UNR.Grad

I'm sure some of you are more knowledgeable when it comes to computer/laptop components, so any help would be appreciated. I am going to dental school in the fall at UCLA and we have to get a Latitude laptop D430, D630, or a D830. I think I am going to go with the D630 because the D430 may be too small and the D830 may be too big, but if you have any advice on this as well please help me out.

Like I said I'll be using it to school and carrying it to there everyday,using it 8-5 off and on, and also at least few hours each night to study, along with personal use. It's going to get a ton of use and I want it to last all 4 years.

Here are the options they gave us on the D630, I'll post all of them and tell me what you would recommend, if the add-ons are worth the money. Also some of my questions in Red.

Processor

• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7500 (2.20GHz) 4M L2 Cache, 800Mhz Dual Core [Included in Price]
• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 (2.50GHz) 6M L2 Cache, 800Mhz Dual Core [add $80.00]

LCD

• 14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA LCD Panel [Included in Price]
• 14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ LCD Panel [add $30.00] I couldn't find the difference between the +, anybody know?

RAM

• 2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS [Included in Price]
• 2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 1 DIMM [add $30.00] I though this would be better in the future if I needed to upgrade
• 4.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS [add $170.00]

Hard drive Not sure about the free fall sensor, but I should upgrade to 7200RPM right to help with speed?

• 80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM [Included in Price]
• 80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM (Free Fall Sensor) [add $40.00]
• 120GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM [add $25.00]
• 120GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM (Free Fall Sensor) [add $75.00]
• 160GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM (Free Fall Sensor) [add $95.00]
• 120GB Hybrid Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM [add $130.00]

Keypad

• Standard Touchpad [Included in Price]
• Touchpad with UPEK® Fingerprint Reader [add $29.00] From what I've read is the fingerprint reader makes the keypad smaller and more of a pain to use, is the security worth it?

Wireless card I should just go for the n now right? Will both still be compatible with a/b/g networks? Is intel's better?

• Dell Wireless™ 1490 802.11a/g Dual-band Mini Card [Included in Price]
• Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Dual-Band Mini Card [add $10.00]
• Dell Wireless™ 1505 Draft 802.11n Mini Card [add $20.00]
• Intel® 4965 802.11a/g/n Dual-Band Mini Card [add $30.00]

Battery

• 6 Cell Primary Battery [subtract $99.00] Save some money and go with a smaller battery? The school recommends the larger for all day in class, so maybe stay with it.
• 9 Cell Primary Battery [Included in Price]

Charger

• 90W A/C Adapter [Included in Price]
• 90W A/C Adapter, Energy Star Compliant [add $0.00] Why would anyone not get this charger if it's better for the environment/powerbill, does it take longer to charge?

These are the specifications that we have no choice in, any thoughts if I should really try to change/upgrade any of them:

• Genuine Windows Vista® Business Service Pack 1, With media [Included in Price]
  
• 128MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 135M™ [Included in Price]
  
• 8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio and Cyberlink Power DVD™ [Included in Price]

__________________
2000 Silver 4runner :Highlander Edition:
- Tundra TRD Coils/Blue Tokico Struts w/spacer- Downey Coils/N86 Shocks - Front Dif. Drop - Rear Dif. Breather - E-Brake Extension - Tundra Calipers/Rotors - Akebono Ceramic Pads - Goodrich SS Brake Lines - LX450 Wheels w/ 265/75/16 BFG A/T KO's and Full Size Spare - Deckplate w/ Trueflow - Hayden Tranny Cooler - Sport Skid - '01 Tails - Clear Corners/Bumper Lights

ozziesironmanoffroad

ya see if you can get XP on it. unless vista has better power management for laptops, id go with XP, since vista sucks.

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Jim_70S

Here's my 2 cents worth (20+ years of pc experience, yikes, I'm old)...
spend your money on 4GB ram & battery...
Don't spend extra on upgrade of:
LCD,
Hard Drive (get free fall sensor if you're clumsy, but remember it has at least a 1yr warranty),
Finger Print Reader, encrypt your hard drive with a password (both Vista & XP provide this),
Wireless NIC, use recommended, no real advantage for next few years.

I've had a Dell Inspiron since 1998, loaded it to the max with memory... used it as my office desktop daily for over five years and it still out performed most desktops when I officially retired it... I still use it on road trips & to configure network equipment. I'm currently running a tri-boot desktop machine with 4GB ram (should have 8GB), running Vista, XP & SuSe... XP still outperforms Vista almost 2 to 1, Vista is a memory hog.

Good luck in school.
Jim

UNR.Grad

Thanks for the help guys.

Jim, as far as RAM, I looked at crucial.com, put in the notebook specifications, and I can get a 2GB stick from them for $50 to put in the other DIMM slot. This would save ~$90 all together as opposed to going with the $170 upgrade from Dell, is there any reason not to do this?

__________________
2000 Silver 4runner :Highlander Edition:
- Tundra TRD Coils/Blue Tokico Struts w/spacer- Downey Coils/N86 Shocks - Front Dif. Drop - Rear Dif. Breather - E-Brake Extension - Tundra Calipers/Rotors - Akebono Ceramic Pads - Goodrich SS Brake Lines - LX450 Wheels w/ 265/75/16 BFG A/T KO's and Full Size Spare - Deckplate w/ Trueflow - Hayden Tranny Cooler - Sport Skid - '01 Tails - Clear Corners/Bumper Lights