I've got a $400 laptop budget, insert advice here
08-12-2011, 11:13 PM
#61
I ordered 2 of the same e4200, and when I opened them up to install the 4gb cards, they are different. Can someone tell me the difference. What is that mess of wires in the top left of the top image.
I do see that the top one came with a 128gb ssd instead of the 64gb that was advertised.
Here is the part all the wires go into. http://i.pchub.com/uph/photos/item/6...802_0Y010J.JPG
Reply
0
0
08-12-2011, 11:35 PM
#62
Boost Pope
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,023
Total Cats: 6,591
Ok, no more thread crapping. Posts deleted, next time will be ban. Everybody knows that you're an Apple fanboy, Stan. Start your own thread, or keep it to the "Ramble On" section.
I don't see a difference between the two memories, other than one is a 1GB and the other is a 4GB. The one with the 4GB stick is already maxed out, so no need to upgrade that one. But while they look different cosmetically, they are both DDR3, and thus interchangeable.
I don't see a difference between the two memories, other than one is a 1GB and the other is a 4GB. The one with the 4GB stick is already maxed out, so no need to upgrade that one. But while they look different cosmetically, they are both DDR3, and thus interchangeable.
Reply
0
0
08-15-2011, 01:03 PM
#65
Check out this bullshit tracking history:
Original delivery estimate was the 12th (Saturday). I know for a fact that the store opened at 8 AM. Yet, at 8:37 AM, there's a delivery exception stating that the business was closed or customer unavailable. And then the delivery is rescheduled for Tuesday the 16th.
If it was out for delivery on Saturday, why can't delivery be re-attempted until Tuesday? Why the false delivery exception unless the driver was lost and couldn't find the location?
http://www.fedex.com/Tracking?action...91013870937604
Original delivery estimate was the 12th (Saturday). I know for a fact that the store opened at 8 AM. Yet, at 8:37 AM, there's a delivery exception stating that the business was closed or customer unavailable. And then the delivery is rescheduled for Tuesday the 16th.
If it was out for delivery on Saturday, why can't delivery be re-attempted until Tuesday? Why the false delivery exception unless the driver was lost and couldn't find the location?
http://www.fedex.com/Tracking?action...91013870937604
Reply
0
0
08-15-2011, 04:55 PM
#67
Still don't know why Fedex Home couldn't find our giant 3-story building that has the building name printed on a 5 foot tall sign on the roof on Saturday morning, but I gave them my cell number so the driver is supposed to call me if he can't find the store.
Oh, and Fedex Home doesn't deliver on Sunday or Monday. Frickin' slackers.
Oh, and Fedex Home doesn't deliver on Sunday or Monday. Frickin' slackers.
Reply
0
0
08-16-2011, 07:36 PM
#68
Posting from the new laptop. I also got one with 128 GB SSD and 2 GB memory stick.
Is there any point in swapping the 4 GB stick in? Vista 32bit won't recognize the extra memory, right?
I like it, though. The screen (and resolution) is just big enough -- my 10" 1024px Lenovo was just a bit too small. Keyboard is nice, surprisingly chunky keys with good depth and travel for such a small laptop. Speed seems more than adequate, way better than the S10, where every key click felt like browsing over a laggy internet connection (it strikes me as odd to describe hardware speed in terms of connection speed, but I can't think of a better analogy).
I'm happy. I'd prefer an on-board dvd drive, but I know that's not possible with this form factor. I'll probably leave it alone unless I come across a good deal on Win7 so I can install the 4 GB stick.
Is there any point in swapping the 4 GB stick in? Vista 32bit won't recognize the extra memory, right?
I like it, though. The screen (and resolution) is just big enough -- my 10" 1024px Lenovo was just a bit too small. Keyboard is nice, surprisingly chunky keys with good depth and travel for such a small laptop. Speed seems more than adequate, way better than the S10, where every key click felt like browsing over a laggy internet connection (it strikes me as odd to describe hardware speed in terms of connection speed, but I can't think of a better analogy).
I'm happy. I'd prefer an on-board dvd drive, but I know that's not possible with this form factor. I'll probably leave it alone unless I come across a good deal on Win7 so I can install the 4 GB stick.
Reply
0
0
08-16-2011, 08:03 PM
#69
Cpt. Slow
Thread Starter
iTrader: (25)
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Oregon City, OR
Posts: 14,179
Total Cats: 1,129
Yeah, I don't see a huge reason for 4gb, it's plenty fast enough for me. I have no idea about the 4gb stick, don't know much about windows vista.
I was a little "meh" about the external dvd drive as well, but then remembered that I either pirate all my videos or watch them on netflix/hulu.
I was a little "meh" about the external dvd drive as well, but then remembered that I either pirate all my videos or watch them on netflix/hulu.
Reply
0
0
08-17-2011, 03:44 AM
#70
Boost Pope
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,023
Total Cats: 6,591
I dropped my machine from a height of about 3 ft onto a thinly carpeted hotel floor last night.
Still works perfectly. And I very much enjoyed having it fully opened up on the tray table in the 737-800 this afternoon, while the guy next to me had his 15" Latitude halfway in his lap.
Glad you guys are enjoying the machine. I always hate recommending computer stuff to people on the fear that their tastes will differ from mine, but this particular Dell really is second-best only to the Vaio T(x) series in my book.
There is a small advantage.
Any 32 bit OS will recognize up to 3.x GB of RAM. The E4200 seems to clock in at about 3.5 GB usable. So even though 1.5 GB will be "wasted", you will gain some appx 0.5 GB usable RAM from upgrading from the 2GB add-on to the 4 GB. If your machine only came with a 1 GB additional stick (or no additional RAM beyond the stock 1GB at all) then upgrading should not even be considered optional.
That's one of the reasons I loved my Vaio. Despite being slightly smaller than the E4200 (it was an 11" machine) it had a built-in DVD / CD-RW drive. Sony is the only manufacturer I have ever seen that put an optical drive in a machine of this size class.
OTOH, like Curly, I only actually use the optical drive for the initial OS and app load. After that, it's pretty much worthless.
Still works perfectly. And I very much enjoyed having it fully opened up on the tray table in the 737-800 this afternoon, while the guy next to me had his 15" Latitude halfway in his lap.
Glad you guys are enjoying the machine. I always hate recommending computer stuff to people on the fear that their tastes will differ from mine, but this particular Dell really is second-best only to the Vaio T(x) series in my book.
Any 32 bit OS will recognize up to 3.x GB of RAM. The E4200 seems to clock in at about 3.5 GB usable. So even though 1.5 GB will be "wasted", you will gain some appx 0.5 GB usable RAM from upgrading from the 2GB add-on to the 4 GB. If your machine only came with a 1 GB additional stick (or no additional RAM beyond the stock 1GB at all) then upgrading should not even be considered optional.
I'd prefer an on-board dvd drive, but I know that's not possible with this form factor.
OTOH, like Curly, I only actually use the optical drive for the initial OS and app load. After that, it's pretty much worthless.
Reply
0
0
08-17-2011, 07:04 PM
#71
Had a duh moment -- when I reported earlier that mine came with 2 GB stick, I was wrong. I noticed Windows reporting 2 GB of ram and it didn't occur to me that 1 GB of that was on-board.
Anyway, it became obvious when I cracked it open and there was a 1 GB stick. Swapped in the 4 GB stick and moved on. I suppose if it came down to either the 128GB SSD upgrade or the extra memory, I'd prefer the bigger SSD (especially since I already ordered the 4 GB memory stick).
For comparison.
And the new and old memory sticks.
Anyway, it became obvious when I cracked it open and there was a 1 GB stick. Swapped in the 4 GB stick and moved on. I suppose if it came down to either the 128GB SSD upgrade or the extra memory, I'd prefer the bigger SSD (especially since I already ordered the 4 GB memory stick).
For comparison.
And the new and old memory sticks.
Reply
0
0
08-17-2011, 09:26 PM
#74
Boost Pope
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,023
Total Cats: 6,591
I'd forget Avast. Just don't open scary attachments. Antivirus software these days is functionally indistinguishable from malware.
And do you really need Firefox for anything anymore? I don't dislike it, but I don't see the reason for it either.
FTP Voyager is the best FTP client. In particular, it does an excellent job of automating the process of editing a remote file. You double-click on the file at the server end, it automatically downloads it and opens it in your specified editor, then once you're done, it automatically re-uploads it.
For image editing, Paint Shop Pro version 4.12 is my favorite. It's ancient (1996) but works great and is very lightweight and easy to use. It does not support layers or any of that fanciness, but it's the tool I use for 95% of my image editing. (I use version 9, which does support layers, for the other 5%.)
Notepad works quite well as an HTML editor. Anything fancier and I just use whatever online composing tool the hosting service provides. Never done any PHP work, though.
And do you really need Firefox for anything anymore? I don't dislike it, but I don't see the reason for it either.
FTP Voyager is the best FTP client. In particular, it does an excellent job of automating the process of editing a remote file. You double-click on the file at the server end, it automatically downloads it and opens it in your specified editor, then once you're done, it automatically re-uploads it.
For image editing, Paint Shop Pro version 4.12 is my favorite. It's ancient (1996) but works great and is very lightweight and easy to use. It does not support layers or any of that fanciness, but it's the tool I use for 95% of my image editing. (I use version 9, which does support layers, for the other 5%.)
Notepad works quite well as an HTML editor. Anything fancier and I just use whatever online composing tool the hosting service provides. Never done any PHP work, though.
Reply
0
0
08-26-2011, 12:24 AM
#75
Cpt. Slow
Thread Starter
iTrader: (25)
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Oregon City, OR
Posts: 14,179
Total Cats: 1,129
Woot, installed my 4gb upgrade, easiest thing ever. It's now reporting 5gb, so that's 1gb of virtual memory I guess? Whatever.
Ironically, my desktop has started acting up. Netflix isn't working in anything but IE, and the file browser freezes up the computer. Time for a new OS I'm thinking, but with my lap top and new $10 mouse, it's going on the back burner.
Ironically, my desktop has started acting up. Netflix isn't working in anything but IE, and the file browser freezes up the computer. Time for a new OS I'm thinking, but with my lap top and new $10 mouse, it's going on the back burner.
Reply
0
0
08-29-2011, 05:24 PM
#76
So will this cable allow me to hook up the Dell to a TV?
EDIT:
Okay, so it seems that I'd need a vid card with actual TV-out through the VGA port to use this cable successfully, right? So what's the easiest/cheapest way to connect to TV from a regular VGA port?
EDIT:
Okay, so it seems that I'd need a vid card with actual TV-out through the VGA port to use this cable successfully, right? So what's the easiest/cheapest way to connect to TV from a regular VGA port?
Last edited by mgeoffriau; 08-29-2011 at 05:47 PM.
Reply
0
0
