LED backlit Notebooks?

point3

Hi all,

It's time to replace my ageing notebook and was looking for some advice.

I would like a more portable machine than my current 15" model and was looking at the Dell XPS M1330 range. I won't be using it for games, but would like to be able to use it for mobile internet and would like it to keep pace with all these graphics-intense pages that web-designers love so much!

The M1330 model I was looking at has a Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz T7250 CPU, 13.3" LED backlit screen, NVIDIA 8400GS video card, 2GB RAM and 120GB 5400rpm HDD for just over £900 - which seems quite pricy. The LED backlit screen would be thinner and therefore lighter (but balanced by the fact that the graphics card requires a heavier extended-life battery). The blurb would have me believe that the LED screen gives a brighter, better looking display and uses 3-4 watts less power so extending battery life. Anyone got any opinions on these screens and whether they are indeed worth the extra outlay?

Would it be worth sacrificing the video card to save on battery power? Would I notice any difference if I'm just using the machine for surfing if I opt for integrated graphics? Could I get away with downgrading the CPU to the 1.5GHz version or would I regret not going for the faster processor?

Is there something better for the money?

Thanks in advance

isofa

I've seen them on the new Mac Laptops, and in general they look excellent, I haven't owned one to know how well the technology works, but obviously lower power and longer life, I imagine in a few years it'll be standard.

isofa

PS if you aren't going to play games, then you could definitely downgrade the graphics card to save money, it really won't affect graphic intensive web pages. The XPS range I'm sure are partially aimed at gamers, have a look at their other models to see if you can get a lower price with a similar spec, but maybe not such a powerful graphics chip.

If you did go all the way to downgrade to integrated graphics, it may well affect some of the fancy Vista performance (or if you install XP Pro, you wouldn't even notice). It wouldn't also affect standard applications directly unless you use CAD or heavy design software. However, if you did want to play the latest games, forget it with integrated graphics.

I wouldn't change the RAM, 2Gb is a good place to start nowadays, also I'd probably keep the 2Ghz chip too.

robp

The MacBook Pro I'm writing this on has an LED backlit screen.

Looks great, especially with the shiny screen!

Nilrem

I think the LED's will eventually take over from the normal backlight, from memory they are meant to be lower power consumption, better contrast (at least in the TV's using them*), and much longer lasting than the the cold cathode type tubes currently in use.



*I believe in the TV versions they dim groups of them to make dark areas darker, without affecting the surrounding areas as much.

danuk

robp wrote: »

The MacBook Pro I'm writing this on has an LED backlit screen.

Looks great, especially with the shiny screen!

Does the shiny screen cause reflections etc.... is it anything like the dell xps truelife screens as can't stand them for how glossy they are and amount of reflection on screen...

Thanks, know its an old thread but as you were discussing it................

Moneymaker

The shiny screen can suffer from reflections but it's MUCH brighter than the matt screens and works well outdoors. Indoors you may have to angle it away from bright sources of light to minimise reflections.

Of course the nice thing about the latest Mac laptops is that you can run Windows or MacOSX (or both together). Very versatile and fast.

Little_John

The price difference isnt all down to the LED back light. The spec for a laoptop is pretty high, the graphics, memory hard drive and the processor. ohh and dont forget its a 13.1" laptop so everything is smaller and lighter.

Price seems reasonable to me.