no T5500 in e1705?!?

Does anybody know why there is no t5500 core 2 duo processor in the e1705? To upgrade to core 2 duo you have to pay $250! This processor is offered in the e1505 and is only a $100 upgrade. This may be the only reason that's keeping me from getting an e1705 right now.

Also, I don't know why you have to pay $150 just for a glossy finish. I wish you could get glossy without getting such a huge resolution. Must be one of dell's clever marketing techniques. So does anyone know how the matte XGA+ screen looks? Pix would be much appreciated! thx

 

Personally if I where in your shoes id get the e1505, price is much better and less for the upgrade ya want. But unless you care about a video card id get the e1405 http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=E1405S1&s=dhs
its cheaper and same proce for the upgrade options. I live in canada and ordered the 640m. More than enough for most needs.

 

I am considering the e1505, much cheaper for core 2 duo and glossy screen. I do like the 7900 gs in the e1705, I don't know how the x1400 compares to it.

 

actually the e1405 costs the same to upgrade the cpu and actually the upgrade on display of the e1505 is 100 bucks and the e1405 display upgrade is only 20 bucks. But like I say, if you liek the e1505 more id go with that one.

 

I think because they have a T2400 and a T2250, Dell may feel thats theres plenty of lower ost options for a consumer to consider. Also, its worth noting that putting these processors into there notebooks, will cost them a more.

Also, it maybe that Dell think that a lower clocked processor won't be good enough in a notebook with so much power like the E1705. Although, really its more than enough. Hope this helps.

 

yea, well I think 14" is too small, i think a 15.4" can be big enough but i'm not sure how it will perform in games

 

The x1400 is a joke compared to the 7900 GS. They're very different in performance. x1400 = 1800 3dmark05, 7900 GS = 6000 3dmark05 .. more than 3x's the performance.

That being said I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY (did I mention REALLY) wish the same about the T5500. I'd order this -SECOND- if it was an option. Instead I am going to wait until the coupons switch over on Wed. to see if I can squeeze a bit better deal out of the crappy 1.73ghz 533mhz

I feel the same way about TrueLife not being offered on the WXGA+ as well, WUXGA+ is way too high res for me, and WXGA+ is a pushing the lower limits of tolerance and doesn't have TrueLife. Funny that both you and I are wanting the same configuration options and they just aren't there. I guess thats where they are trying to upsell.

 

glad there's somebody that feels the same way, I guess my only option is to wait for a coupon a little bigger than 20% so I can get those upgrades without going over budget.

 

Haha, I am in the same boat buddy! $225 puts me over budget ... I am considering just getting the 1.86ghz C1D and being done with it. Hopefully I can outlast the need for 64bit? Dell if you are listening lemme buy the T5500!

 

haha right on! I am considering just splurging for the 1.73 c1d and the matte screen since glossy screens are a tad bit over-rated but I shouldn't be too jumpy as I know the deals are really crappy right now.
ooooo I want an e1705 now and it hurts...

 

Well you could always, buy a c1d today and then in a year when the price of c2d has come down upgrade then.

Just a thought.

 

Hehe, maybe I'll just get the 1.73ghz and do the upgrade later .. that is not a bad idea. The price can only go down .. maybe grab a 2.33ghz when they drop in price a good ammount. That or I could get the 1.83ghz and get the 667mhz frontside bus speed improvement right off the bat, and be good to go until next laptop purchase. DECISIONS DECISIONS!

I am almost certainly going to go for the matte screen. The more I thought about it .. and the more I type on this Gateway with a glossy screen, the more it's ticking me off. Right now I am getting a bad reflection from the celling fan light.

Believe me I have had some good discussion on the merits of 64bit cpu's right now and their ability to stay future proof but for me personally, there's not much in my future of using this thing that would command 64bit.

By the way "a", if you are going to be buying the E1705, the Inspiron 9400 from small business (exact same model as the E1705, just sold via the small business section) is a better deal this week. The price is the same, and configuration options are the same, however the Inspiron 9400 includes the Draft N wireless network adapter for free, and the hard drive is upgraded to 120gb for free. The only difference is XP Home comes with this standard, and the E1705 comes with Media Center standard.

ARGH .. I know what you mean about the pain haha .. I've been looking at notebooks for a little over 2 months now and still haven't decided what in the world to get. It's time to just pull the trigger on something. It's too bad Dell doesn't have any 750$ off 2000$ ... that would be so unbelieveably perfect right now.

 

here is some nice info on that 64 bit processor thanks to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit
and what intel says about it
http://www.intel.com/business/technologies/64-bit.htm?ppc_cid=ggl|64bit_ia_solutions|k16FA|s

 

hey digitaltrav, if you didn't pull the trigger yet they cut all their upgrades for the e1705 by around 15% or so, and the base price is -$20 so its a good deal cheaper now. If you did pull the trigger, when you get the laptop please tell me your opinions for the matte screen!!!!

dang it feels like ive been waiting forever since '05 to get my "perfect" laptop. I'm almost there though

 

I actually pulled the trigger when the coupons switched over this morning and saw the prices changed a bit on the upgrades. I will deffinatly let you know what I think of it when it arrives. I ordered with 1.73ghz C1D, and the matte screen. It came out to an awesome price reguardless of the 20% off coupon kind of sucking.

 

The T5500 really isn't worth upgrading to IMO. The ONLY benefit is 64 bit. The thing about the higher T7x00 series is that they have 4MB cache... twice as much as the Core Duo. But the T5500 only has 2MB cache... the same as the Core Duo. Therefore, technically speaking, it would be better to spend the money on say a T2400 than upgrade to the Core 2 Duo. It will actually give you better performance due to its higher clock speeds. Unless you REALLY need 64 bit (only if you plan on this still being your main computer two years form now), I would stick with a little bit faster Core Duo. Just my 2cents.

 

Yea, I would have been happy if the 1.66ghz C1D was an option too .. I was stuck between 1.73ghz 533mhz and 1.83ghz 667mhz ...... $150 seemed like a bit much to upgrade to a cpu that was already "outdated" basically .. and the $225 seemed a bit much in general vs. what you gain over the base 1.73ghz. We shall see if I regret going with this cpu when I actually recieve my laptop, but unless my gaming performance lags and stutters because of the cpu (which I doubt it will) then I will be happy with the purchase.