Best Gaming Inspiron? Best cost to spec ratio?

[klingsor]

I know that there are a few threads here about this but they are all filled with chatter.

Perhaps we could have just a few no nonsense postings with the best specs to cost ratio, and I humbly request no extra chatter on this posting.

 

[RossMAN]

From notebookforums.com

>>Inspiron 9100<<

Basic Specs:
CPU: Pentium 4 w/ HT @ 2.80, 3 or 3.20GHz (3.4GHz and Extreme Edition option available in some countries where Inspiron XPS not offered)
LCD: 15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800), 15.4" WSXGA (1680 x 1050) and 15.4" WUXGA (1920 x 1200).
Memory: PC3200 (400MHz) SO DIMMs, 2 user accessible slots, 2GB (2 x 1GB) maximum. Dual Channel configuration.
Hard Drive: 40, 60, 80 or 100 GB @ 4200rpm. 60 GB @ 7200rpm. Standard laptop 2.5".
Media Device: 8x DVD-ROM, 24x/10x/24x CD-RW (8x DVD), 8x DVD+RW/+R,
Wireless Card: Dell 1350 (802.11b/g) or Dell 1450 (802.11a/b/g) internal.
Video/ Graphics Card: 64MB or 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9700; 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9800
Dimensions:
Height: 50.8 mm (2.0")
Width: 359 mm (14.1")
Depth: 274 mm (10.8")
Weight: 4.05kg (8.92 lbs) w/ DVD drive and 12-cell battery.

Pros:]
-> One of the most powerful laptop's available on the market today, the powerful desktop P4, dual channel RAM and MR9800 can rip you a new one.
-> Beautiful Ultrasharp Widescreen display, this is what all laptops should have. These screens not only offer better resolutions and more working room, they have better specs (response time, viewing angles, contrast ratio) than most of the regular aspect screens Dell uses in other models.
-> 4 USB ports come in very handy, let me tell you... coming from an i8600 owner with only 2

Cons:
-> Because of the Desktop P4 processor and MR9800 it runs hot, hot, hot... this combination also takes its toll on battery life, you would be lucky to recieve 90 minutes.
-> Particularly bulky because of the extra height required for components and cooling, it stands high on some peculiar 'legs'.
-> Can be expensive, that dual channel feature makes it particularly difficult to try and save money on buying RAM elsewhere because by default the minimum and all RAM offered by Dell on this model comes in dual DIMMs.
__________________________________________________________

>>Inspiron XPS<<

Basic Specs:
CPU: Pentium 4 w/ HT @ 3.40GHz; Pentium 4 w/ HT Extreme Edition @ 3.20GHz or3.40GHz.
LCD: 15.4" WUXGA (1920 x 1200).
Memory: PC3200 (400MHz) SO DIMMs, 2 user accessible slots, 2GB (2 x 1GB) maximum. Dual Channel configuration.
Hard Drive: 60, 80 or 100 GB @ 4200rpm. 60 GB @ 7200rpm. Standard laptop 2.5".
Media Device: 24x/10x/24x CD-RW (8x DVD), 8x DVD+RW/+R,
Wireless Card: Dell 1350 (802.11b/g) or Dell 1450 (802.11a/b/g) internal.
Video/ Graphics Card: 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9700; 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9800
Dimensions:
Height: 50.8 mm (2.0")
Width: 359 mm (14.1")
Depth: 274 mm (10.8")
Weight: 4.11kg (9.06 lbs) w/ DVD drive and 12-cell battery.

Pros:
-> One of the most powerful laptop's available on the market today, the Desktop P4EE, dual channel RAM and MR9800 can absolutly fly! Gaming bliss.
-> Beautiful Ultrasharp Widescreen display, this is what all laptops should have. These screens not only offer better resolutions and more working room, they have better specs (response time, viewing angles, contrast ratio) than most of the regular aspect screens Dell uses in other models.
-> Dedicated Inspiron XPS support phone queue, ensuring faster responses and more gaming knowledge (supposedly) from tech support.
-> Cool silver-on-silver chassis trim design, opposed to stodgy blue trim on other Inspirons.

Cons:
-> Because of the P4 processor and MR9800 it runs hot, hot, hot... this combination also takes its toll on battery life, you would be lucky to recieve 90 minutes.
-> Particularly bulky because of the extra height required for components and cooling, it stands high on some peculiar 'legs'.
-> Can be expensive, that dual channel feature makes it particularly difficult to try and save money on buying RAM elsewhere. Add the P4EE and you just about need to take out a mortgage to finance the beast.
-> No option to choose lower spec items. Of particular note it can only be configured with a WUXGA LCD (a lot of people find its high resolution is too small for comfort) and 128MB graphics.

 

[stratman]

I'm leaning towards the 8600. It has good processing choice and power, the Pentium M Dothan Processors up to 2ghz.

If you want a very small, portable laptop, go for the 700m. It has the tiny 12.1 inch screen.

The 600m is similar to the 700m except is has the 14.1 inch screen.

AFAIK, the only major difference between these three customizable(!) laptops is the screen size. You can get a similarly configured laptop for each model within 100$ of the others.

I won't go into the P4 laptops, IMO stay away from them. In the Anandtech benchmarks of Dothan vs P4, Athlon 64, the 2ghz dothan beat the 3.2 (!) ghz P4 on nearly every benchmark. And with P4 you get much smaller battery life.

 

[RossMAN]

stratman,

Good post and welcome to the forums.

I agree with your comments but klingsor is looking for a powerful GAMING laptop.

IMHO only the 9100 or XPS can adequate fit this bill.

 

[TheLonelyPhoenix]

9100 or XPS if your looking for the best outright gaming laptops... they dont have very good battery life or weight properties, but if you dont mind that, its the best way to go. Plenty of power and nice screen options.

You can't outright trash the 8600 as a gaming notebook though, my Inspiron 8500 does better than most (2.4 Ghz P4-M, GF4 4200 Go, 1 GB RAM) and I plan on upgrading the vid card to a 9600 Mobility soon. As it stands, it gets a 3DMark2001 score around 10,000, enough to run anything well at 1024x768 except the most recent games.

[EDIT] Spelling mistake

 

[BigButt]

yea, i have heard the the M processor is faster than it is. Does any one know how much more faster is it? I am lending toward the 9100, since the power of that baby is tempting lol.

 

[acemcmac]

I'm looking at an elcheapo lappy and throwing and getting an LCD for free with the discount

 

[DestruyaUR]

As tempting as the 750 off 1500 coupon is, I'm waiting for 533Mhz P-Ms and PCIe interconnects for easier upgrading of video parts with a higher maximum bandwidth. DDR2 in a notebook wouldn't be bad, either.

Dell not swapping the 9600 for at LEAST a 9700 should carry with it some sort of torture. The P-M 2Ghz could feed a 9700 or 9800 Mobility quite nicely, and the power down features in said chips would allow a long untethered life in addition to an extremely respectable corded performance ability.

 

[nealh]

if the coupon code is on the website then it is ok to post..right?

 

[gryfon]

i've read somewhere that the problem lies on the layout of the component. 8600 won't be able to use MR 9700 / 9800. can someone confirm this ?

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: nealh
if the coupon code is on the website then it is ok to post..right?

Correct but IIRC this coupon code is NOT published on Dell's web site, although I could be mistaken.

 

[manko]

Well, I just picked up a 9100 with 3.2GHz and 64MB 9700, which seems the best cost/performance.

I priced a few systems including the 8600. The 2GHz Dothan performs between a 2.8GHz and 3.2GHz P4 depending on the application, but the 2GHz upgrade from Dell's 1.5A is over $400. For the same price I got the 9100, the 8600 configuration would have a 1.5A or 1.6A, which would probably perform around a 2.4 - 2.6GHz P4. I also do some 3d rendering and video encoding and the P4's HT, faster bus and dual channel memory should give a boost there too.

I went with the 64MB 9700, because the mobile 9700 doesn't gain that much from the extra 64MB. And of course, you can always put the savings towards a 9800 later for a real performance boost.

This really will be a desktop replacement for me and I don't plan to use it on an airplane or in a cafe, so the battery life and weight isn't that big a deal. The DVI is also a nice feature too, since I plan to use it as a part-time HTPC.

 

[uOpt]

If I were to buy a notebook now I would get a refurbished Inspiron 8600 with 1400x1050 on ebay. The thing keeping me is that for $1450 you only get the GeForce FX Go 5200 which is more or less a joke. The ones with GeForce FX 5650 are much more expensive as they also come with the fater CPU.

The other thing would be, since I need an AMD64 for development anyway, to get one of the HQ/Compaqs with AMD64, 1280x768 and GeForce 4 for about $1400 new.

If I were to blow some money I would get a Dell M60 workstation.

Overall the thing keeping me is that I will never buy anything ATI-equipped again and right now the mobile GeForces are more or less all lame ducks. It is probably a smart thing for me to wait for a GeForce 6 Go. The AMD64 named above looks nice but I don't trust HQ/Compaq too much, the screen doesn't have enough resolution and I am set for a Desktop AMD64 now that people on ebay started bidding on my XP 2500+ combo