HP or Dell laptop

[GabbaGabbaHey]

I'm getting a laptop for my son for college. He will likely be using it mostly as a desktop replacement and doing some gaming (hopefully not too much). I'm looking at the Dell Inspiron 9300 and the HP zd8000. My budget is around 1,700-1,800 with a little bit of flexibility. The two setups I'm looking at are:
Dell Inspiron 9300 - Pentium M 1.73 Ghz, 512 MB ram, 80 GB harddrive (5400 rpm I think), CD burner/DVD combo and the 256MB GeForce Go 6800 graphics card
vs.
HP - Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz, 1 GB ram, 80 GB harddrive (5400 rpm), DVD+/-RW/R CD-RW combo (free upgrade), and the 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon X600 . the deal includes a free printer after rebate as well.

Both machines have the same basic software setup with XP Pro, Office Basice, and Norton Internet security. Both have integrated wireless (b and g) at 54mbps. These two set-ups are roughly the same price of $1,800+.

From what I can tell by reading through some of the threads, the nvidia 6800 graphics card is better than teh X600, but the processor on the HP is more powerful. My question is which set-up would be better for gaming? He plays some first person shooters like half-life, counter-strike, etc. Which would perform better, more processing power or the better gpu? Btw, I'm not seeing the $750 coupon on the Dell site, just 20% off. If I did, I would likely upgrade the processor and memory on the Dell and be done with it.

How difficult is it to do upgrades to the laptop itself? I have upgraded some components on my desktop, is it the same level of difficulty or harder? The same but smaller?

Thanks for your input.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Definitely go with the Dell. Most games are not CPU dependant and the Pentium M is great for gaming anyway. The zd8000 uses the P4, which generates loads of heat, offers zero battery life, and only outperforms the Pentium M in certain programs. The 6800 graphics will blow away those X600, no doubt. 9300 all the way! If you can wait about 48 hours, you can read an in-depth review on the 9300 Look in this forum for a post on it
Upgrading a laptop is limited to RAM, hard drive, and wireless card. I would buy the 9300 with 256MB RAM and buy your own separately to add in. 1GB DDR2 533 goes for around $100 these days, not bad at all. All of their hard drives except the 60GB 7200RPM are 4200RPM drives, dirt slow. If you don't want the 60GB 7200RPM (which is ultra fast, but doesn't offer as much storage obviously), I would buy the 40GB 4200RPM and add your own 80-100GB 5400RPM. If you want the best performance, just order it w/the 60GB 7200RPM.

There is a Dell $750 off deal going on, but it ends tonight and you have to sign up for the Dell preferred card or whatever. Details here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1613980&enterthread=y

Hope this helps!

 

[GabbaGabbaHey]

Heck, if i can get the $750 off deal, I'll upgrade the processor to the 1.86 Ghz, get the 80 GB 7200 hard drive, and then just upgrade the memory myself. The memory sticks are the same for laptops as they are for desktops? I just assumed they would be different (size-wise). I'll check it out. Thanks.

 

[Jassi]

Originally posted by: GabbaGabbaHey
Heck, if i can get the $750 off deal, I'll upgrade the processor to the 1.86 Ghz, get the 80 GB 7200 hard drive, and then just upgrade the memory myself. The memory sticks are the same for laptops as they are for desktops? I just assumed they would be different (size-wise). I'll check it out. Thanks.

You need DDR2 so-dimms for the 9300. Newegg sells a 1 gig stick from $110. Much cheaper than Dell's price.

 

[GabbaGabbaHey]

I did it...I ordered the 9300 with the 1.73 Ghz, 60 GB 7200, 512 MB ram, and 256 MB GeForce 6800. I checked newegg and crucial for memory. Newegg has the cheaper deal (obviously) but I will leave that up to my son to decide and purchase.

I did use the $750 off coupon code from that link fbrdphreak, thanks...it saved me a couple of hundred dollars. thanks, again. It wasn't offerred to me anywhere else, I just entered it in the coupon box and hit apply coupon, and it came up then. All told, I got a $2,500 system for $1,750. I even managed to get the wife's blessing - I would call it a successful transaction all around, as long as there no dead pixels when it arrives.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Awesome, let us know how you like it! BTW, the 9300 review (w/benchies) is posted. Link

 

[hemiram]

That's a grest review. he lays out the pluses and minuses very well. I actually like the touchpad, some of the others I have tried are too touchy. Odd, I have my mouse speed set very high. Hmmmm?