NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Forums › Dell Notebooks - General › About to buy an I9200. Some final questions. Help please!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

About to buy an I9200. Some final questions. Help please!

post #1 of 15
1/2/05 at 11:14am
Thread Starter 
Hey everyone,

Ok I'm a total clueless newbie so bare with me. I've read all the Frequently asked Questions and about 7 pages of the reviews of the Dell I9200. The same thing I keep reading is that the WUXGA has some sort of annoying "sparkle" that is often unbareable for a lot of people. Some say it's ok and other are furious. I've always read from these forums positive reviews of the WXGA+. Here's where I'm confused though. In the Frequently asked questions, it said that the WXGA+ will not be compatible with the extremely high resolution games. Does that mean these games will totally not be playable?

I plan on bringing this laptop to campus and taking notes, writing papers, watching TV, DVD, playing games on this lap top and I'm worried about people saying that the resolution of the WUXGA makes the icons and the font extremely tiring on the eyes. I really don't want to spend lots of time straining myself on really small fonts while I'm spending lots of time typing notes during lecture.

Also, I'm getting lots of conflicting info on which screen is the best? Some people say the Samsung has some sort of yellowish tint to it? Some say it's the best?

But I guess my main concern is whether or not I should get the WUXGA based on the fact I'll be doing a lot of typing on it, gaming, and DVD watching.

Thank you for your time.

- Eric.
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 15
1/2/05 at 11:29am
i personally cant say anything about the sparkle effect yet, but with the WXGA+ screen, ull be able to run your games at that screens highest supported resolution. I doubt there will be any game out there or released anytime soon that wont support some setting that is supported by the wxga+ screen. Worst case you can always run them at 800x600 or something with black bars around the image.

regarding the high resolution, i doubt it will be as extreme as some ppl say. I work in 1600x1200 all day and i couldnt live without the workspace. Now if you would find that resolution makes the text a bit too difficult to read, you can always change the DPI from 96 to 120 or something like that which will make text bigger.

hope this helps.
/P
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 15
1/2/05 at 7:25pm
Thread Starter 
I guess another question(s) i would have is that is this laptop a feasible laptop to bring around campus and use it to type out lecture notes? Would it be too big?

Oh, and speaking of upgrades, do you think it is necessary to shell out another $200 to upgrade from the 1.7GHz to a 2.0 Ghz?

Thanks all.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 15
1/2/05 at 10:45pm
I bought it for college and yes i think its fine for bringing around a campus, but im 6'5 and 200 pounds so its smaller for me then it might be for you. The sparkle isnt that bad either.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 15
1/2/05 at 10:49pm
I'm going to use my 9200 for class. It's no bigger than a binder opened up. It would be nicer to carry around if it was smaller, but it's not that big of a deal.

It seems that my 9200 has the "worst" WUXGA model W4554. After a few days I don't notice it near as much unless I think about it. The icons and text is easy to read for me. And even if you have problems reading as you type, you could always change font size in the program.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 15
1/2/05 at 11:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by EricW
But I guess my main concern is whether or not I should get the WUXGA based on the fact I'll be doing a lot of typing on it, gaming, and DVD watching.
My wife has the WXGA+ and I have the WUXGA. I can almost guarantee you'll be happier with the WXGA+. It's significantly brighter, has no "sparkle", is better for games, better for DVD viewing, and better for typical text-based apps. The only people who should get the WUXGA are those who really need the extra screen real estate.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 15
1/3/05 at 1:13pm
after looking at both the WXGA+ and the WUXGA, I went with the WXGA+, I thought it looked brighter and I did not see the sparkle I saw in the WUXGA.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 15
1/3/05 at 2:07pm
Good luck finding a job after spending a lot of money and maybe if the computer will last, and will help you find a job. I went to college couldn't find any jobs I went back to college. I have had my masters degree but still ended up as a Tractor Trailer driver now crippled from age 38 you never know what is in store for good luck, BTW I will be 58 next month and still crippled. I have a I-8600c 2.0GHz, Intel Penium M and 755 Dothan chipset to keep me company as I am divorced, didn't plan on that when I was age 23 either..Life is so full of suprises I hope you have picked a good major to be ready for a job to last you to retirement age. I retired at age 38 early 20 years ago DOA June 9, 1985
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 15
1/3/05 at 3:36pm
Since you say you are a "clueless newbie" I will ask, so you are planning to buy an external TV card for the laptop right? The laptop does not come with a tv card. There are a few USB2 based external TV/capture cards, ATI and hauppage make them. There are a few laptops with built-in TV cards but Dell does not offer one. HP, sony, sager, and other companies do.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 15
1/3/05 at 9:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by chazzy
Good luck finding a job after spending a lot of money and maybe if the computer will last, and will help you find a job. I went to college couldn't find any jobs I went back to college. I have had my masters degree but still ended up as a Tractor Trailer driver now crippled from age 38 you never know what is in store for good luck, BTW I will be 58 next month and still crippled. I have a I-8600c 2.0GHz, Intel Penium M and 755 Dothan chipset to keep me company as I am divorced, didn't plan on that when I was age 23 either..Life is so full of suprises I hope you have picked a good major to be ready for a job to last you to retirement age. I retired at age 38 early 20 years ago DOA June 9, 1985
Hey there,

I'm not really sure what to make of your post? Sorry I'm not being sarcastic, I'm just a little confused.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 15
1/3/05 at 9:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by FearNo1
Since you say you are a "clueless newbie" I will ask, so you are planning to buy an external TV card for the laptop right? The laptop does not come with a tv card. There are a few USB2 based external TV/capture cards, ATI and hauppage make them. There are a few laptops with built-in TV cards but Dell does not offer one. HP, sony, sager, and other companies do.
Hi there,

I'm guessing that a TV Card allows you to plug your cable TV cord into the laptop so you can watch TV? How much do these usually cost? And how would I install it?

Thanks.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 15
1/3/05 at 10:21pm
hmm, got me thinking - how about a USB TV Card that supports HDTV??
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 15
1/4/05 at 1:35am
Yes, the one by hauppage comes with antenna jax for cable and FM radio. Hauppage's can be a little pricey, around $199 since it has mpeg2 hardware encoding. It has tivo capability, pausing "live" tv, too. It also has s-video and composit jax for VCR. To install it, simply plug it to USB2 jack and install drivers. Go here for more info: http://hauppage.com/pages/products/data_pvrusb2.html


Quote:
Originally Posted by EricW
Hi there,

I'm guessing that a TV Card allows you to plug your cable TV cord into the laptop so you can watch TV? How much do these usually cost? And how would I install it?

Thanks.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 15
1/4/05 at 1:38am
ATI does have an internal card that supports HDTV. But HDTV is for big screen tv, not a tiny laptop. I have HD service from comcast on my 57in widescreen tv...pretty sweet
picture


Quote:
Originally Posted by Heinrich
hmm, got me thinking - how about a USB TV Card that supports HDTV??
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 15
1/4/05 at 1:46am
Sorry to hear that. But you are right, nothing really guarantees a good job (yet alone a career) in this day and age. There are always changes in the economy, even in entire fields. For example, in the 80s accounting/finance were hot, but that slowed down in the 90s when IT got big. Now IT is cool and accnt/fin are good again. But ultimately offshoring is going to hurt many service related jobs. I ran into a friend from college who left IT and now opened a century21 office. Another friend from college started in accntg, got laid off, became a truck driver, and now a security guard. So it can indeed be rough. If you don't mind my asking, what were your undergrad and grad degrees in?


Quote:
Originally Posted by chazzy
Good luck finding a job after spending a lot of money and maybe if the computer will last, and will help you find a job. I went to college couldn't find any jobs I went back to college. I have had my masters degree but still ended up as a Tractor Trailer driver now crippled from age 38 you never know what is in store for good luck, BTW I will be 58 next month and still crippled. I have a I-8600c 2.0GHz, Intel Penium M and 755 Dothan chipset to keep me company as I am divorced, didn't plan on that when I was age 23 either..Life is so full of suprises I hope you have picked a good major to be ready for a job to last you to retirement age. I retired at age 38 early 20 years ago DOA June 9, 1985
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Dell Notebooks - General
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Forums › Dell Notebooks - General › About to buy an I9200. Some final questions. Help please!