Dell XPS M1530

tnnrx6

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SYSTEM COLOR Tuxedo Black
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB, 4MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
LCD AND CAMERA High Resolution glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1680x1050) & 2MP Camera
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
HARD DRIVE Speed: 120GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
WIRELESS CARDS Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g Mini Card
BATTERY OPTIONS 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0
FINGERPRINT SCANNER Finger Print Reader XPS M1530
TOTAL: $1334

Does this seem like a good setup for the price? Also does Vista support 4gb ram? If I wanted to revert to XP, I would need the 64-bit edition correct?

Thanks!!!
 

theworminator

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Sounds like a good deal.

Vista 32 bit does not support 4 gigs of RAM, it'll get to maybe 3.25 to 3.5, and it can't use anything past that. That's just a fact with 32 bit operating systems. To use all 4 gigs, you'll need a 64 bit OS.

You wouldn't need a 64 bit version of XP, unless again you wanted full use of your 4 gigs of ram.
 

tnnrx6

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Well it's a $50 difference for the 4GB ram compared to 3GB. Do you think I should just save the money and go with three or get a 64-bit OS?

Also this is what the guy at dell said:

"The 4gb RAM,it's usually around 3.5 GB. The reason for this is not because the OS use up some of the memory for the resources needed to run the OS, the real reason is that , the 4 GB "bandwidth" is the TOTAL memory allowed and can be read by the 32-bit OS at one time."
 

theworminator

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Yeah, 32 bit operating systems can only address the first 3.5 or so of the memory, it's just a fact of 32 bit OS. No matter what 32 bit OS you use, it cannot address all 4 gigs of memory.

Um...well, I don't know if you should downgrade. It won't be much of a performance hit, but in the future, if you ever upgrade to a 64 bit OS, you'd have an extra half a gig in 'reserve'. It's your choice, if you can spare the 50 dollars, go for it.
 

tnnrx6

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I think 3GB will be more than enough anyway.

Now which one of these (Same price):

Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g Mini Card
Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card

And is this worth the upgrade for $25:

High Definition Audio 2.0
to
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition
 
It's in the thread title. It's for a Dell XPS m1530.

As for the wireless, get whichever. They are both pretty much the same, Dell just slapped their name on one of 'em.

I don't think the $25 is worth it since it's only software. It's not like you are getting an actual sound card for the system.
 

theworminator

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Yeah, they basically have the standard Sigmatel card, with the Sound Blaster program on top. They raised a ruckus a while back, because they didn't say it was software edition, so it led people to believe they were getting actual Sound Blaster cards :p

And yeah, either wireless is good. But to boycott Dell for no apparent reason, get the Intel :D
 

tnnrx6

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Alright well after doing some considerations and reconfiguring I came up with this:

SYSTEM COLOR Tuxedo Black
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB, 4MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
LCD AND CAMERA High Resolution glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1680x1050) & 2MP Camera
MEMORY 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
HARD DRIVE Speed: 120GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
WIRELESS CARDS Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g Mini Card
BATTERY OPTIONS 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0
FINGERPRINT SCANNER Finger Print Reader XPS M1530

Sub Total $1,284.00
Shipping & Handling $39.00
Shipping Discount -$39.00
Tax $79.64

Total $1,363.64

What do ya guys think?

PS. I really want to thank all of you for helping me out with my decision!
 
Do they offer the 9-cell battery with that unit? I think I would grab the larger battery for a little more mobility. It's also nice seeing them finally offer a higher resolution screen. I don't have any other complaints than the battery.
 

tnnrx6

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Yeah but that thing is $130 extra! I would rather just pick it up somewhere else or at a different time. I think the battery it comes with will be fine for my mobility needs as of now.
 
Oh wow. Didn't realize they wanted that much for the stupid battery. The 9-cell would have given you 3.5-4 hours based off reviews. I would imagine the 6-cell would be around 2.5-3. Definitely better than mine :D
 

theworminator

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Go for it, looks like a sweet deal. Give us an update on how it is when you get it :D

PS: Things just keep getting cheaper and cheaper, it's nice to see, but it makes me feel sad when I look at how much I payed for now 'outdated' hardware, but I guess that's the name of the game.
 


Join the club and welcome to technology. lol
 

theworminator

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Yeah, I remember that. Dell had a bunch of problems with the paint jobs, and getting parts (for the M1330 especially), and people were waiting for months on end.