xps1330 or vostro 1400?

I am almost ready to buy a Dell Vostro 1400 (2.2ghz T-7500) with 2 gig Ram, 160 gig 7200 rpm free fall hard drive, windows xp. I noticed today I can get a 2.2 ghz (t-7500) 3 gig Ram, 250 gig 5400 rpm hard drive (standard screen) for about the same price (from the dell outlet).

My question is ... which is the better system? xps1330 or vostro 1400? I understand one has an additional gig of memory, but I think xp and the faster hard drive in the vostro balance that. They both have the 128 meg video card.

I mostly plan on using this laptop for coding vb.net, sql 2005, reading pdf's, and web surfing. I'm not much of a gamer, so I don't think gaming is an issue.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Depends. XP will probably give a small boost in performance over Vista. The processors are the same, The m1330 has the edge on RAM, while speeds are pretty similar with a 250 5400RPM vs. a 160 7200RPM (I would lean towards the 250GB HD, since it has greater storage). I would go for the m1330, even though it uses Vista (which isn't a problem for a laptop of these specs), also because of the larger HD and for the better looks.

 

There is a risk of screen/HD/cosmetic issues with the M1330, as many of them have had such issues. Other than that, the M1330 is slimmer, weighs less, and has a smaller screen. So how important is size/weight/screen size to you?

 

Personally, I believe that the major selling point of the Vostro 1400 is its low price. Since you've spec'd it out to the point where it costs the same as a refurbished xps 1330, I'd say go for the xps.

They're both essentially the same computer, except one is a little lighter.

 

XPS M1330 is probably the better if you take all the specs and just consider the models themselves.

 

I returned my vostro 1400 and bought a m1330, I like it a lot more.