Decided to get myself a new toy with some of my tax return money. I never really felt I needed a laptop, but screw it. I like these because they have some size & bulk to them as opposed to normal laptops. I don't buy into the "the smaller the better" mentality. That just means more chance of overheating or breaking. This puppy is sturdy and those components have more room to breathe in there. I got the 17.3" version too for good measure. I got it with a Core i5 4310M CPU because it had all the integrated features I needed (VT-d) namely for my VM, which even some i7's didn't have that would have cost me hundreds of dollars more (up to $700 more). Screw that. Just a mid grade video card. I'm not using this thing for gaming. I have a gaming machine already. I went with 16 GB (2X8GB) @ 1866 MHz of memory only because it has 4 DIMMS and can hold 32 GB max. So if I ever want to max it out I just add 2 more instead of having to scrap the 2 in it already. But I really only needed 4. The least you could get was 8 anyway. A 256 GB SSD. I'm putting SSD's in all my machines now after witnessing how quiet they are. I can barely tell my machines are on. Just a regular 8X DVD+/-RW optical drive. I couldn't see forking out $200 more for a Blu-Ray writer. No integrated camera or mic because I'm just paranoid like that. I'd they that "they" were listening & watching me, lol. An Intel Dual-Band Wireless-AC network adapter, because I just got a Wireless-AC router. Screen is Anti-Glare LED backlit so that should save energy, and look nice. And a nice carrying case for it too. Can't see spending close to 2 grand on this thing then not forking up $65 to keep it safe. And 3 years accidental damage warranty so that I can drop it off my roof 2 years and 11 months from now and get a new one... I jest on that last part. maybe...
Congratulations on the new toy! I've been looking at an M6800 as a possible replacement for my old Inspiron 1720.
Thanks. I owed it to myself after putting up with old boxes all my life. I've always stayed 2-3 generations behind what's current to get more bang for my buck. For instance, just a year ago or so I was gonna buy a new PC but instead elected to get a refurbished Dell Inspiron 530 off EBay because it had everything I needed really. I ended up getting 2 of them for about $240... less than half of what 1 low end new one would've cost me. The one had an E8300 CPU and the other an E8500. Both had the integrated features in the CPU I wanted, like VT-x & VT-d along with Trusted Execution technology... the latter two that many Core i5's and some i7's even don't have. And the one even came with a video card that's worth over $100 alone, so I basically got the box for free. Both came with 4 GB of RAM and can be upgraded to 8 if I ever want to run an x64 OS. All I did was all SSD's (Samsung Pro 850's) to both of them. They're so quiet you can barely tell they're on. Before that I had a Dimension 3000 that I milked for ages. It came with a 2.4 Ghz Celeron CPU and 512 MG of RAM, and a 40 GB EIDE HD. All I did was upgrade the RAM to 1 GB and the HD to a 160 GB SATA. I used it for like 7-8 years. Got it for free for helping a family fix their boxes and they had a spare. So this is really the first nice thing I've had.
I've upgraded components in my Inspiron over the years, including an SSD. I moved the HDD to the second bay for storage, and use the SSD for the OS. It's the reason I'm still using the old notebook. So I know what you mean about SSD's.
Inspiron 530's are very upgradeable machines. There are 4 different models of them, many aren't aware of that. I have both "a" models. I think the "d" models may be the same too, but don't hold me to that. But rule of thumb is to go for the one with 4 DIMMS. You can fit 8 GB of RAM in them (2GB X 4) if you have a somewhat updated BIOS version. And this was at a time most machines only held 4, including most of the 530's themselves. They came with all different kinds of CPU's, from regular Pentiums & Celerons, to CoreDuo, Core2Duo, and Core2Quads. I like the Core2Duo E8000 line the best. I heard bad things through the grapevine about the Quads... overheating, taking a crap on people and whatnot. Core2Duo's are still running strong today, most of them. And were the first CPU's to have a lot of the good integrated features that even some of the i3's & 5's don't have today... like VT-d to add protection to your CPU/ I/O when running a VM. And Trusted Execution Technology which is like an integrated anti-executable. Most of the Quads didn't have those features. You can upgrade just about everything in an Inspiron 530, and easily. I removed the SD card slot panel and added a floppy drive... what can I say? I'm old school. Added SSD's like I said, and bays to make them fit in the 3.5" slots. A new/better power supply that's quieter and more energy efficient. A quieter CPU cooler/fan, and quieter regular fan for the back as well. It came with 2 GB X 2 of RAM, so if I ever want to upgrade to 8 I can just add 2 more. The model "a" memory runs at a faster speed too. I'm really glad I decided to go that route instead of buying a new box. I got 2 for less than half the price. I can't imagine them being faster, and I'm having fun modding them. I have an old Inspiron 4100 laptop someone gave to me too that's ancient and shot. Battery completely dead. Only 256 GB of RAM, running Win98 lol. A 20 GB HD. But I bought a new battery for it for like $25. 1 GB (512 MB X 2) of RAM for $15. And an 80 GB HD for another $20-$25. So I'm gonna put XP Pro SP3 on it and get some use out of it for a mere $60+. I have some plans for it.
