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[CaptainStack]

Payday time= time to spend. Been after a new laptop for a while now- could do with a bit of advice. I've found a Dell which seems to be brutally good value for money.
Specs are as follows:
(Inspiron 1525)
Intel Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.40 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
4096MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
250GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
Integrated Intel Graphic Media Accelerator X3100
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display with TrueLife

That's £600, including a few wee add ons I'm after (bluetooth mouse, pen drive etc.). Best deal I've come across this morning. I know the integrated graphics is a bit of a no-no, but video editing will be minimal (as will gaming). Would it hold up alright for the occasional DVD and for stuff like Fruityloops and some basic gaming? Just need a solid system to keep me going the next few years. Also, is 4gb worth it- I gather Vista only recognises 3gb, but would this be rectified with a future update?
Thought I'd ask here first.

[Neutral]

Originally Posted by CaptainStack

Payday time= time to spend. Been after a new laptop for a while now- could do with a bit of advice. I've found a Dell which seems to be brutally good value for money.
Specs are as follows:
(Inspiron 1525)
Intel Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.40 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
4096MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
250GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
Integrated Intel Graphic Media Accelerator X3100
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display with TrueLife

That's £600, including a few wee add ons I'm after (bluetooth mouse, pen drive etc.). Best deal I've come across this morning. I know the integrated graphics is a bit of a no-no, but video editing will be minimal (as will gaming). Would it hold up alright for the occasional DVD and for stuff like Fruityloops and some basic gaming? Just need a solid system to keep me going the next few years. Also, is 4gb worth it- I gather Vista only recognises 3gb, but would this be rectified with a future update?
Thought I'd ask here first.

Unless you have a 64bit windows os which im 99% sure you wont, you wont be able to use all of the ram so it is not worth it it that sense but it is a decent overall price

try finding an apple for that price

you could install osx on it

[CaptainStack]

Originally Posted by Neutral

Unless you have a 64bit windows os which im 99% sure you wont, you wont be able to use all of the ram so it is not worth it it that sense but it is a decent overall price

try finding an apple for that price

you could install osx on it

Nah, it's 32 bit- I can save about 35 quid by going for 3gb RAM.

I'm an ex-Apple user actually, and was considering getting a Macbook, but spec wise it's not amazing value for money (even with the 15% student discount). That, coupled with the fact that Apple customer support is the most laughably horrific system imaginable, puts me off.

Buying one over the phone is incredibly simple- try returning a faulty one.

[Neil]

That's a fair point actually. There is no point having over 2GB of RAM if you are going to be using a 32bit Windows OS. The system just can't use the extra RAM. I'm a little confused why a spec like that would exist that being the case - unless you selected the 4GB of RAM yourself?

[Neil]

Another comment - the integrated graphics card - the Intel X3100 - won't be any good for playing any recently released games on. It just doesn't have the horsepower. That may or may not be an issue for you.

[CaptainStack]

I selected the 4gb RAM myself- would 3gb not provide a noticeable improvement over 2gb when running a few programs at the same time?

I'm not really bothered about gaming to be honest- I've got an Xbox 360 which barely gets used as it is. Just after a fairly futureproof system that'll run fast for everyday use and some music editing.

[Stripey]

FL will run no bother on that.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by CaptainStack

I selected the 4gb RAM myself- would 3gb not provide a noticeable improvement over 2gb when running a few programs at the same time?

By default, no. It won't make any difference whatsoever. However, you can tell Windows to make up to 3GB of your RAM available to programs, but this isn't completely straightforward. This is how you can do it though (it's an edit to a system file):

Memory Support and Windows Operating Systems

[CaptainStack]

Originally Posted by Neil

I'm a little confused why a spec like that would exist that being the case - unless you selected the 4GB of RAM yourself?

Sony VAIO FZ38M T8100 4GB 15.4" Laptop - Tesco.Direct

Seems there are a few laptops out there coming with 4gb standard- presumably 32 bit Vista also. Could 4gb be supported through a service pack, or is this essentially just a case of pushing consumers to spend more cash for what on paper is a better spec, even though it's unusable?

[Neil]

Originally Posted by CaptainStack

Sony VAIO FZ38M T8100 4GB 15.4" Laptop - Tesco.Direct

Seems there are a few laptops out there coming with 4gb standard- presumably 32 bit Vista also. Could 4gb be supported through a service pack, or is this essentially just a case of pushing consumers to spend more cash for what on paper is a better spec, even though it's unusable?

It's probably just got the 64bit of Vista pre-installed I suspect. It's not that rare to see.