Decisions...decisions..

[bengrant]

Okay... I have to make a choice between two laptops. Any "real world" insight would be appreciated.
I'm purchasing a laptop as a gift for a friend. I can get a great deal through work, but my options are limited. The computer will be used for web surfing, email, an occasional spreadsheet and photo-shopping pics of the nieces and nephews.

Option A : Inspiron 1520 w/ Core 2 Duo T5450 (1.66 Ghz) 1.5 gigs ram & Vista Basic
Option B : Inspiron 1501 w/ Turion X2 TL60 (2 Ghz) 1 Gig ram & XP Home

The 1501 is about $100 less ( w/ comparable video and storage )

Given the impending use of this machine and the fact that Vista is somewhat of a resource hog, is it worth the extra C note to go for the Core Duo or will I get better bang for the the buck on an X2 running Windows XP.

Again, any input would be grately appreciated.
Thanx!!

 

[lostandwandering]

Well, the needs of the laptop are very basic. Either one would be able to handle what you want it to do. Do you have a way of finding if your friend has used Vista before? or if s/he even wants to use it? That could be a deciding factor too. If he/she doesn't care, get the cheaper of the two.

 

[bengrant]

Well, the needs of the laptop are very basic. Either one would be able to handle what you want it to do. Do you have a way of finding if your friend has used Vista before? or if s/he even wants to use it? That could be a deciding factor too. If he/she doesn't care, get the cheaper of the two.

Thanks for the input. I asked and the OS is not much of an issue , although her only experience is w/ NT and XP. From what I've read, one would believe that the machine with XP and the Turion to be a little more responsive than the Core Duo because Vista is so demanding on memory, GPU etc...

Is that even close to being logical?

 

[lostandwandering]

That's pretty close. Although I think the first machine would be ok with the 1.5 gb or RAM. If she doesn't care, I say stick with XP since she knows what she is doing with that.

 

[pjumpleby]

go with A. not sure but theres been loads of buzz about a VISTA downgrade disc or something so you may be able to have xo

 

[lostandwandering]

go with A. not sure but theres been loads of buzz about a VISTA downgrade disc or something so you may be able to have xo

Can I ask your reasoning for A?

 

[bengrant]

go with A. not sure but theres been loads of buzz about a VISTA downgrade disc or something so you may be able to have xo

Is the Core2 machine going to be that much better?

 

[lostandwandering]

Yes, the T5450 will be faster, but with what the laptop will be used for, I doubt it will make much of a difference. I'd still like to know what his reason for picking A is.

 

[bengrant]

That makes two of us. It's only a $110 difference, but it would certainly be nice to use my funds as efficiently as possible.