Good Computers with WUXGA Monitors

So after some more discussion and investigation. I think I've limited myself to computers with WUXGA+ monitors (1920x1200) monitors, and thus either 15.4" or 17" computers. Which providers sell the best computers with these specifications, and is there any possibility of getting a computer of this type in the $1500 range, or is it necessary to pay more? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

~Lyuokdea

My brother plays poker online a lot, and so logical screen space is a huge deal to him. Thus I'm getting him a WUXGA+ (1920x1200) and then adding an external LCD with 1600x1200 resolution. Almost all online poker sites host tables with 800x600 screen size, so that will allow him to put four games on each screen plus room for AIM or whatever.

Otherwise this will just be a fairly normal laptop. I'd like to future proof it as much as possible, because it needs to last through 4 years of college. My brother is not a big gamer, and will not use any heavy programs (graphic design or whatever). So just normal office use, my brother is not very technically savvy, so computers that will keep things simple for him would be nice.

~Lyuokdea

Here's my leading candidate system right now, with the $750 off coupon, it comes out in the price range I want. Depending on how it works with the warrenty, I'll probably get 2 Gigs of 667 Mhz RAM later, but I'm not paying Dell $350 to do it for me. The 7900 video card is probably overdoing it for what my brother is doing. Would it be better to upgrade to the 2 Ghz Duo in exchange for downgrading to the 256 MB Radeon X1400? Also, I'm trying to get the 7200 RPM HD, but I haven't gotten that correctly configured into the price yet. (the coupon tends to automatically turn off if you do the wrong thing, so it's a battle with the web programing)

Inspiron E1705
Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS
100GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
Intel® PRO 3945 and Dell 350 Bluetooth Internal Wireless Cards
80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr HW Warranty Support
TOTAL1,291.00

What do you all think, any input on this computer?

~Lyuokdea

That is very true. In 4 years, I'm sure 2 Gigs of RAM will be helpful, but with the prices Dell Charges, I'd rather just put it in myself later if need be. I feel that getting a 7200 RPM harddrive is probably the upgrade that would have the most impact for him, because he'll see it any time he loads a sizable amount of data. Thanks for your help, I'll probably respec the system and post it up here shortly.

~Lyuokdea

another question for you, what is a faster HD, a 5400 RPM 100 GB HD, or a 7200 RPM 60 GB HD. Does the higher density on the 100 GB HD counteract the higher rotational speed on the 60 GB hard drive? I assume that is only true when you are in the middle of loading large, unfragmented files, but how much of a bottleneck will it be to stick with a 5400 RPM HD?

~Lyuokdea

ok, going through it again, I will probably sub out the GeForce 7900 and go with the Radeon X1400 and in exchange sub in the T2500 for the T2400 (both upgrades cost the same amount of money) I assume that hte X1400 should be able to run dual displays of 1920x1200 and 1600x1200 at 32 bits without a problem as long as it is not doing games, correct?

~Lyuokdea

well in order for the rebate to count, I need the base system to cost more than $2000 to get the $750 rebate. So I can get one of the two upgrades:

-From T2400 to T2500 (1.8 Ghz to 2.0 Ghz)
-From 256 MB Radeon X1400 to 256MB GeForce 7900

Since my brother isn't a gamer I thought upgrading the processor made more sense, is that a good decision or a bad one?

~Lyuokdea