17" screen or settle for 15.4"???

Gus the Mus · 29th March 2006, 10:35 PM

I'm thinking about buying my first lappie & I'm not sure whether to go straight to a 17" widescreen with 1920x1200 or just go for a more run of the mill 15.4" with 1680x1050. Pretty much thinking of one of these at the moment on either a Dell 6400 or 9400 machine. It'll be mostly used for browsing OCAU & some gaming & light software work during the day. Any experiences from those who have them would be much appreciated. Also, I know in a desktop an X1300/1400 would be crap, but what about gaming performance in these lappies???

Cheers,

Gus

qwijibo · 29th March 2006, 10:55 PM

17" vs 15.4" really depends on whether the 17" restricts your portability. They are 0.5Kg or so heavier than the 15", but if you're not carrying it around much, then the 17" 1920x1200 is very nice.

If you go for the 17", go for a 7800 go card in it, I think the x1400 would be a bit weak for gaming.

Gus the Mus · 29th March 2006, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qwijibo

17" vs 15.4" really depends on whether the 17" restricts your portability. They are 0.5Kg or so heavier than the 15", but if you're not carrying it around much, then the 17" 1920x1200 is very nice.

If you go for the 17", go for a 7800 go card in it, I think the x1400 would be a bit weak for gaming.

Portability isn't really an issue as it would either be on my lap or table at home or on the desk at work & I drive to & from work.

Unfortunately when I spoke to Dell today regarding the 7800go, I was told that there are no plans to bring it back at this point & that's why they're offering the cheap upgrade from x1300 to x1400 in the 6400 series. Thing is, if you deck them out pretty well the same, the 6400 will cost nearly as much as a 9400!

qwijibo · 30th March 2006, 1:27 AM

The 17" is way too big for lap usage - a friend has one, and its definitely a desk-only beast.

If portability isn't a concern, definitely go the 17" - I've seen dell's 15.4" 1920x1200 screen and the 17" 1920x1200, and under windows the text is too small on the 15" (or the guy who had it didn't know how to get windows to scale the text to the correct DPI like linux does).

Gaming wise, just play games at a lower res - 1680x1050, 1280x800 or 960x600 - if the x1400 won't handle the strain. Shame that dell dropped the 7800go, its a beast.

LoBeS (BB) · 31st March 2006, 3:29 PM

ive got a 9400 with 7800 im trying to sell.....interested lol

Gus the Mus · 31st March 2006, 7:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoBeS (BB)

ive got a 9400 with 7800 im trying to sell.....interested lol

If it wasn't for the fact that my work would be buying it for me brand new, I'd be very keen on yours apart from the 1.66 cpu. I'm planning on the T2500/T2600 cpu.

Kelvin · 1st April 2006, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gus the Mus

Portability isn't really an issue as it would either be on my lap or table at home or on the desk at work & I drive to & from work.

Unfortunately when I spoke to Dell today regarding the 7800go, I was told that there are no plans to bring it back at this point & that's why they're offering the cheap upgrade from x1300 to x1400 in the 6400 series. Thing is, if you deck them out pretty well the same, the 6400 will cost nearly as much as a 9400!

I can't imagine this to be correct, since some people are still waiting on their 7800Gos in 9400 (after paying for them in full).. and Dell has still promised them delivery sometime in April...

I presume it will make a comeback... when the worlwide shortage ceases to exist..

PS.. A vote for the 17" screen... I have a 9300.. not problems with weight.. jsut a likttle bulky.. (used to have a 15.4 widescreen HP)... the 17" is an absolute pleasure to use... (It stopped me from wanting the 24" Dell LCD screen.... seeing the 17" had the same resolution...)

Ze. · 2nd April 2006, 4:20 PM

I was having a look yesterday at notebooks and 17" just seems bloody huge , i think even 15.4" is a bit big for my uses and i'll go for a 14.1".

I want a big screen as i'll be writing a papers and my thesis on it , but i don't want something thats too big to lug around.

I would've picked one up a month or more ago ,but i'm an utter noob when it comes to laptops and dunno which brands are good.

I know i want a pentium-m and a gig of ram but other than that i don't really know much more.

arrow224 · 2nd April 2006, 4:26 PM

17" is HUGE for a laptop. Go for the 15.4".

Gus the Mus · 2nd April 2006, 7:51 PM

Well being that portability isn't really an issue as I'll just put it in a bag to drive to work & home again, I think from what people have written in various places, the 17" with 1920x1200 is fantastic to look at & use so I think I'll probably go that way. If I needed to carry it around on public transport , I'd probably go for the 15.4" or even 14.1" but since I don't, I'll go for the big screen.

Ze. · 2nd April 2006, 8:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gus the Mus

If I needed to carry it around on public transport , I'd probably go for the 15.4" or even 14.1" but since I don't, I'll go for the big screen.

I'll be carrying mine in my car so public transport isn't an issue really but i still think a 17" is too big for me. It ruins the portability factor when they are so bloody huge for me. Thats just my take on seeing some 17" versus 14" and 15.4".

But i'm an indecisive laptop noob , 17" screen sounded great to me , but seeing some 17" in the flesh , they just look too bloody big.

Gus the Mus · 3rd April 2006, 4:37 PM

Just ordered a Dell 9400 so that's sorted that then.

Squeezer · 4th April 2006, 10:48 PM

Ive been very happy with a 15.4 but at higher res 1600x1050 the font can get pretty small. Ive needed to incase Browser font sizes etc to make them readable for my old tired eyes.

Personally I'd be leaving the really high res 1920x1200 type resolutions to the 24" or larger desktop LCDs

29th March 2006, 10:35 PM	#1
Gus the Mus Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Melbourne 3805 Posts: 804	17" screen or settle for 15.4"??? I'm thinking about buying my first lappie & I'm not sure whether to go straight to a 17" widescreen with 1920x1200 or just go for a more run of the mill 15.4" with 1680x1050. Pretty much thinking of one of these at the moment on either a Dell 6400 or 9400 machine. It'll be mostly used for browsing OCAU & some gaming & light software work during the day. Any experiences from those who have them would be much appreciated. Also, I know in a desktop an X1300/1400 would be crap, but what about gaming performance in these lappies??? Cheers, Gus __________________ Folding@Home 70K Club Folding@Home 5 Million Points Milestone! Addicted to folding club member #43

2nd April 2006, 4:26 PM	#9
arrow224 Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,449	17" is HUGE for a laptop. Go for the 15.4". __________________ ASCII a stupid question, get a stupid ANSI! Get Firefox Member #49 of OCAU iRiver club Successful trades with: Copycat, BuuBox, SCwerTA <-------- The information went data way -------->

2nd April 2006, 7:51 PM	#10
Gus the Mus Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Melbourne 3805 Posts: 804	Well being that portability isn't really an issue as I'll just put it in a bag to drive to work & home again, I think from what people have written in various places, the 17" with 1920x1200 is fantastic to look at & use so I think I'll probably go that way. If I needed to carry it around on public transport , I'd probably go for the 15.4" or even 14.1" but since I don't, I'll go for the big screen. __________________ Folding@Home 70K Club Folding@Home 5 Million Points Milestone! Addicted to folding club member #43

3rd April 2006, 4:37 PM	#12
Gus the Mus Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Melbourne 3805 Posts: 804	Just ordered a Dell 9400 so that's sorted that then. __________________ Folding@Home 70K Club Folding@Home 5 Million Points Milestone! Addicted to folding club member #43

4th April 2006, 10:48 PM	#13
Squeezer Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Adelaide Posts: 4,417	Ive been very happy with a 15.4 but at higher res 1600x1050 the font can get pretty small. Ive needed to incase Browser font sizes etc to make them readable for my old tired eyes. Personally I'd be leaving the really high res 1920x1200 type resolutions to the 24" or larger desktop LCDs __________________ Photo Gallery Live Bands, Nature, Events

29th March 2006, 10:55 PM	#2
qwijibo Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Brisvegas Posts: 397	17" vs 15.4" really depends on whether the 17" restricts your portability. They are 0.5Kg or so heavier than the 15", but if you're not carrying it around much, then the 17" 1920x1200 is very nice. If you go for the 17", go for a 7800 go card in it, I think the x1400 would be a bit weak for gaming.

30th March 2006, 1:27 AM	#4
qwijibo Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Brisvegas Posts: 397	The 17" is way too big for lap usage - a friend has one, and its definitely a desk-only beast. If portability isn't a concern, definitely go the 17" - I've seen dell's 15.4" 1920x1200 screen and the 17" 1920x1200, and under windows the text is too small on the 15" (or the guy who had it didn't know how to get windows to scale the text to the correct DPI like linux does). Gaming wise, just play games at a lower res - 1680x1050, 1280x800 or 960x600 - if the x1400 won't handle the strain. Shame that dell dropped the 7800go, its a beast.