9400 specs, can you help me?

Question

Hi.  I am planning on buying a 9400, hopefully when I get home tonight!  The price is still high with the below configuration and was hoping you folks had some suggestions on what to cut down or out.  I'm not a gamer. I'd be using this for working from home, internet surfing, family photos, DVD watching, and such.  I thought the processor, 2.00GHz,  I picked might be more than what I need.  I want to plan for the future, but not go crazy!  thanks for any help you can give me.   Inspiron 9400 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667 MHz FSB) Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition LCD Panel 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™ Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz Graphics Card 256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory Hard Drive 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0 Optical Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability Sound Options Integrated Audio Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card (54Mbps) Office Software (not included in Windows XP) Microsoft Office Small Business Ed.- Basic plus PowerPoint and Publisher Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) No security subscription (McAfee 30-day trial) Primary Battery 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery Warranty & Service Get $70 Dell Dollars with 3 Yr Ltd Warranty, On-site Service, Tech Support DELL ON CALL Dell On Call, 30day, Getting started Assistance, unlimited incidents Accidental Damage Service Add CompleteCare Accidental Damage Protection to 3Yr Lim Warranty DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS No ISP requested Miscellaneous 9400 -dual Media Direct Media Direct 3.0 Bluetooth Options Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)  Purchase Intent Purchase is not intended for resale. Processor Branding Intel Core 2 Duo Processor Labels Windows XP™

stripe999 · Answer

Pretty good system there. Honestly, I wouldn't cut anything out of this config. But if something *must* be toned down, I'd say you could go with a 5400rpm drive instead of the 7200. I personnally would keep the 7200 though. Processor and RAM should be as high as your budget permits. As for the vid card, its not a high end card by any means, but it will allow you to upgrade to Vista, should you feel the need down the road. Other than that, 1GB of RAM would be Ok with XP, but again, 2GB will be a must with Vista if thats in your mid-to-long term plans, or if you plan to do some multitasking. You could always buy only 1GB now, and purchase another GB later, if necessary.   Good luck!

stripe999 · Answer

On a notebook like this, you can upgrade to Vista, from XP, no problem.

kirkd · Answer

You could consider getting the minimum 533 MHz ram from dell then upgrade. Newegg has 667 MHz Crucial RAM compatable with Dell on sale for about $90 for 2 GB. I paid a lot more for this RAM last month. If you think you might go to Vista and do any serious gaming, go with the 7900 GS video board.

Dimension 9100, Win XP, 3.0 GHz P4, 2 GB DDR2 533 MHz RAM, 160 GB SATA II Samsung, 300 GB SATA II Seagate, 250 GB SimpleTech USB (WD Drive), Nvidia Go 6800 (425/825 MHz), Dell 1901 FP UltraSharp

Inspiron E1705, Win Vista Premium, T7200 Core 2 Duo (4MB, 2.0 GHz 667MHz), 2 GB DDR2 677 MHz RAM, 2 GB Transcend 150X SD ReadyBoost, 120 GB Samsung HD, Nvidia Go 7900 GS, 17” Sharp UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-Screen WUXGA

zepgurl · Answer

Thanks.  Also, is this Vista upgradable?  the computer guru here suggested that.

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