The Donovans need a new laptop, help me pick one out

[greg donovan]

it is primarily going to be used for my wife's nursing school progam. and maybe some game play on the side. not gonna mess with Vista if we dont have to. even if it means i cant play some of the newer games that require vista like HALO2 for the PC.

here are the minimum specs the school requires:

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, or equivalent
Hard Drive - 60 GB or larger required
RAM - 1024 MB (1GB) required
CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive - Required
Ethernet Network - Required
Wireless Network - Required

they suggest using XP Pro SP2

the school has a deal going with gateway and suggests this Gateway notebook for the nursing program:

http://select.gateway.com/store/configu ... m_id=37637

what makes this:

-1024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (1-1024MB module)

better than this:

-1024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-512MB modules).
and what does this mean:
Gateway recommends this system be configured with paired memory modules for optimum performance.

how noticable would the difference be between these two choices:

-Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7100 (1.80GHz, 800MHz, 2MB L2 Cache)
-Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7300 (2.00GHz, 800MHz, 4MB L2 Cache)

which is more important in a hard drive speed or size?

-80GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive (+0.00)
-80GB 7200rpm Serial ATA hard drive (+40.00)
-100GB 7200rpm Serial ATA hard drive (+80.00)
-120GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive (+20.00)


would it be better to spend the 100 dollars to upgrade from this:

-Chassis w/ Integrated Intel® GMA X3100 Graphics (with up to 384MB Shared Memory*)

to this:

-Chassis w/ ATI Mobility™ Radeon® X2300 HD 256MB PCI Express Graphics (128MB GDDR3 Dedicated Memory with up to 256MB using HyperMemory™ Technology)

we can get this version of MS office from the school:

-Microsoft® Office 2007 Enterprise is available in each campus Bookstore for $149.00. Included in this Office Suite are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, Outlook, Groove, and OneNote applications.

[Tleg93]

it is primarily going to be used for my wife's nursing school progam. and maybe some game play on the side. not gonna mess with Vista if we dont have to. even if it means i cant play some of the newer games that require vista like HALO2 for the PC.

here are the minimum specs the school requires:

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, or equivalent
Hard Drive - 60 GB or larger required
RAM - 1024 MB (1GB) required
CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive - Required
Ethernet Network - Required
Wireless Network - Required

they suggest using XP Pro SP2

the school has a deal going with gateway and suggests this Gateway notebook for the nursing program:

http://select.gateway.com/store/configu ... m_id=37637

You can't access the page without a user ID.

what makes this:

-1024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (1-1024MB module)

better than this:

-1024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-512MB modules).

What makes the first one better is that if you're using one 1024 RAM stick the odds are you'll have more slots available for additional memory. I'd imagine the fetch time would be quicker with two strips though.

and what does this mean:
Gateway recommends this system be configured with paired memory modules for optimum performance.

Gateway is saying that paired memory modules is better than mismatched or single strips.

how noticable would the difference be between these two choices:

-Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7100 (1.80GHz, 800MHz, 2MB L2 Cache)
-Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7300 (2.00GHz, 800MHz, 4MB L2 Cache)

Well the L2 cache being bigger and the clock speed being faster means faster fetch times and instruction cycles but alot of it has to do with how your system is configured, how many startup programs are running, virus protection and general configuration and memory overhead. I'd get the faster one if it's not significantly more expensive.

which is more important in a hard drive speed or size?

-80GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive (+0.00)
-80GB 7200rpm Serial ATA hard drive (+40.00)
-100GB 7200rpm Serial ATA hard drive (+80.00)
-120GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive (+20.00)

The second option will be faster slightly but there again you're trying to balance meeting the specs plus a little added umph for your gaming needs. I'd go with the third option myself.


would it be better to spend the 100 dollars to upgrade from this:

-Chassis w/ Integrated Intel® GMA X3100 Graphics (with up to 384MB Shared Memory*)

to this:

-Chassis w/ ATI Mobility™ Radeon® X2300 HD 256MB PCI Express Graphics (128MB GDDR3 Dedicated Memory with up to 256MB using HyperMemory™ Technology)

Absolutely, if you're really going to game on it. You'll pay more for the card and install later if you wanted to upgrade.

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