Dell Inspiron 1520

[donco]

Hey guys, I'm a midrange gamer and I'm looking for a good laptop that could handle games such as WoW, CoD2 etc and programs like Photoshop CS2 and 3ds max 8. I was thinking of a Dell since i heard good things about it. Here's my setup for now:


Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5450 (2MB cache/1.66GHz/667Mhz FSB), English
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition, English
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280 x 800) (1)
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 Dimm
120G 5400RPM SATA HDD (2)
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3000 (3)
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Essentials
DataSafe Online Backup 3GB (included with price)
3 Year Return to Depot Service, Complete Care and Technical Support (4)
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (5)
High Definition Audio 2.0


Questions

1- Is it worth adding 100$(CAD) to get a 1680x1050 or 50$ for 1440x900?
2- Is 120gb enough or will I have to pay more to get bigger disk space?
3- Should I add 200$ to get a 8600M GT?
4- Is this extended warranty necessary?
5- Worth paying 40$ to get 85Whr 9-cell battery?


If you have any other suggestions, feel free to tell. Thanks
Donco

 

[Maziar]

1_8600GT is a card that play games @ good settings in lower resolution like 1280x800 or 1440x900 , if u want to have a better screen for non-gaming then go for 1680x1050, if u want a screen for gaming , then 1280x800 suffices

2_It depends that how much space u need

3_Definitely , Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3000 isnt for gaming

4_Dont know

5_if u travel alot and want your laptop to be with u , then get it

 

[lostandwandering]

1. I kinda agree with Maz. You can still get the higher res screen and turn it down when you game without sacrificing image quality. I say at the least get the 14x9 res. I think 12x8 is small for a 15.4'' screen.

2. I agree completely with Maz. All personal preference.

3. Agree again. If you want any hope of playing COD2 you need more than integrated.

4. It depends on how accident prone you are. Most of the time, things that happen that are covered under warranty will happen within the first year or two.

5.Agree again. If you want any extended time away from the outlet, get a larger battery.

My only other suggestion is to upgrade the CPU to a T7100 or T7300. Especially the T7300, you'll appreciate the extra speed in games.

 

[donco]

Thx for the replies, im going to go with the 14x9res screen, the 8600M GT and the 9cell battery.

 

[drakennz]

hey just a heads up, if you're keen on gaming the 8600M GT is equivilant to a 6800 GS Desktop gpu according to TH...I don't know if you've ever tried playing games on a 6800GS but I *** you the more recent games like COD2 won't play very well... So going by that I'd probably have to say the 8600M GT is only worth it for the WOW...which should wrk fine...
the table linked below has the mobile gpu and desktop gpu comparison
http/www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/05/the_best_gaming_video_cards_for_the_money/page7.html#summary