Dell Inspiron 1501

[Hieronymous]

I was looking to invest in a non-gaming, multi-media/home office laptop, but I don't know the first thing about laptops (I built my last 2 PCs, but never owned a laptop). I need something strong enough to play with that will last a few years for around a thousand bucks.

I found this set-up at Dell.de (I'm in Germany, coming back to the states soon) for around $1150.

Inspiron 1501
AMD® Turion™ 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL56
2048 MB 533 MHz Dual-Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2 x 1024]
SATA Hard drive with 120 GB (5400 U/Min)
256 MB ATI ® Radeon® Xpress 1150 HyperMemory™
Original Windows Vistaâ„¢ Home Premium (32 Bit)

So my questions are:

1. Is it a good idea to buy from Dell?

2. Should I go with Vista, or stay with XP? Especially given these specs

3. I plan to spend most of the time in the States. As far as power issues go, will I have less stress buying an American or German system, or is it all the same?

Thanks for any help you super-geeks have to offer - looking forward to your responses.

 

[darksideleader]

well its a lap top so it wouldn't matter were you get it as long as its a stable company like dell. Since your not really gaming they it wouldn't matter if you get Vista or XP.

And get an Intel Core 2 duo lap top, a lot better performance at same price.

 

[Hieronymous]

Go Core 2 Duo you say? ok, I've been an AMD man all my life, but I like the sound of "a lot better performance at same price".

Given these prices, what do you recommend? The 7200 is on the outside, so mainly the debate is between the 53 and 56; is the 56 significantly better than the 53, or should I save my $75 for a web cam, headset and a mouse (which I would end up buying eventually)?

Intel Core 2 Duo T5300 (2MB Cache/1.73GHz/533MHz FSB) [+ $100]

Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 (1.83GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB) [+ $175]

Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB) [+ $250]

Thanks for your advice.

 

[motoxer4533]

I would say shell out the money for the T5600. If you are going to get that equipment later, just get this now too and get a little better performance.

 

[buxr.com]

I have to Core Duo e1505, and it's great for general use. I upgraded to 2GBs of ram.

One quick note, I would NOT get the "True Life Glossy" upgrade. It's impossible to use outside with the coating.