SSD or faster processor on dell XPS 16

[tsf]

hi, posting after a long time.
so i'm gonna start my freshmen year in college this fall. i was looking for a laptop (i'll be in a dorm btw)
and decided to go with the XPS 16. (i know its quite large, but i dont think i'm gonna be carrying it around too much)

for almost the same price, i have to select between 2 configuration:

Option 1:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9600 (6MB cache/2.80GHz/1066Mhz FSB)
Edge-to-Edge FHD Widescreen 15.6 inch WLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)
320GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
BluRay Disc Combo (DVD/CD read/write + BD read) Slot Load Drive


option 2:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8600 (3MB cache/2.40GHz/1066Mhz FSB)
Edge-to-Edge FHD Widescreen 15.6 inch WLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)
256GB Solid State Drive
8X DVD+/- RW(DVD/CD read/write) Slot Load Drive


as u can see, i'm basically dealing with either the ssd, or the t9600. i'll be doing some mild gaming, but will be involved in video/photo editing. the ssd is kinda cheap compared to others, but is it still worth it? i can still save $300 if i opt out from the ssd.

 

[nocteratus]

Faster CPU in a laptop is always better than a SSD since you can easily change the hard drive to a SSD

 

[frozenlead]

The faster CPU won't give you too much more boost over the 2.4GHz model. What you should really be asking yourself is if you can contend with the lower disk space of the SSD as opposed to the higher-capacity conventional hard disk.

 

[tsf]

i got an 500 GB external hdd lying around, i thought i will use that until i need bigger or faster ones.

i figured ssd might have faster performance for video editors, any clarification on this is welcomed.

 

[frozenlead]

It will have faster performance...but only if you store your video files on that disk. With a 500GB external drive, I'm inclined to think you'll store them there. Anyway, while rendering a movie file, your computer will be so bogged down calculating that disk IO really isn't a factor. The only performance increase you'll see from an SSD from day to day is load times for programs. That's about it.

 

[Ehsan w]

I would say, just save the money
the difference isn't that noticable
if you want either one, upgrade the cpu

 

[walt526]

I would say, just save the money
the difference isn't that noticable
if you want either one, upgrade the cpu

I agree, you're not going to see a noticeable improvement from either. Spend the couple hundred bucks or whatever on beer and condoms.

 

[Ehsan w]

I agree, you're not going to see a noticeable improvement from either. Spend the couple hundred bucks or whatever on beer and condoms.

hmmmmmmm.....Beer

 

[tsf]

maybe i'm just frustrated with the 2/3 year old hdd i'm running now, which made me look into ssd in the first place. from the looks of it, normal hdd became a lot better in this time.

thanks for the input guys, maybe i'll skip the ssd this time around.

 

[creativename]

I don't even see the SSD option on Dell's site. Do you know what brand/model? I definitely wouldn't consider it unless its a pretty new/decent one (Intel, Indilinx-controller for example).
U say the SSD is a cheap one (must be if u can consider a 256gb one) so maybe not. That being said, the money for the faster CPU might be better spent elsewhere, as the others suggested. 2.4 is quite sufficient, I'd think.

 

[tsf]

i'm buying from dell.ca. its a samsung 256GB, costs $350 extra. but i skipped it and saved my money this time around.

 

[eyedealm]

personally I'm seriously thinking about the ssd because I heard complain about how hot the xps runs. I think that will cool it down a bit..( Theoreticalley speaking )