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Dell 6000

S

Stokes

Senior member
I'm looking to buy one of these for my girlfriend and there are only real two things that are making me think.

First: Processor

It comes standard w/ Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)

For $250 dollars they will upgrade to Intel M 750 1.86 Ghz
And for Another $100 on top of the $250 up to a Intel M 760 2ghz

That seems like a lot of money to be spending just for that jump from 1.6 to 1.86. Although I want to get her a laptop that will last her awhile which she will use for college. So I was thinking maybe the 1.86 is not a bad idea so she gets extra performance, but that cost seems whack basically.

Advice needed here.

Second is,

How big of a deal is if the ram is 'shared' ram? I can get 'shared' which seems to be cheaper or get normal ram which appears to be more expensive as well.

Help needed here as well.

Thanks
 
Processor
The general rule of thumb is to buy as fast of a processor as you can afford. Put everything else in as necessary and fill up the rest of your budget with the CPU. If you need bottom dollar, go with the 1.6; she won't be disappointed. Unless she's gaming or starts running next gen apps in a few years, she'll be fine.

RAM
Let's clear something up here, I think you are a bit confused. All laptops only use one "type" of RAM. They all have main system RAM, in the 6000's case it is DDR2 PC2-4200 (or PC2-3200) SODIMM's. The shared part refers to the graphics card. If you opt for the integrated graphics, GMA900, it will use between 16MB and 128MB of your system memory for graphics. During 2D mode, it will use 16MB. If you have <512MB total, it will use 64MB in 3D. If you have 512MB or more, it will use 128MB in 3D. If you opt for the X300 graphics, it has its own dedicated memory on board and does not use main system RAM. This gives you a little better general system performance and a lot better 3D performance.
That said, if she's never going to play games there isn't much reason to get an X300. Longhorn will be better supported by an X300, but that is about it. If you have the money, get a 64 or 128MB X300; if you don't, get the GMA900.
 
this is the first I've heard of Longhorn being better served by an x300 than the GMA 900. Obviously more is better, but in this case is Longhorn really that intensive on the GPU? If you are gaming would it take up GPU resources while gaming?
 
Originally posted by: niggles
this is the first I've heard of Longhorn being better served by an x300 than the GMA 900. Obviously more is better, but in this case is Longhorn really that intensive on the GPU? If you are gaming would it take up GPU resources while gaming?
Click to expand...
Longhorn is going to use a hardware accelerated interface, meaning to take advantage of all the new eye candy you will need a reasonable video card. It will have modes to support integrated graphics, but the eye candy will be reduced of course.

If you're playing a game, you aren't trying to render the regular Windows interface as well; so no, it shouldn't affect game performance.
 
ok, so if what would be the difference with an integrated card like the GMA 900 then if gaming is not an issue? Surely the GMA 900 is more than enough GPU for an OS. If it can handle C&C Generals and BF no problem what does Longhorn have in it that is so intesive?
 
You can read ANYTHING you want about Longhorn's graphics here:
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/display/aero/default.mspx

Download this powerpoint file (compressed):
http://download.microsoft.com/download/...-4f7d-a5b2-07fdb59a7adb/WH03_TPA29.exe

Lots of great info, but here is the meat of it:
Tier 1 graphics:
DX-7 GPU
32MB MINIMUM VRAM
AGP 8x, PCI-E, or integrated with DDR RAM

Tier 2 graphics:
DX-9 GPU
64MB MINIMUM 128MB RECOMMENDED VRAM
AGP 8x, PCI-E, possibly need dual-channel DDR RAM for integrated

Tier 1 graphics offers some improvements over XP interface, but not much. It will also use 32MB at all times for GMA900, instead of 16MB. It will use more than 32MB if you have a high res screen or have Windows draw a lot of stuff on the screen. For the WUXGA screens and such, you pretty much NEED a dedicated GPU with 128MB VRAM. No, you don't need a powerful GPU to run Longhorn well. As they said, performance directly scales with memory bandwidth & capacity. But you need a real GPU to run it at its fully capability and you need a decent amount of VRAM.
 
Originally posted by: unfalliblekrutch
doesnt the GMA900 fulfill all the requirements of tier 2? It'd just have to use all 128mb of its allowed shared ram to run windows 🙂
Click to expand...
It technically does. But then doesn't it technically meet a lot of new game's requirements? Yet take an X300 and it beats the crap out of GMA900. All I'm saying is that a dedicated GPU is not a bad investment IF you care about the eye candy in Longhorn. I'm not sure if the GUI in Longhorn will perform slower on Tier 2 with less hardware (my guess is that it will), but I personally wouldn't run Longhorn on Tier 2 graphics w/out a dedicated GPU. I would use Tier 1 for integrated.

IF M$ ever releases Longhorn, I'm sure we'll have an in-depth review on it 😉
 
Originally posted by: niggles
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
You can read ANYTHING you want about Longhorn's graphics here:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/...-4f7d-a5b2-07fdb59a7adb/WH03_TPA29.exe[/L]
Click to expand...

I'll need to take your word for it, I don't have Power point. So if you had a gig of RAM wouldn't that deal with the issue if you have a solid CPU and GPU?
Click to expand...
Possibly, but you aren't dealing with the heart of the issue.
What you're suggesting to me sounds like putting a high-flow intake & running open headers on a tiny engine (hence car analogy). Sure, the air will go into & out of the engine a lot faster, but the engine is still tiny.

Same thing here. More memory at a higher speed on a nice fat bus WILL help performance, but I have a feeling that it might still hinder Longhorn on Tier 2 graphics. This is my personal opinion with some knowledge of hardware & software performance from my almost-complete CPE degree. Only time will tell for sure 🙂
 
hehe... you really like those car analogies don't you.

Anyway, I take you meaning. I think you're right, it would really come down to the BUS as there would be a lot of info going back and fourth and it could be an issue. Not sure how my laptop will handle it, but I'll certainly give it a whirl when it's available. Thanks for the info.
 
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