Building new system, would like some opinions please. Thank you.

[MrGump]

Hello,

Thanks for checking out my thread and hopefully letting me know what you think of my system. I here that Dell can give you a nice system for not much money. I have also heard that when dealing with Dell it is wise to purchase a multi year warranty because they melt components to the motherboard? Is this true/bad?. Anyway, I think I have found the best possible system for my $1,500 and I am here to hopefully find out if I am making a good selection. But first let me say....

1.If you are paid or employed by Dell or any of the companies that you are recommending products for, please make this public knowledge on my thread. This will not negatively effect my view of your comments at all. I ask that you do this for the sake of transparency. Thank you for your respect.

2.I am looking for non-newbie posts, so if you really only know a little, please don't clutter up the thread. Thanks.

**************Below I will list my Dell build...

Studio 1537, Intel Core 2 Duo T9400, 2.53GHz, 1066Mhz, 6M L2Cache
4GB, DDR2, 800MHz 2 Dimm ( does it matter that my RAM is 800MHz and not 1066 like my FSB)
Hi Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1920x1200)
256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 (upper middle class card?)
250G 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition, English confused:32bit, I think)
8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy Advanced HD Software Edition
Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11AGNHalf Mini Card
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
Integrated Finger Print Reader
V220 Jet Black Cordless Optical USB Mouse

******Please take the comments below into consideration when posting your thoughts.

1.)I am not a gamer. The only game I would play on this notebook would be Return To Castle Wolfenstein and that game is a decade old, or will be soon.

2.)I plan to watch a lot of online content on this notebook including DVD movies from time to time and I would frequently have many web pages open at the same time.

3.) Do I want to go for the 64bit Vista if I really only plan to keep my notebook with 4Gigs and do the above stuff?

4.) I was told that its nice to have 1066Mhz over 800MHz, something about the "pipes" being twice as large. Is this, coupled with the 2.5Ghz processor, a pretty good bang for the buck?

Thank you for taking the time to read through all the stuff I wrote. To steal a line from my favorite film, The Shawshank Redemption "if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a bit further". I do hope you take the time to tell me what you think of this build for $1,500. Thank you for your time. Thank you.

 

[Magusigne]

Honestly...Most people are going to flame me for this.

Mac book pro ftw

Student discount if you know a student will net you one for ~1700 and they are VERY nice notebooks.

Resale of them is through the roof too.

EDIT: Al-be it that looks pretty good. No use for vista 64 on a desktop personally.
Maybe upgrade the HD a little?

 

[DSF]

It doesn't sound to me like you'll have much use for 4GB of RAM. Get at least 2GB for Vista though. However much you decide to get, DDR2-800 will be fine. DDR2-667 would be just as good if they charge you less for it. RAM speed makes very little difference on Intel systems right now.

 

[sonnygdude]

Like DSF said, the true FSB of that system is 1066/4 or 267MHz, so if you run your RAM at a 1:1 divider all you really need is DDR2-533. If you can save money by cutting your RAM back a little bit that might be a good idea.

Maybe no need for Vista x64, but if you're getting Vista why not get the 64 bit? Do you have any applications/hardware in mind that might have driver support issues?

2GB of RAM might be adequate, but 4GB might make Vista a little more snappy by giving superfetch more resources

Also, if you're not really planning on gaming, is there a cheaper card available that could still give you the video processing performance you'd like and maybe draw less power? I think these might all be options to possibly saving you a little money

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: Powernick50
Honestly...Most people are going to flame me for this.

Mac book pro ftw

Student discount if you know a student will net you one for ~1700 and they are VERY nice notebooks.

Resale of them is through the roof too.

EDIT: Al-be it that looks pretty good. No use for vista 64 on a desktop personally.
Maybe upgrade the HD a little?

This isn't flaming, but you'd consider that recommending an expensive unupgradable laptop with a completely different OS to what the OP is presumably used to, is a good idea? There's nothing I can see in the OP's post that would lead me to think "ah you know he should really buy an apple".

 

[Blazer]

get the added warranty.

1st make sure you get ALL the disk from dell ! ALL Disk

2nd 4gb is a little much for your stated needs, 2gb will be plenty.

3rd dell as well as others will load your new system with a ton of crapware, you should clean it up as soon as you get it [ esp the mulitiple virus software ] and load a free virus program.

4th the Glossy screen can be highly reflective in well lit areas, imo the Matte screen is more user friendly and easy on the eyes.

other than that the system specs look good, you may find some online coupons that may knock down the price somewhat.

 

[Roguestar]

FYI in most cases in the laptop configuration, the "anti-glare" shiny coating on the screens comes preapplied if you pick a higher resolution screen for your laptop. In my case, 1440*900 was unavailable without the special coating.

 

[jae]

if thats the only games youll be playing, and ull be doing is watchin dvds and surfing, you can tone down the video card. do they happen to have a 3GB option for ram?