inspiron or precision

Back in may I bought an outlet core duo e1505 with pretty much all the bells and whistles, its a great machine and it has and still runs great, however I've decided to part with this machine and get something smaller and lighter, alas the m1210 blows my budget to shreds, so I've been looking at the 640m and the m20.

I have found the 640m with a 1.6 core duo, wxga+ screen, 1 gig ram, 120 gig hd, dvd/rw and 9 cell batt for as low as $679

I have also found the precision m20 with a pm 2ghz, wxga+,64 meg fire gl, 1gig ram, 60gig hd,dvd/rw and 9 cell for as low as $719

My mobile computing needs dont require massive amounts of raw power, I'm more than satisfied with the performance of my e1505, I'm looking at the portability, ruggedness, and battery life factors to top my list, the ability to fire up an occasional game would be nice, but not a deal breaker, thoughts and opinions are welcome, thanks

 

Pentium M processors are outdated. Go for the dual core 640m.

 

While pentium M is outdated, Iceman0124 said that he doesn't require massive amounts of power. The PM is still a great processor for 90% of people out there. The precision will be built a lot better than the inspiron. I don't know the difference between battery life, sorry. The fireGL card, while a workstation-class card, should still game better than the 640m which has integrated graphics.

I guess the question comes down to whether or not you feel comfortable paying for yesterday's technology. Maybe you could live with your e1505 for a few more weeks/months and save enough to get what you really want?

I have found that compromises as far as technology is concerned stink.

I had an xps m140 which I traded for an e1505 which I recently traded for a 14.1 inch t60. The t60 was the computer I wanted all along--and I kept settling for what I didn't really want. Each time I lost money. Get what you want!

When you are spending over 600 dollars for a piece of machinery, you should be sure that you will like it. Keep looking for m1210's in the outlet. You should be able to find one for ~1000; that's with the go7400. If you are willing to settle for integrated graphics look for the prices to drop even lower.


I hope this helped somewhat. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

Most people greatly overestimate the amount of processing power they need.

I say go for the Inspiron. It is cheaper and much better value. The only downside to the Inspiron is the integrated GPU, but it shouldn't make a world of difference to occasional, light gaming.

 

i'm pretty sure that all precision notebooks in the outlet come with at least a 3 year warranty factored into the price

the inspirion/xps seem to only come with a 1 year warranty factored into the price

so take note of that


if i were you, i would spend about 1-2 weeks on the outlet looking for the m1210 trying to find the best deal

 

Go for the Precision- just on the specs. No contest.

 

I found a lattitude 12.1 wxga d420, core solo 1300,512 ram, 60 gig hd,cdrw/dvd,gma950,xp pro and a 6cell batt for $749, so far that has been the most appealing machine for the price that I have found

 

If it comes down to gaming, the firegl in the M20 will run circles around both GMA950's combined together from the latitude and the 640m. However if gaming isn't a concern I would suggest going with the latitude. It would be upgradeable to a core duo, or even a core 2 duo (if the bios supports, which it should) and will come with a 3yr NBD onsite warranty.

As for the P-M vs. Core Duo debate, i'll upgrade as soon as Dell (or any other manufacturer at that, hah!) releases a 15.4" machine with atleast a 7900go (Quadro 1500m) series card in it... I mean thats the next step up from my M70's 6800go (Quadro 1400go), right?

 

the cpu and graphics are in the back seat for this purchase, I just want something small and light for basic tasks, office apps, internet, and media playback, the ability to run more intensive apps would be nice, but I have a fairly high end desktop for those chores, a64x2@2600mhz,2gig ram and 2 7900gts in sli. I'm just trying to get the best bang for the buck, my budget is stretched tight at $750, cheaper would be better, I've been out of work for 6 months, and will be for at least another 6 due to a pretty nasty back injury, 2 surgeries so far, and probably another in the near future, so my disposable income is nill. I was very content lugging around the 1505 before I was hurt, now not so much, I'm going to hold out for a 12.1, whats the lowest you guys have seen 12.1's going for on the outlet? cpu and graphics arent a big concern, a modern celery would work for my needs, 512 ram minimum,60 gig hd minimum and cdrw/dvd minimum and a good battery are what I'm looking for, thanks for the replies guys

 

Found some killer m1210 deals this morning around 3am core 2 duo 2ghz 4 mb cache, 2 gig ram and 100 gig 7200rpm hd for $869, it had the gma 950, but I could live with that, otherwise the system is top notch, only problem was I havent sold my 1505 yet, but my hopes are brighter when I do now, as top end 12.1 machines are apparently within my reach. I just hope dell includes the outlet in its windows vista upgrade program. Thanks again