Electronic Punk

Well at this rate our corporate manager's spot is gonna be open ;p

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Sazar

For you?



I'm trying to gun for product brand manager.

THEN I'll have input on what the heck kinda stuff goes into these things.

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Electronic Punk

make me a laptop with 4x7950gtx, an aegia physicx card and maybe a cpu and memory if there is room.

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Sazar

That would not be called a laptop.

A gigantic brick of heat perhaps, but not a laptop

The physX card is not really impressing much at the moment. Needs more apps.

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Electronic Punk

Yeah, I pre-ordered one then cancelled when I saw that it really wasn't gonna do anything... yet.

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Sazar

You're a compulsive buyer.

I give you 3 weeks.

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kcnychief

My brother is in the USAF, going to training for 6 months in about a month for a special task. He asked me for a laptop with the following requirements:

• Good Battery Life, as it will primarily be used on battery.
• 17" Screen
• High resolution - will be working with satellite imagery
• High End Video Card, also for similar purposes
• Storage
• At least 1GB of RAM
• Durable

I was looking at the M90, really sweet hardware on that puppy.

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Sazar

The 1705, the XPS 1710 and the Precision m90 all meet the requirements he has.

The 1710 will be the most expensive I think, but it will have the best gaming video card. The m90 has a good card but it is more for professional work.

The XPS and precision have the magnesium alloy chassis so they are pretty durable.

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kcnychief

I did look at the XPS, but I believe the M90 fits his needs a tad better.

I was bouncing the idea of the M90 off him late last night, showing some specs to him and such, and he seemed to like it. He explained his new work as "graphics intensive", so the 512MB is a must. Although the other models have that, I just like the m90

Whatever I do end up getting, it will come to me to configure and prep first. I'll try to play with it for a bit and give some feedback.

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Sazar

There is very little different between the xps and the precision. They are essentially the same thing.

You just have to remember that one card is designed for professional use and the other will be geared for gaming.

IF he needs 3d performance in pro apps plus some gaming on the side, the precision is more than adequate.

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kcnychief

That's a good point of reference, but I do have one question which may seem dumb....

If they are both 512MB, what makes such a noticeable difference, at least from how you put it, where one is "geared for gaming" and the other is "designed for professional use".

He won't be using it for gaming, as I mentioned before he just needs high resolution for Satellite Imagery.

I have also been pondering upgrading him to the WUXGA, vs regular WXGA (I think those are the letters).

Have been reading up on the Duo Core stuff - really neat part is that they are supposed to use power more efficiently, which prolongs battery life, and also run cooler

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Sazar

Read about the difference between quadro's and regular nvidia cards. You will note they carry a hefty price difference.

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kcnychief

Holy Cow the XPS's can get expensive!

Add another $2,775 if you want to upgrade from 2GB to 4GB

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GEN3RIC

I have a question. I am going to get the D820, but when I went to check out, the thing wants your business name.

It never occurred to me that you need to have a business to buy a "Small Business" laptop. I dont have a business, but I want the laptop. How do I get around that, and also get the coupon savings I get from ordering online?

kcnychief

When you get further into the checkout process, it says that if your credit card is not in your business name, simply put your first and last name in that line as well.

I have done it a few times, shouldn't be a problem.

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Sazar

I would call the employee purchase program or the general dell purchase line and buy it that route. You should be able to buy the Lat d series notebooks that route.

The small business segments prices are lower typically because of bulk sales and different software/hardware requirements v/s a general home consumer which is why you notice ads from all the big companies touting their prices from the small business segment.

If your coupon is specifically for the small business segment and you have to verify and can't proceed without a tax ID or something, you are SOL I would think.

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GEN3RIC

Alright. Well just in case I cannot get a latitude, I priced out an Inspiron E1705, for the same price of $2200 and change I get the same [everything] except its bigger at 17", heavier, less battery life at 2.5hours, but has a 7800Go. It is tempting..but then again its 8.5 lbs versus ~6.5lbs. This is for class, main usage is programming, and gaming whenever I am not programming.

Which of those two would you recommend? By the way I got the E1705 for that price because I found a $750 off coupon until May 17th.. while the D820's $400 off expiration was unknown. Dell rocks!

Sazar

The latitude d 820 is a better quality notebook than the inspirons. It has an inferior video card but otherwise is same or better spec'd in most major respects.

It is obviously smaller.

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bcmull

I am getting desperate here. I want to wait for the D420 but this indefinite timeline is killing me.

Two specific questions. Can anyone help with answers?

1) What will the weight (6cell) of the D420 be?
2) I assume that the only option will be to run the Intel intergrated graphics, correct?

Any help would be appreciated. The other option is the D620 which if the 410 vs 620 is any comparison is only .75 lbs.

Sazar

1. About 3+ lbs or so.
2. It will have a discrete graphics solution.

I am not sure what the hold-up is. I am assuming that due to the size of the product and the fact there will likely be a discrete solution, perhaps signal noise elimination is a priority. It will obviously be a bigger issue with a product as thin and light as this notebook.

The XPS 1210 will also be debuting soon and should also have a discrete option. It will weigh about 4lbs or so and is an all-in-one (i.e. integrated optical drive).

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