Latitude D810

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

jim_tehma (e-mail isn't checked) wrote:
> I configured a D810 as follows
>
> Pentium M Processor 740 (1.73GHz) w/ATI RADEON X300 64MB
> XP Home Edition, SP2, with media
> 15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen WUXGA LCD Panel
> 512MB 400MHz ,DDRII SDRAM, 2 DIMMS - Dual Channel
> 40GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM
> Internal 56K Modem
> 90W A/C Adapter
> 24X CD-ROM Drive
> Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915 802.11a/b/g WLAN miniPCI Card
> Resource CD
> 9-CELL PRIMARY BATTERY
> 3 Year On-site Economy Plan
> Reference Guide
> 1700-500=$1270
>
> A few questions.
>
> I'm thinking I can get a larger HD if/when this fills up.
> Same for a DVD burner. Yes?

Yes.

>
> Any idea why I don't see any sound card options?

Notebook sound cards are rarely offered at the time of purchase. The
sound support is built in - anything you add has to be either PCMCIA or USB.

> And if I call Dell do you think I could get an nVidia instead of the
> ATI?

No. Dell doesn't offer an nVidia card for this chassis. If you want
the nVidia 6800, you'll have to go with an Inspiron (either the 9300 or
XPS Generation 2).


>
> Any comments on the 3 screens (WXGA, WSXGA+, WUXGA) offered?

Resolution gets higher, dot size shrinks -- don't buy the higher
resolution screens thinking you can lower the resolution (the display
will get fuzzy as you do this).


>
> Do you think this is a good price or do you think I could find a better
> D810 deal?
> I want to buy somewhere in the next 2 months.

The machine is solid and the price seems good, particularly considering
the warranty.

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Edward J. Neth wrote:
> jim_tehma (e-mail isn't checked) wrote:
> > I configured a D810 as follows
> >
> > Pentium M Processor 740 (1.73GHz) w/ATI RADEON X300 64MB
> > XP Home Edition, SP2, with media
> > 15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen WUXGA LCD Panel
> > 512MB 400MHz ,DDRII SDRAM, 2 DIMMS - Dual Channel
> > 40GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM
> > Internal 56K Modem
> > 90W A/C Adapter
> > 24X CD-ROM Drive
> > Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915 802.11a/b/g WLAN miniPCI Card
> > Resource CD
> > 9-CELL PRIMARY BATTERY
> > 3 Year On-site Economy Plan
> > Reference Guide
> > 1700-500=$1270
> >
> > A few questions.
> >
> > I'm thinking I can get a larger HD if/when this fills up.
> > Same for a DVD burner. Yes?
>
> Yes.

OK
> >
> > Any idea why I don't see any sound card options?
>
> Notebook sound cards are rarely offered at the time of purchase. The
> sound support is built in - anything you add has to be either PCMCIA or USB.

Yes. I also configured a 9300 on the 'Home' side and there I got a
prompt for a soundcard (PCMCIA like you said) and that confused me.
But, if you configure a 9300 on the 'Business' side you don't get a
soundcard prompt!

> > And if I call Dell do you think I could get an nVidia instead of the
> > ATI?
>
> No. Dell doesn't offer an nVidia card for this chassis. If you want
> the nVidia 6800, you'll have to go with an Inspiron (either the 9300 or
> XPS Generation 2).

OK.
> >
> > Any comments on the 3 screens (WXGA, WSXGA+, WUXGA) offered?
>
> Resolution gets higher, dot size shrinks -- don't buy the higher
> resolution screens thinking you can lower the resolution (the display
> will get fuzzy as you do this).

OK
If I try the offered resolutions on my 19" CRT monitor would I get any
idea on what to expect?
> >
> > Do you think this is a good price or do you think I could find a better
> > D810 deal?
> > I want to buy somewhere in the next 2 months.
>
> The machine is solid and the price seems good, particularly considering
> the warranty.

OK. Thanks a lot Edward, Jim

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

> > > Any comments on the 3 screens (WXGA, WSXGA+, WUXGA) offered?
> >
> > Resolution gets higher, dot size shrinks -- don't buy the higher
> > resolution screens thinking you can lower the resolution (the display
> > will get fuzzy as you do this).

I'm really stuck on what screen should I select.
On my desktop I always use 1024x768 resolution.
Does this mean WSXGA+ (1680x1050) and WUXGA (1920x1200) will produce
text too small for my eyes and the nearest solution is the WXGA
(1280x800)?

Thanks, Jim

> OK
> If I try the offered resolutions on my 19" CRT monitor would I get any
> idea on what to expect?

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

jim_tehma (e-mail isn't checked) wrote:

>>>>Any comments on the 3 screens (WXGA, WSXGA+, WUXGA) offered?
>>>
>>>Resolution gets higher, dot size shrinks -- don't buy the higher
>>>resolution screens thinking you can lower the resolution (the display
>>>will get fuzzy as you do this).
>
>
> I'm really stuck on what screen should I select.
> On my desktop I always use 1024x768 resolution.
> Does this mean WSXGA+ (1680x1050) and WUXGA (1920x1200) will produce
> text too small for my eyes and the nearest solution is the WXGA
> (1280x800)?
>
> Thanks, Jim
>
If you have an opportunity, I recommend stopping by a local Best Buy (or
CompUSA or Fry's, etc.) and check how you deal with the resolution
yourself (other manufacturers offer machines with the same resolution if
you don't have a local Dell store). It's largely a matter of personal
opinion as to what resolution works best since everyone's eyes are
slightly different. I'm quite happy with 1400x1050 on my D610 (I was
coming from 1024x768 as well), but I wouldn't go higher than that unless
the screen was significantly larger. My coworker has a Dell laptop with
the WUXGA and I can't use it without significantly dropping the
resolution (and streching artifacts definitely are noticeable).

On a side note, you seem to be considering both a 9300 and a D810, but
keep in mind there's a fairly signifcant jump in weight between the two
(and the D810 is fairly large in the first place). Also I want to
clarify that text @ 1650x1050 on a 15.4" D810 would look the same as @
1400x1050 on a 14.1" screen (like a D610 or I600m).

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

In article <1122166944.452772.174160@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
jim_tehma (e-mail isn't checked) <jimtehma@hotmail.com> wrote:
>I configured a D810 as follows
...
>15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen WUXGA LCD Panel
...
>Any comments on the 3 screens (WXGA, WSXGA+, WUXGA) offered?

I have the 15.4" WUXGA in my Inspiron 6000 and love it. Personally
speaking, I would not consider the others at all. I like the very high
level of detail the WUXGA supports as well as the large desktop. I tend to
run the display with fairly large fonts, so the most visible net result is
that text on the screen looks absolutely _beautiful_.

-Mike
--
http://www.mschaef.com

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Nicholas Andrade wrote:
> jim_tehma (e-mail isn't checked) wrote:
>
> >>>>Any comments on the 3 screens (WXGA, WSXGA+, WUXGA) offered?
> >>>
> >>>Resolution gets higher, dot size shrinks -- don't buy the higher
> >>>resolution screens thinking you can lower the resolution (the display
> >>>will get fuzzy as you do this).
> >
> >
> > I'm really stuck on what screen should I select.
> > On my desktop I always use 1024x768 resolution.
> > Does this mean WSXGA+ (1680x1050) and WUXGA (1920x1200) will produce
> > text too small for my eyes and the nearest solution is the WXGA
> > (1280x800)?
> >
> > Thanks, Jim
> >
> If you have an opportunity, I recommend stopping by a local Best Buy (or
> CompUSA or Fry's, etc.) and check how you deal with the resolution
> yourself (other manufacturers offer machines with the same resolution if
> you don't have a local Dell store). It's largely a matter of personal
> opinion as to what resolution works best since everyone's eyes are
> slightly different. I'm quite happy with 1400x1050 on my D610 (I was
> coming from 1024x768 as well), but I wouldn't go higher than that unless
> the screen was significantly larger. My coworker has a Dell laptop with
> the WUXGA and I can't use it without significantly dropping the
> resolution (and streching artifacts definitely are noticeable).

Yes, I'll definitely do that

> On a side note, you seem to be considering both a 9300 and a D810, but
> keep in mind there's a fairly signifcant jump in weight between the two
> (and the D810 is fairly large in the first place).

> Also I want to
> clarify that text @ 1650x1050 on a 15.4" D810 would look the same as @
> 1400x1050 on a 14.1" screen (like a D610 or I600m).

Oh, I see

Thanks, Jim

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

MSCHAEF.COM wrote:
> In article <1122166944.452772.174160@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
> jim_tehma (e-mail isn't checked) <jimtehma@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >I configured a D810 as follows
> ...
> >15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen WUXGA LCD Panel
> ...
> >Any comments on the 3 screens (WXGA, WSXGA+, WUXGA) offered?
>
> I have the 15.4" WUXGA in my Inspiron 6000 and love it. Personally
> speaking, I would not consider the others at all. I like the very high
> level of detail the WUXGA supports as well as the large desktop. I tend to
> run the display with fairly large fonts, so the most visible net result is
> that text on the screen looks absolutely _beautiful_.
>
> -Mike
> --
> http://www.mschaef.com

Hmmm, do you mean changing the font size on each different application?

Thanks, Jim

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

In article <1122512402.383535.258800@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>,
jim_tehma (e-mail isn't checked) <jimtehma@hotmail.com> wrote:
...
>Hmmm, do you mean changing the font size on each different application?

For applications that produce printed results, I primarily mean zoom. I
almost never have Word at 100% zoom, even on 'normal' displays. The net
effect is that on high resolution displays, you end up with a slightly
higher zoom setting and better looking characters. For 'non printing'
apps, fonts are generally adjustable too. Text editors have selectable
fonts, as does Windows itself for system displays. On a 15.4" WUXGA there
are very rarely text displays that remain too small to read, but it's
very uncommon.

The other side of the coin is that if you really do need to put lots of
content on the screen, you can zoom out and shrink fonts beyond what you
could do with a lower resolution display. IMHO, the higher resolution
display is a relatively inexpensive upgrade, has only a few downsides, and
a lot of upside. The software support isn't perfect, but it's certainly
not bad.

-Mike
--
http://www.mschaef.com