i9300 question

I've been loitering this forum for a while now and since Dell is offering coupons yet again, I've decided i want to buy a i9300 but I have a few questions about laptops in general first.

1. How hard is it to replace the RAM? Dell overprices in this area, and I plan on ordering 2x 512 sticks from newegg. I just want to know if its easy cause I am pretty bad with computer hardware.

2. Is it alright to leave a laptop on overnight or for a long period of time? Reason I'm asking is because i want a desktop replacement for college and I want to use a TV tuner to record late night shows.

3.
Pentium M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display
256MB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 1 Dimm - upgrade later
256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800
80GB Hard Drive - I think its only 5400 rpm, does it really make a noticable difference compared to 7200 rpm?
6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr Technical Support

total would be $1,270 with coupon, would this be a good deal?

 

Welcome...

1.) yes it is very easy. Dell has instructions on their sites, and all you have to do is remove 2 screws, and you'll have access to the memory sticks.

2.) you can leave your laptop on to tape your shows, but its not meant to be left on 24/7. Its a good idea to have it turn off after so many hours. I use mine about 10+ hours everyday, and I never have any problems. When I'm not using, I have it set to hibernate. It does get a little hot every now and then.

3.) yes very good deal.

 

2. I leave my laptop 24/3-4 at a time, no biggy, replaced HD after 3 years, but that's because needed more space and speed, the old one still on the shelf. As long as it has sufficient air flow, it care less how long it is on. Get and use CPUIdle proggy to have CPU not working harder than it should.

3. Spend a hundred bux more and get 2 years in home warranty just to keep you mind calm about 24/7/365, hehe.

Speed wise 5400 from 4200 notisable (about 30%), 7200 from 5400 not really (about 10%).

 

ok, i'll up the warranty to 2 years.

new question now, is 1.6 ghz and 1.73 ghz noticable?

 

1) It's really easy.

2) I've been leaving my Dell i8100 on 24/7 for 4 years now and it seems fine. I have it set to go to powersave mode where screen is off(is this hibernate or different?) after 5 minutes of non-use. Someone once told me turning a comp on and off is bad but someone more knowledgeable can confirm/refute this. I leave it on just b/c I hate waiting for startup times and I leave aim running so ppl can leave me messages.

 

Nope. 1.6 and 2 a little.

 

If the screen just turns off and the rest of the system is still on, this is probably standby. Hibernation I believe is where what you had open is stored on the HDD so when you turn your pc back on, all the stuff you had open will show up. Hibernation would then save more power than standby, but you wouldn't be able to receive aim messages because the laptop is off.

Actually I just went into my power saving options on this pc and that is exactly what it does. I just wasn't quite sure.

 

Grr... slick Dell hid their info on their harddrives, apprently the ones that don't say 7200 rpm is only 4200 rpm

 

No, to my knowledge they are 5400RPM. Mine is (the 100GB model).

 

the hdd should be 5400, unless they changed back for some odd reason. Dell upgrade all the hdd in the inspiron systems a month or so ago, but they haven't updated their website to reflect the changes. They were selling the 7200rpm 60gb & 80gb, but since they have change their website to preconfigured systems, it hasn't been on there. Some users have called and requested the 7200.

 

I would strongly suggest to get 1gb of RAM right now, and 7200rpm hard drive, since you gonna capture video and move files around - any increase of HD speed is going to be noticeable.

 

Most of HDz that Dell is putting in right now are WD's Scorpio 5400 RPM, they have a little wistling sound, to hear it you have to put yer ear on the top of the bezel and close yer eyes with yer right foot without taking it off the ground, only then it might be oudiable.

 

Yeah, and don't bother getting 1 gig of RAM from Dell, (well unless you wish them to prosper as I do) but give your money to NewEgg or somethnig like that. We need competition.

 

What kind of lateshows? lol...

 

pron... i mean conan o'brien and maybe Leno if I don't stay up that late

I think I'll buy a gig of ram from newegg, Dell prospered enough from my last dimension desktop purchase..hehe

I think I'll stick with the 80gb 5400 rpm one :budget: :budget: Dell charges an extra $300 for 7200 rpm

I might have to wait for the next batch of dell coupons, this one is ending real soon and I don't have money in my bank account atm

 

Well at least you won't have to wait very long. They've been issuing 750 coupon for the past few months now. Once these expired, we will get a new batch for the following week.

 

I have left mine on in it's case a few times so it ran until the battery died and it didn't hurt it. so i don't think overheating is a reason not to leave it on.

 

One thing I noticed with mine is that the dust and stuff gets stuck in there quickly. I blew mine out after about 3 months and a significant amount of dust came out. It costs almost nothing to do that periodically so I will probably do it every couple of months. I have left mine on for 24 hours with no ill effect but the insides are clean.