Inspiron 6400, ATI 256MB Mobility X1400 Hyper?

[British_Command]

Right, im thinking of getting an DELL Inspiron 6400, i think it may be a decent laptop for gaming but the only graphics cards i can seem to add to the Laptop during the DELL custmisation is a 128MB X1400, 256MB X1400, or a Nvidia 7900 soomething which is like £300 !, my budget of a laptop is a maximum of £850, so i cannot afford this graphics card although it may be awesome.

So i will make due with the 256MB ATI Mobility X1400 Hyper, but i want to know if this graphics card is any good for 'FPS' games like Counter strike Source and/or Battlefield 2, or any other games that may be high spec like DOOM 3 which i heard needed a benchmark of 200 +, this 256MB X1400 has 276 so i dont know if that is any good for DOOM 3. While top spec graphics cards are getting 1000+

I want to know if it is possible to still buy a graphics card after using this X1400 graphics card, I dont know if its soldered or not. I was going to buy the Inspirion 9400 because apparently its more advanced but i cant seem to afford it and if i buy the Insprion 6400 i get a better processor and memory amount etc.

But i just want to know the capabilities of this graphics card : ATI Mobility X1400 Hyper 256MB

What sort of detail will it be able to play certain games in : 'Low', 'Medium' or 'High'

And if its possible to buy a better graphics card, which one would you recommend between £0 - £150.

Thanks for any help,
Very much appreciated,
MrP

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

That graphics card will be able to play most games on medium-low settings just fine. I wouldn't recommend it though, since it's a HyperMemory one, so it steals system RAM to use as video memory. As for a laptop graphics card, u need to choose from the choices given, since laptop graphics chips are specially made for laptops and are not available in stores like BestBuy etc. I guess you'll have to save up a bit more but know this: Dell's site says u do not need to start paying ur installments until Feb '07 or something, which gives u about 3 months to earn some dough and with Christmas and New Year season around the corner, who knows, it might just be your lucky day. All in all, the X1400 is a good graphics card but as far as gaming goes, it's a very poor performer.

For a great, inexpensive gaming notebook, check out the Zatoichi notebook on www.killernotebooks.com. With a 60GB 7200RPM HDD downgrade and shipping, it comes out to be $1650 which is approximately 900 pounds. It will beat the crap out of the Inspiron 6400 without even breaking a sweat. Cheaper than the Dell and more powerful too. Give it a thought.

 

[British_Command]

If it were for me..

If i was the one with the money i would buy it from that site heck i would by it anywhere else ther than DELL, although i have had good experience with them.

Unfortunately its my parents buying me a laptop, and they want it from DELL as they have purchased 2 laptops last week from there and are offering me one now because of GCSE's in ICT.

My parents thought i shouldnt be getting a laptop for games, but i want to get a decent laptop with a decent graphics card.

If i had the money i would buy it myself from that website and have it shipped, but i dnt know how much my parents are willing to spend on a laptop, i think they will go as far as £850 MAX, which is like $1600.

Although i offered to put £100 - 150 towards the amount they are willing to spend then i would have £900 - 1,000 for a laptop. I would be able to afford the Nvidia 7900 graphics card, but they rejected it and asked why i would need t pput extra money towards it lol.

Anyways thanks for the help!

 

[adrondube]

Dell 6400 with x1400

I just purchased the Dell 6400 with the x1400 video card and I'm very pleased. Of course, I knew buying it that I wasn't getting a top-of-the-line video solution, but then again, I didn't want to pay for that premium. Compared to what Best Buy sells, this thing is out of their league for price versus performance. What, Best Buy may have ONE 17" HP with a dedicated video card, everything else is SUCKY integrated. My last desktop video card was a BFG 6800 OC, and so far I've been please with the performance of the x1400. It's no beast, but it will play the games I like at high levels. I'm no die-hard gamer...that's what I have a PSP for, but I love playing RCT3, Tiger Woods, and some of the Star Wars titles. This card pushes those at the highest settings with none of the heat associated with a huge energy-consuming monster. It's technology. Explain to me why the PSP produces no heat, yet produces near PS2 performance? Technology. I think it's amazing that the x1400 produces the results it does from so little heat production/power.

I chose to go with the 1680x1050 resolution on this 15.4"...thought as I was waiting on it that I had screwed up, that the fonts would be microscopic. But to my surprise, it's PERFECT. I can surf the web and watch a DVD on the same screen. Really sweet. The extra 100 bucks was worth it. The 6400 gets a 9/10 in my book. I went for the Duo Core 1.73, 80 Gig 5400 HD, 1 gig dual channel, Centrino, 9-cell, and the large monitor, and couldn't be happier. Hey, the 9400 costs 1400 AFTER 400 bucks of instant savings to get the 9700GS. Too rich for my blood. I paid like 868? or so, 926 I think after taxes...and free shipping. It was a no-brainer compared to HP online, and NO MAIL IN REBATES. I had nearly 300 bucks of instant savings, and a free upgrade to the 9-cell battery. The HP's are slightly nicer looking, but the Dell is not far behind.

Vista is awesome. So far, I really like it and everything I've installed has worked (Macromedia MX included). Plus, with the 9400, it's HUGE and well eat batteries for breakfast. I get anywhere between 3-5 hours based on what I'm doing (wifi, gaming, etc.). This thing barely fits in my large leather shoulder bag (just ordered a leather Dell one off Ebay for like 20 bucks including shipping that's made for it). Don't forget to get the 1680x1050 (unless your have old eyes, I'm 34 and it's fine...I guess having the PSP and getting use to that helped). So, the conclusion is x1400 is really a solid solution if you don't play up-to-the-second games at pimped out settings. I play RCT3 at 1280 by 768 at the highest settings and it's fine...or course ANY huge park on RCT will slow just about any PC down...so building a park and playing small-medium sized ones, the x1400 is fine. I also was brave...lol, and unistalled the older ATI drivers that came with the laptop and installed the newer ones from ATI's site. Had to install Microsoft.net 1.1 to install the new ATI Catalyst and drivers, but it worked fine...didn't even have to go into safe mode. Did I mention how nice 1680x1050 is? . It's like a whole new open world of icons and space and options you can't experience with 1280x800 or even 1400's. Actually, I had to check the resolution to make sure it was maxed out when Vista loaded.

I do want to mention this...you will have to buy more memory pretty soon. Vista eats memory, as does the x1400, which is actually using a total of almost 400MB...128 from it's own, the rest from system. My Ram is constantly between 50-70 used...lol, and that's a gig. 2 gig is next. Then, when the 1-year warranty is up, I'll buy a cheaper-by-then Core 2 Duo (backwards compatible for this chipset, thanks Intel ), a faster and larger HD, and maybe see if there's another video card option available then that will fit inside...7800? x1600?

Hope this is of some help. If you're considering a 6400, by all means, order it asap (granted, it's not a feather-weight, but it's a good size that's a LOT more portable than the 9400...NOT nearly as super small as some other PC's out there, BUT, you get a whole lot of performance ;D)

-Adron

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Very informative post but the thread is over 4 months old.

 

[adrondube]

well...

maybe when someone googles dell 6400, they'll come across this thread and be informed. i don't care about the dates.

-a

 

[sweetpete220]

actually, i was looking to buy a 1505 from dell and this information has been very helpful, so i appreciate all your input

 

[GeekieNick101]

I also just got an E1505 and I agree with adrondube, This system is pretty past but yeah Vista eats up RAM like crazy but it looks cool, also the laptop casing itself looks really nice since its silver with white trim, I was sick of having a black laptop. Also the battery has a button on it that has five Led's to tell you how much power is in it.

Also Dell's media direct is very neat as well, I dont use it though when the system off, but I like it because you dont have to go into the system to change the sound, all you do is press a button. This is a very nice system, yes It is sorta larger but its style makes up for it and it isnt that heavy. Also the touchpad is very large and so are the clicker buttons compared to most laptops.

I hope my input helped.

 

[TCool]

I have the Geforce 7900 in my Inspiron 9400 and I definately think it was worth the extra money. I'm no expert on graphics and all, but I think I get some pretty good graphics with this thing.

 

[devil slime]

hey nice thread, well this my first post here and prob my last i just registered to say that this quiet an ausome thread, i found it on google cause im goin in for a inspiron 6400 with the x1400 and just though of doin some research so......

thanks for the help