Dell Vostro 1500

'Bloat' is extra programs that come installed on a pc when you buy it, you don't really need it. (Usually including trial versions of different programs) All it does is use up your system resources, so you don't want it. :)

Edit: Beaten to it :P
 
When we say bloat (with regards to drivers) we're referring to additional programs/services that are installed, which isn't necessarily required.

Take the Intel Wireless Adapter for example.

If you just blindly install the .exe from the Intel or Dell website, it'll not only install the drivers for the device but also additional software so you can manage wireless connections. The thing is, Vista does quite a good job of doing that so I feel theres no need installing the Intel software that adds another 3 programs on startup and services. Might as well let Vista deal with it. I like my laptop to boot up as quickly as possible so if I can reduce the number of applications loaded on startup, the better.
 
Thanks for the help guru, it really sped my boot time up a lot :) Although i have one more question, does vista update your webcam drivers so that the dell webcam service is installed again?
 
What did you end up doing to educe the boot time? Disabled that useless sidebar I hope!:p

Regarding the webcam driver, if you use the Vista driver it shouldn't install the Dell webcam service. Even if it did, it only uses 560k, doesn't really effect bootup time and only kicks in when the webcam is in use.
 
Yeah, i got rid of the sidebar and the touchpad software. Seems to be quite a bit quicker, although windows update keeps wanting to install the creative webcam driver for some reason (it also installs the dell webcam service).
 
I've never used vista before, ever. I ordered the vostro 1500 with vista ultimate, was it worth paying the extra or should I have gone with XP? According to a mate, vista runs quite 'sluggish'?
 
I've been using Vista for a couple of weeks now and actually prefer it to XP.

The first day running Vista, it will need to create the initial file index. This might give you the impression that it’s a resource hog and sluggish. But once this initial task is complete, the OS will feel a lot better, so give it the benefit of the doubt for a day or two. Files are then actively indexed generally only while you are idle, at a low priority I/O thread.

Its during the initial indexing period that people will moan as out of the box, XP will feel a lot faster. Right now, my Vista install feels faster than XP.
 
I totally agree with Guru, Vista does seem much faster than XP in general.

I've just finished doing some tests on Fable: The Lost Chapters to see how this laptop performed.

On the lowest settings (1280x800) the average fps was ~140 and it varied between 80 and 260. :o

On the highest settings (1280x800) however, the laptop really struggled, 15 fps seemed to be the average, dropping to 10 and maxxing at about 18.

This is using the driver from the dell website, so im not sure how much of a difference other drivers would make.
 
Yeah you can change each aspect of the graphics separately.

With the drivers from that website, do you just download and install them? I heard something about a modded INF and that put me off :P
 
Yeah you can change each aspect of the graphics separately.

With the drivers from that website, do you just download and install them? I heard something about a modded INF and that put me off :P

Not exactly.

1. Go look in the forums for the particular driver version. In this example, we want the 163.44. Here's the thread:

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=14562

2. Download the driver from the link at the top of the page.

3. Next to that, download the Modded INF via the link.

4. Locate where you downloaded the nVidia drivers. What you need to do now is extract the contents of the .exe file. I use 7-Zip for this. You should now have a folder with over 150 files. Delete the .exe you downloaded and extracted, it won't be needed any more.

5. Now, simply copy the Modded INF into this folder, over writing the previous version.

6. Uninstall the previous drivers and simply run the setup.exe inside the extracted folder. Drivers should install without a hitch.

There is a small problem with using modified drivers.

The nVidia mobile GPU's contain a feature called PowerMizer. Basically, this means that the GPU can be under clocked when not under anyload/battery and ramped up in speed when loaded. Pretty much how Speedstep works on Intel CPU's.

In order to utlise PowerMizer, you need to use the nVidia drivers specific for mobile GPU's. As the 163.44's and other modified drivers are based on the desktop drivers, they don't support PowerMizer.

If you're using the laptop on battery, then this will have an effect on battery life. If the laptop spends all its time connected to the mains, then you don't have to worry about it.

Unfortunately, the desktop drivers are a lot newer and released more frequently than the Mobile drivers, so its a decision you have to make.
 
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Wow, thanks Guru :D I tend to use my laptop when it's connected to the mains most often so i don't mind too much about the power issue.

I'll give it a try and see what difference it makes to my game performance :)

Thanks
 
That driver certainly boosted performance, with everything on full now the average fps was about 23. With the settings im using (anti-aliasing and vertical sync off) im getting 40-60 fps on average :)
 
I've got performance issues with my XP Nvidia drivers. I've tried the Dell XP drivers, the ForceWare X 156.65 from Laptopvideo2go, and attemted to use Gurus preferred rivers (but they are Vista only). I can't get faster than 15fps in Neverwinter Nights, which is about 5 years old now. I haven't had time to run a 3DMark yet- I'll have a shot at that this weekend.

But if anyone has a good set of XP 8600M GT drivers they are using, please let me know :p
 
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