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8600 casing and questions

post #1 of 7
1/22/04 at 7:34pm
Thread Starter 
I'm new to the world of Dell and i had a few questions. I currently own a Fujitsu C-series and am happy with it, but i want to upgrade. I have been looking at the 8600 (and the HP zt3000) and want to know what the overall consensus really is. I would get the 128 ati, 1 GB RAM, 1.7, 60 GB 7200, WSXGA +. I have heard many complaints about the casing and about how cheap it looks/feels. Is this true? Will i really be afraid of breaking it? Also, is the keyboard really that bad? Is there a way of getting a different one? Does anyone actually use the trackstick and is it useable? If any of you have tested the HP zt3000, how do they compare. As a last question, what do you guys think about the centrino v p4 w/ HT. Which one is ultimately better at this point? Thanks a lot.
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post #2 of 7
1/22/04 at 8:25pm

Well.

The case is pretty much my only objection to the 8600. Check out Dell's site--there are pictures there. It is just ugly. Otherwise the 8600 is a great computer.
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post #3 of 7
1/22/04 at 8:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BenGray
I'm new to the world of Dell and i had a few questions. I currently own a Fujitsu C-series and am happy with it, but i want to upgrade. I have been looking at the 8600 (and the HP zt3000) and want to know what the overall consensus really is. I would get the 128 ati, 1 GB RAM, 1.7, 60 GB 7200, WSXGA +. I have heard many complaints about the casing and about how cheap it looks/feels. Is this true? Will i really be afraid of breaking it? Also, is the keyboard really that bad? Is there a way of getting a different one? Does anyone actually use the trackstick and is it useable? If any of you have tested the HP zt3000, how do they compare. As a last question, what do you guys think about the centrino v p4 w/ HT. Which one is ultimately better at this point? Thanks a lot.
Its always good to look into something before you buy it. I too ws a former owner of a C series Fujitsu (C2111) it was good except the casing eventually faded to a white color -_-' and the latch that holds the lcd to the lower chasis came off but other than that its a sturdy system. I cant reccomend a HP system but I can assur eyou moving froma C series fujitsu to a Dell 8600 has its plus and minus. First off consider ordering the 1gb of ram from another location since dell charges nearlya 80% premium over most retailers. Complaints about the casing are overrated since the casing is fine if anything its an improvement over the 8200. You shouldnt be afraid of breaking it. The keyboard flexing isnt noticible especially if your not looking for it. you will find that its quite large and pleasent to use. You will come to understand and eventually use the trackstick over the thumbpad because of its effortless preciscion initially you will think it pretty much bites th ecurb though. ive used the zt3000 but not for a long period of time all i can say is you think the 8600 has a cheap casing then the zt3000 is a 8600 reject fallen off the ugly tree. Let me just end with saying Centrino focuses on longer battery life not higher scores on 3dmark and pc mark if you want raw power and no mobility P4 is your chip. if you want at least a way to use your laptop as a dvd player consider centrino
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post #4 of 7
1/22/04 at 10:09pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks a lot Dell-Machina! That really does help. Why is centrino good for watching dvds and poor for 3dmark? With the ati 9600, will it get lower scroes on games than say a laptop with a 3.0 w/ht? Also, how are the speakers, say, compared to the zt3000?
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post #5 of 7
1/22/04 at 11:54pm
Longer battery life means you can actually finish th emovie before the laptop does . although cpu score isnt heavy in most cases the 3ghz pentium4 with ht will score better then a 1.7ghz pentiumM system. Speakers leave much to be desired especially compared to the zt3000
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post #6 of 7
1/23/04 at 1:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DELL-Machina
Longer battery life means you can actually finish th emovie before the laptop does . although cpu score isnt heavy in most cases the 3ghz pentium4 with ht will score better then a 1.7ghz pentiumM system. Speakers leave much to be desired especially compared to the zt3000

Actually how is the sound card in i8600? Is it of good quality?

Houmi
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post #7 of 7
1/23/04 at 2:20am
Sigmatel isnt exactly professional level. At best id suggest a 3rd party card? or an external device which greatly enhances it Ie SoundBlaster Extigy
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