Question:
before i drop all this cash
before i spend all of my money, i wanted to ask for any last advice. my aim is Dell E1705 which i chose over teh asus s96j because of brand.
Dell
Inspiron E1705 Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2500 (2GHz/667MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
LCD Panel 17 inch Wide Screen XGA+ Display
Memory 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS
Hard Drive 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Combo/DVD+RW Drives 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Sound Options Integrated Audio
total with coupon: 1,273
this is to play wow on and i want it to last for quite a while. what i mean is that i want to dominate on wow for a while with this laptop. will these specs allow me to do that? how does the video card look? if the s96j with pretty much the same specs but the x1600 is better, i'll re-evaluate my decision.
here are the wow specs:
Intel Pentium® IV 1.5 GHz or AMD XP 1500+ MHz
1024 MB RAM
64 MB 3D graphics card with Hardware Transform and Lighting, such as NVIDIA® GeForce™ FX 5700 class card or above
now i am intelligent enough to understand that what i am looking to order is better than that, but is there anything i should upgrade a tad more to ensure the best deal possible?
thanks for your help
Answer:
Re: before i drop all this cash
brand isn't a good reason to choose the dell over the asus. that geforce go 7900 gs is though. either of those laptops will run WoW very well. The Dell's graphics card is more powerful, but it might be past the point where it matters for that game.
only thing i think i'd change is to get a single stick of ram, rather than two. that way you can add another gig later.
Answer:
Re: before i drop all this cash
1) Asus is a highly respected brand. Do NOT choose the Dell simply because Dell has better recognition among the American public.
2) You are trying to compare a 15.4" notebook to a 17" notebook, it's not exactly a fair comparison. However, if 17" is what you want then the Dell e1705 is tough to beat.
3) 7900GS is certainly superior to the X1600, but not for your gaming needs.
The bottom line here is that if you are not comfortable buying an Asus, buy the Dell.
Answer:
Re: before i drop all this cash
get a T2400 and then save the money to get 2 gb of ram from dell or if cheaper ( it usually is but then you will have to buy 2 x 1 GB stick, instead of adding 1 GB through dell ) :)
~Arman
Answer:
Re: before i drop all this cash
what i meant by brand was that i have used dell my entire life and have never really had a problem with it, whereas i personally don't know anyone who has an asus. you'd recommend 1 stick of ram, if it's 533MHz that means it's slower correct? 667MHz stick would operate at a faster speed? isnt that where overclocking comes in?
Answer:
Re: before i drop all this cash
and an extra 120 bucks for 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife sound worth it?
Answer:
Re: before i drop all this cash
for myself, definately. If I had to use WXGA (that is, 1280x800 or 1280x768) in a 17" laptop, I'd shoot myself. WUXGA is a much higher resolution, at 1900x1200 or somesuch. I think it'd be more of a personal preference thing, resolution-wise.
as far as the ram, 667 MHz is faster than the 533 MHz, but wouldn't be something you'd notice actually using it.
edit: whoopsie. looks like that's a WXGA+. what Final Spirit says next post down... but same answer ;)
Answer:
Re: before i drop all this cash
Truelife is up to you. Personally, I found the resolution to make things too small for my poor eyesight to handle, but if you have no problems with it, then go ahead, it'll make your games look crisper. I very much enjoy my WXGA+ resolution at 1440x900. It's perfect for me, but not my friend who loves his WUXGA screen, so to each his own. Best advice is to go to your local electronics store and see it in person.
I too was in the situation of e1705 v. S96J, so I'll tell you what my thoughts were to see if it may help you. For the price, the E1705 is a beast, considering you are getting a gaming powerhouse for under 1500. Because I needed something that could run games like FEAR and Oblivion on high settings (I'm all about the eye candy) I chose the E1705 for its balance of power and price.
If you plan on moving around a lot, the s96j may be a better choice. The build quality is superior to the Inspiron's, and the 15.4" inch form factor combine to make a more mobile laptop. The x1600 is still a ridiculously powerful card, more than enough for WoW which isn't too demanding of a game.
If you go with the dell, I'd go with Media Center Edition, and the lowest ram option possible, just buy your ram aftermarket on newegg.com and save yourself the money.
Answer:
Re: before i drop all this cash
what's the advantage of getting a 2.0 gig processor over 1.83 gig?
Answer:
Re: before i drop all this cash
ok i did it. i pressed the button, with one click my account just lightened considerably. i went with the dell, customized as i originally intended. the deciding factor was that i needed to get gas for my car. thanks for your help everyone.