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    What upgrades should I go with on my new laptop

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by cubs23, Jul 16, 2009.

  1. cubs23

    cubs23 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I am going to buy the dell studio 14z but need some advice on the upgrades I should go with. Note: My primary activities will be web browsing, using HDMI port to watch HD videos, downloading large files (sometimes 6 GB :eek: ) and burning DVD-r and DVD dl.

    CPU: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T6600 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache) or for 75 dollars more
    Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3MB cache)

    HDD: Speed: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) with Free Fall Sensor or for the same price
    500GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

    Wireless card Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card or for 25 dollars more
    Dell Wireless 1515 Wireless-N Mini-card

    Thanks any help is greatly appreciated.
     
    cubs23, Jul 16, 2009
    #1
  2. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    T6600, 500GB 5400RPM drive, Dell 1515.
     
    sgogeta4, Jul 17, 2009
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  3. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    P8600 for the CPU.
    Get the 5400rpm drive. I hear the 7200rpm fail a lot more.

    If you use wifi then go with the N, it should give faster speeds and longer distances and it's worth $25 extra.
     
    moral hazard, Jul 17, 2009
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  4. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    I read some members saying that but I am uncertain to the validity of that claim. They might fail more, but not 'a lot more' I would expect.
     
    Phil, Jul 17, 2009
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  5. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    None of his activities really warrants spending an additional $75 for a faster CPU. The speed nor additional battery life won't be noticeable. I also highly doubt the so called higher failure rate of 7200RPM drives, but my choice for 500GB is that he could always use more space since he doesn't need a faster hard drive.
     
    sgogeta4, Jul 17, 2009
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  6. naton

    naton Notebook Virtuoso

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    I won't go for the P8600 as you won't see any improvement over the T6600 since you won't be using heavy duty software.
     
    naton, Jul 17, 2009
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  7. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    the P8600 will run cooler and as mentioned the battery life would improve slightly (unoticibly).
    The better CPU could give the notebook a longer usefull life.
    The higher clock and more cache is nice to have.

    It's not nessasary, it's what I would choose though.
     
    moral hazard, Jul 17, 2009
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  8. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Member 7toby (or something like that) argued that the T series CPU will run just as cool and use the same power as the P series if you use undervolting.

    I am not sure if it's correct though.
     
    Phil, Jul 17, 2009
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  9. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    yes you're right, now I remember:yes:
    I guess I am wrong and the cpu upgrade isn't worth it.
     
    moral hazard, Jul 17, 2009
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  10. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Yes, the idle temperatures aren't very different since their idle voltage/power consumption isn't very different. Only at load will there be a discrepancy.
     
    sgogeta4, Jul 17, 2009
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  11. naton

    naton Notebook Virtuoso

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    again if you undervolt, the difference will vanish.

    Save your money. In a year time when the warrenty has expired, you can always upgrade to a faster CPU (T9*** series), and it will cost you less.
     
    naton, Jul 17, 2009
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  12. mystery905

    mystery905 Notebook Deity

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    If you are burning ISO images to DVD-R etc. then CPU speed isn't important.

    However, if you are converting AVI/DIVx etc. to DVD format then I would recommend the CPU upgrade.
     
    mystery905, Jul 17, 2009
    #12