Need some laptop advice

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Soldato
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Location
Essex
I'm in the market for a new laptop and have narrowed it down to 2 options.
The things that I am looking for are a good performer and a slim and light design.
Price budget is around £800

Laptop 1:

Dell M1330
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5250 Processor (1.5GHz,667MHz,2MB L2 cache)
Tuxedo Black & 0.3 mega pixel Camera for White-LED Display
13.3" UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) White-LED Display (300 nits) with TrueLife™
1024MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x512]
160GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
Integrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100
Fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load Drive, including SW
PRICE £800

Laptop 2
Sony Vaio VGN-FZ11L
Intel Core Duo Processor T7100 1.8GHz, 800MHz Frontside Bus
2GB DDR2-533 SDRAM (2 x 1024MB; upgradeable to maximum 2GB)
120GB Hard Disk Drive Serial ATA 5400rpm
15.4" X-black Widescreen LCD with 1280x800 resolution (WXGA)
Built-in Motion Eye digital camera 30 fps, 1.3 megapixels
Built-in Super Double layer DVD±RW drive
NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT graphics processing unit with 831MB of memory
HDMI 1.2 (supporting HDCP) & S-Video In/Out
PRICE £750

Opinions appreciated.
 
Oh wow, Sony finally lowered their FZ series, was way overpriced before that. :o

Judging by specs alone, the Sony wins because of the better processor and 2GB RAM. It also has the better graphics card. However you have to make the decision on size.

The Dell M1330 is by far more portable because of the 13.3" screen compared to the Sony's 15.4". They both have the same resolution and for a 15.4" - I would have preferred it to come with a 1440x900 resolution display. The Dell M1330 has HDMI too. If you give Dell a ring to see if you can get a good price for a T7100 and 2GB - then you're onto a winner. I'm pretty sure you can get that for about £850 over the phone.

I did consider the Sony but the limited resolution doesn't do it for me considering I recently sold my Inspiron 6400 15.4" and that had a 1440x900 resolution. However, the current specifications and price you've quoted so far - the Sony wins.

Don't forget if you go for a Dell M1330 - there will be a long lead time. For reference, this is what I got:

Dell XPS M1330
Intel Core2Duo T7300 2.0GHz, 4MB L2 Cache
13.3" WXGA White-LED
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
8x DVD+/-RW
6-Cell Battery
Nvidia 8400M GS 128MB
2 Year XPS Support
Vista Home Premium
Bluetooth
Carry Case + Printer 725
£999 Inclusive.
 
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Whats the difference between the 2 types of screen for the m1330?

13.3" UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) CCFL Display (220nits) with TrueLife™ [Included in Price]

13.3" UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) White-LED Display (300 nits) with TrueLife™ [add £129.25 or £3/month1]

Obviously "80nits" but what on earth are they and is it worth an extra £130!
 
I am looking at similar configurations of both FZ & M1330. Depends how portable you want it to be.. the 1330 is 1.6kg and the FZ is 2.7kg or so!
 
kbc said:
Don't forget if you go for a Dell M1330 - there will be a long lead time. For reference, this is what I got:

Dell XPS M1330
Intel Core2Duo T7300 2.0GHz, 4MB L2 Cache
13.3" WXGA White-LED
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
8x DVD+/-RW
6-Cell Battery
Nvidia 8400M GS 128MB
2 Year XPS Support
Vista Home Premium
Bluetooth
Carry Case + Printer 725
£999 Inclusive.
Click to expand...

Well I managed to get the spec I listed down to £800 from £850 over the phone but didn't order because I was still considering other options.
Apparantly its around a 15 day wait for the M1330's to be delivered at the moment which I could cope with.
Had a look at the Sony in a shop this afternoon and was quite dissapointed in the weight of the thing to be honest.
Will have to give it more thought and see what Dell can offer me over the phone

Oh and can I just ask what the battery life is like with the 6 cell battery?
 
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The Sony VGN-SZ4VWN/X looks pretty good:

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7400
2gb ram
160 5400rpm
13.3" 1280x800
NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7400 notebook graphics processing unit with Total Available Graphics Memory of 335MB
1.69kg

Tad expensive @ £1.9k tho! :D

Is that graphics card good enough to run HL2 & CS:S?
 
NickM said:
Whats the difference between the 2 types of screen for the m1330?

13.3" UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) CCFL Display (220nits) with TrueLife™ [Included in Price]

13.3" UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) White-LED Display (300 nits) with TrueLife™ [add £129.25 or £3/month1]

Obviously "80nits" but what on earth are they and is it worth an extra £130!
Click to expand...

The White-LED screen I believe offers better brightness because it's 300nits and also is a thinner, lighter display. It also offers slightly better efficiency on battery power consumption, although not much some may argue. In my mind - I'd definitely take this option.

The 6-cell battery is supposedly meant to last 3-4 hours. But dont quote me on that.

Sony make pretty laptops but the price of them are ridiculous, especially their new SZ series. £1.5k to £2k. :rolleyes:

NickM, the one you quoted is ridiculously priced at £1.9k - that's a joke. It's also a T7400 and not a Santa Rosa, you can get the same spec from some place else, though it won't be a Sony. It also comes with a GeForce 7400 which is no better than an ATI Mobility Radeon X1400. Not worth it at all.

Dan1984 - if I were you, ring Dell up again and get the best deal you possibly can and see what they can do, if that fails, then look at other models such as Samsung or perhaps Rizeon.
 
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So the best lightweight one is the M1330?

Is the "nVidia® GeForce™ Go 8400M GS with 128MB GDDR3 dedicated graphics memory" good? I mean could it handle HL2/CS:S - they are practically the only games I play :D

edit: Santa Rosa, thats the new series processor right? How much better is it? Is the m1330 Santa Rosa? How can you tell if it doesn't say explicitly say SR?

edit2: ..and whats the difference between a 6cell and 9cell battery (in terms of extra weight & extra battery life)?
 
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NickM said:
So the best lightweight one is the M1330?

Is the "nVidia® GeForce™ Go 8400M GS with 128MB GDDR3 dedicated graphics memory" good? I mean could it handle HL2/CS:S - they are practically the only games I play :D

edit: Santa Rosa, thats the new series processor right? How much better is it? Is the m1330 Santa Rosa? How can you tell if it doesn't say explicitly say SR?

edit2: ..and whats the difference between a 6cell and 9cell battery (in terms of extra weight & extra battery life)?
Click to expand...

The M1330 in my mind, is the best lightweight, slimline laptop to date incorporating the new Santa Rosa processors. Maybe not the cheapest, but the best looking one nonetheless. There's always the Samsung Q70 - which is slightly fatter and not as stylish. I believe Asus also has a few 13.3" notebooks.

The GeForce 8400M GS is not too bad and benchmarks have shown it to yield better results than the GeForce 7400. It also supports DirectX 10. It's not the best mobile card on the market compared to the 8600M GS/GT. But being a 13.3", you can see why a lesser-powered graphics card has been incoporated into the build, due to heat and power consumption (as with many smaller notebooks). However Zepto do offer a 14.1" with the 8600M GT (Znote 6224W).

Don't expect to do any serious gaming on a 13.3" laptop, if you were to game - you should be looking at something no less than a 15.4" with a minimum display of 1440x900. 13.3" gaming is just too limited and doesn't cut it.

Santa Rosa are the new Intel Core 2 Duo processors. These consist of the following:

T7100 (1.8GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
T7300 (2.0GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
T7500 (2.2GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
T7700 (2.4GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)

The T7200, T7400, T7600 are the older cores with the 667MHz FSB and are not Santa Rosa cores. But these do have 4MB L2 Cache.

Well, I'm not sure if the 9-cell battery for the M1330 sticks out a little more than the 6-cell but you can expect and extra hour or two perhaps with a 9-cell battery. 6-cell is supposedly meant to last about 3-4 hours with this laptop. Obviously if you stick in a dedicated graphics card or a 7200RPM hard drive - you'd expect more power consumption.
 
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Thanks for the info kbc,

How does this sound?
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7500 Processor (2.2GHz,800MHz,4MB L2 cache)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium - English
Tuxedo Black & 0.3 mega pixel Camera for White-LED Display
13.3" UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) White-LED Display (300 nits) with TrueLife™
2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
200GB (7200RPM) SATA Hard Drive
nVidia® GeForce™ Go 8400M GS with 128MB GDDR3 dedicated graphics memory
Fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load Drive, including SW
Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)
Dell™ TrueMobile 355 internal Bluetooth Module - European
Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-Card - Europe

for £1.5k

Why is it they only offer a 0.3mp cam with the more expensive WLED screen?

If I go for the 8400M GS & 7200rpm drive should I get the 9cell or will the 6cell be fine?

I assume if I get the N wireless card it supports b/g as well?

I dont really do serious gaming just a bit of fun now and then, so the 8400M GS will run stuff like CS:S?
 
Sounds like a shocker to me NickM. :) Going for the full whack there? :p

For £1.5K, ring Dell up and see if you could get the price lower but otherwise, it's about average for the specification you want.

The 0.3MP camera is probably due to the limitations and the depth of the White-LED display? I'm not sure, but the White-LED boasts a thinner, lighter and brighter display - so the 2.0MP camera may not be feasible.

I've settled for a 6-cell with the GeForce 8400M GS dedicated graphics card, as it'll be on the mains most of the time. Although I'm hoping I could get atleast 3 hours out of it on a 6-cell standard usage. If you could get it with a 9-Cell then go for it, otherwise just get Dell to put in a spare 6-cell for a decent price. The Wireless-N card does support ABG, the website says so... :)

The 8400M GS should be able to run CSS at the 1280x800 resolution, what framerates you get, I'm not certain. But it should be playable.

Looks like you're onto a good deal... :) Don't forget though, the lead time for this laptop is pretty lengthy. I've ordered mine on the 6th July and it's estimated ship date is 1st August. No one in the UK has one of these at the moment.
 
Zoostorm 4-6621 £728

Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2Ghz (Santa Rosa)
2GB DDR2 RAM
250GB Sata Hard Drive
15.4 inch TFT WXGA (1280 x 800)
nVidia 8600GS 256MB Dedicated
8x DVD+RW
Built in Wireless LAN 802.11g 54Mbps
 
Not quite full whack, didnt opt for Vista Ultimate :p
Oh yea it does say, I totally missed the "Help me choose", I must be going blind :D
Thanks for answering my (sometimes obvious) questions :)
 
Energize said:
Zoostorm 4-6621 £728

Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2Ghz (Santa Rosa)
2GB DDR2 RAM
250GB Sata Hard Drive
15.4 inch TFT WXGA (1280 x 800)
nVidia 8600GS 256MB Dedicated
8x DVD+RW
Built in Wireless LAN 802.11g 54Mbps
Click to expand...

What's "Zoostorm" like? I know an etailer which offers those models, but I'm kinda having my doubts on the build quality and customer support for those...
 
kbc said:
Don't forget though, the lead time for this laptop is pretty lengthy. I've ordered mine on the 6th July and it's estimated ship date is 1st August. No one in the UK has one of these at the moment.
Click to expand...

Well there goes my request of a photo of the laptop :D

Having major problems with my PC at the moment and may have to spend my next months wages on ordering new components for that now :(
 
NickM said:
The only thing is its over 1kg heavier.. we were looking for lightweight here :)
Click to expand...

I'd consider 2.9Kg to be lightweight, thats what I carry up a huge hill everyday to school.

There's always the 4-5524 £734

Intel Core Duo T7200 2.0GHz
2GB DDR2 Ram
160GB 2.5" SATA
14 inch TFT WXGA (1280 x 800)
ATi X1600 256MB
8x DVD+/RW Double Layer
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
802.11g 54Mbps
2.4Kg

or the 4-5530 £816.63

Intel Core Duo T7400 2.16GHz
2GB DDR2 RAM
250GB 2.5" SATA
14 inch TFT WXGA (1280 x 800)
ATi X1600 RAM 256MB
8x DVD+/RW Double Layer
Microsoft Windows Vista Premium
802.11g 54Mbps
2.4Kg
 
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Energize said:
I'd consider 2.9Kg to be lightweight, thats what I carry up a huge hill everyday to school.

There's always the 4-5524 £734

Intel Core Duo T7200 2.0GHz CPU
2GB DDR2 Ram
160GB 2.5" SATA
14 inch TFT WXGA (1280 x 800)
ATi X1600 256MB
8x DVD+/RW Double Layer
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
802.11g 54Mbps
2.4Kg
Click to expand...

You own one of the Zoostorms Energize? Any chance of posting up some photos of the laptop?
 
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