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Pastimes : Computer Learning -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SE who wrote (27011)	5/20/2002 10:53:37 AM
From: Nemer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110583

Scooteeee .... you didn't call and ask ME ???????? ROFL -- heck, I'll just answer with my answers, anyway ------ >>>>> 1. Would the difference from a 1.2 Gigahertz Pentium and a 1.06 Gigahertz Pentium be noticeable not enough to matter >>>>>2. How much video ram would you like to see on the video card if the one of the purposes is to use as a portable DVD player? the Dell Inspiron we got last month has 32mg of video ram and it works verrrrrrry nicely (couldn't tell the dif from the 64mg I test drove) as a side note ---- when I configured it (on the order quote, as Mar had to use a purchase order via the Edu section of Dell) I had picked a DVD/CDRW ---- she misplaced the quote, but, in the actual ordering process, she incorrectly ordered a CDROM ..... well, it was two weeks before she tried to use the ReadWrite ---- hey ---- NONE .....ggggg We called Dell, admitted the mistake was ours .... they were MOST accommodating --- suggested a "modular" Combo unit for DVD and CDR/W which is due to arrive today or tomorrow I will heartily suggest that your brother get the Ultra Sharp 1600x1200 15 inch screen and the "M" Pentium chip, as I'm convinced the power savings far outweigh the cost diff .... AND seeing as how it is your brother --- YOU could get him the DeLorme GPS and Street Atlas ---- I mean .. he is your brother and it would be a GREAT gesture on your part .... we have used the GPS dealie twice now and it is fantastic .... when you plot in your starting point and your ending point, the dang thing draws up a nice map --- directions and all --- and WHEN you make an incorrect turn it will talk right at you and say *(in your choice of voice inflections) ---- OFF ROUTE OFF ROUTE ..... hey I love it ......

To: SE who wrote (27011)	5/20/2002 12:07:20 PM
From: Robert Graham	Respond to of 110583

I would also have him consider Toshiba. Toshiba has a fine multimedia style portable computer with good sound and graphics. 1. We are talking about a 20% difference in CPU speed. But the bottleneck with many applications is the disk I/O, not the CPU. If he will be running business applications, particularly applications that perform allot of database access, then this should not make a substantial difference. But if he is running graphics oriented programs, like games, or a CPU intensive program, like calculating pi to the thousandth decimal place, then the 20% speed increase in the CPU will be noticeable. Otherwise, the system will just not seem as "zippy" with the slower CPU, but still adequate. But anything more than this speed difference will definitely be noticeable in all types of computer use. For multimedia and gaming use, an important factor will be the speed of the video card. 2. Many video cards come with at least 32M of memory, which should be adequate. Stay away from the new "leading edge" gaming cards and chips. They can be nothing but trouble until the vendor comes out with a working driver for their new card, which can take up to a half a year or more. ATI has been guilty of this in the past. 3. Make sure he can return the portable within one month of purchase as part of an unconditional guarantee. Also research the batter life of each portable, and beware some claims are based on two batteries being installed with the system. I would go with at least 256 M RAM. He also will need to choose the operating system to be installed on his computer. On business systems, this can be either Windows XP Pro or Windows 2000. On systems sold for the home user, you may only have one choice, which is Windows XP Home Edition. It is a good idea to avoid Windows ME. Bob Graham