Looking for a laptop - Page 5

Davey_Pitch · 07-07-2007, 16:15

I really like the Inspiron laptops. We had several when I was working at Leeds which I had to set up for various members of staff, and I always hated handing them over as I wanted one for myself

Piggymon · 07-07-2007, 16:35

Hey, you got my bowl of cereal in the shot !

leowyatt · 07-07-2007, 16:37

Very nice mate looks good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Desmo

The one on the right has the looks though

Piggymon · 07-07-2007, 17:12

yeah babeh !!!

Desmo · 08-07-2007, 11:36

Mmmmm, think I might be looking to upgrade already. Not sure I've got enough RAM in this now as it seems a little sluggish at times and it's showing I'm at around 60-80% of RAM usage without anything major going on.

At the time, Dell wanted £95 to stick in another 1GB to make it 2GB in total so I wasn't going to go with that. I can get another 1GB from Crucial for £30 so reckon I might get that sorted.

What do you reckon? Going to help a bit or a lot?

Daz · 08-07-2007, 12:14

High memory use isn't a bad thing, so long as it's released by the OS when something else requires it. Indeed, the popular Linux window managers hog as much memory as they can get their hands on for caching, making the whole desktop a lot quicker as a result.

Vista will take a while to index on first boot, and will be slower until that's done - best bet to be sure it's finished is leave it on overnight with nobody logged into it. If you're looking to upgrade you'll probably see more benefit from moving to faster memory, rather than more of it, and a faster hard drive. I have Vista business on my D820, 1GB of the 667mhz (or whatever it is) memory and a 7200rpm hard drive and it's a joy to use.

[edit]fwiw, currently my physical memory is at 61% usage, with firefox being the worst culprit.

mejinks · 08-07-2007, 12:41

If you are using 80% of 1GB of Ram, I would think ther is something seriously wrong there. Is it Vista or XP?

Daz · 08-07-2007, 12:44

Vista. Home premium by the looks of it.

It's probably worth a fresh build you know. Dell pile so much crap onto the consumer units - or at least they did on my folks. First thing I did was trash it.

Desmo · 08-07-2007, 14:45

It's running Vista Business. I did think of slapping a hooky copy of Ultimate on here instead as I don't like lots of pre-installed crap.

Might give that a go instead and see what happens

Having said all this, the laptop is great and it's not a major problem at all. Just thought it might be a reasonably cheap spec upgrade.

Desmo · 16-07-2007, 16:31

You know the free 926 Dell printer I got with this? It's currently on the bay at £33 with 19 hours to go

Super!!!

07-07-2007, 16:15	#41
Davey_Pitch I iz speshul Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Liverpool Posts: 6,296	I really like the Inspiron laptops. We had several when I was working at Leeds which I had to set up for various members of staff, and I always hated handing them over as I wanted one for myself __________________ Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

07-07-2007, 16:35	#42
Piggymon Lara Croft Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: PigmoPad - Braintree Essex Posts: 8,604	Hey, you got my bowl of cereal in the shot ! __________________ BF% 28/08/08 - 21%

07-07-2007, 17:12	#44
Piggymon Lara Croft Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: PigmoPad - Braintree Essex Posts: 8,604	yeah babeh !!! __________________ BF% 28/08/08 - 21%

08-07-2007, 11:36	#45
Desmo The Last Airbender Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Pigmopad Posts: 11,915	Mmmmm, think I might be looking to upgrade already. Not sure I've got enough RAM in this now as it seems a little sluggish at times and it's showing I'm at around 60-80% of RAM usage without anything major going on. At the time, Dell wanted £95 to stick in another 1GB to make it 2GB in total so I wasn't going to go with that. I can get another 1GB from Crucial for £30 so reckon I might get that sorted. What do you reckon? Going to help a bit or a lot? __________________

08-07-2007, 12:14	#46
Daz The Stig Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Swad! Posts: 10,713	High memory use isn't a bad thing, so long as it's released by the OS when something else requires it. Indeed, the popular Linux window managers hog as much memory as they can get their hands on for caching, making the whole desktop a lot quicker as a result. Vista will take a while to index on first boot, and will be slower until that's done - best bet to be sure it's finished is leave it on overnight with nobody logged into it. If you're looking to upgrade you'll probably see more benefit from moving to faster memory, rather than more of it, and a faster hard drive. I have Vista business on my D820, 1GB of the 667mhz (or whatever it is) memory and a 7200rpm hard drive and it's a joy to use. [edit]fwiw, currently my physical memory is at 61% usage, with firefox being the worst culprit. __________________ apt-get moo

08-07-2007, 12:44	#48
Daz The Stig Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Swad! Posts: 10,713	Vista. Home premium by the looks of it. It's probably worth a fresh build you know. Dell pile so much crap onto the consumer units - or at least they did on my folks. First thing I did was trash it. __________________ apt-get moo

08-07-2007, 14:45	#49
Desmo The Last Airbender Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Pigmopad Posts: 11,915	It's running Vista Business. I did think of slapping a hooky copy of Ultimate on here instead as I don't like lots of pre-installed crap. Might give that a go instead and see what happens Having said all this, the laptop is great and it's not a major problem at all. Just thought it might be a reasonably cheap spec upgrade. __________________

16-07-2007, 16:31	#50
Desmo The Last Airbender Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Pigmopad Posts: 11,915	You know the free 926 Dell printer I got with this? It's currently on the bay at £33 with 19 hours to go Super!!! __________________

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