Is this deal even real?

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Laotzu

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$500 OFF Dell Vostro 1500 15.4" Core 2 Duo Laptop - LogicBUY

And if it is, then I am going to try to max out stats by either buying the four gigs or ram or the best processor I can afford and install it on my own. So can someone tell me if either of those ideas are doable, or would the dell laptop be proprietized out the ying yang?

How much is a moderate gamer really going to notice between a 5400rpm and 7200rpm HD?

Edit: Also I'm trying to ween myself off of gaming. I've gotten to the point of only gaming like once every other week at this point, but I'm sure there will be relapses. So how would the 256MB 8600M GT be? Would it play modern games at even the lowest settings for a year or so to come? Also how hard is it to upgrade the video card if I were to have a relapse a year from now =P.

Last Question: How much of a performance difference will I notice between the t8100 and the t9300? If I bought it with the cheapest processor and put in my own t9300 to save money would that be possible?

I lied one last question: Will i hate myself If I don't get laptop with an HD screen? And also what is the difference between the available screen types for that rig?
 
Well I spent a lot of time tonight doing price and upgrade research, and I would like to hear some people's opinions on the different possibilities:

T8100 with 7200 RPM 160GB HD for $867
T9300 without 7200 RPM HD for $935
T9300 with 7200 RPM HD for $1085

I'm planning on keeping this machine for a good long time, so also another choice is to get the standard 80GB HD and then upgrade to a 7200RPM 160GB one in a few months, who knows maybe the prices will even have dropped a little bit more. That is based on not wanting to regret not having gotten the T9300 down the road. Also I am getting the longer lasting battery, so I don't think the increased voltage will be such a big issue on the T9300.

Best Wishes,
Laotzu
 
I'd save a few bucks and get best deal with the 5400 rpm drive and the faster processor. Then upgrade to a 80-100gb 7200 rpm drive and then put the 5400 rpm drive into an external USB enclosure. A 160gb on a laptop is asking for trouble. You have twice as much to lose when things go wrong.
 
Ya, the hard drive is going to be much easier to replace down the line. Laptops arent exactly made to have processors replaced by joe user.
 
The thing with Dell's "upgrades" is they charge full retail for the "upgrade" and they keep the hardware that's in the included price. When I buy laptops, I buy them as-is. Then I go to places like Newegg to get the upgrades. Dell wanted $125 to "upgrade" to a 100gb 7200 rpm drive from a 80gb 7200 rpm drive. Well I stayed with the 80gb drive and went to Newegg and got the exact same 100gb drive for $120. Guess what? I got to keep to 80gb drive. That drive now makes a great external backup device.
 
The site won't load for me so I can't tell you if that's a real deal or not. As for your other question, definitely go with a slower/smaller hard drive and the faster proc. Processors can be difficult to upgrade and they're definitely expensive. Hard drives are very easily most of the time. Performance-wise, a 5400rpm drive will have longer load times than a 7200rpm and slower access times but for the most part it's nearly unnoticeable. On my old computer, which had only a 40gb hard drive, I used a 160gb external drive to install my games and most of my media files on. I even did comparison benchmarks for games like WoW, Doom 3, Morrowind, etc. and the only difference between them was a load time that was a few seconds longer when starting the game loading a new map, whatever. In game performance was identical. So I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Once the game is loaded the hard drive becomes a nonfactor as far as gaming goes anyway. Assuming you have enough memory for the game to use.
 
Mmmm...

Good help all around. You guys are right, I should at least hold off on the 7200rpm if not leave it alone altogether.

Also about CPU swapping and joe users... The sad thing here is that I am a Comp Sci major, but I just have not been keeping up with tech for over a year. I can put any PC together blind folded, and a few other electronic devices, but I have never went into the realm of laptops because of the combination of non-upgrade-ability and my wanting to be able to upgrade components for game performance. But now I am not so interested in keeping on the cutting edge of graphics, so I will be able to run with this laptop for years to come :) .

OH and go go after market RAM. I hope no one upgrades that laptop for 400 dollars for 4 gb of ram when you can get it on newegg for 70... Saving of $330 TYVM.

Thanx again guys. I have seen nothing but (almost nothing but) thoughtful posts browsing around these forums.

Best Wishes,
Laotzu
 
When i say "joe user" i include myself in that category. Taking a laptop apart is a pain in the butt. And you almost have to completely disassemble them to get to the cpu due to the heatsink being 1 giant piece that cools multiple parts.
 
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