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    quick questions!

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by freakai, Aug 31, 2008.

  1. freakai

    freakai Notebook Enthusiast

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    hi people! im currently building my flamingo pink studio 15 (my first laptop ever) :) and im hoping it would last for 2-3years. just wanna ask, is it worth getting a T8100 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache) and pay $50 (canadian) from the default T5850 (2.16GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)? and if i get the T8100, should i upgrade the RAM to 4gb? or 3gb would be just fine? im not really into gaming, just Sims and mainly surfing, music, videos and the basic stuff is what the lappy's gonna be doing. oh, and another thing, i dont really need a dedicated graphics card for just the basic stuffs, am i right? im just a little worried that if play some videos, the quality is not as good, as compared to those who have a dedicated graphics card.

    so there, thanks in advance for all the answers!
     
  2. shoelace_510

    shoelace_510 8700M GT inside... ^-^;

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    Well for $50 it is really your call... in the long run that little difference won't be much...

    As for RAM it is really easy to upgrade yourself if you want to, otherwise 3 GB should be plenty to do anything you want... :)

    Lastly, unless you are doing something intensive like high end video games or high end video editing you won't need a dedicated card. :D

    Hope this helps!
     
  3. steb

    steb Notebook Geek

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    for only $50, I would get the T8100.

    As for your RAM, a smart idea would be to get the 1 or 2gb option, and buy your memory upgrade elsewhere... you'll save a lot of money. Dell over-charges for their memory something fierce.. and you could get 800mhz SODIMM's instead of the slower 667mhz that Dell give you.

    at NCIX you can get OCZ 2X2GB DDR2-800 for $62 Canadian.
    http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=25350&vpn=OCZ2M8004GK&manufacture=OCZ Technology

    If you don't play games, then you don't really need the discrete video. the stock X3100 should be fine. It will handle video playback without any problems... even HD video.
     
  4. freakai

    freakai Notebook Enthusiast

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    so you mean, there's not really much difference in terms of speed between those two? sorry if that seems to be a silly question to ask. :D
     
  5. PopTartMonkey

    PopTartMonkey Notebook Consultant

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    WOW. I live in Surrey BC! And I too play the Sims! And It's my 1st lappy too! Are you sure we aren't twins! lol.

    I have asked the same questions and my answers were: The laptop should last for 4-6 years but with some upgrades in the 3rd year or so. I was also told that the only difference between the T5750(i think thats the number. the one that it comes with) and the T8100 is that the T8100 is newer and makes it alittle faster. But I would upgrade the screen. Some people think that the screen that comes with the lappy starts to fade after a year or so. You can see my specs I'm going to get in my sig. I have asked so many questions.lol.

    I hope this helped! :D :D :D
     
  6. freakai

    freakai Notebook Enthusiast

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    oh ok, thanks.
    unfortunately there's no option for me to get a RAM lower than 3gb. and besides i've little to no knowledge with the hardware parts, if ever i get one of those, i'd let someone open up the laptop, fiddle with all those chips etc, and pay them and it would probably cost more. :)
     
  7. freakai

    freakai Notebook Enthusiast

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    we're pretty close to each other! cool! :) yah, i'll probably get the LED screen, *but geez, $150 is $150!*. thnaks anyway! lem'me know if you decided to get your lappy!
     
  8. kfish

    kfish Newbie

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    A Windows Vista 32-bit system will only recognize 3GB of memory, so don't buy 4GB unless you have a 64-bit machine! :)
     
  9. steb

    steb Notebook Geek

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  10. shoelace_510

    shoelace_510 8700M GT inside... ^-^;

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    IMO there won't be a noticeable difference in speed between them, even though one is faster on paper. :S
     
  11. steb

    steb Notebook Geek

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    unless you actually pair it with 800mhz memory. Then there should be a noticeable improvement.
     
  12. shoelace_510

    shoelace_510 8700M GT inside... ^-^;

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    Well actually only Montevina CPUs support 800 Mhz RAM, Santa Rosa doesn't so...
     
  13. freakai

    freakai Notebook Enthusiast

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    is that so? hmm. then i'll probably just stick with the default one then, which is the T5850 and spend the $50 *and add 100 more* for the LED display probably? what do you guys think? i just thought i can upgrade to T8100 for me to get a newer processor than T5850, you know, the newer the better. :)
     
  14. shoelace_510

    shoelace_510 8700M GT inside... ^-^;

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    Yeah I would say that would be a better upgrade. :) The LED display will not only look really nice but save you a little bit of weight in the process too ;).
     
  15. freakai

    freakai Notebook Enthusiast

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    oh i see. i'll definitely get the LED then.

    whew!

    thanks a bunch! you guys have been very helpful! :)
     
  16. shoelace_510

    shoelace_510 8700M GT inside... ^-^;

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    You're welcome! Enjoy your new computer and don't forget about us if you have any other questions! :D