Dell Laptop

[SneakyStuff]

Hello, I am currently in the market for a Inspiron E1505. The price is right, I like how it looks, people gave it fairly decent reviews, and there are a ton of options, but that is where I am a little on the fence. Here's what i'm unsure of at the moment.

Processor: so many are available, I had originally configured it with the core 2 duo T5600, but considered stepping down to the T5500, or perhaps stepping up to the T7200, I guess the only thing stopping me from making a descision is the fact that I didn't find any benchmarks comparing the 5xxx and 7xxx series. And is the ram that Dell currently offers the best matchup?

Screen: Truelife or not, i've read good things and bad things, but I have not heard first hand which looks better, any horror stories? Light leakages?

Hard drive: This is the killer, spend an extra $150 for a 7200rpm 80gb, or go with a 5400 rpm 80gb. I've read that performance increase is not all that great in some cases, but miles ahead in other cases.

I know it's a little long but I appreciate you reading and I am wide open to any ideas, i'll be ordering tommorow so i'll be sure to let you know how it goes!!! Thank you.

 

[Enig101]

What are you going to be using the laptop for?

 

[SneakyStuff]

Originally posted by: Enig101
What are you going to be using the laptop for?

Don't laugh, but i'd like to play the next installment of the total war series (I'm getting the x1400 that much I do know) But other than that, I do schoolwork, watch movies, and other fairly simple things.

 

[Aimster]

get the upgraded screen. people always tell me how nice my screen is.

the only problem I have with dell laptops is that it appears the paint fades after long useage.
Other than that it is excellent (I have a e1705)

I have 7800GS 1GB Ram 1.86Ghz and 60GB 7200rpm

games don't lag at all and I usually run them at 1600x1200.

 

[HomeyFoos]

I would say not to pay Dell for upgrades to the RAM/HD. Get those after-market. They are literally a snap to install. I upgraded my ram to 2gigs of 667 and my HD from a 5400 100gig to a 7200 100gig. That part was kindof expensive but you can find the 80gig 7200RPM SATA drive for about $120ish depending on where you look. Spend the $10 and get the discs from Dell and another $30 and get a 2.5" SATA enclosure. Your re-install should pretty much be a breeze and you wn't have any of the dell bloat-ware unless you opt to put it back on yourself. In addition, you will have this neat little portable usb external hard-drive. Very handy stuff since it's quite small. Anyway, upgrading the ram took the removal of 2 screws. 30 seconds later, I had 2 gigs and both of those screws in the machine. The hard drive removal was almost as easy. It turned out to be 6 screws. 2 that held it to a small 'cage' and four in the bottom of the unit. This replacement took about 3 minutes. Maybe 2. Not long at all. The installation process took a bit because I had to format the drive. So, all in all, the HD upgrade back to a working copy of windows with all desired software took about an hour and a half.

As the previous poster said, my only complaint would be the paint scratching from where I used my mouse on the palm-rest. I put a sticker over it (not my style usually so I am a little miffed). Also, my side USB ports like to turn on and off by themselves. This has drastically reduced since I reinstalled windows. I'm gonna let it go for another week before I call it in as a problem.

I got the better screen and as others have said, people love it. Compliments the moment I pull this out of the bag.

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Rockinacoustic]

I couldn't be happier with my e1505. I'd say upgrade the processor last when it comes to distributing your money. The performance gains between processors isn't worth it over a larger screen or HD in my opinion.

Deff. go for the sxga screen, you won't regret it one bit. And not so much for the screen real estate but just how much more crisp and clear images are on it.

As for the HD and Ram I have to disagree. I'd rather have more GB's storage than speed on my hard drive, the performance gain isn't worth the money. And as for ram you could buy some aftermarket for cheap, but don't get hyped between DDR2-533 and 667 speeds, there is literally no advantage to the faster type, so save some money with whatever you chose, and good luck with your purchase!

 

[RedWolf]

I would think about getting the extended warranty if you plan to have it a while. Dell has good initial build quality but their consumer notebooks are not built to last IMO. I've had problems with both my 700M and 9300 after the initial year warranty. The 700M has had a number of problems. It gets used more than the 9300 and it is carried around all the time. The 9300 has only had a keyboard problem but it is more of a portable desktop than a mobile system (which is why I have the 700).

I totally agree on the HD and ram. Upgrade it yourself. Cheaper and it's easy.

I really like the glossy screens. This is my second 9300 and it doesn't have the glossy coating (nor the 1920x1280 resolution). I miss both the resolution and the coating. Movies look quite a bit better on the glossy screen. There are only two reasons not to get the glossy screen. If you really don't like the resolution due to size and you work outside all the time. The glossy screen is reflective and it bothers some people. Doesn't bother me a bit even in sunlight, though.

 

[SneakyStuff]

I appreciate all the feedback, reconfiguring my e1505 a bit now I'd really like to see some core 2 duo benchmarks though, I'm curious to see the performance gains from a T5600 to a T7200. And although this sounds like a pretty noobish question, other than loading times will the speed of my HD not really affect my gaming?