Difference between Intel Core 2 Duo Processors AND hard drive?!

Thanks for the info! Very very helpful. I just went in to update the build, and now it's offering different hard drive options. I'm not sure why. Now these are my options:

320 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
500 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
640 GB (2x 320) SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

Could I have changed something that made it eliminate the 7200RPM option? Or is there a workaround to get it back?

Thanks so much!

Laptops with a 1066 FSB are the newest generation.  Go for any of those.  The chipset P45 or G45 makes all the difference in the world.

Thanks for the info! Very very helpful. I just went in to update the build, and now it's offering different hard drive options. I'm not sure why. Now these are my options: 320 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) 500 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) 640 GB (2x 320) SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) Could I have changed something that made it eliminate the 7200RPM option? Or is there a workaround to get it back?

Hello eilatancf, You might call Dell's 800 number, and with the options written down at you disposal that you want, order the system by phone instead of on the Dell site.

Sometimes this can result in a better configuration than the Dell site offers.

Just a thought.

The difference between the different CPU's are how fast they run and how much cache the have.  Higher clock speed and more cache equals more performance.  Get the T9400.

As for the hard drives, the 7200 rpm's will be faster than the 5400's.  If you need disk space then get the biggest available.   If the studio 17 supports running two hard drives (and I believe it does) you might want to get the 250g 7200 rpm drive and then add a second hard drive yourself for additional storage.  The 250 would run the OS faster than the other options. 

And to get the most out of your system and the memory you should consider getting the 64bit Vista Ultimate instead of the 32bit.  Just make sure that the applications that you run the most work in Vista 64bit (some don't) and that your printers and other peripherals have 64bit Vista drivers.

And you aren't eating up a ton of memory.  You are eating up a ton of disk space.  They are two entirely different things. 

Just looked at the Studio 17 and the 7200 rpm drive was listed. Dell sometimes restricts the options in some of the possible build combinations listed on the first page. You need to check them all. I would go gor the T8400; this will give you the most bang. Also consider the high def screen.

Disk capacity depends on how much you store on the machine. The 7200 rpm drive is plenty for most people. The higher speed will really be noticeable. My M1530 has a 7200 while my wife's E1705 has a 5400. Processors are the same, but her's has more cache, which should speed things up. I really see an advantage in speed of loading programs, opening folders, etc. with the higher speed drive. If you need large amounts of storage, an external drive will work OK if you don't need access to the material all the time.

The Free Fall Sensor is a mechanisn that senses when the laptop has been dropped, and parks the heads to keep from doing damage to the platters when the laptop hits. You will see many posts with laptops needing hard drive replacements, some soon after purchase. Hard drives are very reliable, and many of these failures are related to careless handling, although most will admit they dropped the laptop. You rarely see drive failures with desktops.

Good luck on you purchase.

I have to ask a lame question here. I get the speed part about the 7200RPM drive - that it will be faster than the 5400RPM drive. But will the size limit things? It just doesn't make sense in my head. My head says "pay more, get more" - and the 7200RPM is the smallest GB available to me. I completely understand what you're saying about adding another hard drive - and I can do that - I just don't want to make the wrong decision up front because I don't know enough. :-\

Also, what is Free Fall Sensor?

Thanks!

As advised already, I agree with the recommendations to get a 7200rpm drive.

Even if it is a smaller capacity drive, the speed difference makes it a worthwhile upgrade over the greater capacity - but slower drives.

Depending on the laptop you're considering, you may be able to install a second hard drive in RAID 0?

Alternatively (assuming the laptop supports larger capacity drives of course), just buy a larger capacity drive, and install it yourself?

I've replaced the two 200GB (7200rpm) drives (1x Seagate, 1x Hitachi?) Dell had pre-installed in my XPS M1730, with 2x 320GB WD Scorpio Black 7200rpm drives, so I've now got (a theoretical) 640GB :emotion-11:

I subsequently had to do a 'clean' install of Vista (with Dell's OS disc), but that was my intention anyway, since it allows me to install only what I want.

But another option open to you, is to just buy yourself an external hard drive, and use that for all your downloads, backups, music/videos etc etc.

This keeps the full capacity of the internal hard drive, for all your programs, games etc :emotion-55: