[choppa86]

To start off, I'm looking for a gaming pc. I've went to the dell website, and found that the XPS M1710 is the best for the price range. However, not being big on specs and what not, I thought I'd ask what some of the differences and better options would be for building my gaming notebook.

To start off:

-The processor I want in it is the Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7200.(2 GHz/667MHz/4MB)
Now, I'm wondering if I went higher, say to the T7400(2.16 GHz) processor, or even the T7600(2.33GHz),would there be a big difference?

-Next, the memory I'm looking at is the 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM. Would this be sufficient enough for pc games coming out now? Or would upping the memory to the 4 GB change it dramatically at the moment?

-Third, I'm wondering if there is a big difference in performance between the 60 and 80 GB 7200rpm SATA hard? Or, for that matter, would it be smarter to raise it to the 120 GB?

-Lastly, the video card that can be added to it is the 512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GTX. Now, I would look and see if these card works well on the web but I'm not sure where to look, so any help on if this card is really good quality for gaming, as oppossed to the 256MB 7900 GS model would be great.

If anyone can help me, I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm starting to get a feel for what's what in computers and notebooks, but I'm not quite there yet.

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First I will say this, Do not get your pc from dell they have a horrible reputation for making their pcs their own "special" way so that it is nearly impossible to upgarde it without sending it back to dell to have it upgraded. (wonder why they would do that?). Second great processor choice any of the core 2 duos will be great for ur pc i would recomedn the 2.33 or maybe even a higher one. 2 gigs of DDR2 ram at 667 mhz should be fine for games for the next yr or so as long as the motherboard u get has availability for 4 or even 8 gb you can always upgrade later. I would definately recommend going for a 160 or 250 gig hd as you get more had for your money. The nividia card you are looking at is good. In its architecture is state of the art, the gpu is almost brand new and that it has substantial overclocking potential. I would definately however recommend u build it yourself as you will know what you have put into your pc, you will know how your pc was built. And sometimes the most important point is you will buy your own copy of windows xp and will get your disc. Dell does not include the original xp disc which i feel is quite unacceptable, and that fact alone would make me hesitate from buying a pc from dell.

Edited by Dan1887, 27 October 2006 - 01:38 AM.

[Dan1887]

First I will say this, Do not get your pc from dell they have a horrible reputation for making their pcs their own "special" way so that it is nearly impossible to upgarde it without sending it back to dell to have it upgraded. (wonder why they would do that?). Second great processor choice any of the core 2 duos will be great for ur pc i would recomedn the 2.33 or maybe even a higher one. 2 gigs of DDR2 ram at 667 mhz should be fine for games for the next yr or so as long as the motherboard u get has availability for 4 or even 8 gb you can always upgrade later. I would definately recommend going for a 160 or 250 gig hd as you get more had for your money. The nividia card you are looking at is good. In its architecture is state of the art, the gpu is almost brand new and that it has substantial overclocking potential. I would definately however recommend u build it yourself as you will know what you have put into your pc, you will know how your pc was built. And sometimes the most important point is you will buy your own copy of windows xp and will get your disc. Dell does not include the original xp disc which i feel is quite unacceptable, and that fact alone would make me hesitate from buying a pc from dell.

Edited by Dan1887, 27 October 2006 - 01:38 AM.

[kidnova]

I don't agree with all the Dell bashing that goes on in this forum, but I guess to each there own. Dell doesn't use anywhere near as many proprietary components as their "reputation" would lead you to believe. It was true in the past, but not so much anymore. However, Dell does use lower quality components than most boutiques, which is why they are usually able to keep their prices lower. Upgrades on notebooks are extremely limited anyways, so you wouldn't notice much of a difference. Dell almost always has outstanding coupons available, so make sure you don't pay full price.

As for your specs, 2GB of RAM will last you for the next 3-4 years at least. Window XP won't even recognize 4GB of RAM. Vista will, but 4 GB is definitely overkill right now and for the near future. The 7900GTX is one of the top mobile GPUs on the market today and any one of those processors wil serve you fine. I would recommend increasing the harddrive size, especially if you're planning on storing a lot of digital media such as music and movies. There is a tradeoff when changing from a 5400 RPM to a 7200 RPM harddrive. Yes, you will see slightly improved load times, but you will also get decreased battery life and increased heat. If you're planning on leaving it plugged in most of the time, then you shouldn't have much of an issue with the decreased battery life.

Here is an excellent review for the system you are looking at with a slightly older (core duo as opposed to c2d) processor:
http://www.notebookr...=Dell XPS M1710

Edited by kidnova, 27 October 2006 - 07:43 AM.

[†Gladiator†]

ummm yeah since i am replying from a dell, i just wanna say that dell's are fine. However the Huge XPS does have a lot of downsides.... like 2.3 hrs of battery life. It's not very portable, heavy so u really don't want to lug it around. The specs are amazing but for the price u can get a desktop gaming machine that's at least 1.5x times better and a lot more upgradable. If you are ordering a dell xps right now you won't need an xp reinstallation disk cause you are gonna get a vista express upgrade ticket for free. (not really free cause you probably have to fork out 50 bucks for the ultimate version of the upgrade)

Mind explaining why you want a gaming notebook? as opposed to a gaming desktop?

[choppa86]

First off, thanks for your help guys.
Secondly, I had no idea that Dell has an unreliable reputation in terms of customer service.
I'm going to a university in a year, so I'm looking for a portable notebook. I know I said video games, but I want to use it for entertainment purposes in general. I've heard that it's heavy, but I'm not one to complain over carrying 15 lbs.

You say there are laptops cheaper than the XPS series, and more affordable, would you be able to direct me to a site, or give me an idea on how I should approach this?

I know this is a broad topic, but I feel as if this site is the best for helping pick what I really want.

[†Gladiator†]

in term of price. i think that dell has some very amazing deals. if gaming isn't ur number 1 priority than i suggest you spend half of what u have to pay for the xps on a dell 6400 or 9400 both are very very capable machines that can handle multimedia quite easily. The 9400 has the same size screen as the xps the 6400 is 15 inch. As to prices... as some1 has said already the price of dells flucuates a lot so it really depends on whether or not if you can catch a good deal.. also remember to check online for e coupons. 15 minutes of searching can save you upwards of 300 dollars. Personally i would recommend the 6400 with very decent specs at a 1000 dollar price tag.
http://www1.ca.dell....f...;l=en&s=dhs

[warriorscot]

Laptop wise Dell make pretty decent systems however they arent the cheapest by a long shot, Even Alienware is cheaper in alot of cases now and Dell owns them and they use better stuff.

Now its definately a laptop you want not a PC, two different beasts and different price ranges what gets you a mid range laptop is a high end PC.

Dells cheaper systems are great no problem with them or reccomending them they are even switching to AMD however over 5-600 quid then they suck the components arent good enough for that price and they overcharge the top end to subsidise the low end systems. In general there is almost always a better option than a dell for a PC and usually with laptops(dell lappers are also Massive and ugly when sat next to competing models).

Alienware is a good place to look like i said can be cheaper than dell the small portable models are several hundred quid cheaper than dell.

Acer make great laptops, Toshiba is also worth a mention.