Help me choose my laptop!

banjopaul

Hiya, I'm going to annoy you all with yet another thread looking for laptop advice.

I'm thinking of getting a Dell studio 15, will be using it for the usual college stuff, along with dvd's and music. Nothing to exciting, just want something that'll run fast and be reliable.

I've these spec's picked out:

COLOURS, PATTERNS, & ARTIST DESIGNS
Black chainlink

PROCESSOR
Intel® Pentium® Processor T4200 (2.0GHz, 800MHz, 1MB cache)

OPERATING SYSTEM
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 (64 BIT) - English

OFFICE SOFTWARE
Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word)

HARDWARE SUPPORT
1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return

LCD
15.6in Widescreen High Definition (1366x768) WLED with TrueLife

MEMORY
3072MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [1x2048 + 1x1024]

HARD DRIVE
320GB (5.400rpm) SATA Hard Drive

GRAPHICS CARD
Intel Integrated GMA 4500MHD

OPTICAL DRIVE
Fixed Internal DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software

PRIMARY BATTERY
Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery

WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY
Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g)

BLUETOOTH
No Bluetooth Upgrade

WEB CAM
2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera

KEYBOARD
Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard

I'm getting quoted €630.99 what do people think?

Any better deals out there or general advice?

Thanks in advance!

banjopaul

Any advice at all please?

IgsTer

Seems to be an alright buy, am looking into getting a studio 15 meself. The current middle p7350 c2d in particular listed here http://ireland.dell.com/ie/en/home/Laptops/laptop-studio-1555/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-studio-1555&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1

And thats quoted as 679euro atm.

So for 50 euro extra your getting a better processor, extra gig of ram and well better GFX card.

All of that though probably wont make much difference for general use such as surfing/college/music/dvd's etc though for gaming and heavy programs it might.

Also i noticed you went with the first laptop in the studio 15 section and changed the ram and hard drive? I found if you went with the third laptop down and just change the harddrive to the 320gb version as the ram is already 3gb it came to a cheaper 613.99 euro plus you get the better 4570 graphics card. Though you will have to confim that yourself as I could of missed something while customising it.

Ill be going with the middle one though as I think the better Processor/GFX/Ram might be just worth the extra few euros.

cynos

I'm not a big fan of Dell anymore so i'm going to post alternatives with id consider a better buy for similar prices

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/HP_Pavilion_DV6-1216SA_Entertainment_Laptop_VF360EA/version.asp

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Samsung_Q320-FS01UK_Laptop_NP-Q320-FS01UK/version.asp

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Acer_Aspire_5536G_LX.PAZ0X.092/version.asp

banjopaul

IgsTer wrote: »

Seems to be an alright buy, am looking into getting a studio 15 meself. The current middle p7350 c2d in particular listed here http://ireland.dell.com/ie/en/home/Laptops/laptop-studio-1555/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-studio-1555&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1

And thats quoted as 679euro atm.

So for 50 euro extra your getting a better processor, extra gig of ram and well better GFX card.

All of that though probably wont make much difference for general use such as surfing/college/music/dvd's etc though for gaming and heavy programs it might.

Also i noticed you went with the first laptop in the studio 15 section and changed the ram and hard drive? I found if you went with the third laptop down and just change the harddrive to the 320gb version as the ram is already 3gb it came to a cheaper 613.99 euro plus you get the better 4570 graphics card. Though you will have to confim that yourself as I could of missed something while customising it.

Ill be going with the middle one though as I think the better Processor/GFX/Ram might be just worth the extra few euros.

Cool, you're dead right, saved me a bit of money there if I go for that laptop.
Thanks again!

cynos wrote: »

I'm not a big fan of Dell anymore so i'm going to post alternatives with id consider a better buy for similar prices

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/HP_Pavilion_DV6-1216SA_Entertainment_Laptop_VF360EA/version.asp

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Samsung_Q320-FS01UK_Laptop_NP-Q320-FS01UK/version.asp

http://www.laptopsdirect.ie/Acer_Aspire_5536G_LX.PAZ0X.092/version.asp

Thank you I'll definitely check these out.

banjopaul

I'm liking the look of the HP Pavilion DV6-1216SA, cheaper than the dell at €571.44 plus delivery. Specs are as follows:

Processor
AMD Turion X2 mobile processor RM-74 / 2.2 GHz

Multi-Core Technology
Dual-Core

Cache Memory
Type L2 Cache
Installed Size 1 MB

RAM
Installed Size 4 GB / 8 GB (max)

Technology
DDR2 SDRAM

Form Factor
SO DIMM 200-pin

Configuration Features
2 x 2 GB

Storage Controller
Type Serial ATA

Serial ATA Interface
Serial ATA-150

Storage
Hard Drive 320 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 rpm

What do others think? Would this be eligible for the free windows 7 upgrade?

Ricky91t

I only think the dell is more expensive as they've got the Intel processor,IIRC dell used to sell AMD based PC's and laptops for a bit cheaper than the Intel versions but this was scrapped(i think),If that was the case it's not a good advert for AMD processors anyway and I'd rather stick to Intel

IgsTer

Yeah the intels are better processors most of the time which is why there more expensive and the amd's are more budget cpu's atm. There probably still ok though for general use.

Doyle_G

I got my new studio 15 delivered on Friday and it's AMAZING!! I got the 9 cell battery instead of the 6 because I need a bigger battery for college. It was well worth the extra €70. I get 5.5 hours out of the battery which is brillian... Great buy but the keys are VERY clicky!!

Ricky91t

Doyle_G wrote: »

I got my new studio 15 delivered on Friday and it's AMAZING!! I got the 9 cell battery instead of the 6 because I need a bigger battery for college. It was well worth the extra €70. I get 5.5 hours out of the battery which is brillian... Great buy but the keys are VERY clicky!!

When did you order that out of interest?And what was your EDD?I ordered mine recently and trying to figure out when it might arrive so I'll know if i'm around of not :pac:

Doyle_G

Ricky91t wrote: »

When did you order that out of interest?And what was your EDD?I ordered mine recently and trying to figure out when it might arrive so I'll know if i'm around of not :pac:

I ordered it online on the 26th Of August (Wed) and it was delivered on Sept 4th (Fri). The EDD was September 4th so they seem to leave it till then. It was delivered early enough too, around 9:30am :pac:

Medievalist

banjopaul wrote: »

I'm liking the look of the HP Pavilion DV6-1216SA, cheaper than the dell at €571.44 plus delivery.

I've had two HP Pavilions in the past few years and the motherboard went in both of them. I even went to the bother of getting the second one repaired and it just blew again. Now I'm sticking with Dell.

Screed

Build quality is poor as they are now all built in Poland. Issues with the plant and the personal over there. I worked for the company for many years and looked after this product when initially released. Actually looked after most of thier laptops. Best was the D620. If I was to buy a new one I'd stay away from Dell.