Laptop specs. Good or bad for gaming/college?

Tuxedo Black
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB, 4MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch LCD (1280x800) & 2.0 MP Camera
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
Size: 160GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
High Definition Audio 2.0

dell xps 1530.

Will be used for gaming/college work/entertainment(movies,music)

Thanks guys.
I want this computer to work for DOD:source,TF2, Bioshock,Cod4,Counterstrike and any other new games.

Price $1,737 USD. Good deal or not?

 

Hmm...that will play games very well. It seems a little expensive to me. I am not sure what the current coupon deals are but check out the Dell coupons. Also make your you buy the lowest amount of ram possible from the Dell website. Then just upgrade it yourself by buying some from a website like newegg.com
Tim

 

It's perfect, though I'd prefer a higher resolution!

You'll be able to play modern games at medium-mediumhigh and CC on high!

 

check out the sager 2090 or force 3297 over at xoticpc.. same if not better specs (and better build quality) for $3-400 cheaper. the force 3297 even comes with a three year FREE FULL coverage warranty.. that might come in handy with college use.

 

umm no those laptops look worse and are not of the build quality of an xps. Also, the 2090's graphics card is not gddr3 so it is not as powerful. Also, dell has up to 4 years of warranty which includes accidental coverage so if you throw your laptop at a wall, dell will replace it.

 

Yeah must admit that Sager don't make beautiful notebooks

 

you can get a MUCH better deal if you choose the 3 yera warranty option, since you get like a $700 discount on top of the three year warranty and better standard specs. you might want to check that out.

 

I still think paying $600 extended warranty on a $1200 computer is way too high. If you break it you're happy, but if not, Dell just stole $600 from your pocket.

$1700 is too high for that, you can get a Toshiba X205 with 8700M GT SLI for that price

 

the difference between the GDDR3 and GDDR2 8600m gt is only noticeable in benchmarks.. and it's not a big improvement.

your going to pay 400 more for the xps name and probably that "free" warranty
those specs just don't add up to $1700
*just trying to save you some money for the same performance.

heck, you can get the ifl90 with a t7700 and wxga+ for less than $1700

the compal ifl90 isn't ugly, it's just not flashy.. i don't like flashy anyway.

 

The difference is there on high resolutions such as 1680x1050 but not in 1280x800

 

the difference is noticeable depending on the game... as a general metric its safe to say the 75% increase in memory clock speed provides at least a 20% performance improvement. The performance difference increases in high resolutions or in intensive games (crysis)

 

I have an IFL90, I build it from ZZF, cost around $1300, and that maxed everything out 4GB RAM, 2.4 ghz, very nice hard drive hitachi 100gb 7200rpm, and i really have come to love this thing.
-TNK

 

...yep

dell is just WAY too overrated

 

^ I don't think Dell is overatted, I believe they provide an overall average product at a higher price. What "consumers" that have no understanding of computer jargon and hardware I can see how dell is approachable. On the other hand if you are buying a Dell for High-End performance/capabilities then you will pay a premium price, that IMO, is way overpriced even with the coupons. Dell build quality is above average but I don't believe it is on par with clevo or compal. If you need specific computer needs their are a lot of better options available than Dell.

 

I second the Toshiba sugestion. Way better performer and you could get one for as low as 1300$ , with an 8700GT and HD dvd(?)...

 

you are definitely overpaying...
My m1530 has
2.2ghz Core 2 Duo
3 gig ram
8600m gt
1240(?)x800
160gig 7200 rpm
3 year warranty
1 year lojack

and all it cost me was 1193.60 delivered. I also have 225 dollars worth of GCs.

 

so BLITERDOG, i think what we are saying is.. shop around there are better choices for less money.

 

That will work good for you, but there wasnt really a deal...but yeah, thats the XPS-overpriced