Dell Laptop

friznit · Post by **friznit** » December 28th, 2007, 12:07

Assuming cash isn't a major issue, is there any reason why I shouldn't get a Dell XPS M1730

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » December 28th, 2007, 12:09

I wouldn't like to pay for a javascript popup link thingy.

friznit · Post by **friznit** » December 28th, 2007, 12:09

Edited for the compulsive F5 monkey

eion · Post by **eion** » December 28th, 2007, 12:26

friznit wrote:is there any reason why I shouldn't get a Dell XPS M1730

Well, let's see.
- it's rather expensive
- it's most likely quite heavy
- battery life probably isn't great
- it'll be built like a Dell, with parts and service to match
- pffft

If you absolutely must game on the move then I suppose it's fine. If you want a proper laptop or a semi-portable gaming machine then I reckon there are better options.

friznit · Post by **friznit** » December 28th, 2007, 12:34

Fair points. Things I like are big screen, competent graphics card, lots of RAM. The CPU/HDD/Other gubbins are pretty standard stuff.

What better options did you have in mind?

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » December 28th, 2007, 12:36

I think the best place to start is what do you want the machine to do?

The specs you'd want for a browsing machine are very different to a gaming machine.

eion · Post by **eion** » December 28th, 2007, 12:41

friznit wrote:Fair points. Things I like are big screen, competent graphics card, lots of RAM. The CPU/HDD/Other gubbins are pretty standard stuff.

What better options did you have in mind?

As I was just remarking to Berk, a big (well, high resolution) screen and a competent graphics card are what I miss the most in my current laptop. I personally favour ThinkPads, and a T-series is what I'd recommend for you if money is not a concern. It probably won't have such a fancy graphics card (although it might), but it will most likely be less heavy, more durable, and have better battery life than the Dell - all things I value highly in a portable machine.

Knowing what you want the machine for is obviously key, as Berk said. If you want a machine to lug travel with and do work on, then something like mine (high-spec ThinkPad X61 with extended battery) is more appropriate than a 17" monster; if you want a machine to play recent games and watch movies with friends on, then the one you chose is probably preferable (not to say there aren't better options though).

cheeseandham · Post by **cheeseandham** » December 28th, 2007, 13:06

As the owner of an 1710 I'll say that it's a competent laptop, a great screen and a good desktop replacement if you're willing to spend the cash. I like mine.
It is heavy, for a laptop, but light compared to a full rig.
The battery life is good enough 2.5 hours+ with fair use. I'm not sure under gaming conditions(why would you?)
it was good when setting up and removing at ProfLAN 3

Recommend you get the 3 year warranty, to protect against Dellness.
You can get base memory/hdd from Delland upgrade them yourself, it's cheaper, keep old parts in case of warranty needs or part problems.

It is a desktop replacement though, if it's just for Word/IE (like mine, lol!) you're burning your money.

eion · Post by **eion** » December 28th, 2007, 13:16

cheeseandham wrote:The battery life is good enough 2.5 hours+ with fair use.

Given that I can stretch eight hours from my (T7300-powered) laptop, and six with extra screen brightness, wireless usage et cetera, that's pretty poor.

I have had three laptops so far, and each one has been significantly lighter than the one before it; I moved from desktop replacement to middleweight to lightweight. Heavy is a good thing for paperweights, but not so much for laptops if you have to lug the thing around.

Post by **HereComesPete** » December 28th, 2007, 19:47

It's not that poor for a prospective gaming laptop. A lot of the super large heavy bastards with 8800's etc only last 30-45 mins on a full battery after all the extra stuff to run the thing in sexy pikchars mode has finished eating the power.

cheeseandham · Post by **cheeseandham** » December 28th, 2007, 20:19

Yeah I appreciate what you're saying eion, but it's a simple fact that high power laptops and high power applications are going to drain a laptops batteries more than that.

If you're after a lightweight laptop for running around with on the move then you can get up to 9 hours out some laptops these days. However I doubt these things will play any game from the last 3 years.
However if you're wanting a more of a desktop replacement laptop with bigger (and maybe brighter?) screen and heavy weight parts (a modern GPU is a hefty beast) you can't seriously expect the same battery life unless you stick car battery up it's bum.

For my laptop, as it's a desktop replacement and mostly based at home, I don't care about battery life as the thing is plugged in almost permanently - however I have the advantage of being able to sit it on my lap or wherever I am in the house. If I do take it on the occasional trip, it's a simpler job than a desktop but almost as powerful - I still plug it in at the other end.

That said, if battery life is important to you, then get a different laptop.

Post by **FatherJack** » December 28th, 2007, 21:31

For a box for gaming on, while plugged in, but with the convenience of being able to transport it to another location - possibly doing a bit of general non-gaming stuff on the way - then plugging it in again, it seems a decent choice.

I don't know anything about the 8700GT series, but the fact there's an SLi version available is something I never anticipated seeing in a laptop.

Normally if I'm displaced from the home or office I tend to forget about any chance of gaming beyond web-based efforts, but offerings like this may make me rethink my next request for a work laptop - I was toying with the idea of a VAIO AR51, admittedly primarily because of the semi-rude name.

Post by **HereComesPete** » December 28th, 2007, 23:03

A shiny expensive metal arse from sony!

friznit · Post by **friznit** » December 29th, 2007, 0:19

Aye. I guess I'm slightly hooked on portable gaming machine because for the last 7 years I've been constantly on the move - I bought my last laptop whilst on ops in Northern Ireland (tax free I might add, BFPO on an Op Tour even though it was still in the UK ftw!) But I hope to be a little more static now, so maybe something more convenient. Hell, I need to find a job first.

Thanks for the tips chaps.

5punk

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