a couple of questions on the dell inspiron 1520

Hello,

I am in the market for a new computer because I want to do some gaming and video editing and my 4 1/2 year old computer is just not cutting it anymore, so I am a bit out of the game when it comes to personal preferences in a laptop because I have not owned one. My computer that have now is a Dell so I started to do some research on dell laptops, I was about to buy a 1505 but decided to wait. I just configured a 1520 and here is the specs...

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows ® Vista Home Premium Edition|
Espresso Brown
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1440x900)
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8600M GT
80GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini-Card
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
Total: $1,140.00 after $350 coupon.

My couple of questions are...

#1 I want the system to run Starcraft 2, and do some video editing/web design, can this system handle it?

#2 Should I go with the lower res screen?

#3 Should I spend $75 more to get the t7300?

#4 Should I upgrade to the 9 cell battery?

Thank you so much for any help/advice,
Mark

 

how did u get the price, i configure same system and it comes up at 1500

 

Yes
No
Yes
Maybe

 

It is just under dell home, I did not get any extra warranty or anything. It was originally $1490

 

Well, that system should perform remarkably well. The video card, in laptop terms, is very good. You can never go wrong with 2 GB of RAM either. My laptop (see sig) runs Photoshop, Pinnacle Studio 10 and Web Design flawlessly (not all at once, of course).

If you do plan on using similar programs I would suggest getting the 9 cell battery. It offers almost a 50% increase in battery life.

I use 1280x800 resolution on my 15.4" screen. It suits me just fine. It's really whatever you prefer.

About the processor, you should be just fine. A) It's a Core 2 Duo processor, which is incredibly powerful, and B) it's based on the new Centrino Pro platform. In other words, the T7100 should be just fine.

 

Yes.
No - I have 1680 x 1050 and it's amazing. You usually put a laptop screen closer to your face (than a desktop) so the resolution isn't much of a problem. When I first got it I thought "wow that font is tiny" but now when I look at my 17" 1280 x 1024 it feels like "grandma mode".
Maybe - will you use the extra cache? Because the extra speed isn't going to do anything.
Maybe - depends on if the sticking out bothers you.

 

The battery wouldn't stick out. A 15.4" notebook is large enough to house an entire 9 cell battery. Mine doesn't stick out of my 6400.

 

I personally would go for the extra $75 for the 7300. 2.0Ghz while it may not be a big jump - it is a good "step" to stay with... I know that doesn't make any sense - but again its up to you.

The 8600GT is a very good card - at least for the desktop version. From what I have seen the 8600 GT (or GTS, i forget which) is very similar in performance with the 7900GTX, which is what I have. So it definitely can meet your needs. The 1680x1050 option i would STRONGLY recommend, above all else though - it is just something you go with and never look back at... especially with all your graphic design work.

one word of advice for the 9 cell - I believe that this 9 cell is like all other dells - it actually sticks out the front by about an inch or two. Most other companies' 9 cell / extended cell batteries stick out the back / raise the back by an inch. Just FYI as it may factor into your case/bag choices as well.

one last thing - upgrade that hard drive. I do not know if Dell uses Hitachi/Seagate for their 160GB 7200 RPM HDD - so I say probably just stick with the regular 80 GB for now, and if you want to upgrade, just go buy it yourself off NewEgg/Frys. Hitachi/Seagate have their new 2nd gen lines out - the Hitachi 7K200 Travelstar and the Seagate Momentus 7200.2... I believe they are still pretty expensive since they were just released recently - but they supposedly have better performance than the 1st gen. I have the 7200.1 Momentus from Seagate in my Lenovo IBM T60... and its pretty good. I personally would like to have tried a 7K100 (I have one in another laptop and its quieter, and runs cooler). There are also many kits out there that will come with software and an enclosure so that you can copy everything over to the new HDD, stick the new HDD in your laptop and put the old HDD in the enclosure and use it as an external HDD!


EDIT: Nevermind about the battery poking out. According to http://www.engadget.com/photos/pics-and-specs-of-dells-new-inspirons-1/ it shows that the batteries have been moved to the back - so they may stick out the BACK or raise the BACK - or they may do the clever thing and just pack it all in so its flush!

 

Thank you for the great suggestions! I will go with the larger screen size for sure. Thanks again, Mark

 

I'm telling you, the battery will not stick out. I have a 9 cell battery in a 15.4" Dell 6400, and it doesn't stick out anywhere, at all. It's flush.

 

It does stick out in the 1520 though.

 

Yeah, it does stick out just a tad. Its not horrible though, so it's still worth getting the 9-cell battery.

 

NOOOOO : ) On your life, never!!! 1280 is a resolution for 13" honestly... 1440 should be the standard res for 15. Go for it. Otherwise you will think you have a laptop for people with poor view (sorry about my english)...

Might be useful to keep your laptop in good shape for the coming years if you plan to keep it. It's not such an expensive upgrade. And it's 4Mo cache instead of 2.

Depends if you plan to use it regularily... If you want to be able to do some intensive tasks during a long period, yes you should. Otherwise it will just make it heavier and more expensive. I have a laptop mainly to be able to move it from my place to my gf's one, so I don't care much about the battery. I just want to be able to move the laptop from one plug to another without any problem, or to work on it during half an hour in case of emergency. So the lighter, the better in my case.