Help me chose a laptop

[Artek]

Hey guys, i just joined and hope to stick around
Okay, I will be buying a laptop in about 2 months and I am really having trouble choosing the one for me. Now, there is one problem, i'm on a short budget. I have about $1200 to spend and I will be gaming quite a bit with it. Games such as Doom 3 and Unreal Tournament. Here are some laptops that are currently my favorite:

Sager's NP4381
15" SXGA+ Active Matrix LCD Display
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 3.0GHz (800MHz FSB) supporting Hyper-Threading Technology
512 MB PC3200 DDR400 memory
40.0 GB (5400rpm) Ultra DMA Hard Drive
8X DVD / 24X10X24 CD-RW Combo Drive & Softwares , upgradable to 8X DVD ± R/RW/+DL Combo Drive with LightScribe Technology & Softwares
Smart Li-ION Battery
Integrated CMOS Video Camera and Built-in 7-in-1 Card Reader
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9700 128MB DDR

OR

Dell Inspiron 9300
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 (1.86 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) Maybe 2ghz
17 inch UltraSharp? Wide Screen XGA+ Display
512MB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm
60GB Hard Drive
256MB NVIDA® GeForce? Go 6800 Incredible Graphics
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive or 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability

Both come up to the same price because of the Dell coupons B=0 What I like about the Sager is the Processor. But then the Dell has a great video card for gaming. If you have any different laptops you would like to suggest, that would be awsome

Thanks,

Artek

 

[Artek]

Any help?

Also, would the 1.86 Ghz be much worse than the 2Ghz?? for the Dell that is

 

[simms]

I'd go with the 9300.

 

[Artek]

I think i have decided to go with the dell 9300. But would the 2Ghz be needed for good gaming with the 256MB NVIDA® GeForce? Go 6800?

 

[Artek]

You think the 17 inch UltraSharp? Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife is worth it?

 

[Artek]

bump

 

[Artek]

This is what I will be getting

Dell Inspiron 9300
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 (1.86GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
TV Tuner w/ Remote Control
17 inch UltraSharp? Wide Screen XGA+ Display
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm
60GB Hard Drive
256MB NVIDA® GeForce? Go 6800 Incredible Graphics
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive

The reason im only getting a 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive, is that I have a Desktop to do the DVD burning.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Suggestions:
(1) Drop down the memory. Depending on price, either get 1x512 or 1x256. You can buy 512MB DDR2 533 sticks for ~$100 online now, MUCH better than Dell's pricing.
(2) Is that the 7200RPM hard drive? Keep in mind both Hitachi & Seagate will be coming out with their 100GB 7200RPM drives soon if you want more storage AND speed.
(3) Depending on the cost of the DVDRW, it might be worth the money. It would at least be useful to burn a single recovery DVD rather than a set of CD's.
(4) If you have any room left over in your budget, go for the faster CPU 1.86GHz is plenty but the rule of thumb is buy as much speed as you can afford.

 

[Artek]

Thanks for those suggestions

Can you help me find some ram for it on like newegg because i have no clue who makes good ones. I will be buying it Jully so maybe the new HDs will be out by then and as for the DVDRW, i have one on my desktop so no need on here.

 

[Artek]

The only dumb thing is, that i cant get the microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 with only 256mb ram and if i dont get that, i cant have the TV tuner. I guess i will get the 512mb for $50 and add another 1gb from newegg and have 1512mb

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

actually 1 gig + 512 mb = 1024+512=1536mb
also, make sure you use a coupon that they now release like every 3 days
You can cut off a good couple hundred off your price.
I'd suggest going with the 1.86 over the 2.0 if money is any issue. if you're just rich and want the best system, go with the 2.0, but otherwise, the 1.86 is plenty of speed and will be a much better value, IMHO

 

[Artek]

I looked at the coupons and the computer would be like $1300...LOL and no, im not rich

 

[gtsimmo]

just a FYI, the memory dell ships with their 533 mhz fsb system are 400 mhz. Yeah it sounds stupid but it runs just fine (not that i agree with it). I bought a inspiron 6000 1.6 ghz 533 mhz last week and it shipped with 400 mhz ram. I found similar complaints all throughout other forums. However, it is some relief to know that the 400 mhz and 533 mhz perform the same due to timing (400 mhz run at 3-3-3-8 and 533 4-4-4-11) and since you can not change the timing in bios you cant tweak it yourself.

Also since the mobo on the 9300 will take advantage of dual channel i dont think it would be such a great idea to mix 2 different size/speed memory. I would wait until your laptop arrives and find out what speed the memory actually is (400 or 533) and either order a matching pair from newegg or order a 1 gb module and just use that alone.

Oh one more suggestion, find a way to get the WUXGA+ screen for $125 more. Cut cost elsewhere if you have to or wait for a good coupon. Save up more money for a week longer if you have to. The difference between the low res WXGA and the WUXGA+ is huge. You can easily upgrade the other components later on but the screen if something you will pretty much be stuck with or will cost tons to upgrade later on. If you like to run games at high res, need lots of desktop space for spreadsheets, picture editing, etc the WUXGA is essential.

 

[Artek]

Okay, the only problem the ram is giving me is...I would just buy 256mb then take that out and put in some ram from newegg, but they wont sell me the TV tuner with 256mb, they want me to get 512mb with the tuner. But 512mb akes 2 slots so after replacing them with newegg ram i would be stuck with 2x256mb to sell or whatever.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Here is what I would do regarding the RAM: go ahead and equip it with 2x256MB. Yeah, it sucks, but that's Dell j/k
Personally I would sell BOTH of the sticks and buy at least 1x512MB. It doesn't really matter if you go with 533MHz DDR2 or 400MHz. 400MHz has lower latencies which help performance, and 533 has higher latencies which hurt performance; they're pretty similar in performance. I would buy whichever is the better deal.
Depending on whether you want the hassle and on how much Dell is charging, you could always just bite the bullet and get 1x512. But that all depends on what Dell is charging for it

 

[Artek]

Okay, here is what I will do. The TV Tuner Dell is trying to sell is a external one and they make you buy the Media center with it. SO basically the TV tuner comes up to $300. So I will buy a TV tuner on newegg. SOOOO if i dont get the TV tuner with dell i have no obligation to get 512mb of ram. I will take the minimum 256mb, then when i receive it, i will take it out and put in 2x1gb and sell the 256mb. SOund good?

 

[RamIt]

Originally posted by: gtsimmo
just a FYI, the memory dell ships with their 533 mhz fsb system are 400 mhz. Yeah it sounds stupid but it runs just fine (not that i agree with it). I bought a inspiron 6000 1.6 ghz 533 mhz last week and it shipped with 400 mhz ram. I found similar complaints all throughout other forums. However, it is some relief to know that the 400 mhz and 533 mhz perform the same due to timing (400 mhz run at 3-3-3-8 and 533 4-4-4-11) and since you can not change the timing in bios you cant tweak it yourself.

Also since the mobo on the 9300 will take advantage of dual channel i dont think it would be such a great idea to mix 2 different size/speed memory. I would wait until your laptop arrives and find out what speed the memory actually is (400 or 533) and either order a matching pair from newegg or order a 1 gb module and just use that alone.

Oh one more suggestion, find a way to get the WUXGA+ screen for $125 more. Cut cost elsewhere if you have to or wait for a good coupon. Save up more money for a week longer if you have to. The difference between the low res WXGA and the WUXGA+ is huge. You can easily upgrade the other components later on but the screen if something you will pretty much be stuck with or will cost tons to upgrade later on. If you like to run games at high res, need lots of desktop space for spreadsheets, picture editing, etc the WUXGA is essential.

The 9300 comes with 533 memory.

Mixing and matching works well in these notebooks. I am running a samgsung 256 stick with a kingston 1 gig stick. No performance penalty for not running dual channel.

1 gig sticks go for $109 at newegg for the transcend ddr2 533 200 pin sodimm.

 

[Artek]

Great. This is the TV tuner i will get with it oo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122213

 

[fbrdphreak]

Great plan Artek. 2x1GB sounds a little excessive though honestly. Unless you're doing serious photoshopping, you have no use for 2GB
I would just get 1x1GB for now, make sure you get a 7200RPM drive, and the TV tuner
The hard drive will speed up the system more than 2GB vs 1GB will
let us know how it turns out for you!

 

[Tostada]

The Dell is definitely a good choice. Most cheap gaming laptops have pretty bad battery life because they don't give you a Pentium M.

I like Dell just because they're cheap and they have decent service options on laptops. It's certainly not worth it to get accessories (like the tuner & RAM) from them, though.

 

[BillyBobJoel71]

the dell 6800 256mb will destroy a 9700 pro, but the battery life will be alot lower for games.

 

[AmigaMan]

Just to throw my 2 cents in, I have the 9200 with the plain old WXGA (1440x900) and it's fine for me. I'm a software developer too, and while I would rather have the WUXGA, I get by just fine. But I also have a 21" LCD connected to my DVI port so my screen real-estate is pretty good regardless.

 

[lisasilver10s]

Just from my point of view, I hate dell. I constantly have to send it in even though they have good service I get tired of sending it in all the time. Why can't they just make a computer that doesn't break every other month?

 

[NightOtter]

Originally posted by: lisasilver10s
Just from my point of view, I hate dell. I constantly have to send it in even though they have good service I get tired of sending it in all the time. Why can't they just make a computer that doesn't break every other month?

Watch out for the stray piano falling from high places Lisa...sounds like a lot of bad luck has come your way. I have had nothing but good experiences with Dell. I stopped buying desktops 10 years ago (when I learned to build them), but thier laptops are wonderful.

I am trying to decide between the 600m and 6000D. I have posted a thread on this topic,

HERE

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: lisasilver10s
Just from my point of view, I hate dell. I constantly have to send it in even though they have good service I get tired of sending it in all the time. Why can't they just make a computer that doesn't break every other month?

I agree Dell doesn't have the quality control that other companies do. I work in the IT dept at my college and they use exclusively Dell's. The laptops do okay, but have more problems than they should. The new desktops they are ordering are finicky as hell. I wouldn't buy Dell w/out a super coupon and their best warranty