About Lauren Bennett Expertise I am a computer science major and my dad is an Electric Engineering, so my life has revolved around computers. For as long as I can remember, I have been buying and selling computers. I tend to travel a lot, so I have always had a laptop. I have bought 5 of them for myself, and bought around 30-40 for friends and family. I have dealt with the good and the bad of various version and brand names. If you are in need of buying a laptop, feel free to contact me and I'm sure I will be able to guide you into purchasing the laptop that will be the best fit for you. I will custom build you computers for you to choose from so you can get an exact idea of what to go and buy when you do it yourself and so that you have an exact price. However, I am in the USA and am only knowledgeable about computers here in the US. I do not know about foreign currency or the quality of computer brand names outside the US.
Experience B.S. in Computer Science. Buying and selling for years. Assisting friends/family.
Question Looking to buy either a Dell Inspiron 1720 or 1721 or Vostro 1700 or a HP DV9500t or athlon equivalent. Basic setup to include T7300 or T7500 or equivalent processor(maybe T7250), 256 graphics card(Dell is 8600m gt vs HP's 8600m gs. Can you tell me which would be better? Mostly do basic business and gaming. I've had HP before and support/service was good, heard some things about Dell's support/service(slow, sending referb replacement parts vs new ones)although that info is about a year old. Can you give some pro's and con's or head to head comparison about AMD's chip vs Intel's and any difference in GT vs GS card? Vostro vs. Inspiron?
TIA
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Answer Here is some information on Dell's tech support. Yesterday, I noticed a very quiet high pitched noise coming from my computer. I could only hear it in a very quiet room, but it was annoying. I called Dell tech support and we spent about an hour on the phone trying to figure out what was causing the noise. We determined it was a problem with my motherboard. They said they would put in a request to have one shipped to a technician who would then contact me. This morning, a technician called me. Today around 12:30 PM the tech arrived at my house, replaced my motherboard, and solved the issue. The entire process took less than 24 hours. I don't see how anyone can complain about Dell technical support.
There really isn't a definitive answer for the AMD vs Intel thing. Depending on who you talk to and which arguments you read, people side with different processors for different reasons. When it comes down to it, you won't notice a difference between the two dual cores. I have used both and have been complaint free.
There is very little difference between the GS and the GT. Unless you are playing hardcore games, you won't notice a difference between a 128MB and a 256MB graphics cards, let alone getting even more specific. Most games don't require more than 64MB of graphics memory. Normally, any GT is slightly better than a GS.
Any particular reason you are after the 17" screen? I used to have one and found it nearly impossible to lug around and it didn't fit on the pull out tray on airplanes which ticket me off. I downgraded to a 13.3" :). Normally, most laptops are 14" or 15". If you are going to be traveling with it at all, I'd recommend slightly smaller. To me, a 15" is huge :).
There really isn't much of a difference between the Vostro and the Inspiron. One is designed for personal use while the other is designed for small business use, but either can be customized for the other. I heard that the casings are slightly different, but I'm not entirely sure on that way. From everyone that I have talked to says to customize both the same and then buy whichever one is cheaper :). I do have coupons for for Inspiron laptops though that usually save you around $300.
If you could give me some additional details on the work you will be doing on the computer I can help you out more specifically.
