" other-brands. I don't know if I could do a 12" screen after looking at those 14" ones, that's pretty darn small.

I'm leaning towards an e1505 and just get more goodies like the tv tuner, bluetooth, bigger HD, dedicated vid, etc. and spend the same as I would on a low/mid-range 1210.

Who knows though, I will probably change my mind tomorrow! Ha!


Edit - Since I'm impatient I ordered my e1505.

With 1.6 proc, the best 256 video card, best monitor, 120gb HD, Windows Media Center, TV Tuner, Bluetooth, 6 and 9 cell batteries, and 3 year warranty plus 3 year accidental damage i paid 1660, including shipping.

they have certain systems that are 20% off and free shipping, so i figured i'd get it and hope i like it. unless it is just monstrously big, i think i'm going to love all the upgrades this has over my 5 year old broken down inspiron 4000! lol and with the accidental damage, i can get a new, or at least all fixed up, computer in 3 years. that was a big selling point for me since i beat this 4000 to **** in the first 3 years.