difference between video cards

IasubtledaggerI

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Jul 13, 2005
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18,510
i recently talked about building a pc on the forums but i decided against it because i am going to college. im looking at laptops on ibuypower and i found 2 laptops that i like. one has a 256mb Radeon x1600 and the other one has a 256mb geforce go 7600. im guessing the x1600 is faster but i wanted to know by how much. both laptops cost the same but the thing i like about the one with the 7600 is the fact that i can put my own image on the back of the screen. i know this might sound stupid to some but i was wondering if the trade off for a better video card was worth it..

thanks in advance
 

IasubtledaggerI

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im going to be spending $1500

i just need to know how much faster the x1600 is compared to the 7600. i want to decide if it is worth getting the faster video card or the custom image on the back of the monitor
 
Not saying don't buy a laptop, but wait a couple of weeks. Santa Rosa just came out and along with it GeForce Go 8 series cards (up to 8600GT that performs better than a 7900GS). Wait and see if ibuypower updates their laptops before you buy. Also, you are taking a gamble by buying from that company. I have heard far too many mixed reviews for me to take a chance with them. It's ultimately your decision though. If you can possibly extend your budget, take a look at killernotebooks.com. They sell a 15.4 inch laptop with the X1600 (about $1700)and allow you to do custom designs on the laptop (for a little bit extra). K|N also has far superior service to ibuypower.

As for your original question, from what I have seen in benchies, the X1600 performs slightly better than the 7600, but it all depends on the game. Not so much you would notice.
 

IasubtledaggerI

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i took a look at that site and it looks even less trustworthy than ibuypower. plus i dont think i can stretch the price to that far. is there any other sites that are trustworthy that let me customize laptops? i know cyberpower has them too but i took a look at some extra options they had and didnt like what i saw
 
Based on the way the K|N site looks I understand how you feel. It doesn't matter since you can't afford those laptops, but K|N is twice the company ibuypower is. BTW, cyberpower is the same basic thing as ibuypower. As far as other sites, try XoticPC.com. They do customized laptops from Asus, Sager, MSI and Compal.
 

IasubtledaggerI

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i looked around and i was avoiding dell because i never saw anything that i like but i found the inspiron 1705

i was wondering if you could take a look at the specs and tell me any pros/cons

i know you were saying they are coming out with new video cards but as of right now dell doesnt have them and im kindof anxious to get this thing

Specs:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7400 (2.16GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667 MHz FSB)
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS
17 inch Wide Screen XGA+ TFT Display with TrueLife™(glossy)
80GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive

the HD being 80g is no problem for me, i never fill up my desktop one.
maybe a faster one would be better but i dont think it will bother me too much.

all of that together from dell is $1900 but i got a $500 off coupon and with tax and shipping its only $1550. id say for that price and those specs its a pretty damn good deal. surprisingly i stayed within my original price range... that barely ever happens lol
 
No cons really. Just a few Q's for you.

The screen: is it the WUXGA? You want that screen. It is glorious.

HDD: Go for the 7200rpm. It will be much faster and won't hurt you too bad on battery life.

OS: Vista or XP? I say stick with XP for now.

The CPU is excellent, 2 gigs is the way to go, best graphics you can get for that laptop right now.
 

IasubtledaggerI

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i ordered it today, the coupon for 500 bucks off wouldve expired if i didnt.

i am not sure about the screen. i got the standard one that came with it mostly because of costs
i got the 5400 rpm HD also because of my price
i had to choose vista when i ordered it. hell ill try it out a bit and if i dont like it i will just put xp on it later on.

would you know by any chance if dell includes the vista cds when it comes? i know some companies are gay about that and you have to ask them for the cds before they will send them to you
 

IasubtledaggerI

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Jul 13, 2005
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cool, thanks alot.

one more question

do you happen to know what the dimensions of the screen are? (length x width) im gonna be making a skin for it soon after i get it.

i cant find what they are for the life of me