NationStates Jolt Archive

i've been out of the loop with new PC technology and the like for some time now, but the time has come to invest in a new computer for myself/the business (we operate a system of hand-me-downs here... i get the new, most powerful computers to do graphic intensive work, others get my older kit to do less-intensive page layout etc, and then the admins get the old kit to do databasing and standard office stuff... and one of their systems has died, so its time for a big swap heh)

anyway, i've been most happy with my Dell laptop this last year and a half. i'd like to get another one. but the thing that's been swinging my mind on this is how far desktop technology has advanced in my absence.


these are the specs for the Dell XPS laptop i want:

Intel® CentrinoT Duo Mobiltechnology; Intel® CoreT Duo 2 Prozessor T7400 (2.16 GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)
1024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
120 GB SATA Hard Drive (5,400rpm)
512MB nVidia® GeForceT 7900 GTX
linky (http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/xps_m1710?c=uk&cs=ukbsdt1&l=en&s=bsd)

and here's the desktop alternative (from Novatech):

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2MB Cache Dual Core 64 Bit Processor
2048MB DDR2 667MHz Dual Channel RAM
500GB (2 x 250GB) Serial ATA II Hard Drive with 16MB Buffer
nVidia 7900GTX 512MB PCI-E Graphics
linky (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pcrange.html?EXE)


my question is as follows:
last time i was clued up about this, the pentium M processor ran faster clock-speed for clock-speed than a standard P4. will this still be the case between this desktop and this laptop, or will the 6.4Ghz (is it really that??) beast just kill that 2.16Ghz laptop?
the laptop isn't 64 bit i'm guessing, as well... will that make much of a difference? i had a 64 bit athlon a while back and it didn't seem to be that great (probably because OS's and apps weren't around to take advantage of it back then)



i realise the laptop has only a 5200 rpm hard drive, which could be problematic for DV video editing, but so does this laptop i'm currently using and its actually been fine for the job. size of the drive isn't an issue as we have plenty of networked storage.

importantly they both have the same graphics card, and seeing as i mostly need graphics power for graphic design and the like (don't do that much video editing or processor-intensive rendering) then i'm really leaning toward the laptop.

the lappy also has many practical advantages over the desktop, in being able to take work home, use at conferences (which we run many of), and others.
price is an issue, but once you're investing almost £1000, speaking as a business, its not a big step to go up to £1400 or whatever. the difficult decision is whether to invest at all...



please, somebody, help me choose!

i've been out of the loop with new PC technology and the like for some time now, but the time has come to invest in a new computer for myself/the business (we operate a system of hand-me-downs here... i get the new, most powerful computers to do graphic intensive work, others get my older kit to do less-intensive page layout etc, and then the admins get the old kit to do databasing and standard office stuff... and one of their systems has died, so its time for a big swap heh)

anyway, i've been most happy with my Dell laptop this last year and a half. i'd like to get another one. but the thing that's been swinging my mind on this is how far desktop technology has advanced in my absence.


these are the specs for the Dell XPS laptop i want:



and here's the desktop alternative (from Novatech):




my question is as follows:
last time i was clued up about this, the pentium M processor ran faster clock-speed for clock-speed than a standard P4. will this still be the case between this desktop and this laptop, or will the 6.4Ghz (is it really that??) beast just kill that 2.16Ghz laptop?
the laptop isn't 64 bit i'm guessing, as well... will that make much of a difference? i had a 64 bit athlon a while back and it didn't seem to be that great (probably because OS's and apps weren't around to take advantage of it back then)



i realise the laptop has only a 5200 rpm hard drive, which could be problematic for DV video editing, but so does this laptop i'm currently using and its actually been fine for the job. size of the drive isn't an issue as we have plenty of networked storage.

importantly they both have the same graphics card, and seeing as i mostly need graphics power for graphic design and the like (don't do that much video editing or processor-intensive rendering) then i'm really leaning toward the laptop.

the lappy also has many practical advantages over the desktop, in being able to take work home, use at conferences (which we run many of), and others.
price is an issue, but once you're investing almost £1000, speaking as a business, its not a big step to go up to £1400 or whatever. the difficult decision is whether to invest at all...



please, somebody, help me choose!

My suggestion is the XPS if you are going to be doing any gaming. With an external Harddrive, then the XPS will be the better of the two. The Dell XPS was actually specifically designed for high powered gam

Core2Duo CPUs are the New Great Thing from Intel, and ought to eat the laptop's CPU alive (it actually runs at 2.13GHz - but unless you know how much it does per cycle that means nothing).

Don't think for a second that because they have the same name the graphics cards in the two machines are the same; the desktop variant should be, again, much faster. Laptops are always slow and expensive.

That desktop does feel a little expensive considering it doesn't come with a monitor, though. I'm not certain, I don't buy full systems (building it yourself is easy enough, cheaper, and more fun). If you shop around the ATI x1900XT is a very good card, and can be had for about £230 now (cheaper than, and as fast as, the £300 7900GTX).

I'm dubious that Novatech don't tell you what PSU or mainboard the machine comes with; make sure you get something decent (Enermax are my favourite) rather than a no-name, Q-Tec etc - even if the cheaper one has a higher wattage rating.

i've been out of the loop with new PC technology and the like for some time now, but the time has come to invest in a new computer for myself/the business (we operate a system of hand-me-downs here... i get the new, most powerful computers to do graphic intensive work, others get my older kit to do less-intensive page layout etc, and then the admins get the old kit to do databasing and standard office stuff... and one of their systems has died, so its time for a big swap heh)

anyway, i've been most happy with my Dell laptop this last year and a half. i'd like to get another one. but the thing that's been swinging my mind on this is how far desktop technology has advanced in my absence.


these are the specs for the Dell XPS laptop i want:



and here's the desktop alternative (from Novatech):




my question is as follows:
last time i was clued up about this, the pentium M processor ran faster clock-speed for clock-speed than a standard P4. will this still be the case between this desktop and this laptop, or will the 6.4Ghz (is it really that??) beast just kill that 2.16Ghz laptop?
the laptop isn't 64 bit i'm guessing, as well... will that make much of a difference? i had a 64 bit athlon a while back and it didn't seem to be that great (probably because OS's and apps weren't around to take advantage of it back then)



i realise the laptop has only a 5200 rpm hard drive, which could be problematic for DV video editing, but so does this laptop i'm currently using and its actually been fine for the job. size of the drive isn't an issue as we have plenty of networked storage.

importantly they both have the same graphics card, and seeing as i mostly need graphics power for graphic design and the like (don't do that much video editing or processor-intensive rendering) then i'm really leaning toward the laptop.

the lappy also has many practical advantages over the desktop, in being able to take work home, use at conferences (which we run many of), and others.
price is an issue, but once you're investing almost £1000, speaking as a business, its not a big step to go up to £1400 or whatever. the difficult decision is whether to invest at all...



please, somebody, help me choose!


You pay for the convenience of a laptop, and the best laptop ever made will be about as good as an upper-end desktop. You can get more bang for your buck with a desktop.


The key quetion is: Is the versatility of a laptop worth the price?

The rest is academic. P.S: Dell XPS is an excellent laptop. *nod*

Oh, one other thing: The only real advantage of dual core over single core processors is in doing two(or more) tasks at once. *nod*

My suggestion is the XPS if you are going to be doing any gaming. With an external Harddrive, then the XPS will be the better of the two. The Dell XPS was actually specifically designed for high powered gam
i will be playing some games on it in my spare time, but it isn't the reason why i'm getting it - i hardly play PC games any more, and its almost entirely a work machine. however i do need plenty of power.

Core2Duo CPUs are the New Great Thing from Intel, and ought to eat the laptop's CPU alive (it actually runs at 2.13GHz - but unless you know how much it does per cycle that means nothing).

Don't think for a second that because they have the same name the graphics cards in the two machines are the same; the desktop variant should be, again, much faster. Laptops are always slow and expensive.

That desktop does feel a little expensive considering it doesn't come with a monitor, though. I'm not certain, I don't buy full systems (building it yourself is easy enough, cheaper, and more fun). If you shop around the ATI x1900XT is a very good card, and can be had for about £230 now (cheaper than, and as fast as, the £300 7900GTX).

I'm dubious that Novatech don't tell you what PSU or mainboard the machine comes with; make sure you get something decent (Enermax are my favourite) rather than a no-name, Q-Tec etc - even if the cheaper one has a higher wattage rating.

i used to build my own, but i have become a total laptop convert. i'm only even considering a desktop because i figure it might wipe the floor, in terms of power, with the XPS.
however it cannot offer portability and other options that are important to me, especially as i share the laptop between work and home...

the graphics card may not be the same, but if they're of the same calibur then that's ok (when i got this current XPS laptop i went round a friends and showed off how well Half Life 2 ran at full res and full specs... better than his recently upgraded desktop rig... he was livid :p)

You pay for the convenience of a laptop, and the best laptop ever made will be about as good as an upper-end desktop. You can get more bang for your buck with a desktop.


The key quetion is: Is the versatility of a laptop worth the price?

The rest is academic. P.S: Dell XPS is an excellent laptop. *nod*

exactly, the convenience and versatility is actually what i need in the computer, and the extra power offered by the desktop isn't actually worth sacrificing that.

i think my mind is made up :D

First thing - I will not buy a Dell ... at all. If they GIVE me the Dell, that's fine.

The Dell laptop is powerful BUT replace that 5400 RPM with 7200 RPM hard drive. The desktop standard for hard drives is 7200 RPM unless you get one of those WD Raptors at 10,000 RPM. I've got a 4200 RPM laptop hard drive and it is slow after using 7200 RPM drives on desktops.

2nd thing, the laptop Core 2 Duos are not as fast as the ones on the desktop. While the desktop use the 965/975 Intel chipsets - the laptop is hobbled to the 945 Intel chipset.

Oh, one other thing: The only real advantage of dual core over single core processors is in doing two(or more) tasks at once. *nod*
And multithreaded apps, of course. Not that it matters, you're hard pushed to find a decent single-core CPU nowadays, and the lower-end Core2Duos are so cheap as to make it pointless.

Yes, laptop disks are slow. *Hugs his Raptor*