Looking for mid-range laptop

[lostandwandering]

btw: nice marketing: Gemstone has 4GB and 32bit vista ^^

Not really sure of what your point was there, but 4gb of RAM will do you no good in a 32-bit OS since it will only recognize a little over 3gb of it.

 

[Moebius078]

@lostandwandering: That is exactly what I meant. The fourth GB of RAM doesn't add any real value. However, in the ears of the average consumer, it does sound like it is far superior to 3GB systems and can even be a discriminating factor. To Acer, it is a relatively cheap upgrade.
@cjl: tnx for the info. Apparently, these cards are the same. I was surprised to find out.

"The Nvidia 9500M-GS and the 9650M-GS are not actually anything new, merely die shrinks of the current 8600M-GT and 8700M-GT respectively; everything else down to the clocks themselves are the exact same. They are nothing to get excited about and offer basically no performance increase over the existing cards. Why Nvidia is passing them off as a new generation is unknown."
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=275056

 

[lostandwandering]

It's the same thing that NV did in the desktop sector. The 9800 GT is just basically a die shrunk 8800GT. The 9800GTX is pretty much the same with the 8800GTS 512 (slightly higher clocks). The 9800mGTis the same as the 8800mGTX. And so it goes.

 

[Maziar]

+1^

 

[dmacfour]

Get the XPS M1530. You might be able to squeeze in a processor upgrade, then find a coupon to get it for a good price.

Here are some Dell coupons:
http://www.notebookreview.com/dellCoupon.asp

I built an M1530 for $1249, then used the 20% off coupon to get it for $999 before tax.

 

[Moebius078]

"Use coupon code K54SDRK72$L6W3 at checkout to get 20% off the configured price of an XPS M1330 or XPS M1530 that's over $1,249. Coupon expires 8/21/2008."

Thanks dmacfour! That will save me a lot of money! Great find! I was already leaning towards the M1530, but now I'm convinced ^^

 

[Moebius078]

What do you think of this configuration? I'm still unsure about the screen. Isn't 1200*800 better for gaming on the 8600 GT?

SYSTEM COLORTuxedo Black
PROCESSORIntel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8100 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEMGenuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1
LCD AND CAMERAHigh Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440x900) & 2MP Camera
MEMORY3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
HARD DRIVESize: 250GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVESlot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
VIDEO CARD256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
WIRELESS CARDSDell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
BATTERY OPTIONS56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
SOUND OPTIONSHigh Definition Audio 2.0
FINGERPRINT SCANNERFinger Print Reader XPS M1530

Price: 1592 CAD – 393 CAD = 1199 CAD = 775 €

 

[Moebius078]

PS: Guess Dell never heard of price transparency :-s It was awful to find the best price for these laptops...

 

[cjl]

I'd always go for the higher res screen when possible. You can always drop below native if you have to.

 

[hantaah]

I'd recommend the HP DV2000 series it's fantastically portable, good for games and looks great. ebay does some great bargains with laptops. Try baynecessity ( THebaynecessity )

Hope this helps