NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Notebook Forums › Dell Notebooks - General › How to: New Dell I8600 general tests & enhancing performance by Benchmark Tests
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

How to: New Dell I8600 general tests & enhancing performance by Benchmark Tests

post #1 of 6
3/19/04 at 1:54am
Thread Starter 
Hey guys,

Just ordered a new Dell I8600 couple of days back, not too high-end specs but just to fit my budget .... I was wondering if a few tips from you experts could help achieve the best performance possible.
Hope your answers for these questions would help not only me but future Dell owners too.
I'm not sure if all of these have been answered here before .... sorry if they are.

1. What are the first things to check once I/anyone gets a new Laptop?

2. The one I'm getting comes w/ a WinXP Home and I have WinXP Pro. I heard of wiping off (clean install) and installing Win XP Pro with only the necessary S/W and avoid any other extra Dell S/W is the best thing to do.
Do you do this once you get the new laptop or after conducting the regular tests & Benchmark Tests with the original configuration & OS?
I know it doesn't sound logical 'cos anyways I will not be using it w/ WinXP Home .... but was wondering what are the general tests for checking the laptop before even thinking of wiping the HD?

3. I'm new to the Benchmark Testing part and would like to know what are the best and useful (free ones because I found all the Futuremark BMT and etc to be expensive) tests to do?

4. I heard of these tests:
a. MonitorsDirect .... is it the best solution for checking the dead pixels and screen problems? What other problems do we need to check for other than dead pixels?

b. FanGUI: http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/ is this a safe & popular utility?

c. 3DMark2001/3DMark2003: ..... are both necessary? Which one is the best?
I'm not into gaming much and don't have games either. Do I need some games to use these tests? I understand they test the 3D settings but is it only useful for games?

d. PCMark04: What is this for?

e. Aquamark3: ?

f. Super-pi Test: ?

5. What is the use of overclocking, aside from improving benchmark scores by a small margin? Does overclocking really improve a system's performance? If
so how to do this?

6. I just bought 256MB RAM .... adding another 512MB soon .... what are the specs to look for before buying compatible memory w/ the one Dell sends?
512MB — CT325812 DDR PC2700 Non-parity is the compatible one I got while lookin in Crucial.com How would I know the make? What is the best place to look for memory upgrades?


*******************************************************
DELL I8600
PM1.4GHZ
WXGA
256 RAM (will add another 512MB from Crucial)
60GB Ultra ATA HD
32MB Nvidia GeForce FX GO5200 Video Card
24X Combo - DVD/CD-RW, WinXP Home
Intel Pro 2100 MiniPCI Wireless Card
*******************************************************

Forgive any naïveté I've shown here .... I just wanna learn more !
I really like this forum just for the heck of info U guys share !
Thanks in advance,
K.
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 6
3/19/04 at 2:18am
1. I personally dont reccomend wiping anything clean other than Dell software which you can do in the Control Panel.

2. You can use the non pro version of PCmark and 3dMark which is what most of us use because yes futuremark IS expensive

3. Also use your best judegement like looking for smudges left by dell techs or "leaking" as some people would say which you can probabaly only see on a black background.

B. Very safe which you can download and install to actually improve cooling of your dell system.

C. Its a set of benchmarks used to give you an idea of how games will play on your system. for you obviously these tests are useless.

D. its a general range of tests used to compare system performance from one system to another and very useful for some users but completely useless for uses interested in gaming.

E. same as C.

F. not reall an important becnhmark fo ryou but it used to test CPU performance

4. your basically forcing your parts to run past there reccomended settings and thus possibly causing harm to your system for meager performance boosts. I highly advise against doing this at all avoid it even trying.

5. crucial has a memory selector for specific systems to assist those who are not well versed in tech hardware using this would be the simplest way around that part of your problem.

No need to apologize for not knowing something. Your clearly looking for the best system for your money and ensuring you wernt jacked and people like myself and others are here to help you not make you waste potentially a lot fo money used to buy something like this laptop. Dont be afraid to ask questiosn in this forum if not I than something else will be able to assist you hope ive answered all your questions.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 6
3/19/04 at 2:53am
Thread Starter 
Thanks a bunch "DellMachina" .... good to hear from you soon being a MODERATOR ! Hope many have used your valuable advice all through out these forums. I really find a lot of your posts and replies.
Just for info .... I bought this laptop for $1350 with a 4 yr warranty .... thought to buy for $1260 w/ a 2 yr warranty but just thought it was a better deal for a student like me. Hope I would not regret !

I think I've edited my msg just before you replied .... 'cos theres a diff in numbers and so

1.What are the first things to check once I/anyone gets a new Laptop?

Now coming to the Clean Install part .... I was just wanting to do this 'cos I really want to partition the disk and install WinXP Pro and Linux to get used to it. So do U suggest to wait for a few days to test all the parts and functionality of the original laptop (as it comes from the box) and then switch later? But that way I will end up installing new S/W (Office etc) and the other personal settings twice !

I did use the Crucial Memory selector before but all it gave was the same but doesn't mention the make.

Thanks again,
K.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 6
3/19/04 at 11:07pm
Dead pixels, Funny noises, Bending in the keyboard just anything that shouldnt seem like its defective. you could alwasy ask if it should or shouldnt be doing this once you get the system.

Well before you go thru with the reformatting and repartitioning make your runs with the system as is cause it would be a waste of time and effort if it did come with a problem.

I really reccomend the Kingmax series of memory which you can buy at newegg.com
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...155-109&depa=0
I personally reccomend this.

your welcome
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 6
3/20/04 at 3:48pm
Thread Starter 
That makes sense to me to wait to reformat till I test the original one, Machina.....
I was wondering if you guys know how to tell what the make of the LCD screen is? Where can I find this on any Dell laptop .... like my friend has a Dell600M.
What is this illumination problem on the 8600 screen? How much is it acceptable and what is the best make known so far for the 8600 which doesn't have a lot of problems (My guess is Samsung ? .... am I right?). But can we ask Dell for a specific make ?

Thanks again,
K.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 6
3/20/04 at 11:09pm
you can tell because your reciept shiped with yoru system tells you if not once your system has arrived you can find out on the dell support website just enter your Service tag and click original configuration. illumination is a problem which best decribed looks like white brightness "leaking" around the edge sof the screen which should be quite clear on a black background but sinc eive yet to witness this on a total of 5 different screens I find the problem not too bad overall compared to those who have it. Samsung and Sharp is what you want Hitachi is something you dont. Its pointless to ask fo ra specific screen manufacturer cause chances are you wont get it due to parts backorder or what not just pray for a good maker.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Dell Notebooks - General
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Notebook Forums › Dell Notebooks - General › How to: New Dell I8600 general tests & enhancing performance by Benchmark Tests