Buying a laptop

[=JHF= JimmyT (CDN)]

So I've been working on buying a laptop for a while.  My main use for this would be during my photography trips - I want to see what my shots look like before I drive a day in the other direction only to view them on my PC with some dismay!  I also am interested in the mobility of it - internet in hotel rooms etc.  Have had a lot of power outages lately too, and there is only so much entertainment in the ipod games I have. 

I've looked mainly at HP/Compac, Toshiba and Dell.  I have a few questions for those more knowledgable than me in such matters.

Here is the system I've almost settled on:

Dell Inspiron 1520
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5450 (2MB cache/1.66GHz/667Mhz FSB
Genuine Windows® XP Home, English
System Colour    Jet Black Color with Matte Finish
Memory    2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 Dimm
Monitor    High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1440 x 900)
Video Card    128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS
Hard Drive    120G 7200RPM SATA HDD
Network Card and Modem    Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Combo or DVD+RW Drive    8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Card    High Definition Audio 2.0
Wireless Networking Cards    Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card
Camera    Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
Primary Battery    85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Media Center Enhancements    Dell Travel Remote Control, IR

I'm mainly going with the Dell due to my experiences with Vista.  Similarly matched laptops in the stores run Vista poorly from what I can tell - I don't really want any built in system "lag" right off the bat.   Dell offers XP for a few more months...  So here are my questions:

1.  When and if the dark day ever comes where I upgrade to Vista (SP-4?  ) I've heard that ones video card comes into play in terms of how it runs.  I upgraded the above dell configuration from a Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 - which I presume is not dedicated vRAM like the 8400M above.  While I wouldn't mind playing the odd game on it whilst sitting in a hotel room is this upgrade in card (cost = $80) going to make ANY difference when and if Vista treads its dirty paws on my machine?  Out of curiosity I wonder what games that thing would run? 

2.  For the same price would you opt for a 160G 5400RPM SATA HD or a 120G 7200RPM SATA HD?  Space vs speed I guess.  Would I notice the difference in speed between the 5400 and the 7200RPM?  Im used to 7200 RPM drives in my mac and pc's.  Since on one trip to the aquarium I can take 400 pictures (about 4 gigs) I'd be transferring about that much data to the HD each time I loaded photos onto it.

3.  Thoughts on Dell as a brand in general?  I've at least had an opportunity to go down to the dell store and touch this thing, and I liked it visually over the HP's etc.  Not as pretty, but if I wanted pretty and stylish I'd be buying another Mac! 

4.  For $40 I upgraded to the 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Battery over the 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Battery.  What sort of extended battery life would one expect to get from that much larger a battery?

Thanks!

-- JT

   

[=JHF= OBMer]

1.  When and if the dark day ever comes where I upgrade to Vista (SP-4?  ) I've heard that ones video card comes into play in terms of how it runs.  I upgraded the above dell configuration from a Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 - which I presume is not dedicated vRAM like the 8400M above.  While I wouldn't mind playing the odd game on it whilst sitting in a hotel room is this upgrade in card (cost = $80) going to make ANY difference when and if Vista treads its dirty paws on my machine?  Out of curiosity I wonder what games that thing would run? 

I honestly don't know.  I do know that I am running Vista on my Wife's laptop and have not had any problems so far.  I also know that a SP for Vista is coming out soon, so things will change with that probably.  But as far as how the vid card runs, mine, errr...my Wife's, runs fine.

2.  For the same price would you opt for a 160G 5400RPM SATA HD or a 120G 7200RPM SATA HD?  Space vs speed I guess.  Would I notice the difference in speed between the 5400 and the 7200RPM?  Im used to 7200 RPM drives in my mac and pc's.  Since on one trip to the aquarium I can take 400 pictures (about 4 gigs) I'd be transferring about that much data to the HD each time I loaded photos onto it.

You can get an external drive.  You can transfer your pics over to another computer later.  DEFINATELY go for speed over space.  Your OS is running on that drive, your programs are running on that drive.  If you transfer files off of it, that is coming off that drive.  If you play music, games, etc... you want the speed.  You can handle space in other ways.  Go for speed.

3.  Thoughts on Dell as a brand in general?  I've at least had an opportunity to go down to the dell store and touch this thing, and I liked it visually over the HP's etc.  Not as pretty, but if I wanted pretty and stylish I'd be buying another Mac!

I agree with you.  If you want "pretty", buy a Mac.  If you want a computer, buy a Dell.
Seriously, I have run 3 Dells at my house for about 6 years.  I still have 2 running.  The 3rd would run, but I have it turned off.  I have nothing bad to say about Dell.

4.  For $40 I upgraded to the 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Battery over the 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Battery.  What sort of extended battery life would one expect to get from that much larger a battery?

One would expect MORE battery life from that much larger battery.

OB

[=JHF= Smoke]

seems good to me, whatever's in your price range will work fine, i have found some good laptops (for others) from $599 on up.  you may want to look into getting a docking station or something so you could just set it down and have a mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc already waiting and not needing to plug them all in.  My friend had a dell for a long time, and now a sony, and other than the sony being newer, he would rather have his dell back, but it was just too old.  but if this is your first laptop, then you probably don't have any preferance either way... I have an IBM/Lenovo, which works great (very pricey tho) and my sister has an hp (works great), my friend has a sony (works great too) and my step mom has a Dell, which also works fine...If for some reason you don't go with dell and need an xp pro  install disk, let me know.

[=JHF= HaveSocks]

Tom's Hardware had a recent review on laptops.  But I haven't been able to get onto Tom's the last couple of days.  I keep getting unable to connect screens.  Dell is pretty solid from what I've seen.  The 2GB's of RAM is nice.  If you want/need to upgrade to Vista, it will run the Home Premier without problems.  Most of the lag issues I've seen with Vista have been on units running 1GB RAM on the Home Basic version.

[=JHF= JimmyT (CDN)]

You can get an external drive.  You can transfer your pics over to another computer later.  DEFINATELY go for speed over space.  Your OS is running on that drive, your programs are running on that drive.  If you transfer files off of it, that is coming off that drive.  If you play music, games, etc... you want the speed.  You can handle space in other ways.  Go for speed.

Agreed!

I agree with you.  If you want "pretty", buy a Mac.  If you want a computer, buy a Dell.

    So you admit PC's are ugly?   Wow!   

I may also run linux on it or something - that should get your attention penguin boy.

Seriously, I have run 3 Dells at my house for about 6 years.  I still have 2 running.  The 3rd would run, but I have it turned off.  I have nothing bad to say about Dell.

Indeed.  I've heard good things about dell in general.  I was hesitant to want to buy a puter online without getting to fondle it first... its a lot of money for sight unseen.  However, they do have a kiosk at the local SuperMall so I got to touch it.    I had decided against Sony's Vaio for a variety of reasons, and had earlier eliminated Gateway, Acer etc.  HP and Toshiba were still in the running, and honestly I'd probably be buying a Toshiba if I could get it with XP.   Me no likey the Vista.

One would expect MORE battery life from that much larger battery.

Lol really?     I really had no idea what to expect with battery life in general, Im kind of used to the 24 hours from my ipod and the months and months on the home PC (till the power goes out!  ).   Rumor has it this size will add almost an hour to it under regular use, with the tradeoff of being a bit heavier.

Thanks for your input guys. 

-- JT

[=JHF= Smoke]

I have a 9 cell battery on mine and i get around 3:30 to 4 hours of normal use, but throw in watching videos and such, and it goes down pretty good.  you can probably watch one 2+ hour dvd on a single charge..

[=JHF= HaveSocks]

that should get your attention penguin boy.

You borrow one .gif from another member, and get called penguin boy   I'm just thinking about the future, not just today

[=JHF= JimmyT (CDN)]

You borrow one .gif from another member, and get called penguin boy   I'm just thinking about the future, not just today

Actually I was referring to OB and his love for linux...  but your avatar works too.   

-- JT

[=JHF= OBMer]

Actually I was referring to OB and his love for linux

I thought you were referring to me "pretty" boy!

 
OB

[=JHF= JimmyT (CDN)]

I thought you were referring to me "pretty" boy!

    OB thinks Im pretty!        

The dell laptop is now !ordered. 

Now the long wait begins....   

-- JT

[=JHF= JimmyT (CDN)]

Now the long wait begins....   

Took 2 weeks on the nose.  Im new to laptops so I've already asked Phy some super dumb questions...   

Thanks again for your input during the research phase of my portable computing journey.   

-- JT

[=JHF= Smoke]

  Im new to laptops so I've already asked Phy some super dumb questions...   

No matter how convincing he sounds, paprika does NOT make the cpu run faster!

[=JHF= JimmyT (CDN)]

If he sends you paprika.exe do NOT run it!  Zoikes! 
 
-- JT

[=JHF= phyZilla]

actually paprika does extend battery life so there......




paprika!

[=JHF= HaveSocks]

actually paprika does extend battery life so there......

And your proof is...