Woud Like some opinions regarding my current build. Come one, come all!

[Mr.Gump]

Hello,

Thanks for checking out my thread and hopefully letting me know what you think of my system. I here that Dell can give you a nice system for not much money. I have also heard that when dealing with Dell it is wise to purchase a multi year warranty because they melt components to the motherboard? Is this true/bad?. Anyway, I think I have found the best possible system for my $1,500 and I am here to hopefully find out if I am making a good selection. But first let me say....

1.If you are paid or employed by Dell or any of the companies that you are recommending products for, please make this public knowledge on my thread. This will not negatively effect my view of your comments at all. I ask that you do this for the sake of transparency. Thank you for your respect.

2.I am looking for non-newbie posts, so if you really only know a little, please don't clutter up the thread. Thanks.

**************Below I will list my Dell build...

Studio 1537, Intel Core 2 Duo T9400, 2.53GHz, 1066Mhz, 6M L2Cache
4GB, DDR2, 800MHz 2 Dimm confused: does it matter that my RAM is 800MHz and not 1066 like my FSB)
Hi Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1920x1200)
256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 confused:upper middle class card?)
250G 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition, English confused:32bit, I think)
8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy Advanced HD Software Edition
Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11AGNHalf Mini Card
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
Integrated Finger Print Reader
V220 Jet Black Cordless Optical USB Mouse
A bunch of other misc. stuff like Antifurs thrown in for 15months and other little sofware things.

******Please take the comments below into consideration when posting your thoughts.

1.)I am not a gamer. The only game I would play on this notebook would be Return To Castle Wolfenstein and that game is a decade old, or will be soon.

2.)I plan to watch a lot of online content on this notebook including DVD movies from time to time and I would frequently have many web pages open at the same time.

3.) Do I want to go for the 64bit Vista if I really only plan to keep my notebook with 4Gigs and do the above stuff?

4.) I was told that its nice to have 1066Mhz over 800MHz, something about the "pipes" being twice as large. Is this, coupled with the 2.5Ghz processor, a pretty good bang for the buck?

5.) I think I might duel boot Ubuntu, will this build run it well?

Thank you for taking the time to read through all the stuff I wrote. To steal a line from my favorite film, The Shawshank Redemption "if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a bit further". I do hope you take the time to tell me what you think of this build for $1,500. Thank you for your time. Thank you.

 

[SapperX]

Really that laptop is overkill if you do not plan to game or are not a developer/professional. Either way, it's an excellent laptop.

You wont need to opt for 64bit vista, although without it you will only utilize 3.5gb's of RAM. This is a trade off with 64bit being a bit finicky at times (not so much anymore, and not in times to come).

Don't worry about the RAM frequency, you wont notice a difference anyways (the 1066mhz vs 800mhz is a very small dispute).

Ubuntu will run fantastically on that machine. However, it is sometimes difficult to get everything to work properly on a laptop with linux (but usually its not too bad).

Good choice and good luck with your purchase!

 

[saltynay]

1. Overkill - with the graphics, resolution, cpu
2. Be fast as anything but your hardly stressing it - overkill again
3. There are no creases with a 64bit Vista however xp-64 can be dodgy for drivers and programs. I would go 64bit
4. 800mhz gives better price/performance and as you can't overclock this ram speed won't be stressed.
5. ubuntu should fine almost all hardware is supported although it can take some work arounds to get there! I am running ubuntu now on this laptop which was a quick, easy install with no problems. My other laptop however hasn't got the wireless working properly and the touchscreen was a struggle to calibrate. Worth posting on the ubuntu forums for hardware checking

 

[KSoD]

Come one, come all!

You say this in the title then you say:

2.I am looking for non-newbie posts, so if you really only know a little, please don't clutter up the thread. Thanks.

How does Come All translate to non-newbies? Plus being a new member yoruself isnt that a oxymoron?

1. If you are not a gamer then why such high specs? I can do what you plan on doing on my Dell Inspirion 1501 which has 1GB of RAM and a TL56 AMD CPU. Why such overkill?

2. The online content will be defined by your ISP and your internet connection. This will only affect your laptop in the slighest of ways. Having 2GB of RAM so that multiple pages being opened wont affect the system will be jsut fine.

3. Yes Vista 64 Bit is the best choice.

4. The RAM is nice to match but it isnt necessary. If you got 1066MHz RAM it would put the cost of the Laptop higher than what you want to spend.

5. This will run Ubuntu fine. Linux has low system requirements.

Can I ask why you are going so overkill? There is no need to have 4GB of RAM for what you are planning on doing. I use 1GB and Vista and get it all done jsut fine with multiple pages open in a browser and other things running. Even if you get the 4GB cause you dont want it to run "slow" doesnt prevent the system from running as fast as you want it to. The add-on software added by ell, spyware from the online content and so much more can affect your system. Not to mention if you have not used Vista you will complain right out of the box cause Vista is NOT XP and doesnt run like XP.

 

[KurrentEweser]

To steal a line from my favorite film, The Shawshank Redemption "if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a bit further".

Sorry I couldn't help this. A line from one of my favorites.

"Computers are like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get.”