Laptop £400

maximise

Hi,

I'm after a laptop for home use and have some queries

Dell Inspiron 15 (N0454503) looks to have what I want for the money.

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=N0454503&dgc=AF&cid=5212&lid=122756

May go for extra 1 GB memory for £30 and + 70 GB HDD for £20


Queries:
Processor - Is the T6400 2MB cache upgrade worth getting for £60?
Vista Home Premium SP1 - Do I go for standard or 64 bit version?
Screen - CCFL or WLED for £10? What's the difference?
Graphics - I don't intend to play games but want to watch videos, is the 250 MB ATI card worth getting?

Thanks

minnie123

Hi I have also been looking at these as I was going to buy one today also. I can't see where you selected that model from as I can't find it on the website unless I click your link. I was going to go for this http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=NRS15453&l=en&m_30=136643&oc=N0454506&rbc=N0454506&s=dhs

It's the same price and everything the same as the model you linked to except it has the
[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(1, 1)"]Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T6400 (2.0 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 Cache)[/URL] included in the price it appears you have to pay £60 extra to get that on the one you linked to.

it has the same hard drive 250GB which I believe is more than enough (for me I know at least) I wasn't going to upgrade that.

It would be interesting to hear from some experts on your other queries.

But it does appear the N0454506 it the same price laptop but with a better processer.

The only diff I can see is the one I linked to has no camera but yours does. I wouldn't want this feature anyway.

minnie123

Just noticed you can add the camera for £30 - also are you a member of quidco - you can get 6% cashback on dell purchases - so thats about £20 off.

So if no extras added that will be £380 for this laptop. I am undecided it's too confusing buying a laptop.

maximise

That's very helpful minnie123! Indeed, buying a pc can be fun, only if you know what you want! Can any techies shed some light on my spec queries?

Edit: WLED is better, lighter and crisper, lower power consuming display

minnie123

They sell this laptop at PC world too I have just been reading the reviews - all sounds good the only negative that keeps coming up is battery life - Maybe the lower power consuming screen would help with that? I also noticed you can add a bigger battery as an extra can't remember how much I think I might consider that. Lets wait for the experts!!

heggied

maximise wrote: »

Hi,

Queries:
Processor - Is the T6400 2MB cache upgrade worth getting for £60?
Vista Home Premium SP1 - Do I go for standard or 64 bit version?
Screen - CCFL or WLED for £10? What's the difference?
Graphics - I don't intend to play games but want to watch videos, is the 250 MB ATI card worth getting?

Thanks

Processors - as far as I'm aware, those two processors are pretty much the same in terms of clock speed etc, the difference being that the 6400 has an extra 1MB of level 2 cache. I'd save the £60 for a memory upgrade to 4GB at £30 and pocket the extra £30. Don't think the processor's worth the £60 premium, really.

OS - Alrthough it's a 64bit processor, I'd tend to recommend the 32 bit version of windows for the time being. There may be compatibility issues with software or hardware you may have at the moment, so unless you really need the extra memory available to a 64 bit OS, I'd just stick with the standard 32 bit version for now. You can always upgrade it later if you need to.

Screen - CCFL = cold-cathode fluorescent lamps. WLED = White LED. They're two different ways of providing the backlight of the display. WLEDs are probably a bit more power efficient, which may give longer battery life, although I've not really seen anything conclusive about it. And I'm not sure if the WLED ones have as bright, natural colours, so I'd tend to stick with the CCFL one.

Graphics - if you're really not intending to do any gaming on the machine, the integrated graphics chipset will do fine with Vista Aero, and will handle DVD playback etc. If you think you might want to do something a bit more adventurous with it, the ATI mobility radeon card given here is a pretty good choice for a laptop, and it would probably be a sensible upgrade if you think your needs demand it.

Hope this is some help,
David

VIJAY_FROM_KENT

Buy your extra RAM from www.crucial.com and it will cost you less

maximise

Well I've got the Inspiron 15, spent more than the budget!
Thanks to all that contributed