worth getting 2gb in a lappy?

Abercrombi3 · 1st October 2006, 7:20 PM

hey people im about to buy a dell 6400 with these specs:

Core 2 Duo T5600 @ 1.83ghz
80gb hdd
2gb ram
intergrated gfx
9 sell bat etc.

and i want to know if its worth getting 2gb ram on a laptop like this, getting it as a allrounder lappy (no games) and want it to be quick....

SLATYE · 1st October 2006, 7:29 PM

I'd go for less RAM and non-integrated video. RAM's easy to upgrade later, and Dell charges too much for it anyway. Discrete video will definitely help with Vista, it'll take less system RAM (128MB for the X1400 versus 224MB for GMA950), it'll be able to help the CPU with some things, and from what I've heard it also makes the system feel more responsive.

Quite apart from that, the GPU can't be upgraded if you get the base system with GMA950 - but RAM can always be upgraded.

yjs · 1st October 2006, 7:29 PM

I don't think it's very neccessary to get 2GB right now. If you're not too fussed about dual channel, then get a single 1GB stick and upgrade later when the need for 2GB comes. Keep in mind that Windows Vista will run better with 2GB than with 1GB.

Abercrombi3 · 1st October 2006, 7:43 PM

not really sure weather i will go vista :S don't really see the point in getting a X1400 if i wont game :S

josh81 · 1st October 2006, 7:51 PM

The RAM upgrade on the 6400 like most of the Dell's is pretty expensive, over $200 extra for 2GB instead of 1GB.
The graphics cards are ~$150 or $190, i think the $190 is definately worth the extra $40 on top of the cheaper one.

SLATYE · 1st October 2006, 7:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abercrombi3

not really sure weather i will go vista :S don't really see the point in getting a X1400 if i wont game :S

Well, the reason I'd go for the X1400 is mainly just because you can't upgrade to it later. If you decide you need more RAM later, that's easy to deal with - just get another DDR2-667 SODIMM; but if you decide that GMA950 isn't quick enough for something then it's time to buy a new laptop.

Even if you don't get the better video card, I still wouldn't pay Dell $220 to upgrade the RAM - until the price rise a few weeks ago, you could almost get 2GB of RAM separately for that price (2GB for the price that Dell charge for 1GB). If you wait a month or so, the prices should come back down and you'll be able to save about a hundred dollars.

Abercrombi3 · 1st October 2006, 8:21 PM

kk ill guess ill get the gfx card, hey how long does dell usually take to ship? (im getting the free shipping) will they ship it tomorrow?

josh81 · 2nd October 2006, 1:17 AM

I'm probably ordering mine tomorrow also. Are you ringing up to haggle for a discount? 8% reduction as standard i read if you ring up to haggle the price down.
I don't know how you go about it though if the machine is custom built, cause you would have to list all the upgrades you wanted while they took a note of it, so they will know how much it's costing before reducing that price.

It sounds a bit awkward reading everything out, it would be better if you could create a cart online and then ring them up and give them the cart number, and say i want it for X dollars.

fad · 2nd October 2006, 7:18 AM

I would go for the video, then the ram.

Ram is easy to buy after and fit. Not so easy to install a video card afterwards. Its also not so easy to buy them.

Abercrombi3 · 2nd October 2006, 7:26 AM

hey guys is there much diff. between a 1.83GHZ CORE DUO and 1.83GHZ CORE 2 DUO??

fad · 2nd October 2006, 7:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abercrombi3

hey guys is there much diff. between a 1.83GHZ CORE DUO and 1.83GHZ CORE 2 DUO??

The Core 2 Duo, has more L2 cache, faster core execution, and more power management for power savings.

I would say from the reviews I have read, 20-30% difference.

fad · 2nd October 2006, 7:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abercrombi3

kk ill guess ill get the gfx card, hey how long does dell usually take to ship? (im getting the free shipping) will they ship it tomorrow?

5-10 Working days, I think. However it can vary.

isaaus · 2nd October 2006, 10:46 AM

My first post on OCAU, didn`t knew it was going to be for dell haggling

and such a long one

My friend studies at RMIT in the CBD and RMIT only offers DELL/ACER/APPLE Epp to students. We saved a cart for 6400 and maxing out everything with 3yr basic support plan-no theft/accidental damage protection. It gave us $2960. Emailed dell, staing ACER is doing it for $1999. They said fine done. When its time for payment, we said we don`t want to go coz we fear of battery exploding and we won`t be able to use the lappy on planes as some airlines are banning them. The sales rep name was "Larry", he changed the price to $1799 and chucked in extra 9cell battery and a wireless router and upgraded the support plan to 3yr premium with 1yr theft and accidental damage. Paid with cc on the phone straight away and received the lappy in 7days. Plus around a week we invested in searching everywhere and reading ppl`s comment on how to haggle with dell.

P.S:- Dell`s warehouse is near Airport in Melb (don`t know suburb name, i am living in melb for only 3odd yrs). Its under Bax Global and the guys there don`t do justice with the boxes. They get thrown around, droped from forklift once a while (yep, no plastic lining on the pallets, saves them heaps) and when they are ready for shipping, the boxes get dragged on the ground to the trucks once in a while, so if the boxes u receive have marks stating things like this, take a piccy of box before opening and then check everything. If any problem call dell straight and they normally solve the issue on the spot.

Just my 2 cents.

kr0k · 2nd October 2006, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by it_inspector

When its time for payment, we said we don`t want to go coz we fear of battery exploding and we won`t be able to use the lappy on planes as some airlines are banning them. The sales rep name was "Larry", he changed the price to $1799 and chucked in extra 9cell battery

heh i find it funny how they solve your battery fear problem by giving you another one

SLATYE · 2nd October 2006, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abercrombi3

hey guys is there much diff. between a 1.83GHZ CORE DUO and 1.83GHZ CORE 2 DUO??

Not too much. The C2D should be about 10% faster overall (same cache size, just some small improvements in the core). The big advantage is that the C2D also supports 64-bit instructions - that might be important if you'll be keeping the laptop for a long time.

1st October 2006, 7:20 PM	#1
Abercrombi3 (Banned or Deleted) Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: dass Posts: 617	worth getting 2gb in a lappy? hey people im about to buy a dell 6400 with these specs: Core 2 Duo T5600 @ 1.83ghz 80gb hdd 2gb ram intergrated gfx 9 sell bat etc. and i want to know if its worth getting 2gb ram on a laptop like this, getting it as a allrounder lappy (no games) and want it to be quick....

1st October 2006, 7:29 PM	#2
SLATYE SLATYE, not SLAYTE Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Canberra Posts: 21,038	I'd go for less RAM and non-integrated video. RAM's easy to upgrade later, and Dell charges too much for it anyway. Discrete video will definitely help with Vista, it'll take less system RAM (128MB for the X1400 versus 224MB for GMA950), it'll be able to help the CPU with some things, and from what I've heard it also makes the system feel more responsive. Quite apart from that, the GPU can't be upgraded if you get the base system with GMA950 - but RAM can always be upgraded. __________________ Main system: Pentium-D 805 \| 1GB (2x 512MB) PQI DDR400 \| Gigabyte 8I865GMK-775 \| Xtreama Radeon 9800Pro with Zalman ZM-80HP-D \| 320GB WD SATA HDD \| Antec SmartPower 2.0 500w Laptop: Compal EL80 \| C2D T7200 \| 320GB Fujistu HDD \| 2GB DDR2-667 \| GF Go 7600

1st October 2006, 7:29 PM	#3
yjs Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 251	I don't think it's very neccessary to get 2GB right now. If you're not too fussed about dual channel, then get a single 1GB stick and upgrade later when the need for 2GB comes. Keep in mind that Windows Vista will run better with 2GB than with 1GB. __________________ Dell XPS M1330 - T7500 2.2Ghz, 2GB DDDR2, 8400GS, 250GB HDD, WLED. Successful trades: bandit1, willy pete, joecool55, vipe12, dainese, Vazirov, Madllama, thokash, base, cmdwedge, p0int_blank, PsYcHoBuNnY, GeBuZ, cschris1, Hung-Two, raGneG, B@ssM@n, stussy,

2nd October 2006, 7:18 AM	#9
fad Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: City, Canberra, Australia Posts: 1,481	I would go for the video, then the ram. Ram is easy to buy after and fit. Not so easy to install a video card afterwards. Its also not so easy to buy them. __________________ email astral (at) avatar.org.au.

1st October 2006, 7:43 PM	#4
Abercrombi3 (Banned or Deleted) Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: dass Posts: 617	not really sure weather i will go vista :S don't really see the point in getting a X1400 if i wont game :S

1st October 2006, 7:51 PM	#5
josh81 Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bellbowrie, Brisbane Posts: 2,414	The RAM upgrade on the 6400 like most of the Dell's is pretty expensive, over $200 extra for 2GB instead of 1GB. The graphics cards are ~$150 or $190, i think the $190 is definately worth the extra $40 on top of the cheaper one.

1st October 2006, 8:21 PM	#7
Abercrombi3 (Banned or Deleted) Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: dass Posts: 617	kk ill guess ill get the gfx card, hey how long does dell usually take to ship? (im getting the free shipping) will they ship it tomorrow?

2nd October 2006, 1:17 AM	#8
josh81 Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bellbowrie, Brisbane Posts: 2,414	I'm probably ordering mine tomorrow also. Are you ringing up to haggle for a discount? 8% reduction as standard i read if you ring up to haggle the price down. I don't know how you go about it though if the machine is custom built, cause you would have to list all the upgrades you wanted while they took a note of it, so they will know how much it's costing before reducing that price. It sounds a bit awkward reading everything out, it would be better if you could create a cart online and then ring them up and give them the cart number, and say i want it for X dollars.

2nd October 2006, 7:26 AM	#10
Abercrombi3 (Banned or Deleted) Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: dass Posts: 617	hey guys is there much diff. between a 1.83GHZ CORE DUO and 1.83GHZ CORE 2 DUO??

2nd October 2006, 10:46 AM	#13
isaaus Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,145	My first post on OCAU, didn`t knew it was going to be for dell haggling and such a long one My friend studies at RMIT in the CBD and RMIT only offers DELL/ACER/APPLE Epp to students. We saved a cart for 6400 and maxing out everything with 3yr basic support plan-no theft/accidental damage protection. It gave us $2960. Emailed dell, staing ACER is doing it for $1999. They said fine done. When its time for payment, we said we don`t want to go coz we fear of battery exploding and we won`t be able to use the lappy on planes as some airlines are banning them. The sales rep name was "Larry", he changed the price to $1799 and chucked in extra 9cell battery and a wireless router and upgraded the support plan to 3yr premium with 1yr theft and accidental damage. Paid with cc on the phone straight away and received the lappy in 7days. Plus around a week we invested in searching everywhere and reading ppl`s comment on how to haggle with dell. P.S:- Dell`s warehouse is near Airport in Melb (don`t know suburb name, i am living in melb for only 3odd yrs). Its under Bax Global and the guys there don`t do justice with the boxes. They get thrown around, droped from forklift once a while (yep, no plastic lining on the pallets, saves them heaps) and when they are ready for shipping, the boxes get dragged on the ground to the trucks once in a while, so if the boxes u receive have marks stating things like this, take a piccy of box before opening and then check everything. If any problem call dell straight and they normally solve the issue on the spot. Just my 2 cents.