Another, help me decide...*Dell*

[Jonny813]

I am going through my company to get a new Dell Laptop. They are giving me an "allowance" of $650, rest I have to pay for.

I use it for work(low demand) and some games, i.e. World of Warcraft and others, but WoW seems the most graphic demanding. Watch movies and other things aswell.

My choices are...(Only differences are noted up top)

Inspiron 6400 - $1407
Intel Core 2 Duo (1.83G)
15.4" Screen


Inspiron 9400 - $1341
Intel Core Duo (1.73G)
17" Screen

The differences come down to, do I want to trade Performance for a bigger screen. I can justify both. Honestly I have a gaming desktop so performance is less the issue. And I do feel 15.4 is pretty small for anything. I just read up on the differences and comparing the processors, there shouldnt be all that much difference. The C2D being obviously faster but not by a large margin.


Both have...
ATI X1400 256mg "HyperMemory" VGA
2Gigs RAM
80 Gig / 7200 RPM HD
Best "available" screen.
9 Cell 85 WHr Battery
1 year warrenty w/ 1 year accidental damage. (Might get rid of Accidental, but its only $100...but I am smart and careful so its like paying for earthquare insurance while in Florida...)


I am leaning towards the 9400... anyone have any thoughts or input?

 

[HardWareBoss]

Flip a coin. The vid catrds are not thr best. As you know.

 

[Jonny813]

Ya I know. But I just got out of a ATI Express 200M so anything is "better".

Ya I think I am going to go with the 17". Size and weight are not a problem and I like big screens. Previous also had a 15" Widescreen. The fact that its also cheaper doesn't hurt either.

I would jump into one of the XPS systems if I wanted great performance but like I said, I got a desk top for that and I have to pay the excess out of my pocket.

Ill flip a coin for kicks though, thanks. :twisted:

 

[JasumX]

Either way the vid card is probably going to be the bottleneck on that system, so I'd go with the 17" screen as well.

 

[lostandwandering]

If the best available screen for the 9400 is the WUXGA, then I say go for it. My bro has the 9300 with that screen and it is amazing.

My only question is, isn't WOW CPU intensive? Either way the Core Duo will still run fine, but it will make the GPU less of an issue.

As far as jumping up to the XPS, don't even bother. It is way over priced for what you get. They even underclocked the 7950 to avoid heat problems.

I'm with you, I like a larger screen. My vote is for the 9400.

 

[HardWareBoss]

My lappy has the X200M. It works for now. Will be buying a newer laptop later this year. No more wimmpy vid card for me.