Inspiron 700M and Vista...anyone try this yet?

Question

Inspiron 700M and Vista...anyone try this yet?  Vista Upgrade tool says the video on the 700m fails to meet specs for Vista's 'aero'.    And the video on 700m is integrated (not upgradeable) so I am curious if someone gave it go anyway and what happens.    I was thinking about spending the 300 dollars for the 2 gig memory upgrade but then if it can never run Vista I am thinking it might not be a good investment.   Thanks Frank

gwarr · Answer

Currently I'm running Windows Ultimate on my 700m and it runs very well without any slowdowns :) The only things I can't seem to do are clone the desktop to another monitor (but you can extend it, so it's still useful for presentations) and scroll using the mousepad (a driver issue).

Here are my specs:

700m: 1.8 Ghz Pentium M, 1.5 GB RAM, 80 Gig 5400 RPM Harddrive, etc.

RayDogg · Answer

No, I've not been able to get Aero to run because of the video card.  BTW I'm running 1GB of ram but the ram isn't the holdback it's the video card.

ejn63 · Answer

No.

fayzila · Answer

Can you adjust how much memory is dedicated to your video card so that you can run Aero on a 700m?

Specs

1.8ghz, 1.25gbs, 60gbs 5400rpm, Vista Home Premium

Message Edited by fayzila on 02-22-2007 05:16 PM

gwarr · Answer

It won't matter how much memory the card has, it's simply not compatible with Aero.

gwarr · Answer

Upgrading the mainboard will be likely as expensive as buying a new notebook.  If you're looking to get a Dell, I'd suggest getting the XPS m1210 with the nvidia 7400 mobile card.  Try selling your 700m on ebay or something and then purchase the m1210 with a coupon code.

frankgg · Answer

Thanks for the replys everyone.    So is it possible to replace the mother board with one that has an appropriate video component?    Who manufactures the motherboard for the 700m?    It would be nice if Dell saw to it that this type of upgrade was available.

frankgg · Answer

And I forgot this...but what iare you referring to when you say use a coupon code?  Where do I get one?

frankgg · Answer

Are you really sure it would be that expensive?  After all the 1210 is going to run around 1700 minimum.  As far as selling the 700m on ebay...250 if your lucky.  Seems like if someone bought this unit only a year ago at about 1500 and it  becomes essentially obsolete in a year..that is not good business to me.    If I have to upgrade to a new laptop because of this, I won't just look at Dell this time.

ejn63 · Answer

You can look at whatever vendor you wish, but they're all the same - no one supports mainboard upgrades in notebook computers. You won't gain much by using a board from a 710m, and since it'll cost you several hundred dollars for a board, plus you'll have only a 90-day warranty, you'd be better off selling the 700m to buy the upgrade, whichever you choose. NONE of the ultraportable systems are high-performance video machines. It's just not possible to pack that into a small chassis.

frankgg · Answer

yes, no one does offer mb upgrades, but then no one has had to till this type of problem where a laptop is rendered obsolete in less than a year... but anyway, that is way above either of our sphere of control.    You seem to know a lot about this stuff, so let me ask you please, is there a lightweight laptop out there with a motherboard that has the ability to upgrade video cards, as I am sure that the intel 900 (what is integrated into the mb) is just minimal for windows vista or other intensive programs like ArcGIS, and in a year I would be complaining again that its inadequate or obsolete?

gwarr · Answer

Most notebooks don't have upgradable video cards, and not being able to run Aero doesn't make it obsolete, you can still run everything else.

And you're certainly not going to find a notebook with an upgradable video card unless you buy notebooks at 15" or above, and as far as I know, Alienware is the only company that does this.

If you get the m1210 with the nvidia 7400 video card you'll be fine for many years. Or just stick with the 700m with Vista for now, and upgrade when notebooks are more specialized to Vista.

Message Edited by gwarr on 02-23-2007 11:55 AM

frankgg · Answer

THANKS!  You are definitely making sense...I probably don't need the 'eye candy' aero stuff to get the operational advantages of vista (whatever that might be), and I certainly don't want the 15' screen ( I use a desktop 17' flat screen for that when I am in the office).     The project budget doesn't have 1700+ dollars for a new laptop, I have about 600 to work with (not including the vista software, the university supplies that).      I need more RAM and HardDrive.   I use ESRI's ArcGIS 9.2 software for my research work and they expect 1 gig RAM.    My Laptop. Intel(R) Pentium(R) M porcessor 1.60GHz 589 MHz. 368MB of RAM HD capacity 27.9 GB   I am thinking a larger and FASTER hard drive..(any helpfull info on that would be appreciated) and 1 or 2 GIG of RAM.   The CPU speed is 1.6 GHz, right?  I imagine you can not upgrade to dual core and therefore its adequate as it is.   Well, thanks again for the help...I'm glad I posted this.   Frank

ejn63 · Answer

A small, lightweight notebook is not the ideal platform for ArcGIS - you should consider a larger model with better video and a larger screen. It's not that the software won't run - it is, rather, that just as a small car isn't suitable for towing a large trailer, neither is a small lightweight notebook suitable for running demanding software. The 700m is upgradeable to 2G of RAM and should take any EIDE notebook drive you wish to use. The processor can go up to a 2.1 GHz Pentium M on the 400 MHz bus.

frankgg · Answer

I agree that ArcGIS needs a more robust system in general use, and we have that in the research lab where I transfer the data for heavier analysis stuff. I use this one in the field or for extra work at home (where I use a flatscreen extended desktop). Suprisingly, with ArcGIS 9.2 it actually runs quite well for non-intensive tasks like digitizing. I'm guessing with the memorey upgrade it will be very good. Anyway its small, lightwieght and pretty durable for hauling around on my back so it meets the needs better than others. Thanks again for the help.

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