P4-M Latitude laptop, upgrade or buy new Inspiron 1525

converse

I can't decide whether to upgade my current laptop or just buy a new one.

Spec is: Pentium 4-M 2Ghz Dell Latitude, 256 RAM, 20 Gb HD, ATI mobility video, DVD/CDRW, XP Pro (which I want to stick with).

It's a nice laptop, fairly speedy, but only a 1024x768 screen, one USB port, and now needs more RAM and a larger HD. I know it'll cost a lot less to boost the RAM/HD, but with some of the new Inspirons being so cheap, I'm not sure it's worth it.

Normally I'd only go for a latitude, but some of the new basic Inspirons appear to be very good value, the Inspiron 1525 is currently at £399 (including VAT and delivery). It's a Core 2 Duo T5550 1.83, 2Gb RAM, 160Gb HD, 15.4" screen, WiFi.

(or even cheaper the 1525 with T2370 1.73 Ghz at £359 inc Vat and delivery!)

They all have Vista Home Premium, but I assume I can ask Dell to downgrade to XP Pro?

fox2319

Personally I'd suggest a replacement. Upgrading yours will cost around £100 for bits and the hassle of cloning the hard disk to try and get things working. If you want to use the OS on the new PC, it should be possible but then you'd need to change the OS on the old PC (ubuntu would probably be quite good. Alternatively, you could sell the old one (minus OS if you're recycling it) to see what you get towards the new one.

converse

Thanks, what about the speed, the latitude was a top end laptop at the time of purchase, will this more entry level Core 2 Duo and integrated graphics be up to heavy office usage (but not games)?

fox2319

Yes. My parents hav a Cel 540 processor and that manages Office etc fine, a C2D 5550 with 2GB Ram should be stormingly quick.

Dell also offer the option sometimes to 'downgrade' to Win XP, might be worth a look. If there's nothing online then you can always give them a call.

PS - if you're thinking of selling the old laptop...