New laptop, mostly for business

[crb5]

I am about to purchase a new laptop, and work is paying for it.
Mostly it will be used for business, I do estimation and project management for a mechanical company, the new version of software I mainly use requires a minimum of 1 gig of ram, and is fairly processor intensive, from my understanding of it. the other uses are just going to be standard stuff, excel spreadsheets, light word processing, etc. I also do the webpage development for my company. I will also be taking it to jobsite's , using some project management software for notes, etc. At times, I will be looking at blueprints with autocad. Currently I'm using a desktop pc with a P4 1.7 ghz, 1 gig ram, and a 128 meg geforce 6150 vid card. It does fine for what I do, but is slightly sluggish.


My boss is stuck hard on Dell, so I have no choice but to buy it from them. I have a budget of approx $1000... yeah, we're cheap, but thats what it is. Oh, and XP Pro is a must.

Anyway, I have it down to 2 choices.

Inspiron 1501 Qty 1
AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-56, Genuine Windows® XP Professional Unit Price $1,222.00
Battery life of up to 3.3 hours
$250 Instant Savings on select Inspiron notebooks priced $1,149 or more!
Special Offer!
- $250.00
Catalog Number: 4 BNCWB1S
Module Description Show Details
Inspiron 1501 AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-56
OPERATING SYSTEM(s) Genuine Windows® XP Professional
LCD panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™
MEMORY 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 DIMM
VIDEO CARD ATI RADEON® Xpress1150 256MB HyperMemory™ (Integrated)
HARD DRIVES 120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Combo/DVD+RW Drives 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Card Integrated Audio
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card (54Mbps)
Primary Battery 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Port Replicator Notebook Expansion Dock



OR



Inspiron 640m Dual Core Qty 1
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5200 (1.60GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533 MHz FSB), Genuine Windows® XP Professional Unit Price $1,280.00
space Save $285 on select Inspiron 640m systems!
Special offer
- $285.00
Catalog Number: 4 BNDWF4E
Module Description Show Details
Inspiron 640m Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5200 (1.60GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533 MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Professional
LCD Panel 14.1 inch WXGA+ UltraSharp™ TFT Display with TrueLife™
Memory 1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm
Video Card Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Hard Drive 120GB Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Combo or DVD+RW Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Options Integrated Audio
Wireless Networking Cards Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Internal Wireless
Battery 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Port Replicator Kensington Notebook Expansion Dock


Pro's and Cons

I don't know a lot about laptops, but with the Turion CPU, I can get twice the ram, looks to be better video card, bigger lcd. I do lose the internal wireless , but thats not a huge deal imo. On the Intel system, I would get a better quality, but smaller lcd.

I guess my main question is: Is the Turion as good as the Core 2 Duo intel offerring?

Thank you,

CRB5

 

[jim6172]

go with option 2 had X2 and the 2 do not compare speed or power IMO also check out the inspiron e1505 or even the 1405 I own both and if its something yourgoing to be carring around get the 1405 and save bout 2 lbs
also why the dock? :?:

 

[crb5]

The dock is because we are going to move my desktop pc to the receptionist desk, her PC needs upgrading. So instead of upgrading hers, I get a laptop. Makes me mobile, and should be able to handle all my tasks, as both options are faster than what I currently use.

I hook up to a large digitizer tablet for doing takeoff's of blueprints at the office. But I have also had the need to have a PC with me when I visit the field.

I had pretty much decided against the Turion option, because from what I have read the onboard video in that machine is a joke.

Now, I think I have settled on this configuration. I can get this machine for $976, and it looks to be pretty capable.

Inspiron 6400 Intel® Core™ Duo T2050 (1.60GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Professional
LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display
Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 DIMM
Video Card 128MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1300 HyperMemory™
Hard Drive 120GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Optical Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Options Integrated Audio
Wireless Networking Cards Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Internal Wireless

 

[crb5]

Also, I will be hooking up to my 23" widescreen lcd monitor at work as well when i', in the office.

 

[jim6172]

have you checked dells outlet? sometimes they really have great deals especially on the scratch and dent the 6400 is basically a 1505 just named different
good luck
jim

 

[jim6172]

dvi or rgb?
jim

 

[crb5]

My office monitor can accept both. I prefer DVI of course, but its not a deal killer if the dell doesn't have it... in fact,, i haven't even looked to see if thats available

 

[jim6172]

no dvi or pcmcia just s-video out and express card 54 heres link to manual
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins6400/en/om/MD402AO3.pdf

 

[Atolsammeek]

Here the thing with the ram you can always upgrade it later. I found 2 1gb ram for alainware laptop for $130 each and that the going price on most laptop ram sticks.