e1705 question

After finally reading reviews, forum posts, benchmarks and shopping I decided to jump on a deal for the e1705. My mom was ordering the laptop over the phone when she mentioned if I wanted the xps m1710. I said that's fine but then I said I should get the 512 mb dedicated 7900GTX if I'm going to get the xps since the 7900gs is already offered in the e1705. So then the sales rep said it would add nearly $1000 to the price just to get the xps with the 7900GTX. But he said that the e1705 i ordered should run every game I want at maximum settings with 4XAA and over 60 fps. If not, he will come to my house and replace my computer with the xps with 7900gtx. He said I should not notice a difference between these two cards. I'm just wondering if I can run call of duty2 and f.e.a.r. at these settings and not notice a difference between the two cards...


here are the specs
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T7200 (4MB Cache/2.00GHz/667MHz FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 edit
UPGRADE TO WINDOWS VISTA Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium from XP Media Center Edition edit
LCD PANEL 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™ edit
MEMORY 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz edit
HARD DRIVE 120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability edit
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS edit
SOUND OPTIONS Integrated Audio edit
thanx for your help

 

You should list your price, so we can see if you are truely getting a deal. There are 30% coupons out and a 12% coupon for dells EPP thingy. So you can save quite a bit.

Here is an article comparing both cards with the same system specs
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=293&type=expert&pid=1

Pretty much it shows that the GS can play at 30+ fps up to 1440x900, while it has trouble playing at the max 1920x1200 resolution.

I think even the gtx has a hard time reaching 60 fps on max settings, so the line that guy gave you was a lie.

Is a 40% price increase worth a 20% gaming increase and LEDs? Probably not.

 

Right, even the Go7900GTX will have trouble at 1920x1200 in F.E.A.R. and Call of Duty 2. At 1440x900, every game will be playable at maximum settings on the Go7900GS. In many games you should be able to bump the resolution up to 1680x1050 without a problem.
The difference between the Go7900GS and Go7900GTX will be noticeable in the latest games once higher resolutions are applied.

 

Unless you are a hardcore gamer and want the absolute best, you should be fine with GS. There is difference between GS and GTX with the newest games will definitely be noticable, but GS should perform pretty well and IMHO GTX is not worth the price...

 

Well the price was just over $2000, I know thats a bit much for an e1705 but that's including 4 year warranty + accidental damage proctection + lojack for laptops 3 years just in case some punk decides to run off with my laptop.
I'm not a hardcore gamer, in fact, I've just recently started getting into some games I've played at friends' houses. But I when I play I want to play new-ish games at high settings and at 60+ fps. And it wouldn't hurt just to have some extra power under the hood with the 7900 gtx...

 

Oh, and thanks rickster, that article answered my question
EDIT: geez, if the 7900 GTX can't get 60+ fps in call of duty 2, what can?

 

well you can always upgrade to the 7900GTX later, thats what turned me on to the e1705 mines coming with a 7800Go and its nice to know that I can put a GTX in it if I want to. It sounds like you made a good purchase and you should be happy with the dell!

 

But he said that the e1705 i ordered should run every game I want at maximum settings with 4XAA and over 60 fps. If not, he will come to my house and replace my computer with the xps with 7900gtx.

I wish my Rep told ME that! But then, if I have to pay the difference, then I'm more than happy with my $1,360-1705. 1 year in house only.

 

This was a cool rep, his name was Jeremy Shreve I think, and he specifically promised that I should run FEAR and Cod2 and 60 fps and 4xAA or I'll switch your machine. After looking at thole benchmarks for cod2 and fear, I'll be calling him asking for my xps . And I guess he said that because I was pissed off that it costs so much to upgrade to the 7900gtx. You can pretty much persuade them to jump off a cliff if you just threaten them to not give them your business. Now that's what I call customer service!

 

Don't forget to hug that cool Mom! Enjoy that XPS!

 

Devon, am I understanding you correctly that the graphics card in the e1705 is upgradable?!?!? If this is the case, how did you find out? I have been considering the e1705, among others, and this is a very significant bit of info!

Thanks!

Oh, and one other thing -- any idea how much such an upgrade would cost?

 

Okay, I've checked out the e1705's manual and seen where it describes removing the video assembly. That's cool.

But what kind of options are there for upgrade, how much are they, and where could I find such information.

Thanks in advance!

 

It is upragable as long as you don't have a GMA 950 graphics in the card, The cost varies depending on where you get it from. for instance the 7800 overheated so bad that some people argued with dell and got the 7900GS for free! I have seen some regular 7800s for sale around the $200 dollar range. in fact I even saw a 9300 on ebay with a XPS bios that let him run a 7800GTX and the whole computer was only went for about a grand. Iam told also you can find cards in the dell websites spare parts bin but they are overpriced. if you can afford the money right now, then going with a 7900gs makes sense but if you buy the x1400 and enjoy it for awhile iam sure in like 6 months the Dx10 cards will be out thus our older DX9 cards will be much cheaper and upgrading the inspiron won't be so much money

 

Thanks so much for the speedy reply, Devon. And I think you just helped me make up my mind about which system to get.

 

Yeah let us know what system you buy. mine should be here anyday now so I look forward to using it, just hope the 7800 is the rev02 and doesn't overheat hope you enjoy yours

 

You can get the 7900gs and mod it so it performs like the 7900gtx

seen here:
http://www.notebookforums.com/thread180011.html

 

I don't know why, but I find that... disturbing.

I shall have to try it!