KillerNotebooks.com has some nice top of the line 15.4" models with those specs with x1600 256 MB RAM video cards that are in your budget.
The 7,200 rpm hard drive is a big factor in the overall speed of your system. Next would be the RAM, and we use the fastest CAS 2.0 RAM. CAS latency is a big factor in the speed of the RAM, but many people ask me, "2.5, 2.0 what really is the difference in that 0.5?"
Well, that's a good question, and for an in depth answer you can consult my
notebook memory page. For the simplified answer here on the forum; "0.5" doesn't sound like much for CAS latency, but you have to take it in context to the base rating of 2 & 2.5. "0.5" of the aggressive 2.5 is 20%. Moving from CAS 2.5 to CAS 2.0 will gain you about 4-6% in
overall system performance.
The second thing is that there is more to memory speed than CAS latency. These are classified as the "timings" of the RAM module. The full timings of the Ultra Low Latency RAM I use are 2-2-2-5. Most of the "agressive" CAS 2.5 modules my high end competitors are using have timings of 2.5-4-4-8.
That's a big difference. Let's look at it in terms of percentages once: 20%-50%-50%-38.5% improvements over my
high end competitors. The others are using CAS 3.0 modules!
Then you have to take into account that I use 1 Gig modules instead of (2) 512 modules to get my base 1 Gig of system memory. "What does that mean?" It means there is 2 memory slots in a notebook. Killer Notebooks makes sure you have room for expansion later.
It costs me more, but if you think about it, if you as the consumer wants 2 gigs in the future, with me, you add another GIG. Costs you the price of 1 Gig of memory. You go with anyone else and you have to throw out your (2) 512 chips and buy (2) Gigs of memory which costs you twice as much!
Now, do you think Michael DELL would lose one of his villia's in the South of France if he didn't save the pittance of money it would cost him to put a 1 Gig chip in his notebooks instead of (2) 512's?
I mean, think about it. He buys zillions of memory chips every month. He can pretty much name the price he is going to pay for it, just like WalMart does on their products and the memory manufacturer would say, "Yes Massa". You don't just
LOSE DELL's account as a selling agent and NOT have the CEO of your company at your door with a pitchfork and a ballance sheet statement wanting to know exactly why you killed the goose.
So, if it isn't about the component supplier it must be about DELL, HP/Compaq/Gateway etc. They don't give a rat's behind about the end user. They don't care if you can upgrade in the future or if you get the best value, they don't care they sell 32 bit computers they KNOW are obsolete... it's all part of the plan man.
They care about inticing you with a low price, ripping you off on upgrades, getting paid for pre-loading your computer with "time limited" software, AOL offers, 15 day McAffee anti-virus program and tons of other junk you don't need and getting your money, slapping your butt on the way out the door and saying "Go get 'em tiger".
Don't be a pawn, Killer Notebooks is for the select few... be one of 'em!
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