Dell Outlet : 640m Duo Core V. 2Duo

Hmm_Messiah

was looking at inspiron 640m on dell outlet

two questions
is the 640m similar to a 6400 just more "portable" other than screen size they are comparable -any opinion on the 640m as a machine

trying to compare prices on outlet v. main site
only duo core on outlet "2 Duo" on main site, " 1.83 2mb cache" on both , not been a techie would there be a significant difference ?

I did hear that Duo Core wouold give longer battery life?

3. chancing my arm - if i rang dell outlet you hink they might add on free delivery - the delivery cost is kinda pushing it over budget

4 one final option is g for the m2010 and sell this Dimension 9150, P4 3.20GHz, 2 GB ram - still under watrranty (motherboard replaces 6 months ago ) - would I get 600.00 or near for it ? - and what do the stylist among you think of the m2010

edit : the outlet version comes with Xp professional, not vista home
thanks
(god ireally should be studying )

Hmm_Messiah

? any-one

also the resolution for the 640ms on the outlet at present are 1440*900
some one suggested thats kinda small on a 14.1 screen ? any opinions
( I thought you could just change resolution along a scale )

BostonB

640m is smaller, lighter, much better battery life.

Unless speed is critical I doubt you'd really notice the difference between the two cpus.

Price is usually as in on the outlet. I've never rung them to try though.

Get a laptop. No one wants desktops. You'll struggle to sell the desktop.
http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=14015&cat=500

Laptops and LCD have one fixed res. The 640m is either 1440x900 or 1280x800. The 1440x900's I've had were all truelife (glossy) and the 1280x800 were matt. Personally I found the res is small but you can bump up the dpi and font size to get around it. Main problem with Dell Laptop is that the screen quality, viewing angles, colour reproduction and back lighting is luck of the draw. Some are good some are poor. Pot luck what you get even in the main Dell site.

The 640m with the 9cell battery and 1280x800 would be my choice. Gives about 6~7 hrs battery life, depending on usage. Theres nothing else with that battery at that price point. But only if you get it cheap. Once you get near €800 you're into the price range of other maybe better laptops. Especially better screens.

feylya

I using a 640m at the moment with 1440x900 res and a Centrino Duo. Great great laptop. I only use it for browsing, videos, some coding. Nothing overful strenuous. Runs Vista and Kubuntu with Beryl fine.

Tazz T

I just picked up the 640m with cire 2 dyi T5600, truelife display and a 120 HD for 700, delivery and vat included. Good price I thought. Was thinking about the bigger battery. Should really have got it in retrospect.

Should be here next week. I'll let you know how it is.

Hmm_Messiah

Ok I went for this :

(Please don't tell me bad choice - I want a few days at least of "novelty value" )

I priced the same spec except 120GB HDD for 1519.00

Insprion XPS M1210 - 1.66Ghz - 80.00Gb HD - 1024.00Mb Mem - DVD - Modem

XPS M1210 Core 2 Duo Processor T5500 (1.66 GHz, - -
8 X DVD+/-RW with Software (No Media - - D Series No Floppy Drive - - 80GB (5, 400 rpm) Hard Drive
- - 65W AC Adapter - -
Cineplayer SWDVD preact (with Media - - Roxio MYDVD XPS (With Media) - - Centrino Duo Label - -
Software Drivers -
- Dell Media Experience 3.1 Basic -
Inspiron - - Intel Pro WLAN 3945 Internal Wireless 802.11a/b/g -
- Image Restore Utility - -
UK/Ireland - Power Cord - -
Microsoft Vista Capable Logo Label - -
English - Dell Support 3.2 - -
Paint Shop Photo Album 6.0 STD IENG - - UK/Ire - Internal Keyboard - - English - Adobe Reader 8.5.8 -
Primary 9-cell 80WHr Li-Ion Battary -
1024MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x512) -
- 12.1 inch WXGA (1280 X 800) Integrated Camera -
- 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 TurboCache -
- Genuine Windows® XP Professional SP2 -
- Genuine Windows® XP Professional SP2 -


I would of liked more ram but what can ya do ?
came to 733.00 before vat - 886.94

I read good and bad reviews but decided to go or it (must look up the T&Css re online sales / return options )

Hmm_Messiah

HI any one an opinion on this ?

I've not received it yet but really two questions

is it a good price for what I am getting ?


an bit disappointed its only 1.66 GHZ but Core2 Duo should make it "future proff2 for a few years??

Portability was a factor, and I have a 5150 as desktop at home

BostonB

Good price compared to what?
Future proof in what way?

carbsy

Tazz T wrote:

I just picked up the 640m with cire 2 dyi T5600, truelife display and a 120 HD for 700, delivery and vat included. Good price I thought. Was thinking about the bigger battery. Should really have got it in retrospect.

Should be here next week. I'll let you know how it is.

Tazz, How did you get a 640M with Core 2 Duo T5600 for that price? For the price you've stated all you can get is the standard older Dual-Core Processor T2060.

BostonB

carbsy wrote:

Tazz, How did you get a 640M with Core 2 Duo T5600 for that price? For the price you've stated all you can get is the standard older Dual-Core Processor T2060.

I assume it was the Outlet or the ebay outlet...

Tazz T

Yeah, it was the outlet. Still waiting for it to arrive. Thought it'd be here today.:(

carbsy

Ah sorry ... sounds like a great deal then.

Hmm_Messiah

BostonB wrote:

Good price compared to what?
Future proof in what way?

"A good price for what I am getting"
- why would I need to compare it to some thing else. Simple enough question, to any one who buys hardware etc more frequently than the every 2/3 yrs that I do - is it good "value" for what I am getting ?

BostonB

Hmm_Messiah wrote:

"A good price for what I am getting"
- why would I need to compare it to some thing else. Simple enough question, to any one who buys hardware etc more frequently than the every 2/3 yrs that I do - is it good "value" for what I am getting ?

Its a good price for a M1210. But are there more suitable laptops than a M1210 at a better price? Maybe. What are using it for? if you're not gaming I think the 640m is a better for the price. Bigger screen, better battery life, and the same weight. Slightly bigger though. BTW. Theres no such thing as future proof.

Hmm_Messiah

well the m1210 arrived in work yesterday - I've no had a chance to play with other than turn on

4 people offered to buy it if I did not like it - including the boss who seemed upset havig spent 2 grand on a new lapppie and then wanting mine -so I guess it passes the style test. And while it is heavy it is definitely more portable than my previous pc . Mostly have to decide if I can get use to the mirror like screen!

Also wondered is the decrapifier the best bet to get some of the rubbish off it ? I don't really want to do a fresh install as some of the Dell utilities are apparently quite useful .

Also - would the recovery cds not also have a load of latent Dell crap so I'd just end up re-installing them ?


cheers

BostonB

Hmm_Messiah wrote:

....Also wondered is the decrapifier the best bet to get some of the rubbish off it ? I don't really want to do a fresh install as some of the Dell utilities are apparently quite useful .

Also - would the recovery cds not also have a load of latent Dell crap so I'd just end up re-installing them ? ....

I just uninstall everything I don't use. Some of the Dell stuff can be handy and hard to reinstall. IMO. Media direct is one, and I found it hard to find the right Wifi drivers in the past.

Hmm_Messiah

thanks boston b

i was worried in particular about getting the wifi back up an d running

i had planned to use a xp professional cd from work and my own key - but i'm not very technically minded so anxious re drivers etc ( though i guess most at least on the dell disk - but does that not recreate the problem ?

dell media experience nearly had me in tears within 5 minutes of starting playing with the lappie
dvds look AWESOME but media experience kept crashing


maybe just run de-crapifier?

i am anxious to lose a lot of the crap they have on it, but more anxious i'll mess something up

i alsothought it was quite slow with a few tasks for a core 2 duo - is there a way i can test performance

i have to say i LOVE the keys, so comfortable for a lappie

as an aside -when i setup my wireless router/broadband i had to re attempt so many times - eventually got it working but its named "default" on searches- how do i go about renaming it???


oh also the roxio sw looks impressive but wondered if stillads awful in reality as previously (was a disaster easy cd creator) on old pc. was thinking of replacing with ashampoo which i have had good experiences with.
its called roxio creator LE-Dell edition and myDVD

In fact i would SINCERELY appreciate any input on any of the dell utilities that ppl find worthwhile


many thanks

BostonB

Personally I didn't like media direct but I wiped it by accident before realising I didn't have the disks to reinstall it. The CD I had for it, still need the partition set up. I found using the default XP WiFi driver (I think it was an intel) was a bit flaky. When I used the Dell one I had no problems. The Dell one I didn't like, but if it works then it works. I also installed XP Pro on mine with a licensed copy from work.

When I reinstalled XP myself the machine was a lot quicker. On other dells I uninstalled everything, and that also speeded up the machine, but ultimately was a slower way of doing it.

I use Roxio at work and it works ok. Never tried to do too much with it, other than data/music CD's. On my own machine I uninstalled Roxio and use an old copy of nero I got free with some DVD's once.

Other than the WiFi driver on the laptop I don't think I keep any Dell stuff.

Tazz T

Well, I finally got my machine after a delay of two weeks. Interlink couldn't find my address, a new development, and Dell took a week to supply me with a consignment number to chase it up. 60 for delivery and I had to go down to Dublin port to pick it up myself in the end up.

Great machine tho. Now to get rid of all the Dell crap is on.

I understand the secret of keepim Dell Media direct is to install it on to a partition before reinstalling XP.

Any tips on getting rid of the Dell junk eagerly accepted....

petes

Tazz T wrote:

I understand the secret of keepim Dell Media direct is to install it on to a partition before reinstalling XP.

Any tips on getting rid of the Dell junk eagerly accepted....

I though I had a manual for reinstalling Media Direct that came with my xps. Must have a look.

Also as mentioned use the decrapifier to get rid of anything you don't want.

BostonB

Tazz T wrote:

...
I understand the secret of keepim Dell Media direct is to install it on to a partition before reinstalling XP......

Just make sure you have a disk. I found my re-install just fixed it, but didn't install it from scratch. I didn't try too hard though, as I never used it.

petes

BostonB wrote:

Just make sure you have a disk. I found my re-install just fixed it, but didn't install it from scratch. I didn't try too hard though, as I never used it.

I have to say, I don't use it at all either. The buttons there and I never press it. If the button was red though....