Which Laptop?

[flashoverdesign]

ok, about to buy a new laptop. Heres my two choices:

Dell 17" e1705 Intel® Core™ Solo Processor T1300 (1.66GHz/667MHz FSB
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
60GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 7800
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD Audio $1127.50

OR

Dell 15" e1505 Intel® Core™ Solo Processor T1300 (1.66GHz/667MHz FSB
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
80GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD Audio $980.85


Considering the obvious 17" vs 15", which one should I shell out the $ for? Thanks

[Genesis F5]

I don't know about Dell... If I were you, I'd get something like a Compaq with an AMD 64 processor, at least an 80 gig HD, 1 gig of ram, ATI graphics.

Screen-size depends on what you want to use it for. Bigger is usually better, but not necessarily with laptops. There's the added power consumption and weight / shape gain. I have a Compaq R4010 with a 15.4'' widescreen that suits me nicely. Unless you're going to be using this as a primary machine, then I'd say save the extra money and get a 15''.

[flashoverdesign]

what about the diff between the NVIDIA and ATI graphics cards...Im not too educated about what the diff might be

[gerbick]

I say go with the 17" Dell.

[asheep_uk]

what about the diff between the NVIDIA and ATI graphics cards...Im not too educated about what the diff might be

Depends who you ask and what the specific cards are. It's like AMD and Intel.

[Genesis F5]

I'm personally a big fan of Diamond. I had a Viper V770 that performed on par with an Nvidia Geforce MX200. That card's been a personal favorite for quite some time. It's never given me any problems whatsoever.

Recently I got a laptop with the ATI 200M series and it's an incredible GPU. Plenty of horsepower for what I use it for.

[zakp0]

I just purchased the Dell E1705 about 3 weeks ago. And then right after I bought my fiance a Dell E1505. So I know about both really The E1705's a powerhouse, there aint a single game that I've thrown at it that it wont play at the highest settings. While the E1505 can be really portable (get the 9 cell battery) and it'll last upto 4-5 hours.

So I'll answer your question with a question - portability or power?

There's a general rule about buying laptops. Fast, cheap, portable. Pick two.

[Genesis F5]

Someone really needs to create an RPG-esq laptop creation program where if you give it more power, it's size increases (or go smaller, but it loses peripherals like CD-ROM, expansion bays, or something...).

[koolbabs2000]

I have some questions -
1. How much do these cost ?
2. Whether to go for Dell or IBM or Toshiba or which brand?
3. How much warranty do they offer?

[hanratty21]

I have some questions -
1. How much do these cost ?
2. Whether to go for Dell or IBM or Toshiba or which brand?
3. How much warranty do they offer?

There's no stupid answers - just stupid questions.

Koolbabs - re-read this persons post. Your answers are in there.
1 - cost is listed - DOH!
2 - Dell...and Dell. Period. No mention of Apple, Toshiba, Mac, Commodore, Nintendo, et al.
3 - Standard Dell (see previous bullet point) warranty of 1 year. More years can be tacked on for a fee.

@flashoverdesign. Zak hit the nail on the head. These are both next-gen laptops from Dell using the new chips. Processor-wise, both will be fairly high-performing, though you SHOULD go for the Core Duo, instead of the Core Solo. One is portable and lighter - one is more of a gaming powerhouse. Both screens are going to be big and bright, one has a monster gfx card, one has enough of one to play some games on light settings.

So...Doom3, or Coffee House emails?

[jasonsplace]

If you want 17" then go for an HP. The Dell's are nice but they have so much wasted space on the keyboard. The 17" HP has a 10-key which is so nice. Dell's also tend to cost more than other brands for the same exact thing.

[EVPohovich]

I say go with the 17" Dell.

This from the guy waiting for the 9" MacBook

[PAlexC]

I agree with hanratty, shop around for a Core Duo system. Even if you're not gaming on it.

[zakp0]

If you want 17" then go for an HP. The Dell's are nice but they have so much wasted space on the keyboard. The 17" HP has a 10-key which is so nice. Dell's also tend to cost more than other brands for the same exact thing.

Who are you? What...are you on about? You bought an HP, so you speak good of HP. That's it. JUST because Dell's laptops dont have a keypad, they're suddenly the worst company on the planet and you advise people against them?

Dell's 17" are much better, so are the 15", because of the huge resolution that you can choose. On the 15" you can get WSXGA+ w/truelife (1650x1050) and on the 17" you can get WUXGA w/truelife (1920x1200). Look for a deal, and you can get up to $750, or 40% off. I know people who are able to get a really well spec'd Inspiron E1705 for around $1400. That's cheap.

[Frets]

Don't turn this into a flaming thing okay.

If you disagree with the statement then tackle the statement not "who are you"

In regards to with/without keypad I have to agree. Although I love my toshiba 17inch
I hate that it lacks a keypad and I had to purchase one separately.

Is a keypad all that important?
Depends on your usage. If you mostly want to impress someone at a cyber cafe then maybe. If your like me and use them constantly then yes keypads are important. Which is why I had to purchase one.
Is it inconvienent? Yes I'd rather open my laptop and go rather then reaching around for accessories.

Dell's are not the only machine on the market. One should consider ALL the features involved before making a purchase decision. Even if it means re thinking which manufacturer.

Frets
SuperModerator

[jasonsplace]

Who are you? What...are you on about? You bought an HP, so you speak good of HP. That's it. JUST because Dell's laptops dont have a keypad, they're suddenly the worst company on the planet and you advise people against them?

Dell's 17" are much better, so are the 15", because of the huge resolution that you can choose. On the 15" you can get WSXGA+ w/truelife (1650x1050) and on the 17" you can get WUXGA w/truelife (1920x1200). Look for a deal, and you can get up to $750, or 40% off. I know people who are able to get a really well spec'd Inspiron E1705 for around $1400. That's cheap.

I never said that Dell's were the worse machine on the planet. They make a very good laptop...I can't speak highly of their desktops but that is for another thread. I know lots of people that have Dell's and absolutely love them. On the same note. I have an uncle who is a Dell fanatic. He recently bought a 17" Widescreen and hates it. It is big and bulky and all you get with the extra space is a wider screen. Being an accountant he uses a keypad very often and it would be nice to be built in. The only other complaint I have about Dell's is that they only use Intel processors which is completely a preferance thing. I have recommended Dell's too many people and will probably continue to do so. I will however retain my statement that they are expensive. My HP was under $1000 and runs very nicely. It has a 2GHz Turion 64 Processor, 2GB Ram and an 80GB hard drive. It isn't the most powerful machine in the world but at the same time I priced a Dell with similar specs and it was $1800 with an educational discount.

[zakp0]

And for about $400 more you can get one of the best graphics cards in the market, one of the fastest intel mobile processors yet, and a higher resolution screen, all with an awesome built in subwoofer (for a laptop).

[tonytryout]

what about the diff between the NVIDIA and ATI graphics cards...Im not too educated about what the diff might be

Slighty off-topic (not related to laptop) but I have had a NVIDIA Geforce MX400 64MB DDR AGP for several years and it served me very well including some heavy graphics like Photoshop & 3D games. I recently swapped the video card for ATI Radeon 128Mb AGP and for some reason, the graphics (refresh?) were not as fast.

Maybe I installed a bad ATI driver or NVIDIA is generally better at rendering graphics at a higher resolution.

[jasonsplace]

And for about $400 more you can get one of the best graphics cards in the market, one of the fastest intel mobile processors yet, and a higher resolution screen, all with an awesome built in subwoofer (for a laptop).

At the time Intel hadn't released a 64-bit processor for laptops. Knowing that Windows Vista someday will require a 64-bit processor I wasn't going to get anything else.

Also, like I said, at the time a Dell with comparable specs was $800 more. It may only be $400 now but the HP has gone down in price as well. I think it was $699 last I saw so you are still looking at paying double for a similar machine.