Dell Vostro & Gaming?

a1ias

a1ias

a1ias

Associate
Joined
7 May 2003
Posts
69
Looking to buy this lappy and wondered if anyone has any experience of the range, or could comment on the performance based on the following spec:

Dell Vostro 1700

- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 - 2GHz (x2), 800MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache
- RAM: 2GB DDR2-667MHz
- HDD: 160GB Serial ATA 7200rpm
- Screen: 17" Widescreen TFT (1440x900 - 16:10)
- GFX: NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT 256MB
- OS: Windows Vista Ultimate

It will be used secondary to my desktop and would like it to be able to play WoW pretty smoothly and the likes of COD4 at something like 70% config.

I appreciate it will struggle with the likes of Crysis but I'm hoping that the majority of games would be fine.

The other question is, would I see a benefit of upgrading to 4gb ram from the installed 2gb?

Many thanks in advance

a1ias
 
Hi,

I have an XPS M1530 with similar spec to what you are looking at. I have been playing:
COD4/SupComm/GRAW/COH all off which play great on 1440x900 medium settings.

You will see a small improvement moving to 4gb but really need to be on the 64bit os to see it all. If you stick with 32bit OS you will only see approx 3.25gb of ram.
 
Do not get the dell vostro for gaming.

The reason being is that the vostro version of the 8600gt has DDR2 memory in it which lowers its gaming ability slightly. The XPS m1530 that ninja's got, has DDR3 memory, and would be a better choice :)

Although it's not a 17"...was that something you was looking for?
 
For £495 (incl VAT and delivery) I can get a Vostro with T7250, 2Gb, XP, 8600GT, 80Gb HDD and 15’ 1440x900 screen. Its hard to beat valuewise in my opinion

I would be looking at spending another £150 or so to get a XPS M1530. Granted this has better looks, bigger hard drive and will be slightly faster in games due to DDR3 (how much faster is anyone’s guess!); but it has the less desirable 1280 screen and the hassle (in my case) of having to remove Vista and reinstall with XP.

I must admit that I will only be looking to play RTS/strategy/management-type games on the machine. My FPS needs will be catered for by 360 and my main desktop rig.

Check out the attached link comparing 8600GT’s with DDR2 and DDR3. General conclusion suggests that there is a difference but minimal.

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=13&artpage=2941&articID=630
 
The difference isnt massive, probably about 20% better at most. I went for the xps as it was the best performance I could get without forking out for an 8800gtx.

I nearly went for the 1720 but after having a inspiron 9400 17" before I wanted better portability.
 
Snubber said:
I must admit that I will only be looking to play RTS/strategy/management-type games on the machine. My FPS needs will be catered for by 360 and my main desktop rig.
Click to expand...

From the reading ive been doing in the big vostro thread as long as you get the 8600 it should be more than capable of playing those sorts of games at a suitable level
 
I was hoping to keep the spend sub £600 and the spec above is £580 inc. vat & delivery.

Didn't realise about the DDR2 memory but overall I think I'd prefer the 17" screen as the main play on the system will be WoW.
 
Done some more digging…very good discussion can be found here.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=147708

Haven’t trawled through all of it but it appears that there is a sizeable difference (up to circa 20%) depending on game and resolution etc.

The £495 Vostro with 8600GT DDR2 is still great value for money and should have enough horsepower to provide a good gaming experience.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom