Dell Inspiron 1525 vs Studio 15 or HP / competitor?

[metroplex]

I'm in the market for a new notebook PC that I can lug around the world without breaking too much of a sweat. I'm not looking for a gaming setup, but the Mini 9 and other netbooks are disappointing with mediocre storage, CPU, and memory options. I need to run Office applications and other productivity software (no games).

The Studio 15 looks like it has a lot of nifty features: fingerprint reader, webcam, 4GB DDR2 PC5300 RAM, 320 GB of HD space, backlit keyboard, LED display, and starting weight of 6.11 lb.

The Inspiron 1525 is about $200-$300 cheaper and doesn't have as much options but appears to weigh slightly less.

I've never looked at HP or a competitor's notebook. Do you have any recommendations? MacBooks are nice but way too expensive.

 

[KPACOTKA]

Did you consider Dell's professional series like Latitude? I am looking for laptop also and can't decide between Inspiron and Latitude. Former is much more expensive when equal equipped. Latitude has a great battery life. So decide which features are most important for you instead of comparing all features. For example fingerprints reader is useless for me, or web cam. So I wouldn?t consider the features as keys. However backlit keyboard and led display make sense.

 

[IlllI]

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4645

 

[metroplex]

I noticed the HP DV5T is advertised as having 64-bit CPU cores and comes with Vista 64-bit. It's about $100-$200 more than the Studio 15, but has a P8400 CPU with an available Nvidia GeForce 9200M video card.

 

[IlllI]

Originally posted by: metroplex
I noticed the HP DV5T is advertised as having 64-bit CPU cores and comes with Vista 64-bit. It's about $100-$200 more than the Studio 15, but has a P8400 CPU with an available Nvidia GeForce 9200M video card.

which i doubt you would get any use out of since you are just using it for office-type applications

 

[metroplex]

I never know if I'm going to run an intensive application that compresses H.264 videos or has to render 3D graphics. I'm trying to get the most bang for the buck and not shell out for an XPS-style rig.

I did some price checks:
$599 to get me into a Dell Studio Desktop w/ a quad-core processor and barebones for RAM/HD/Video/CPU leaving me room for upgrades.
$500 for a Dell Mini 9
$1000 for a Studio 15 w/ T5800 or-so 2GHz 667 MHz FSB CPU/bus.

I figure about $1000 for the desktop once I get it ready for gaming. I'd be willing to buy a good desktop rig and a netbook if the Mini 9 is capable of running Office 2007 without choking. The specs are hilarious but the size and weight make it very attractive for what I intend to use. But once I start specing out an Inspiron or Studio laptop, it is too tempting to not select a more powerful CPU. I'm the kind of person that would refuse to order a 4-banger or V6 engine for a car if there is a V8, V10, or V12 option available.

 

[IlllI]

Originally posted by: metroplex
I never know if I'm going to run an intensive application that compresses H.264 videos or has to render 3D graphics. I'm trying to get the most bang for the buck and not shell out for an XPS-style rig.

well if you dont know.. then how is anyone else going to? its kind of hard to give recommendations when you dont know what you will be using it for =/

in your first post you say you will use it for office applications..

and also in your first post you mentioned you didnt like the mini 9...

 

[Parasitic]

I would go the Vostro line instead of Inspiron.

The Vostro 1310 starts at $699 and is fairly small...it's probably a cheaper version of the XPS 1330. The Vostro 1510 is fairly tough judging from some of the reviews I've read.

 

[foghorn67]

I bought an Inspiron 1525 around July I think.
The promotion at the time was too good to pass up. Non-celeron processor, Vista home premium, 3GB Ram, 160GB HD, BT, Intel wireless N card, and a year of lojack antitheft for free, and the 1680x1050 screen. The screen really helps with my photoshop chores. I hate standard screen resolutions on laptops.
I love the standard features as well, all the ports, dual headphone jacks, HDMI, wifi-catcher.
I do not like the all silver pad AND keyboard. It shows the slightest amount of dirt way too easy. Also the hinge on the screen is a tad weak. When someone is shaking their knee at the table, the screen bounces a wee bit more than the other notebooks.
-The keyboard does have a great feel, and as far as touchpads go, it's cool.
Plus, the buttons are really quiet.

The Studio will get you some functional benefits. A dedicated graphics chipset, and the ability to opt for 1900x1200 (or something like that). That is some razor sharp pixel density. I think the studios are tad thicker. Also the 9 cell option is cheaper than the Inspiron's 9 cell. You will of course pay more for the studio, but if you go 9 cell, it makes a small dent on the upgrade expense.

In hindsight, I wish I got the Studio. I have been away from my desktop, and the ability to play some 3d accelerated strategy games with some detail is making me go insane.
Right now, I play AOE III when it's loafing time. It can handle, but I pulled down most of the sliders.
However, for anything 2d, the Inspiron still rocks. I have been doing many photoshop projects, and also a ton 6GB photoshoots that I need to via from Lightroom.