Which Dell Laptop?

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Fors30

n00b
Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
59
Hey guys, I have a nice desktop but I have some health issues right now and cant sit up for long at it, and I been wanting a nice laptop for a while now. I will be gaming on the laptop it dont have to be perfect and the BEST graphics. My only choice is dell right now because I will be buying this on credit from them. I have $1500 credit. Here are two options I have configured on their site.

#1 $1364 close to $1500 with tax and shipping.
Software & Services
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i5-520M 2.40GHz (2.93Ghz Turbo Mode, 3M cache)
2 Year Basic Service Plan
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
Intel© Centrino© Advanced-N 6200
56 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
Standard Keyboard
17.3” HD+ (900p) Bright LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
High Definition Audio 2.0
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5650, 1GB with TV Tuner
No Internal Mobile Broadband
Black Chainlink


Option 2. $1254 so almost $1400 with tax/shipping.
Software & Services
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Quad Core Processor 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
2 Year Basic Service Plan
500GB SATA HDD (7200rpm)
6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
Dell 1397 Wireless-G
Standard Keyboard
17.3” HD+ (900p) Bright LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
High Definition Audio 2.0
No Internal Mobile Broadband
Black Chainlink


Also Includes
Studio 17 Laptop
85 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
No Touch Software
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650


Now #1 has the better video card from what I have read, but it only has the core i5 processor. Also it has a TV tuner but I doubt I would use it much.

#2 has the a worse video card, but better battery (which wont matter too much I will keep it plugged in most of the time) but it has the i7 processor.

What would you guys recommend? Or would you recommend some other dell? I can live with a 15.6" screen but the 17.3" would be nice. Also I want 6gb of ram atleast.

How much better is the Mobility HD 5650 compared to the 4650? Also how much better is the i7 compared to the i5?
 
15 with the i5. the i7 will be of nearly no benefit compared to the 5650.

Not to mention, significantly smaller.
 
Not smaller, both are 17" screens.

I would use the laptop for general stuff, but gaming also like dragon age origins some older games but I like newer games also sometimes. I dont have to have max graphics as long as the game runs smooth thats what matters most.

If I were to go smaller I found the XPS line, with a mobility 4670 video card, I think its still worse than the 5650. This would be about the same price as my first option.
Software & Services
Genuine Windows 7® Home Premium Edition
NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i5-430M (2.26GHz, 4Threads, turbo boost up to 2.53Ghz, 3M cache)
2 Year Basic Service Plan
6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3
Edge-to-Edge HD+ Widescreen 15.6 inch WLED LCD (1600x900) W/2.0 MP
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
9-cell Battery
Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio - Software Enabled
Intel© Centrino© Advanced-N 6200
Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish
My Accessories
Microsoft Works
McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months
Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
Also Includes
Studio XPS 16 Notebook
ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 – 1GB
Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9, Multiple Languages
1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protectio
 
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I'd say go with the model with the 5650. General stuff will be handled fine with the i5 and the gaming will see the most benefit out of the GPU. 6 gigs of RAM is a good idea.
 
I did end up going with the first option. I figured out I can get 3% off by using the dell preferred account and they are giving cheap battery upgrades today so I ended up adding backlit keyboard and upgrading the battery to 9 cell, for a total of
Order Subtotal: $1,361.88
Shipping and Handling: $19.00
Shipping Discount: -$19.00
Tax Total: $105.56
Total Amount: $1,467.44

Not bad I dont think, this is what I ended up with.

Software & Services
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
2 Year Basic Service Plan
No Internal Mobile Broadband
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
Intel© Centrino© Advanced-N 6200
85 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
Back-lit Keyboard
17.3” HD+ (900p) Bright LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
High Definition Audio 2.0
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5650, 1GB with TV Tuner
Black Chainlink
My Accessories
Microsoft® Works 9
McAfee Security Center with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 15-Months
Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
Also Includes
NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i5-520M 2.40GHz (2.93Ghz Turbo Mode, 3M cache)
Studio 17 Laptop
No Touch Software
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0
 
You won't be disappointed. I have the Studio 14 with the i5-430 and I love the thing. The illuminated keyboard is a FANTASTIC upgrade, far better than the stocker in terms of feel as well (I've played with a studio 15 at work with the plain board. )

Battery life is about 5:30 effective with my 14 too and the 9 cell ;)
 
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