Dell Laptop Decision -> 533 MHz vs 667 MHz vs Video Card?

[rasketball]

Hi guys, I am looking for a laptop for moderate gaming like FF XI and Civilization 4. There are a few Dell laptops that I am interested in, but couldn't decide on which one, and I am wondering what you guys think.

1) how much better is a combo of 667 MHz FSB (CPU + Ram) vs 533 MHz (CPU + Ram)? is it worth $250 to upgrade the dell e1705 config I have below from 533 to 667?

2) how much worse is the e1505 config? do you think it's worth it to upgrade from the e1505 to either of the two e1705 config I have below?

thanks in advance!

Dell e1505 -> $858
Core Duo T2350 (1.86 GHz, 533 MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)
ATI Mobility Radeon x1400 (256 MB)
DDR2 SDRAM (2 GB total (2 x 1 GB), 533 MHz)
SATA harddrive (7200 RPM, 80 GB)
Window XP Home

Dell e1705 -> $1316
Core Duo T2350 (1.86 GHz, 533 MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)
nVidia GeForce Go 7900 GS (256 MB)
DDR2 SDRAM (2 GB total (2 x 1 GB), 533 MHz)
SATA harddrive (7200 RPM, 80 GB)
Window XP Home

Dell e1705e -> $1566
Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.00 GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache)
nVidia GeForce Go 7900 GS (256 MB)
DDR2 SDRAM (2 GB total (2 x 1 GB), 667 MHz)
SATA harddrive (7200 RPM, 80 GB)
Window XP Home

 

[lostandwandering]

Either of the two E1705s will kick the crap out of the E1505. The E1505 wouldn't be a bad laptop if it weren't for the X1400 video card. It won't handle many games well. As far as the CPUs and RAM go, I'm not entirely sure how the ratio of RAM to FSB works if you mess with it, but the second E1705 will give you the best all around performance.

 

[rasketball]

Thanks for the response. Just to double check, I thought the cpu/ram ratio for my 1st and 2nd e1705 config are the same:

config-> cpu/ ram
1st-> 533/ 533
2nd-> 667/ 667

Also, for the 2 e1705 configs I have, do you think it is worth 250$ to go upgrade from 533 FSB to 667 FSB for both the cpu and the ram?

Changing the subject slightly, is it worth it to spend ~1000$ more and get the XPS m1710? I would think XPS would be much better than e1705, but it's also much more expensive. I listed some XPS config below. My budget is $2,500, but I would like to be flexible to spend less if the sweet spot is in the lower end. Thanks again!

XPS m1710 -> $2495
Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.00 GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache)
nVidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX (512 MB)
DDR2 SDRAM (2 GB total (2 x 1 GB), 667 MHz)
SATA harddrive (7200 RPM, 100 GB)
Window Vista Premium
3 yrs warranty

XPS m1710 -> $2949
Core 2 Duo T7600 (2.33 GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache)
nVidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX (512 MB)
DDR2 SDRAM (2 GB total (2 x 1 GB), 667 MHz)
SATA harddrive (7200 RPM, 200 GB)
Window XP Professional
3 yrs warranty

 

[pizzaman69]

http/forumz.tomshardware.com/mobile/Dell-releases-Inspiron-1720-Inspiron-1520-Vostro-ftopict49622.html

Just wait three weeks and you can order the new ones

 

[rasketball]

thanks for the link pizzaman.

 

[lostandwandering]

Just keep in mind that the 7900GS looks like it is stronger than the 8600GT (just a bit in synthetic benchmarks). If you were thinking about the XPS with the 7950GTX then don't bother waiting because the 8600GT will be nowhere close in performance.

 

[pizzaman69]

True, but you see that the Inspiron 1720 and Inspiron 1520 are comming in a few weeks (2 to 3), so you don't want to buy an old laptop.

Here you find many links:
http/gathering.tweakers.net/forum/list_messages/1224599

 

[silentverdict]

Whats so wrong with buying an "old laptop"? You'll probably be able to get better prices now anyway, since the new configurations will probably all cost significantly more. If you want a good deal on an E1705, go to www.meancoupons.com/dell/ and you can get $500 off any laptop of 1400 or more, which is a great deal.

 

[ppww]

Slightly different question here: On the E1505 with T2350, Dell offers either 533MHz or 667MHz memory. Their tech support told me that the CPU-to-RAM bus is fixed at 533MHz, but for non-CPU transfers (DMA?), I would see an improvement with 667MHz RAM, as the motherboard and north/southbridge will match the RAM speed. Any truth to this? With what applications would I actually notice a difference?