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Should I get faster Video or a faster Processor ?

post #1 of 31
8/22/05 at 9:09pm
Thread Starter 
I am about to order an Inspiron 9300. I am not much of a gamer but I want to get into Video and Audio editing. Because Dell Finance only gave me a $1500 limit I can only get one or the other. Either a 2Ghz processor with a 128 ATI video card or a 1.86Ghz proc. with the 256mb Nvidia card.

I am thinking that I want as fast a processor with as much ram more so than the 256mb Nvidia with a slower proc. Am I going the right way with this ?
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post #2 of 31
8/22/05 at 9:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mixman
I am about to order an Inspiron 9300. I am not much of a gamer but I want to get into Video and Audio editing. Because Dell Finance only gave me a $1500 limit I can only get one or the other. Either a 2Ghz processor with a 128 ATI video card or a 1.86Ghz proc. with the 256mb Nvidia card.

I am thinking that I want as fast a processor with as much ram more so than the 256mb Nvidia with a slower proc. Am I going the right way with this ?
Definitely 6800 Go.. hands down... even consider 400MHz pentium M so you can pin mod it.. I think it's stickied up there if you want to do that...
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post #3 of 31
8/22/05 at 9:11pm
Also, be sure to get the lowest amount of memory (256) and upgrade externally though newegg or whereever... 1GB stick of Transcend is ~$101 shipped. You can just add in the 1GB stick... you don't need to run in dual channel since the proc can't handle it anyways. Get the 256 and add the 1 GB for 1.25 GB
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post #4 of 31
8/22/05 at 9:13pm
well take a look at my sig. I myself was in a similar situation and i couldnt b any happier with my decision. The 1.86 ghz processor is sufficient enough to handle any task at a speedy pace plus u have a great vid card to support it. Get the 256 RAM and U/G lata to 2 gigs which will definitely help the processor out in the long run. Jus my two cents.
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post #5 of 31
8/22/05 at 9:17pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys. Will the Nvidia 256mb help in day to day tasks also or is the extra 128 megs only for gaming ?
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post #6 of 31
8/22/05 at 9:36pm
It's not just the extra ram on the other videocard for gaming. It's a more powerful card with more pixle pipelines and higher clock speeds. etc.
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post #7 of 31
8/22/05 at 9:37pm
Yeah its a completely different card, definetly go for the card upgrade, the processor wont matter nearly as much, in fact you could probably go get the 1.73 or 1.6 and save some more money
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post #8 of 31
8/22/05 at 9:37pm
The 6800 only uses about 64MB for day to day 2D stuff, and it swaps to a full gaming card only when it gets the 'API call'

If you're only going to use it for a laptop, not gaming, multimedia monster, then take the 1st choice

Jason.
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post #9 of 31
8/22/05 at 9:50pm
As long as you're not doing 3d editing or gaming, you should be better off with a faster processor (and again, pick the minimum amount of RAM at system build, you can get a gig for $100ish; install is eaasy).
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post #10 of 31
8/22/05 at 9:52pm
Video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!
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post #11 of 31
8/22/05 at 9:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mixman
Thanks guys. Will the Nvidia 256mb help in day to day tasks also or is the extra 128 megs only for gaming ?
Ram doesn't play a very big role in videocard performance, it's all about pixel pipelines, clock speeds, and architecture(sp?). Definately go with the graphics card, you will see a much bigger improvement in performance. You'll be able to have all the eye candy on in windows, Movies will be much improved, as well as gaming if you get to it.
The guys are right too, it's far cheaper to buy ram from somewhere other than Dell. So you can save money there.
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post #12 of 31
8/22/05 at 10:21pm
Thread Starter 
It seems some guys are telling me if I don't need the 6800 for gaming I should just get the faster processor. Now, will the 6800 definitely do let's say DVD's and justplain video better than the ATI 128 ?

I know about the ram as a matter of fact I will get about 1 gig from Newegg even before the 9300 gets here.
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post #13 of 31
8/22/05 at 10:27pm
I'd say get the 6800 anyway. The difference between the 1.6 and the 2.0 (that's not a typo) is minimal if you aren't encoding or doing some insane number crunching. Even in most games it only equates to about 10-15% (think 10FPS). A better video card is just something you always want.
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post #14 of 31
8/22/05 at 11:37pm
Thread Starter 
Guess I'll try and configure a 9300 with the 6800. Hopefully I will get at least better looking and faster video.
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post #15 of 31
8/22/05 at 11:44pm
To be honest I would go with the video card, it is a big step up and even though you are 'not much of a gamer' it will be there when and if you need it. Won't make a difference for your editing though.

As for why not choosing the CPU, 1.6 to 2.0 seems like a reasonable step but they are both 133 FSB which would be the bottleneck for your crunching. The best thing you can do is add more ram, will make things run much more smoothly...
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post #16 of 31
8/23/05 at 12:33am
I'll go with everyone else and give one more vote for the Video card, even if you aren't a gamer it is still a much better bang for the buck than the faster processors.
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post #17 of 31
8/23/05 at 1:54am
Thread Starter 
Oh one more question. How much more battery power does the 6800 use than the ATI128 ?

Ok two questions, is the 60GB 7200rpm hardrive worth the cost in terms of extra speed ?
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post #18 of 31
8/23/05 at 5:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mixman
Oh one more question. How much more battery power does the 6800 use than the ATI128 ?

Ok two questions, is the 60GB 7200rpm hardrive worth the cost in terms of extra speed ?
For what you are using it is better to go with the 1.86 and a larger 5400 rpm drive. Because of platter density the better choice is to go with the 80 or 100 GB. What is of greatest concern for you would be system memory which should be maxed to 2 GB by going with as small amount as possible from Dell and buying 2 GB from newegg.com or a similar reputable vendor.

People are recommending the 256 togo because FOR THE MONEY the 1,86 and 256 togo gives you the best price/performance ratio versus a 128 meg ATI card and a 2.0 ghz P-M.

Hope this helps and enjoy the lappie when you get...
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post #19 of 31
8/23/05 at 12:38pm
The Ati will give more battery life because it's a less powerful card. It's not worth it though, the 6800Go has so much more horsepower for the money. HDD's, depends on what you want. The 7200RPM is slightly faster. I chose it because I usually only have 15-20GB on my HDD. It's got faster random access too. However, because the 100GB is a much bigger drive, it's not far behind. If you like having alot of data, then go for it. Here's a thread where we benched both.
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post #20 of 31
8/23/05 at 4:21pm
Thread Starter 
Ok I did get the 6800 with the 1.86 proc. Here is my order :

How did I do ?

Inspiron 9300
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 (1.86 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB), Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Qty: 1
Unit Price: $2,110.00
Inspiron 9300 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 (1.86 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
SM18HN
[221-7310]

Display 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
17UXGAS
[320-4256]

Memory 256MB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 1 Dimm
256MB1D
[311-3719]

Video Card 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800
256NV
[320-4185]

Hard Drive 40GB Hard Drive
40GB
[341-1804]

Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
WHXP
[420-4766]
[463-2282]
[412-0689]
[420-4928]
[412-0706]
[420-4830]

Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
INTNIC
[430-0493]

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
ADOBER
[430-1048]

CD/DVD Drives 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
24COMBO
[313-2580]
[420-5111]

Wireless Networking Card Intel® PRO 2915 and Dell 350 Bluetooth Internal Wireless Cards
I2915BT
[430-1391]
[464-1576]

Office Productivity Software No productivity suite - Corel WordPerfect word processor only
ICOREL
[412-0803]

Security Software No Security Subscription
NSNOR
[412-0802]

Digital Music Musicmatch® Jukebox Basic
MMBASE
[412-0741]

Primary Battery 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (80 WHr)
9BAT
[312-0283]

Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr Technical Support
ST111RR
[950-3337]
[950-9057]
[960-6910]
[960-6900]

Internet Access: Dial-Up 6 Months of America Online Membership Included
AOLDHS
[412-0625]
[420-3224]
[412-0687]
[412-0787]

Digital Imaging Photo Album™ SE Basic
DPS
[412-0744]

Miscellaneous Award Winning Service & Support
I9300S1
[464-0586]

Financial Software No QuickBooks package selected- Includes limited use trial
QBSSP
[420-5139]




Online Dell Home Customers:Save $750 on select Inspiron™ notebook purchases $1899 or more (before tax, shipping and handling)! (affiliate only online offer)
Expires on 2005-08-24 10:59:59 - $750.00


Yes, send me the PC Magazine Subscription Included-Retail value $34.97 Qty: 1
Unit Price: $0.00


Dell 720 Color Printer
Free Dell Color Printer 720 Qty: 1
Unit Price: $0.00
Dell Color Printer 720 Free Dell Color Printer 720
XPR720
[464-2027]

Hardware Support Services 1Yr Ltd. Warranty- Advance Exchange
AE1YR
[902-7040]
[960-4638]
[960-2840]





ADDITIONAL DISCOUNTS AND COUPONS



Dell Home Customers: Free Ground Shipping on Dell Inspiron orders greater than $849! $25 handling charge applies.
Expires on 2005-08-25 11:59:59 - $30.00



Sub-Total $1,360.00
Shipping Discount -$30.00

Shipping and Handling $19.00

Tax $115.53
Total $1,494.53
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