Computer People!

[mcsoul 10+ year member]

2.4 & 160g

No solid state disk needed. This is chip based memory (like ram) that presents itself as

disk space to the operating system. Since ram is so much faster, applications that are

stored there, such as photo editing, databases or even games; launch considerably faster.

You don't need it, most folks don't.

 

[Jmac 10+ year member]

yea someone said that to me on another forum....this is what it said
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB, 6MB Cache)

and

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache)

If you're using this for gaming or heavy multitasking, get the T9300 as the additional cache helps quite a bit in those areas ...
For more regular use, the T8300 will be fine and will give you slightly better battery life and less heat ...

 

[Jmac 10+ year member]

Vista is usable, but not XP. If you could "find" XP, I would but another hard drive, load that on it and use that. I think if you wipe vista from the original hard drive, it voids the warranty. JBizzle said use 2 gigs, that's true. But depending on what kinds of apps you're running you may want more. Vista is a memory hog.
Solid state drives are fairly new technology. IIRC, it is like a big *** flash drive. No moving parts. It is the future of the hard drive market, but too expensive and not enough space. The Macbook Air was the first to use them I believe.

250 more for a 250 gig? Dude you could buy one from the store for less than that.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0279396

Are you hellbent on a dell? There are better laptops out there for the money. I wouldn't blow my wad too fast on a laptop with the demand down. Wait till late July/August, deals will be better. Try to get one with wireless N as well.

The Macbook Air wasn't the first to use a SSD //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif
+1 on Wireless N ...

 

[Jmac 10+ year member]

Why DELL? Their prices are stupid high. And from my experiences, Intels **** lol. I think the AMDs are much better imo.

AMD's current mobile offerings are ... mediocre at best ...
AMD's Puma looks to be a beast, though ... Won't see that until later this summer from most major manufacturers, though.

 

[Johnny Drama 5,000+ posts]

Just a quick //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif to the people telling you to "upgrade" to XP...

For one its not an upgrade. With the introduction of SP1 to Vista the performance of Vista is as good as XP.

Second, support for Win Xp will stop April '09. So pay a few hundred for an OS that will last you for what? a year or less? or pay the same amount for an OS that will be around for longer and have better support and features coming.

Its not an upgrade to revert back to XP. Dont let anyone on here fool you. I said the same thing when Vista came out and after actually using it...I found it to be jsut as good. The same tards came out when XP was launched.

Get Vista Home premuim or ultimate.

For the processor, if the more expensive is a newer platform and has better cache go for it, if not then stick with the lower.

Hard drive. Personally I load my stuff with music. Id go for the biggest 7200 speed drive you can get.

Get 2+ gb ram

try and get a 8800gs or similar dedicated graphics card if you're going for an XPS...no reason to pay that much if you arent going to make a gaming machine. Cause in all seriousness if you're just using this laptop for school dont get an XPS.

 

[skeptikal Premium Member]

Vista's fine as long as you have the hardware to support it ... That laptop should have no issues ...
It would help if you gave more info about the laptop ... 2.4 vs. 2.5 doesn't tell me much; the 2.4 could be based on old architecture while the 2.5 could be new. New stuff tends to have higher IPC, better efficiency, and lower heat output, which may make the seemingly miniscule difference in clock speed worth the extra coin.

God you are the first person I've ever seen not say "UPGRADE TO XP BLAHBL!*@(!(@!@#".

Get a computer that will handle vista and it's badass. Atta boy +1 JMac

 

[hemi=22s 10+ year member]

vista is great u ****n haters,

def get n wireless

and i would say the smallest hd would work for most ppl but it fills up quick

i got a newer hp with dual 120gb hd and 1 is full with just music

 

[Jason Sybert 10+ year member]

imo i would build a computer from scratch off of a website like newegg. if you know what you are doing you can build a computer from scratch that is twice as good as a brand name for the same cost.

Xp is good but will lose support soon and will deactivate in 2014 or so the IT professor here and NW would have me believe. Vista is good also if you have enough ram and you get used to it.

 

[lilmaniac2 5,000+ posts]

As a programmer, I appreciate the work Microsoft obviously put into vista to make it work well. Vista was not accepted very well as hardware manufactures did not catch up as fast as Microsoft put out the software needing it.

The 400 dollar laptop at WalMart is not going to run vista well. It's a simple fact.

One of the computers I built at the house has vista ultimate 64 bit, a 2.5ghz dual core processor and 2 gig of ram. I have no issue at all running vista and 3d modeling programs.

 

[Lucid15 10+ year member]

Dude i have had both Mac and Dell, and my MacBook is perfect for college. Like excellent. Get One.

 

[lilmaniac2 5,000+ posts]

imo i would build a computer from scratch off of a website like newegg. if you know what you are doing you can build a computer from scratch that is twice as good as a brand name for the same cost. Xp is good but will lose support soon and will deactivate in 2014 or so the IT professor here and NW would have me believe. Vista is good also if you have enough ram and you get used to it.

Show me where to buy all the parts to build a laptop from scratch, I'd really like to know. i used to build computers and sell them to make a bit of money on the side, but im posting this from my DELL laptop, because you cant build one. And even if you could you would spend more money on that than ordering one from dell and upgrading it as needed. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[lilmaniac2 5,000+ posts]

Dude i have had both Mac and Dell, and my MacBook is perfect for college. Like excellent. Get One.

Right and a Dell isnt perfect for College. My dell is 13.3", lightweight, has excellent battery life, and has a word processor/slideshow maker. What else do you need?

 

[Jason Sybert 10+ year member]

Now did i say that you could build a laptop, NO i said computer as in a desktop, I know he said he was asking about features on a laptop. I was just saying that it would be cheaper to build a computer from scratch and i believe it would last a bit longer than a laptop. it would be easier to upgrade as well.

and yes I do like dell, I own 3 desktop dells and my best friend has a dell laptop herself.

as far as laptops go though. The guy should get one that meets his needs in college but plan for the future b/c the laptop will probably be out of date by the time you get out of college.

 

[lilmaniac2 5,000+ posts]

Now did i say that you could build a laptop, NO i said computer as in a desktop, I know he said he was asking about features on a laptop. I was just saying that it would be cheaper to build a computer from scratch and i believe it would last a bit longer than a laptop. it would be easier to upgrade as well. and yes I do like dell, I own 3 desktop dells and my best friend has a dell laptop herself.

as far as laptops go though. The guy should get one that meets his needs in college but plan for the future b/c the laptop will probably be out of date by the time you get out of college.

Why would you suggest a desktop, he can't take that to class with him. When I see someone say they "need" a laptop for college its because there degree or college recommends it. I know I wouldn't make it through my programming courses without my laptop and I'm sure many other majors are the same.

Who cares if a desktop is cheaper and will last longer, its not what he needs. Thats like telling someone who wants an ipod to buy a home stereo....

 

[Jason Sybert 10+ year member]

yeah i know about the whole needing a laptop thing i am an MIS major with a networking minor. I too have been through programming classes and other computer classes. but i guess since my college actually takes care of their students computer needs and gives us laptops its not a big deal for me to build a desktop for my needs and use the college laptop for my college needs.