Dell E1705 or E1505? $279 difference, also a few minor questions

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With the coupons that are out I can get 25% off a E1705 or 20% off a E1505. I built them to the same specifications except the E1705 has a GeForce Go 7900 GS and the E1505 has the ATi x1400. There is a price difference of about $300 and I am on a budget so just wanted to get some thoughts on which to go with? Basically should I spend $300ish to get a bigger screen and better video card?

Also for either decision should I upgrade to the 7200RPM and should I bother paying to upgrade the ram from 533MHz to 667MHz?
 
Screen if you like it. Video card is day and night. I think the 7900gs has a score twice that of the X1400 in benchmarks.

I have an e1705 :) it rocks.
 
Well this is going to be a desktop replacement of sorts, I don't play games currently only because there are none I really want to. However if something does come along I want to be able to play it.

I want it to be quick to do normal tasks which is why I was thinking the 7200 RPM HDD would be a nice upgrade.
 
Well the difference in 15" vs 17" screen is pretty considerable for a laptop. but if you plan to hook it to an external monitor that may not be an issue for you.

As for the video card, the 7900gs is considerably more powerful than the other options...
 
I would guess that probably 90% of the time I will have it hooked up to a 21" CRT however when not plugged into my monitor the extra real estate would be nice. My main concern is I want the power to game if I want to and the x1400 makes me nervous.
 
If you want to have the power to play games in the future (just in case one catches your eye). You'd be much happier with the 7900 GS. the x1400 would only be able to play newer games at a lower resolution with some of the eye candy turned off. the 7900 GS would be a much better option
 
i have an e1705 [see sig] and i love it. i play CSS and BF2 with regularity on it and its great, handles it all at native res with no probs. 7900gs go was an excellent investment imo
 
Sounds good, ill go witht he E1705 I think the last thing Im stuck on deciding is if I want to spend $130 more to go from a 1.6GHz, 2MB cache, 533MHz FSB Core 2 Duo to a 2GHz, 4MB cache, 667MHz FSB processor. I don't really want to spend the money but I don't want to regret not getting it down the road if it is worth the investment.
 
Personally I would get the faster cpu. cause most games aren't yet optimized to take advantage of dual core cpu's yet and in that case having a higher clocked cpu would help the game perform better on your lappy
 
I wish Dell would use the extra space and put a full keyboard w/numpad on the 17" model. I'm looking at a 17" Dell & a Gateway which does have the numpad. It makes it tough to decide.
 
Toward the back on the sides and top and bottom there are intake vents that allow the fans to draw air in over the heatsinks and out the back. The laptop stays very cool. even with heavy gaming my e1705's cpu stays under 60 degrees celsius. The GPU only goes above 80 degrees celsius when I play something demanding like Call of Duty 2. I only have a 7800 go gpu and I'll be looking into upgrading it to the 7900 GS sometime in the future.

Anyways I use an external keyboard since I don't move my lappy around too much except to move to a different room or go a friends house for a LAN party. In which case the extra couple of pounds for an external keyboard really doesn't matter. I'd take (imho) an outstanding physical cooling layout over the convenience of a number pad. See if you can find out how hot the gateway model runs over all
 
I had a question myself, is it worth the upgrade from the Integrated Graphics Card to the x1400? I plan on playing cs 1.6 with this laptop but also want to be able to move my computer around. That being the reason Im going for the laptop>desktop. I get about 60fps on the integrated card right now on my B130. Another thing being should I upgrade the processor to the Core 2? Thanks
 
HmiKeISAGG said:
I had a question myself, is it worth the upgrade from the Integrated Graphics Card to the x1400? I plan on playing cs 1.6 with this laptop but also want to be able to move my computer around. That being the reason Im going for the laptop>desktop. I get about 60fps on the integrated card right now on my B130. Another thing being should I upgrade the processor to the Core 2? Thanks
Click to expand...

I was about to ask the same questions. Is the X1400 worth the extra money over the GMA 950 and is the Core 2 Duo worth the extra money over the Core Duo?

The X1400 adds $89 to the price
The Core 2 Duo adds $67 to the price

I am not expecting this notebook to run games, I have a desktop for that, but to be able to play a game or two of CS:S or 2142 would be handy at times. Also, how does a GMA950 handle Vista?

On a side note, this laptop is a present for me from myself for quiting smoking!
 
GMA950 can technically run vista aero, but its quite horrible at it. If you are planning on running aero, get the x1400.

The GMA950 is one of the reasons Im hesitant to try vista on my e1405. I wish it had had an option for *any* discrete card. But it didn't, so Im kind've stuck with it. If dell put the M1210 as an inspiron with the x1400 Id snap one up in a hurry (XPS != coupons)

Dont even consider the GMA950 as an option, basically.
 
GLSauron said:
GMA950 can technically run vista aero, but its quite horrible at it. If you are planning on running aero, get the x1400.

The GMA950 is one of the reasons Im hesitant to try vista on my e1405. I wish it had had an option for *any* discrete card. But it didn't, so Im kind've stuck with it. If dell put the M1210 as an inspiron with the x1400 Id snap one up in a hurry (XPS != coupons)

Dont even consider the GMA950 as an option, basically.
Click to expand...
Where do you get these coupons for the XPS series?
 
I just ordered an E1705. I found that it is definitely worth it to call them and get a price because they will beat their online price. I first called Gateway and got a quote for a 860XL. They also beat their online price by a couple hundred. I then called Dell, told them I was comparing prices, and they beat the Gateway price. Plus, the Dell has a 3 year warranty where the Gateway only had 1 year.

Others have said they have gotten better deals, but for $1974.00 shipped, I got a Core 2 Duo 2.0 ghz, 2gigs ram, 160hd, 7900gs 256, 17" wuxga, free Vista, extra power adapter, charcoal snap cover, etc.
 
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