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700m or 8600

post #1 of 16
12/26/04 at 6:07pm
Thread Starter 
hey guys, im very new here, and im interested in buying a dell laptop. I need it for school, but I really want something that will play some games (like mohaa or cod). I was looking at the 700m and 8600 and didnt know what one would be better. I like the size of the 700m better but the 8600 is more powerful. I have a really small budget of areound 1000 dollars, but ive found both models around that price on ebay. So my question is mostly how much can the 700m handle for games etc...thanks
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post #2 of 16
12/26/04 at 6:15pm
well i just got my 8600 for x-mas and its the BEST!. i only have 512 ram and i play hl2. It is laggy sometime when theres alot of fighting going on. its not really "that" heavy and i love it. i think that you should go for the 8600 if your going to be playin games. just make sure you dont get a hitachi HDD due to the huge annoyance of the clicking. other than that its my baby
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post #3 of 16
12/26/04 at 6:21pm
Thread Starter 
ok well thanks for the advice! umm what video card do you have in your 8600? because I can only afford the 64 mb one and I dont know if thats enough for games or not.
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post #4 of 16
12/26/04 at 7:33pm
you should try and get the 9600 with 128mb , dont go cheap on the video card
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post #5 of 16
12/26/04 at 7:58pm
Thread Starter 
ok thanks! but if for some reason I can only get the 64 mb card can I upgrade that later on??
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post #6 of 16
12/26/04 at 8:08pm
Yes you can upgrade that down the track (refer to FAQ) without a problem, just note that to get the card separately from Dell is a hassle and will cost about US$228 at last count. You cannot get the card anywhere else because of its proprietory form factor, this is why it is suggested to get the more powerful video first up and sacrifice RAM or Hard drive because they are easier to get and cheaper.

Stu
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post #7 of 16
12/26/04 at 9:11pm
yeah, because i only have 512 ram and only a 30GB HDD. i had a very very limited budget so i opted to get the 128 becuase to me its the most important. my next step is to get 1 gig of ram and like a 60gb 7200 harddrive. but like sacrafice some things to get that video card, because it is worth the extra money. but i think the 8600 is awesome, and the blue trim isnt all that bad, oh i have the wxga screen and i love it. just what i needed
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post #8 of 16
12/26/04 at 9:18pm
8600 if you want to play Doom 3 of HL2, 700m if you want to be able to take it with you whenever you want to without having to think about it. But if screen size is important, go for the 8600 even though I must say it is really bulky.
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post #9 of 16
12/26/04 at 9:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BadTad
ok well thanks for the advice! umm what video card do you have in your 8600? because I can only afford the 64 mb one and I dont know if thats enough for games or not.

I just saw this, if you can only get the 64mb card, then you shouldn't get the 8600, it will play games no better than the 700m if you get that card. The 9600pro is the only way i'd go with an 8600. Counter Strike 2 looks awesome on my friends 8600 with 9600pro and 512mb ram.
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post #10 of 16
5/16/05 at 12:32am
I currently have the 8600, and it plays CoD just fine on max settings. I have found though that I just don't play games as often as I thought I would with the high end machine, and am in the process of selling mine on eBay to get a 700m. I want something smaller that will last ages on battery (a combo of an 8 cell and 4 cell for the 700m). I take it to school daily, and it just gets too heavy half way through. Also, it takes up a bit too much room on a desk, not excessively, but a bit too much.

If you do get the 8600 though, get the WSXGA screen, its awesome. The res is the thing I'll miss from my 8600. That and the gfx card for the occasional game that I play. But, the 700m I'm going to order will have higher specs (1.8Ghz mainly) than my 8600, so for most stuff I will only gain performance.

My current specs are in sig, and on that I can play CoD at max settings, and several other gfx intensive games.
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post #11 of 16
5/16/05 at 12:35am
And definately get the 9600 Pro for games. It is awesome. You can easily upgrade RAM and HDD elsewhere, and for ram that is recommended. Dell charge WAY to much for their ram. I upgraded from 512Mb (2x 256Mb) to 1Gb (2x 512Mb) for only about $100 after selling one of the original 256Mb sticks (gave the other to my sister for her i1150).

HDD is the standard 2.5", so again easy to get. MR9600 Pro would be tough (and much more expensive) to get after the original purchase.
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post #12 of 16
5/16/05 at 1:13am
Why can't I see the 8600 on the dell website anymore? Was it discontinued?
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post #13 of 16
5/16/05 at 1:15am
Where are you from?? Here in Australia, the 8600 is still available, but Dell states as "limited units available".
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post #14 of 16
5/16/05 at 1:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guz Zekre
Why can't I see the 8600 on the dell website anymore? Was it discontinued?
Get the non-neutered version of 8600 - the d800 which is still available on dell's small biz site
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post #15 of 16
5/16/05 at 1:48am
I'm checking the USA site, where it is not listed.

I'm actually not considering getting the 8600 or d800, too large for my needs. I'm probably heading for the 700m or 600m
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post #16 of 16
5/16/05 at 10:09pm
I am selling my 8600 to get a 700m. The 700m is MUCH smaller than the 8600, even with the extended battery (which is a must).
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