Buying my first laptop

[md1198p]

I am going to buy my first laptop soon, i am thinking of a Dell because I already have an acount with them. One thing I am interested in is Having Mobile Internet...not wifi, but something I could just pop it open and be online. What options are out there, its mostly for web browsing and not big downloads or anything.

This is what i was thinking of getting.

XPS M1210


PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5600 (1.83GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667 MHz FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium edit
A/V COMMUNICATION PACKAGE Integrated Webcam and Mobile Broadband Antenna edit
MEMORY 2GB Dual Shared Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms) edit
HARD DRIVE 80GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive edit
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7400 TurboCache™ edit
SOUND OPTIONS Integrated Audio

Price is like $1350
The only thing i upgraded was the ram to 2gig.

[md1198p]

Also, this should be good for gaming, right? The slower hard drive should only effect loading times for most games I would imagine, and the graphics card should be ok for games like HL2, CIV4, and maybe some Supreme Commander with the effects kicked down, right?

[Talek]

It'd be pretty decent for most games, even new ones with details and resolution cut down. I have a dell 600m that's a couple years old now and it has held up quite well so I think it's a good choice for brand.

As far as the wireless connectivity is concerned, I'd recommend getting either a sprint or verizon connection card, depending on where you live and where you travel. Both have huge basic data networks that would let you at least check email and do light web browsing (around 100kbps, bad latency). They have both also unrolled EVDO networks ranging in speed from 300kbps-1.5mbps depending on which revision you have access to. I personally prefer sprint, I tether my sprint phone to my laptop for travel and use it for access rather than using a card, that way I'm not paying for phone service and full data access.

[md1198p]

It'd be pretty decent for most games, even new ones with details and resolution cut down. I have a dell 600m that's a couple years old now and it has held up quite well so I think it's a good choice for brand.

As far as the wireless connectivity is concerned, I'd recommend getting either a sprint or verizon connection card, depending on where you live and where you travel. Both have huge basic data networks that would let you at least check email and do light web browsing (around 100kbps, bad latency). They have both also unrolled EVDO networks ranging in speed from 300kbps-1.5mbps depending on which revision you have access to. I personally prefer sprint, I tether my sprint phone to my laptop for travel and use it for access rather than using a card, that way I'm not paying for phone service and full data access.

I have sprint also...and there high speed network is in the areas where i live and work...so i may check them out.

[wh666-666]

I would suggest a 7200rpm HDD if you can get one within your budget, you should notice the performance difference.

Consider maybe buying your extra ram from someone else apart from dell. May save you money as dell can charge quite alot for selected upgrades.

Although the GPU is quite nice just double check if its the best you can get within your budget. Ram and HDD's can be upgraded easily at any point on laptops but GPU's cant without an absolute ballache.

[md1198p]

I would suggest a 7200rpm HDD if you can get one within your budget, you should notice the performance difference.

Consider maybe buying your extra ram from someone else apart from dell. May save you money as dell can charge quite alot for selected upgrades.

Although the GPU is quite nice just double check if its the best you can get within your budget. Ram and HDD's can be upgraded easily at any point on laptops but GPU's cant without an absolute ballache.

That GPU is the only option for that laptop...and going to a higher end model adds considerably to the price. I really like this model for its small size and weight, and it got pretty good reviews. I think it will be ok..i will only really be gaming once in a while, its just nice to have the option. As for the memory...they must have changed it overnight, because now 2 gigs are included in the price...glad i decided to wait and research for another day or 2.

The 7200 80 gig drive is $100 upgrade...worth it? (edit) seems i can buy a 80 gig 7200rpm drive for 75-90 bucks on newegg....and still have the 5400rpm one from dell as a back up in case it fails...so i will probably not add it and just order one later on and upgrade it myself.