Buying a new laptop

Stan_Lite · 24-07-2006, 07:23

My current laptop isn't too bad for normal laptop type stuff (documents, videos, pictures etc.) but it's pretty crap at games. Some games refuse to play due to insufficient graphics and those that will play turn it into a very expensive George Foreman grill.

With me working away from home for long periods of time and being stuck on the rig with not much to do, I am starting to rely more and more on PC games to help pass the time.

I decided it was about time I got myself something that could "do the business" so I had a look around and found out that the new Dell XPS M1710 Pentium Duo T2600 is reputed to be the fastest laptop in the world at the moment so I had a look.

It seems to be the dogs doodahs. OcUK are selling them for nearly £1800, which I thought wasn't too bad and was seriously considering it.
I decided to have a look in the MM on the off chance and, lo and behold, there was a guy (with good trust) selling one almost identical (only difference is XP media Centre instead of XP Home) + some games + a G5 gaming mouse for £1300

I thought "bums, I don't have enough cash until I get paid a week on Thursday" but I decided to be cheeky and ask on the off chance if he'd be willing to wait. To my surprise, he said "no problem".

I have given him £300 as a deposit sort of idea and will transfer the other grand when I get paid and he will send the laptop to me for when I get back.

Here is the spec of my new baby:

# 2.16ghz CPU (DUAL CORE)
# 2 GIG DDR Memory (677MHZ)
# 100 GB Hard Drive
# 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 7900 Go GTX graphics card, PCI-Express x16
# DVDRW Drive
# Built in Wireless
# 17" True Life Screen
# Near enough 1 year warranty
# Windows Media Centre Edition

Games included in the deal:

Starship Troopers, Prince of Persia 2 Thrones and World of Warcraft as well as the mouse (I have a G5 on my gaming rig at home and it's ace).

I thought it was a bargain and can't wait to play stutter free games at work

Stan

Zirax · 24-07-2006, 09:51

That will be a stonking machine! I have a 9400 inspiron which has the 7800gtx in it and that really flies. Expect to be able to run games maxxed out

Mine which is a slightly lower spec can handle FEAR maxed out. The screen is really really good, good viewing angle combined with razor sharp images.

The big change I have noticed is the dual core performance. When loading apps/doing multiple tasks I can notice the responce time compared to my single core desktop.

Flibster · 24-07-2006, 10:10

Should be good...
The 7900 Go's are damn good cards for laptops.

As it's running MCE it may well have a TV tuner in it as well.

Although - I certainly wouldn't want to use it on my lap - it will be a bit of a nut-roaster...

Simon/~Flibster

Stan_Lite · 24-07-2006, 12:39

It can reputedly run pretty much any game at full res (1900x1200). I'm keen on the dual core as well for multiple apps etc. I notice with my current machine (Asus W3A) that opening apps whilst playing music or anything else for that matter tends to tax it a bit.

The W3A is a nice machine but not built for gaming at all - the screen is nice and is good for watching video but it just doesn't have enough grunt for what I want it to do.

As for it frying my lap, the guy I'm buying it from reckons that even whilst gaming, it hardly gets warm and even under stress it is virtually silent. I intend getting one of those laptop coolers for it to be on the safe side.

I can't wait - this laptop actually gets a higher 3dMark05 score than my current gaming rig

Stan

Mark · 24-07-2006, 13:23

The older generation XPS laptops are (as laptops go) great gaming machines. Be warned though, they're not the lightest around (all that top-notch hardware comes at a weight price).

Personally, I'm waiting for Merom before getting a new laptop (due end August, though it'll likely be October before Dell stump up new hardware in decent quantities). Mind you, had I seen that deal before you, you might have missed out.

Just to give you an idea, the T2300 (1.66GHz) Core Duo can match a 3.2GHz P4 Northwood (with HT) at most things, and outperform it at some. You can do the maths from there.

Jhadur · 24-07-2006, 19:39

Sounds like a nice new laptop you're getting there Stan

So what are you gonna do with your old one?

Stan_Lite · 24-07-2006, 19:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jhadur

Sounds like a nice new laptop you're getting there Stan

So what are you gonna do with your old one?

I haven't entirely decided yet.

I was going to sell it but part of me is thinking that, as Captain Scarlet rightly points out, the new one is not the most portable thing in the world. It'll be no problem taking it out to the rig but if I'm just going away for the weekend (to meets etc.), then the old one may come in handy for taking with me under those circumstances.

Also, there are a couple of noticeable scratches on the lid of the old one and greedy people look at something like this as being an excuse to knock £100 off the value - even though it does not affect the performance of the machine in the slightest. If I tried to sell it and someone said something like "Nah, it's damaged, I can only offer you £500 mate", I'd probably find his address and hit him with a brick.

Stan

Dymetrie · 24-07-2006, 20:17

"Nah, it's damaged, I can only offer you £500 mate"

Matblack · 24-07-2006, 20:19

Its used my best offer is £450

MB

Dymetrie · 24-07-2006, 20:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matblack

Its used my best offer is £450

MB

frigging snipers

24-07-2006, 07:23	#1
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	Buying a new laptop My current laptop isn't too bad for normal laptop type stuff (documents, videos, pictures etc.) but it's pretty crap at games. Some games refuse to play due to insufficient graphics and those that will play turn it into a very expensive George Foreman grill. With me working away from home for long periods of time and being stuck on the rig with not much to do, I am starting to rely more and more on PC games to help pass the time. I decided it was about time I got myself something that could "do the business" so I had a look around and found out that the new Dell XPS M1710 Pentium Duo T2600 is reputed to be the fastest laptop in the world at the moment so I had a look. It seems to be the dogs doodahs. OcUK are selling them for nearly £1800, which I thought wasn't too bad and was seriously considering it. I decided to have a look in the MM on the off chance and, lo and behold, there was a guy (with good trust) selling one almost identical (only difference is XP media Centre instead of XP Home) + some games + a G5 gaming mouse for £1300 I thought "bums, I don't have enough cash until I get paid a week on Thursday" but I decided to be cheeky and ask on the off chance if he'd be willing to wait. To my surprise, he said "no problem". I have given him £300 as a deposit sort of idea and will transfer the other grand when I get paid and he will send the laptop to me for when I get back. Here is the spec of my new baby: # 2.16ghz CPU (DUAL CORE) # 2 GIG DDR Memory (677MHZ) # 100 GB Hard Drive # 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 7900 Go GTX graphics card, PCI-Express x16 # DVDRW Drive # Built in Wireless # 17" True Life Screen # Near enough 1 year warranty # Windows Media Centre Edition Games included in the deal: Starship Troopers, Prince of Persia 2 Thrones and World of Warcraft as well as the mouse (I have a G5 on my gaming rig at home and it's ace). I thought it was a bargain and can't wait to play stutter free games at work Stan

24-07-2006, 10:10	#3
Flibster Moonshine Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 3,388	Should be good... The 7900 Go's are damn good cards for laptops. As it's running MCE it may well have a TV tuner in it as well. Although - I certainly wouldn't want to use it on my lap - it will be a bit of a nut-roaster... Simon/~Flibster __________________

24-07-2006, 13:23	#5
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	The older generation XPS laptops are (as laptops go) great gaming machines. Be warned though, they're not the lightest around (all that top-notch hardware comes at a weight price). Personally, I'm waiting for Merom before getting a new laptop (due end August, though it'll likely be October before Dell stump up new hardware in decent quantities). Mind you, had I seen that deal before you, you might have missed out. Just to give you an idea, the T2300 (1.66GHz) Core Duo can match a 3.2GHz P4 Northwood (with HT) at most things, and outperform it at some. You can do the maths from there. Last edited by Mark; 24-07-2006 at 19:51.

24-07-2006, 19:39	#6
Jhadur Peter Pan Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Lost Inside My Head Posts: 1,068	Sounds like a nice new laptop you're getting there Stan So what are you gonna do with your old one? __________________ "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."

24-07-2006, 20:17	#8
Dymetrie A large glass of Merlot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Letchworth with a Lightsaber Posts: 5,819	"Nah, it's damaged, I can only offer you £500 mate" __________________ Khef, Ka and Ka-Tet....

24-07-2006, 09:51	#2
Zirax Goes up to 11! Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,577	That will be a stonking machine! I have a 9400 inspiron which has the 7800gtx in it and that really flies. Expect to be able to run games maxxed out Mine which is a slightly lower spec can handle FEAR maxed out. The screen is really really good, good viewing angle combined with razor sharp images. The big change I have noticed is the dual core performance. When loading apps/doing multiple tasks I can notice the responce time compared to my single core desktop.

24-07-2006, 12:39	#4
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	It can reputedly run pretty much any game at full res (1900x1200). I'm keen on the dual core as well for multiple apps etc. I notice with my current machine (Asus W3A) that opening apps whilst playing music or anything else for that matter tends to tax it a bit. The W3A is a nice machine but not built for gaming at all - the screen is nice and is good for watching video but it just doesn't have enough grunt for what I want it to do. As for it frying my lap, the guy I'm buying it from reckons that even whilst gaming, it hardly gets warm and even under stress it is virtually silent. I intend getting one of those laptop coolers for it to be on the safe side. I can't wait - this laptop actually gets a higher 3dMark05 score than my current gaming rig Stan

24-07-2006, 20:19	#9
Matblack Baby Bore Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Svalbard Posts: 9,770	Its used my best offer is £450 MB __________________ "we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two"

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