Dell Inspiron 1720

[IronMentality]

About 500 times, I've come close to buying this laptop. Now I finally think I have a build to pull the trigger on to spoil myself this Christmas. Before I could never get the 7200RPM in the build, and that stopped me. Then sometimes the processor upgrade prices were a little much. Previously, you could only get the 7xxx series of the NVidia cards. Now it comes standard with at least the 8400.

I have the following customized on Dell's website for $2442. I think this is a good price for what I am getting. I also have a few questions.

- Ruby Red
- Intel Core 2 Duo T5700 (2.2 GHz/800 Mhz FSB/4MB cache)
- Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate Edition
- 17.0" 1900x1200 Hi-Def Widescreen Monitor
- 256MB NVidia GeForce 8600M GT
- 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 677MHz
- 160GB SATA Hard Drive, 7200RPM
- CD/DVD Writer (DVD-RW)
- Wireless-N Mini-card
- Built-in Bluetooth
- Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Webcam
- 9-cell Primary Battery
- 9-cell Additional Lithium Ion Battery
- High Definition Audio 2.0
- Additional 90 Watt Spare AC Adapter
- TV Tuner & Remote Control Bundle
- 3 Year Mfg Warranty
- 3 Year Accidental Damage Warranty
- 10/100 Ethernet

For software, I already have and will use, Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate and Adobe Creative Suite 3.

I will only use this laptop for productivity work and maybe occasionally light gaming for fun.

What is the deal with Windows Vista Ultimate? I've been told Vista will be a total nightmare by the smartest people I know that work with computers on a regular basis. If I buy Ultimate, and it gives me all kinds of trouble, I can downgrade to XP Professional I believe for free if what some of you guys have told me is correct.

COMMON SENSE

I'll purchase additional RAM, to install into the laptop from NewEgg or ZipZoomFly. But, if I go back to XP, this may not be worth doing. f I recall, XP can't recognize above 2GB?

QUESTIONS ABOUT ADDING COMPONENTS OR REMOVING THEM

Should I go for the 256MB 8600M GT for the work I do? I don't do intense 3D gaming. I will watch DVDs on my laptop and have a lot of stuff running at once, including CPU intensive programs like Photoshop and what not. The laptop will cost $140 less if I downgrade to the 128MB 8400M GS instead. The 8600M GT may also come in handy for Vista's "fancy looking" interface.

am I really getting that much more performance gain for $140 extra?

The 7200RPM Hard Drive. am I better off keeping the stock 5400RPM one with more space and buying a 7200RPM Notebook HD online from the Egg or ZZF? I would sell the stock one and use the one I buy online by installing it into the notebook myself. I want the best drive for the most money and I want the 7200RPM.

Is Blu-Ray worth it? It's $335 more for a Blu-Ray Writer at this time. can this format only offer me a chance to play Blu-Ray movies? Is there going to be software coming out on these discs? It seems like I should just stick with the DVD-RW.

Alright, you can see what my priorities are in mid-December at 3:28 AM!

One more question, is Quad Core due in laptops sometime soon? If so, how soon? Last time I bought my Dell Inspiron 9300 which is a great laptop, I got the Pentium M chip just as the Core 2 Duo's came out. I wish I would've waited for obvious reasons.

[IronMentality]

Oops, I forgot one more thing. The Sound Card. There's an option for $70 to upgrade to a X-Fi SoundBlaster that plugs into the side of the laptop. Is this actually dramatically better than the standard High Definition 2.0 Audio?

Is there something I can purchase on the Egg or ZZF instead that is better?

[Alaron]

32bit XP and Vista recognize anywhere from 2.7 to 3.2GB of RAM when 4GB are installed. You can use 2GB no problem, and we recommend it for either OS.

If you're not gaming, I'd say the 8600GT is overkill. The 8400GS should be fine for DVDs and Photoshop. Just be sure it is not using shared memory. But with 2GB installed, leaving out 128MB could be do-able I suppose.

I've heard that notebook hard drive rotation speeds don't make as much of a difference as they do in desktop computers. But I'd stick with the 7200rpm too. You could still pick up an external drive for more space if you need it down the road.

I wouldn't worry about BluRay on a small screen. The discs are too expensive anyway.

I've heard good things about those external soundcards if you're an audiophile. But I would just go with the built-in audio for now and worry about a soundcard later.

[IronMentality]

Should I use the stock Dell hard drive or buy my own? The only reason why I'd buy my own is I want the most reliable notebook hard drive I can get in my laptop. This was the one I was eyeing: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822146226 (Seagate 100GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache SATA150)

I do have those brand new Logitech digital speakers. They are awesome. Instead of getting the Dell offering, I found this external one on NewEgg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102009 - Is this the best external sound card available for a laptop?

Forget Blu-Ray.

I'll debate the GPU with myself but will probably end up going with the GT.

[IronMentality]

Wow, forget that other Seagate one. This one looks much more fun!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822145160

[Lespaul20]

I'm not sure what hard drives Dell is using now, but I've yet to see or hear of any newer model with hard drive issues.

[thefultonhow]

Keep in mind if you want to buy more RAM that Dell will probably fill both slots. And don't get a separate sound card unless you have 5.1 speakers, and if you do, get the ExpressCard X-Fi and not a USB sound processor.

[jhelmuth]

Just my thoughts (as I've bought this one and made some of these decissions)...

[1] You can utilize more RAM and run "better" if you will go with the 64 bit versions (either XP or Vista Ultimate - I'm using Ultimate x64)... and YES - you can get 64 bit drivers for everything the inspirion can be configured with (PM me if you need help there).

[2] rotational speed does affect throughput, so if you have more intense database or video production (other?), then maybe the 7200 RPM will be more your speed (sorry ;o)

[3] The Hitachi drive you noted is also the same manufacture as the IBM Scorpion models Dell frequently uses (they also favour Fujitsu as well - very rarely Seagate).... I would worry about it.

[4] The graphics card selection is sorta a non-issue unless you play the most recent games at 15fps or higher (I'm not a gamer myself). Otherwise the 8400M GS will provide all you need - and you can replace the card later if needed with a higher end model for about the same $

[5] Memory is dual channel - so Dell ALWAYS fills up both slots. However, better memory values are out there. Buy the 1 or 2 gig options, and upgrade to 4 gig when you are ready... (it's actaully cheaper that way)


Jim