Dell XPS laptop screen choices

kelzer

I have been configuring a 15.4'' Dell XPS laptop and am stuck between the two screen choices of the following:

15.4'' UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) CCFL Display (220nits) with TrueLife™ [Included in Price]

or

15.4" Widescreen WXGA+ (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™ [add € 30.00 or €2/month1]

Any recommendations on these two? Is it worth upgrading to Vista Ultimate over Vista HP?

I am going with a 2.2 GHz Processor and 2 GB Memory.

hamster

kelzer wrote: »

I have been configuring a 15.4'' Dell XPS laptop and am stuck between the two screen choices of the following:

15.4'' UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) CCFL Display (220nits) with TrueLife™ [Included in Price]

or

15.4" Widescreen WXGA+ (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™ [add € 30.00 or €2/month1]

Any recommendations on these two? Is it worth upgrading to Vista Ultimate over Vista HP?

I am going with a 2.2 GHz Processor and 2 GB Memory.

The 1440x900 res is worth it if you are doing general stuff especially those spreadsheets. What about gaming? If so, might want to check the card in the laptop. 1280x800 is generally ok especially if you are looking for good videocard performance. Next year Dell will be more flexible on their XPS range. What laptops are you looking at Inspiron 1520 vs XPS 1530M ?

foobar

kelzer wrote: »

I have been configuring a 15.4'' Dell XPS laptop and am stuck between the two screen choices of the following:

15.4'' UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) CCFL Display (220nits) with TrueLife™ [Included in Price]

or

15.4" Widescreen WXGA+ (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™ [add € 30.00 or €2/month1]

Any recommendations on these two? Is it worth upgrading to Vista Ultimate over Vista HP?

I am going with a 2.2 GHz Processor and 2 GB Memory.

Depends on what your doing with the laptop but for me WXGA+ is a must. In fact when i was looking at the XPS i didnt see that option so i didnt buy it. Now the dell coupon has expired .

RoyalMarine

ring dell and they should stil take the coupon.

argue with them.

foobar

RoyalMarineComm wrote: »

ring dell and they should stil take the coupon.

argue with them.

Yeah i tried. he said his system will not accept the coupon.

Voodu Child

If you're going for the 1440x900, make sure you spec it with the better of the two graphics cards (8600). The 8400 just about hacks it at 1280x800, but i wouldnt like to see it driving a higher-res screen.

hamster

An indian girl called Susan called me yesterday morning from dell. She was very nice and said my order would arrive on the 27th Dec. I said thanks and she said she would call back to confirm arrival. Wow... this from dell? Amazing. I had expected delivery on the 9th Jan according to backlog/supply issues... but we'll see. I'll let ye know what I think of it.

kelzer

I'm probably going to wait until the new year to purchase the XPS 1530. Just two more questions:

1. Is it worth the extra to get Vista Ultimate over Vista HP?

2. Does this machine come with a built in sound card? I see there is an option to select a Sound Blaster card.

hamster

kelzer wrote: »

I'm probably going to wait until the new year to purchase the XPS 1530. Just two more questions:

1. Is it worth the extra to get Vista Ultimate over Vista HP?

2. Does this machine come with a built in sound card? I see there is an option to select a Sound Blaster card.

All laptops will have basic sound and normally is never an issue - fine even under linux - Before XP I used to swear by soundblaster. Amazing how times change even for laptops.

Vista Premium should be fine - Ultimate is grand if you can get it for little more or no cost - I would be bothered if it would just get more in the way - there are some multimedia'n tools and extras. I should have mine any day now.

coldfire1x

Dell has started accepting order for 1680x1050 screen on their XPS 1530 laptop in US. It will soon be here.

hamster

coldfire1x wrote: »

Dell has started accepting order for 1680x1050 screen on their XPS 1530 laptop in US. It will soon be here.

Hopefully they will bump up the nvidia offering with it - maybe the 8700M or upcoming 8800M GT. Want the high resolution but the same performance and without the heat. The latest mobile nvidia's should be a lot cooler. Hopefully the cost won't be bumped up too much.

foobar

voodoo_child wrote: »

If you're going for the 1440x900, make sure you spec it with the better of the two graphics cards (8600). The 8400 just about hacks it at 1280x800, but i wouldnt like to see it driving a higher-res screen.

You mean for games right? In regular use (non gaming) the card should have no problem with 1440x900.

Voodu Child

foobar wrote: »

You mean for games right? In regular use (non gaming) the card should have no problem with 1440x900.

Vista with full eye-candy seems a little sluggish with the 8400M in 1280x800 (on the XPS M1330).

I can only presume running the card at higher-res would be a little worse.

Personally I'd go for the 8600M on the M1530 - it seems to be only a e50 option.

Jonathan

voodoo_child wrote: »

Vista with full eye-candy seems a little sluggish with the 8400M in 1280x800 (on the XPS M1330).

I can only presume running the card at higher-res would be a little worse.

Personally I'd go for the 8600M on the M1530 - it seems to be only a e50 option.

I've a Vostro 1400 with a 8400m GS and the 1440*900 screen... there is nothing wrong with the card.. getting very acceptable fps on hl2 with settings on max and af and aa both on 2x.
Having siad that i didnt have the 8600 option on the vostro.. for €50 id prob go for it myself...

hamster

jmccrohan wrote: »

I've a Vostro 1400 with a 8400m GS and the 1440*900 screen... there is nothing wrong with the card.. getting very acceptable fps on hl2 with settings on max and af and aa both on 2x.
Having siad that i didnt have the 8600 option on the vostro.. for €50 id prob go for it myself...

How quiet is the fan on it, jmccrohan?- I'd be interested to know - is the fan noticable? My old p4 mobile is like a wailing bashee on something simple like Celestia or Halflife (does the job fine - just overheats). Hopefully 5 years makes a difference.

AlmightyCushion

hamster wrote: »

How quiet is the fan on it, jmccrohan?- I'd be interested to know - is the fan noticable? My old p4 mobile is like a wailing bashee on something simple like Celestia or Halflife (does the job fine - just overheats). Hopefully 5 years makes a difference.

I doubt the fan is really noticeable. I have a 7900gs in my laptop and the fan isn't that loud.

hamster

That's good to hear - with the laptop so much closer to you - it was a concern. Sounds like these new core2 chips and nvidia's mobile version keep things cool.