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Should I buy i9300 or XPS2

post #1 of 13
6/15/05 at 11:26am
Thread Starter 
I configured and bought a 9300 with the following:
pm730 1.6GHz
17" UXGA
256MB memory
40GB HD
9cell battery
gf6800
for $1922
-750 coupon
1172

I can configure a XPS2 with the following:
pm760 2GHz
17" UXGA
512MB memory 256x2
60GB HD
9cell battery
gf6800 Ultra
for $2749
and if I wait for or negotiate a $750 coupon, (wasn't avail for XPS2)
then, $1999

As far as memory and HD go, these are pretty easy to get from newegg.
I could add a 256 to bring the 9300 up to spec for $40
I could buy a 60 for $82 and sell the 40 on ebay for about $45
bringing the i9300 to $1249

I would probably go to newegg and buy better parts
I would go with 1G or maybe 2G ($120 or $220)

Is it worth even pursuing the XPS2? Assuming I would be able to get a $750 coupon, I would still be paying an extra $750. I know that I am getting a 6800 ultra over a 6800 and a pm760 over a pm730. Is this extra money worth the added cpu and gpu power? Am I getting anything more than this with the XPS2?
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post #2 of 13
6/15/05 at 11:34am
depends. I bought a i9300 to replace my (gaming) desktop and while I very happy with it, I still feel a little stupid NOT having bought the XPS2 instead (would've cost about 300€ more). The i9300 is great for gaming but I don't quite get the performance to match my desktop performance (6800GT + 64bit XP3500). I think the XPS2 would get pretty close though.

If you play games and want the highest battery life, get the i9300, if you're a HARDCORE gamer and use the mains power 90% of your time, ,get the XPS2.
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post #3 of 13
6/15/05 at 11:34am
you get the nice color show from the XPS2. I would love the XPS2 but I cant affors that, so i will go with the 9300. If you have the extra money to spend and you want to do lots of gaming, then go with the XPS2, but if not, the 9300 is still great for gaming
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post #4 of 13
6/15/05 at 11:34am
It depends on the amount of gaming you plan on doing? If you are a heavy gamer and play games like HL2 or Doom 3 you will not go wrong with your XPS. The 9300 will handle the games as well but you should beef up the ram from new egg to 2 .512 mb sticks, and look for the 80 gig hd. The screens are the same, the only difference is the processor, and you might find the 1.8 on the 9300 may be a good choice, although there are many using the 1.6 without problem. You need to make a decision regarding whether the sleek design of the 9300 or the GameLook of the XPS is up your alley. Alot of people say that extras on the XPs in service are a deciding factor. Now if you are a moderate gamer and don't plan to play high intensity games, there is no other decision except to get the 9300. You will find the video card is where alot of folks make their final decision. The ultra is just too good to pass up, and for using the laptop for extensive gaming they may be right.
Good luck.

Eric
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post #5 of 13
6/15/05 at 11:39am
if ur bout mad gamin xps2
if u want versitilitly and jus mediocre gamin i9300
sorry for bad spellin
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post #6 of 13
6/15/05 at 11:40am
like everyone said depends on your gaming styls.. you need to decide if the Ultra is worth it..

my opinion is (was) that much of the cost of the XPS is in its fast native processor (starting at 2 ghz) and video card.

Since I could pinmod my 9300 to 2.1 ghz for practically free when I sell my old CPU on ebay I saw no reason to pay the extra money for the XPS's 2 ghz CPU (which is essentially a forcing a 3-4 hundred dollar upgrade on the 9300.

Then at that point the only difference to me was the video card and that was not worth it (to me).
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post #7 of 13
6/15/05 at 11:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dc22
if ur bout mad gamin xps2
if u want versitilitly and jus mediocre gamin i9300
sorry for bad spellin
mediocre gaming? really? on a 9300 with the 6800?
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post #8 of 13
6/15/05 at 12:58pm
LOL! The i9300 is much more than mediocor
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post #9 of 13
6/15/05 at 1:13pm
I have the XPS2 and my friend has the 9300 - we spent last weekend playing the Battlefield 2 demo and I was very happy for him that they played virtually the same with everything on high at 1600x1200 (we both have same mem: 1.25gb same hd: 60gb 7200 - he has 1.6 proc I have the 2.0). I was able to play at 4xAA while he plays at 2xAA - so there is a difference but not huge. I agree with others - unless you are one of the types of people that abosolutely has to have the best you can't go wrong with the awesome performance per dollar you get with the 9300 (and no buzzing video card )... now on the other hand if another 35% off coupon appeared, which is what I used on the XPS2...
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post #10 of 13
6/15/05 at 1:32pm
I am trying to make the same choice myself. I have configured both systems with the same specs and the only diff is the ultra card imo. I am trying to decide if the extra $300-400 is worth it for just Ultra.

Edit : I play games like Swat 4, Far Cry, Doom 3, Unreal, and MMORPG's but am currently on an eMachine (crappy I know) with an AMD Athlon XP 3000+ 512 ram, and geforce fx 5700 128mb.

The main reason I want the upgrade to the laptop with good graphics is cause my desktop lags so much on the newer games plus all the emachine parts are crappy so its all starting to fail. I am not hardcore into graphics so I doubt I would be able to tell the diff between the ultra and reg 6800 (correct me if its actually a HUGE diff) but what I am looking at is the fact that the Ultra will be able to play games later that the 6800 wont. In 2-4 years the extra power in the Ultra might prove to extend the use of my computer being able to play games on low settings while the reg 6800 might not play em at all.
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post #11 of 13
6/15/05 at 1:59pm
I dont think the Ultra will outlast the regular 6800 by that much. I'm in hopes that when a new graphics card is released it'll still fit the 9300 We can hope!
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post #12 of 13
6/15/05 at 2:20pm
anyone know if getting xps2 over the 9300 will make much if any difference with maya perfamance? for the same speced xps it cost me $150-200 (not much but i dont know if i like the game look of the xps2)
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post #13 of 13
6/15/05 at 2:32pm
The $400 in savings by going the i9300 route will go a long way tword the next upgrade. In a couple years $400 cash is still $400 cash (unless you spend it on something else). While the $400 upgrade to the XPS is depreciated to ~$200 in resale.

On the flip side there is no question that the XPS2 outperforms the i9300 by a healthy margin. Many feel it's worth the extra $$$.

Martian
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