YO PLEASE CHECK OUT SPECS AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
V

VannieCollins

Member
Oct 29, 2005
43
0
0
Hey im going to be using this laptop mainly for engineering applications and some gaming but nothing more than counter-strike and the occasional wow. Please give me some feedback, and if you don't like and you know of some other good options please list them.

Latitude D820 College of Engineering Laptop 15.4"
Intel® Core? Duo T2600 (2.16GHz) 667Mhz Dual Core
Genuine Windows® XP Professional, SP2, with media
NTFS File System for all Operating Systems
15.4 inch Wide Screen WUXGA LCD Panel
512MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 120M TurboCache?
2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
100GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM
Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Dual-Band Mini Card
Dell Wireless® 350 Bluetooth Module
24X CD-RW/DVD w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD?
9 Cell Primary Battery
$2,118.80

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
 
BrunoPuntzJones

BrunoPuntzJones

Lifer
Feb 24, 2001
14,550
4
81
Drop the 2600 to a 2300 (or whatever a 1.66 is)
Drop to minimum ram they will sell
Drop the hd to the minimum if you are comfortable reinstallilng an O/S
Upgrade to a DVD burner

Should drop the price significantly. Then buy ram from Newegg or something for about half the price. HD should be cheaper as well from elsewhere.

Upgrade the processor later, not worth the premium for the 2.16 right now.

IMO.
 
L

lazybum131

Senior member
Apr 4, 2003
231
0
76
A CPU upgrade would void the 3-year warranty though. If you're planning to upgrade the CPU in a year or so, then getting the 1.66 or 1.83GHz would save you enough to buy a faster merom later on (Merom should be drop in compatible once new BIOSes are released). Otherwise, I'd drop down to the 2GHz, $180 is not worth the 8% clockspeed increase from 2->2.16.

BrunoPuntzJones is right about saving money upgrading ram and hard drive yourself, especially the ram. Don't upgrade to a burner, you can actually save even more by dropping down to the CD-Rom, and picking up a NEC ND-6650a DVD burner for $70-80.
 
A

AmigaMan

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
3,644
1
0
It has nice specs, but it's kinda pricey for a Dell. For that much you'll probably be better off getting a Thinkpad IMO. I'd also do the RAM upgrade from Newegg or Crucial as was previously recommended. I'd also probably downgrade the CPU to the 2Ghz model and leave the HD as it is (100GB/7200RPM).
 
Brainonska511

Brainonska511

Lifer
Dec 10, 2005
24,091
6,899
136
No, the graphics are essentially a 7300 Go. The Quadro series of cards are not meant for gaming and the NVS 110m is based off the 7300 Go series of grahpics, so even if it was it's GeForce counterpart, you'd still have a very low-end graphics card.

If you want midrange graphics, look into computers with the X1600 MR or the 7600 Go.
 
P

pcmodem

Golden Member
Feb 6, 2001
1,190
0
0
Originally posted by: VannieCollins
Hey im going to be using this laptop mainly for engineering applications and some gaming but nothing more than counter-strike and the occasional wow. Please give me some feedback, and if you don't like and you know of some other good options please list them.

Latitude D820 College of Engineering Laptop 15.4"
Intel® Core? Duo T2600 (2.16GHz) 667Mhz Dual Core
Genuine Windows® XP Professional, SP2, with media
NTFS File System for all Operating Systems
15.4 inch Wide Screen WUXGA LCD Panel
512MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 120M TurboCache?
2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
100GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM
Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Dual-Band Mini Card
Dell Wireless® 350 Bluetooth Module
24X CD-RW/DVD w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD?
9 Cell Primary Battery
$2,118.80

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
Click to expand...

Since I have nearly the same setup and am an engineer, can offer you these tips.

Assuming you stay with the D820...
1. Order the T2500 (2.0 Ghz) instead of the T2600 Cost Saving = ~$180
~ The performance difference between the two CPUs is negligible

2. Order the WSXGA+ LCD instead of the WUXGA Cost Saving = ~$79
~ WUXGA (1920x1200) is too much for a 15.4"LCD, better suited for a 17"LCD

3. Upgrade from CDRW/DVD to DVD Burner Cost Increase =~$50
~ Added convenience of data storage and data transfer

4. Order the Dell 1390 802.11g Mini Card instead of the Intel Cost Saving = ~$29
~ Almost no one uses 802.11a in the USA

5. You didn't specify, but if you are ordering the 9-Cell Battery, order the 90W A/C Adapter
~ The 90W A/C is capable of quick-charging the 9-Cell Battery, the 65W A/C is not

6. With the money saved above, order Complete Care Coverage!
~ Your laptop WILL break every year. Plus, CCC saves your from a spilled beer.

Everything else I'd keep the same. The 7200 RPM HDD really is nice, faster boot time and good disk access time. 2GB of RAM will help if you upgrade to Vista next year, plus it allows plenty of RAM for the OS to allocate to the Quadro 120M's Turbo Cache.

The GeForce Quadro 120M TC is roughly the functional equivalent of a GeForce 7400 Go; the 110M TC is about the same as a 7300 Go.



Good luck,
PCM
 
V

VannieCollins

Member
Oct 29, 2005
43
0
0
Well if you guys had $3000.00 to spend what is a similar laptop that you guys would get, by similar i mean still could handle engineering applications?
 
Brainonska511

Brainonska511

Lifer
Dec 10, 2005
24,091
6,899
136
Originally posted by: VannieCollins
Well if you guys had $3000.00 to spend what is a similar laptop that you guys would get, by similar i mean still could handle engineering applications?
Click to expand...

You could check out the Lenovo T60p. It has a FireGL v5200 in it which is the professional derivative of the MR X1600. You can get it with a 14" or 15" screen too.

There are other laptops available with good graphics cards, but I don't know how those consumer graded cards would handle an engineering application.
 
V

VannieCollins

Member
Oct 29, 2005
43
0
0
what about an alienware or something, i configured a 15.4 inch amd ALienware with sli for 3200 and that is within my price range, but i wouldn't spend too much more than that
 
Brainonska511

Brainonska511

Lifer
Dec 10, 2005
24,091
6,899
136
Originally posted by: VannieCollins
what about an alienware or something, i configured a 15.4 inch amd ALienware with sli for 3200 and that is within my price range, but i wouldn't spend too much more than that
Click to expand...

SLI in a 15.4" Laptop. Seems like you'd have a little toaster oven there.

Edit: I thought the SLI notebooks were only 17" screens or higher too.
 
Brainonska511

Brainonska511

Lifer
Dec 10, 2005
24,091
6,899
136
Originally posted by: VannieCollins
haha yeah i bet a bit toasty, but is alienware a quality product?
Click to expand...


I guess so, but I've never owned one myself.

Out of all the notebooks to get in your price range, I'd say the Lenovo T60p would definitely would be your best bet. The FireGL v5200 will play CS and WoW along with running your engineering apps. Also, the T series is known for its reliability and quality.
 
P

pcmodem

Golden Member
Feb 6, 2001
1,190
0
0
Originally posted by: HamSupLo
i'd get an Asus w2j
Click to expand...

I think the IBM T60 is a good choice.

That's a hilarious Username by the way, for those that understand Cantonese.


Cheers,
PCM
 
D

dp004i

Golden Member
Apr 24, 2001
1,872
0
0
Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
Drop the 2600 to a 2300 (or whatever a 1.66 is)
Drop to minimum ram they will sell
Drop the hd to the minimum if you are comfortable reinstallilng an O/S
Upgrade to a DVD burner

Should drop the price significantly. Then buy ram from Newegg or something for about half the price. HD should be cheaper as well from elsewhere.

Upgrade the processor later, not worth the premium for the 2.16 right now.

IMO.
Click to expand...


But he said "yo," he needs da bling dawg :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom