I finally gave in and ordered a Dell 9300

stlgirl · Post by **stlgirl** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 8:00 am

Well I have been procrastinating and debating over buying a new pc for at least 3 years. Could not quite make up my mind about a desktop or a notebook. I'm almost embarassed to admit the machine I'm currenctly using is a

Dell OptiPlex GXa
Intel Pentium II processor
331 Mhz, 192 MB of RAM
(which is beyond slow. if it was human it would no longer have a heart beat.) In fact my friend came over the other day and said hey can you fire up your pc so I can check my e-mail

....at least I thought it was funny

So after 3 years of debating and procrastinating.
I just bought a

Dell 9300 Inspirion

Inspiron 9300,Pentium M 760 2GHz/798MHz FSB
17 inch True Life Wide Screen UXGA
1GB, DDR2, 533MHz 2 Dimm
128MB ATI and Mobility Radeon X300
80GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
8X DVD+/-RW double-layer write Drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 2915 Internal Wireless (802.11a/b/g54Mbps
Internal Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth
and some other misc. stuff
2 year warranty

for $1,385.00

I actually held out to see if I'd win the December contest for the processor and graphics card. I thought of trying to build my own pc.
I just was not sure I'd have enough experience/skill to do so. So I've
always wanted to own a notebook and I finally forked out the money to buy one.

Only thing I'm slightly disappointed in right now is the graphic card. I'm a bit worried I won't be able to upgrade it in the future on my own or with the help of another

Has any one made this upgrade to their dell 9300?

I need to find a decent wireless router that will allow me to use my new laptop any where in my home of 1300+ sq. ft. and as well as my front porch, back yard and on occasion neighbors home. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your help!

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 8:07 am

That's actually a very nice notebook and a decent price. The graphics card is a little on the weak side, but only if you are looking to play the latest and greatest games. If you are not big into the gaming scene, then it will do just fine.

As far as wireless routers go, I cannot really make any recommendations as I don't know much about that stuff...

TK421 · Post by **TK421** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 8:50 am

gvblake22 wrote:The graphics card is a little on the weak side, but only if you are looking to play the latest and greatest games. If you are not big into the gaming scene, then it will do just fine.

All pre-assembled notebooks are designed for that, that's why I can't even consider buying one from companies such as Dell, Gateway, Compaq for my gaming needs... for they office they do nicely though.

stlgirl · Post by **stlgirl** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:50 pm

gvblake22 wrote:That's actually a very nice notebook and a decent price. The graphics card is a little on the weak side, but only if you are looking to play the latest and greatest games. If you are not big into the gaming scene, then it will do just fine.

As far as wireless routers go, I cannot really make any recommendations as I don't know much about that stuff...

Thanks for not bashing me for ordering a pre-assembled notebook. Hopefully the next time I need to purchase a pc, I'll have enough experience to build my own.

stlgirl · Post by **stlgirl** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:56 pm

I appreciate both of you taking the time to reply to my post. I am a new LR forum member here. When I joined I hoped it would help me increase my knowledge of computers and componets. I'd hoped that someone from LR staff would have left a reply to this post. It's a tad disappointing but I'll live. No need to sweat the small stuff.

Again thanks for your responses and help!

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 12:03 am

Well, honestly, the way I see the "staff"......they are just like us with more privileges......yeah they might have more knowledge in certain areas, but members in here have been known to teach them something, lol......no big, it's like one big happy family...these guys have plenty of knowledge, even without the staff's help........ya I'm ballsy in saying that, but hey, it's true, heheh

edit: not bashing the staff, just making a statement....they're great too

stlgirl · Post by **stlgirl** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 12:48 am

killswitch83 wrote:Well, honestly, the way I see the "staff"......they are just like us with more privileges......yeah they might have more knowledge in certain areas, but members in here have been known to teach them something, lol......no big, it's like one big happy family...these guys have plenty of knowledge, even without the staff's help........ya I'm ballsy in saying that, but hey, it's true, heheh

edit: not bashing the staff, just making a statement....they're great too

I have great faith in the other members of the LR forum to offer help. I am also very thankful for it, hence the thank you message. However It would have been great to get a response from one of the staff members as this is their lively hood. In saying that... it just offers a (pc) noob like myself a bit of comfort hearing advice from a professional in the field.

Never the less I appreciate any and all help and advice with my new pc.

Thanks

Post by **Apoptosis** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:01 am

the LR staff was in vegas for CES! Yves was in vegas, Justin is on vacation with his wife, I was in vegas, and Brian and Ken aren't the notebook people! As to the comment about the staff not being much different than forum members that is not really the case. I have spent 5+ years doing 40+ hours a week in the hardware industry. I've been to Taiwan, China, Europe, Canada, South America, and all over the United States visiting the companies and seeing how and where the products are made. We also get to see the un-released products months ahead of time and see their development from an idea to full production. Sure forum members can read sites like The Inq and follow news, but it's not the same. If that was the case I would be without readers as everyone would be in the know!

Back to the question at hand...

I don't think you went wrong with your notebook purchase by any means. Intel has just recently launched Centrino Uno and Centrino Duo, which basically is single core and dual core processors. The ATI X300 video card is a bit weak, but it's better than integrated and will be able to run the upcoming Windows Vista operating system without any major issues or performance hits. From my professional point of view that notebook should serve you nicely in 2006. The Dell 9300 also supports the nVidia GeForce Go 6800, so you might be able to upgrade to one of those for sure if needed. The hard part will be to get Dell to sell you one of those. The next time you upgrade you will be looking at SLI graphics in notebooks. Oh yes it is close my friends ;)

stlgirl · Post by **stlgirl** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:06 am

Apoptosis wrote:the LR staff was in vegas for CES! Yves was in vegas, Justin is on vacation with his wife, I was in vegas, and Brian and Ken aren't the notebook people! As to the comment about the staff not being much different than forum members that is not really the case. I have spent 5+ years doing 40+ hours a week in the hardware industry. I've been to Taiwan, China, Europe, Canada, South America, and all over the United States visiting the companies and seeing how and where the products are made. We also get to see the un-released products months ahead of time and see their development from an idea to full production. Sure forum members can read sites like The Inq and follow news, but it's not the same. If that was the case I would be without readers as everyone would be in the know!

Back to the question at hand...

I don't think you went wrong with your notebook purchase by any means. Intel has just recently launched Centrino Uno and Centrino Duo, which basically is single core and dual core processors. The ATI X300 video card is a bit weak, but it's better than integrated and will be able to run the upcoming Windows Vista operating system without any major issues or performance hits. From my professional point of view that notebook should serve you nicely in 2006. The Dell 9300 also supports the nVidia GeForce Go 6800, so you might be able to upgrade to one of those for sure if needed. The hard part will be to get Dell to sell you one of those. The next time you upgrade you will be looking at SLI graphics in notebooks. Oh yes it is close my friends ;)

Nate,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post. Can't believe I forgot about CES, I apologize for not taking that into consideration. It totally skipped my mind that most of the staff if not all were probably attending CES. Thank you for the information regarding the nVidia GeForce GO 6800 graphics upgrade. Your vast knowledge of pc's and their hardware is why I became a member of the forums. I had been reading the articles and reviews on LR site for a few months before signing up for the forums. As I stated in my first post this was a major purchase for me and it was important to me that I got a professional opinion on my notebook purchase. I figured if it was possible to make an upgrade to this notebook, you would know and have knowledge of what upgrades where possible. I continue to learn daily from reading the reviews here on LR and appreciate everyones kindness and help. You have a great site and it's a proven to be a valuable tool to better eduacating myself with computers and pc hardware.

So thanks a lot Nate for the site and the response!

infinitevalence · Post by **infinitevalence** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:50 pm

im always kicking, some times im busy with work or school but im only a PM away.

Bal`thzar · Post by **Bal`thzar** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 6:30 pm

actually if you can modify your order I do have a couple of suggestions.

1. Downgrade to the X300 64 meg and then buy the 7800 GTX from dell spare parts ( you can get them for $268 shipped) the X300 do not game well and franklyuse hyper memory which is some dedicated and some system shared

2. drop the processor to the bottom of the line then you can pick up a 1.7 ghz Dothan 735 and do a very simple Pin mod to 2.26 ghz,

3. upgrade to a 7200 RPM HD on that Laptop and a 9 cell battery as the 7800 requires the 9 cell

these simple mods really take this notebook to the next level.

I know from experience as I have done them all and am currently selling the 7800 GTX's

Feel free to PM me if I can be of help you should be able to shave a few hundred offa the price of the Lappy doing this and then you can resell your Processor that you replaced.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 8:10 pm

That and I live in St. Charles County, so if you ever need any help I'd be more than willing to help out for anyone on our forums.

stlgirl · Post by **stlgirl** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 7:45 pm

Bal`thzar wrote:actually if you can modify your order I do have a couple of suggestions.

1. Downgrade to the X300 64 meg and then buy the 7800 GTX from dell spare parts ( you can get them for $268 shipped) the X300 do not game well and franklyuse hyper memory which is some dedicated and some system shared

2. drop the processor to the bottom of the line then you can pick up a 1.7 ghz Dothan 735 and do a very simple Pin mod to 2.26 ghz,

3. upgrade to a 7200 RPM HD on that Laptop and a 9 cell battery as the 7800 requires the 9 cell

these simple mods really take this notebook to the next level.

I know from experience as I have done them all and am currently selling the 7800 GTX's

Feel free to PM me if I can be of help you should be able to shave a few hundred offa the price of the Lappy doing this and then you can resell your Processor that you replaced.

Wow, thanks for the info. Only down side is that I got the laptop this past friday. So to late to ask them to modify it. I will now just have to do whatever upgrades I can to it myself with the extra cash becomes available. I will definately keep your name in mind and message when I get to that point. Thanks for your post and advice I really appreciate it.

stlgirl · Post by **stlgirl** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 7:58 pm

Apoptosis wrote:That and I live in St. Charles County, so if you ever need any help I'd be more than willing to help out for anyone on our forums.

Nate,

Why Thanks!

That is awfully nice of you. I'd hate to even guess what your tech support would cost if you charged me for it. Thank's a lot, your very kind to offer up your help. I may just take you up on it one day. I always keep a decent supply of beer on hand

. Not to mention I'm a pretty awesome cook. I can cook a mean Mannino's steak, not too shabby when it comes to pasta either. So your help would be well rewarded in some way or another.

Bal`thzar · Post by **Bal`thzar** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 10:54 pm

don't forget you have 21 days to give it back to dell, but that being said if you are interested in a 7800 gtx for it let me know I can get them pretty reasonably.

you have yourself one of the best laptops for the money and very upgradable.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 11:55 pm

I just got two PC's dropped off from a friend to clean/format/and re-install XP on... I'm always doing things on the side locally, and working for dinner/alcohol is always a bonus ;)

Actually one of the PC's that got dropped off tonight is one of the HP Ford Employee PC's, which I've never seen before...

Anywho before I really hi-jack this thread let us know if we can help on the laptop front... If you wanted to price a DIY notebook during your Dell trial period let me know.

blue · Post by **blue** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 11:14 am

stlgirl,

How do you like the WUXGA screen? I am returning a 9300 because of the WSXGA+ screen and waiting on my replacement system with the WUXGA.

stlgirl · Post by **stlgirl** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:59 am

blue wrote:stlgirl,

How do you like the WUXGA screen? I am returning a 9300 because of the WSXGA+ screen and waiting on my replacement system with the WUXGA.

I think it's well worth the extra $100.00 for the screen.

pointreyes · Post by **pointreyes** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 10:06 am

If you are planning to use this laptop for many years to come, I think I would have tried to get the Yonah Duo series instead of the Pentium M series of procs. The Yonah Duo would have given you some extra power with less power consumption and I thought Intel was making those to be 64-bit as well.

Bal`thzar · Post by **Bal`thzar** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 7:17 pm

pointreyes wrote:If you are planning to use this laptop for many years to come, I think I would have tried to get the Yonah Duo series instead of the Pentium M series of procs. The Yonah Duo would have given you some extra power with less power consumption and I thought Intel was making those to be 64-bit as well.

yonah is a waste of time in my opinion yeah you have a dual core but you are still using a shared cache.

Merom is the answer and frankly that is only if you are going to use apps that use dual core.

<shrug> and AGP is dead too