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cpu: Intel Pentium-M 750 1.86Ghz w/ 2MB L2 cache



gpu: GeForce Go 6800 256MB (PCI Express x16 12x1 pixel pipelines 5x1 vertex units 300mhz core/600mhz effective memory)



spu: SigmaTel C-Major Audio



hd: 80GB Seagate Momentus 5400.2 (5400rpm w/ 8MB cache)



ram: 2x512MB Micron DDR2 PC4300 4-4-4-12 in Dual Channel



display: WXGA+ UltraSharp 1440x900 Native Resolution; mfgr: lpl0000 (?)





needless to say i was very happy to find out my 80GB 5400rpm drive wasn't 2MB cache but 8MB cache:

http://frozenarctic.com/erek/hdtach.JPG

...not bad at all in my opinion for a laptop drive.



the video card was also a shiny gem.. even clocked at a very conservative stock frequencies of 300/600 the video card achieves 75FPS in Doom 3 High Quality 1024x768 with the shipped .cfg.



in 3DMark 2005 (latest build) the card churned in an impressive 4252 3DMarks (http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=1086396) @ 365core/700mem. VERY impressive.



i formatted the system with Windows XP Professional Corporate Edition (didn't have service packs integrated). I installed SP2 manually and used the drivers provided by Dell on their website specific to my laptop. it ran a million times better with this fresh installation.. to say the very least.

the laptop/hardware for the price was beyond expectations. highly recommended.





NOTE: using 125% dpi vs 100% causes quite a bit of image distortion although it's more challenging to read 100% dpi @ 1440x900 there is no distortion. also it seems that i have to use the fastest setting mouse pointer along with disabling the tapping feature of my touchpad.

Nice 3dmark score. Especially given the slightly lower clock and memory frequencies of the GPU. How was visual quality on the laptop screen? Any ghosting at all?

hehe that brings up a funny situation... when i was playing GTA: San Andreas.. using the hotring banger on the highway with ghosttown on i got worried about my LCDs response time because of the blurring.. turns out it's a part of the game..phew :) i've yet to experience any ghosting, blurring or such artifacts from my LCD. only problems i had were with using 125% DPI fonts causing images to look like absolute shit. normal 100% DPI everything looks perfect.

i think my native resolution of 1440x900 @ 96 DPI is about the maximum i could tolerate for reading text. so WUXGA+ having a higher native resolution and all must be BRUTAL to read text on.. i'm glad i didn't upgrade to it. not to mention the distortions you get for not running at native and the performance hit you get for running at native.. i think WUXGA+ resolutions would not allow me to enjoy GTA:SA as well as my WXGA+ using widescreen and all... i just think there would be a big performance hit...