which is better? 9300 or XPS Gen 1?

i have a little dilemma. I've ordered an i9300 with the 256mb geforce go card, 1.86 processor, but i've been offered at a great price an inspiron xps system w/ 2gigs ram, and a 256mb 9800 card. my question is, which system would be better for gaming? is the 9800 card weak compared to the 6800? thanks!

 

anyone?

 

http://www20.tomshardware.com/mobile/20050224/dell_xps-05.html#direct_x9_halo

 

Plus, i don't think the original XPS has a sonoma pentium cpu... but the 9300 does.

 

original XPS runs on a full blown P4 and the 9300 comes with a P-M processor with Sonoma technology. Battery life for the XPS is abysmal if you are trying to run games on battery life. Also its heavy, i belive its close, if not, 10lbs+. The 9300 clocks in at around 8 pounds. The 9300 is a good all around machine, with good/descent battery life and can still play the latest games. Go with the XPS 2 if you want to play games at the best possible settings.

Also on the ati 9800 vs nvidia 6800 tests, the base nvidia 6800 256mb ram (not the ultra) scores about twice as high on framerates than the ati 9800. Mind the 9800 was an awesome graphics card, its one generation back than the current crop of cards, compared to the 6800.

Anyone notice that the new crop of nvidia Go cards are showing up the Ati cards!

*Dell Inspiron 9300, P-M 1.86ghz 533mhz FSB, 1GB DDR2 533mhz ram, 17inch UXGA+ screen with TrueLife, 256mb Nvidia GeForce 6800, 60gb 7200rpm drive, XP Pro SP2, WiFi*

*Sony MDR-G74SL Headphones for music and gaming, best 40 dollar pair i have ever bought!*

 

The 9300 is a far better system without doubt. Better performing graphics card, shader model 3.0 support, HDR support, 17" WUXGA scren with a glossy finish, less power consumption, less heat output, brand new chipset and its lighter.

 

I have the XPS with 3.4 gHz, 1 gig RAM, and Radeon 9700. I would say that I have had no problems running any game out there at max settings. I would have prefered the nVidia card (if it had been available) as every desktop I've owned had one.

I'm a little out of the loop so haven't had a chance to "test drive" the 9300 or even look at specs on it. I just recently got internet connectivity here in Baghdad, so am trying to catch up...



CathDAT
Grumpily gaming online since 1990.

"Hey you kids, get off my lawn!"

 

9300 is deff the better system. Its got more under the hood, and weighs less with better battery life. Not to mention it doesnt look like it belongs in a circus...

Id personally get the screen without the glossy finish. Its lower res which will be easier on your graphics card and doesnt reflect everything in sight. Others love it though, so meh. Just voiceing my opinion on it.

 

Look around on the web for 3dmark 2005 stats on the I9300, most right out of the box are scoring in the 3000's. Overclocked has been as high as 4000's. I returned my I9200 for a I9300, but out of the box with a P-M 2.1ghz 400mhz FSB, 1GB 400mhz ram, 60gb 7200 rpm hardrive, 128mb ATI 9700 mobility overclocked to 500 core and 280 ram, it scored only a 1268 on 3dmark 2005. A HUGE performance diference. My I9200 would compare too CathDAT's XPS gen 1, they would probably score about the same. The I9300 is a better choice for performance, looks, weight! I think the XPS gen 1 weighs about 10-11lbs and the I9300 clocks in at 8lbs, a big difference when held in one hand it giving it descent portability. The new UXGA+ with true life screen on the I9300 is supposed to be very nice( i have not seen it, just going off what people say) The I9300 also is supposed to have around 3 hours of battery life just doing minimal tasks. The original XPS is about 1-1.5 hours of battery life, that full blown P4 sucks the crap out of the battery. Having a P-M, better battery life, runs a lot cooler so less heat problems. The 9800 is a good card, but is one generation back on technology, the 6800, according to the tests by Tom's hardware, has about a 50% increase in performance over the 9800. I would recommend the 9300 completely over the XPS gen 1, now the New XPS... thats another story, except for the XPS 2 looks, i LOVE the performance of that system.

*Dell Inspiron 9300, P-M 1.86ghz 533mhz FSB, 1GB DDR2 533mhz ram, 17inch UXGA+ screen with TrueLife, 256mb Nvidia GeForce 6800, 60gb 7200rpm drive, XP Pro SP2, WiFi*

*Sony MDR-G74SL Headphones for music and gaming, best 40 dollar pair i have ever bought!*