Hi,
I am going to buy a laptop ,is Dell Inspiron any good ...

Two models are quite good for my needs Dell Inspiron 14R and Dell Inspiron 15R
what you guys think about it?

The two models differ in screen size and graphic cards ,the screen size doesn't matters much for me but the graphic card does,so I have two choices

1) NVIDIA GeForce GT730M 2GB VRAM
2) AMD Radoen HD 8730M 2GB VRAM

Both cards are almost similar,so I am confused what should I do...

Thanks

 

I recently got a DELL Inspiron 15z. I 'm quite content with it and its quality.

I don't have any experience with the 15r or 14r models.

 

Hello,

It depends on what operating system you want to use.
Nvidia is better supported in linux using the (open source) nouveau drivers.
http://nouveau.freedesktop.org/wiki/

Bertus

 

Thanks for the reply

For OS I like Windows XP but Dell Inspiron 14R and Dell Inspiron 15R comes with Windows 8 anyway I will change it...

 

Hello,

You might want to know that windows XP will not be supported after april 2014:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/end-support-help
That windows version will become the most dangerous version around.

Bertus

 

Unless you have compatibility issues with Win8, I would suggest you give them a chance if you feel like reading for a couple of days. I 'm not put off by the experience so far.

 

I knew that one ,I will use Windows 7 ... and off course for Windows 8 I will give it a try...

But still my main issue is about the graphic card which to use...

I think NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M score 2 points as its a bit better than AMD Radoen HD 8730M in performance and also it have drivers for linux which are better than ADM's drivers.

But I see AMD Radoen HD 8730M support full DirectX 11.1 in case of NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M it only support some features of DirectX 11.1,that's what making me thinking ,as for 3D development its better to have full DirectX 11.1,but again NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M have PhysX which is an another area I would like to explorer...

Any suggestions ....

 

that nvidia is generations old, if you plan on playing any recent games i will at least look for a 570M or better.

the ati one is even worse.

so my suggestion is to spend more and get a better gpu.

 

@toffee_pie
So what you suggest... any name for the better GPU ?
For 3D game programming Nvidia is good as far my knowledge.

Nvidia 730M doesn't support four non gaming DirectX 11.1 features ,two of them are for 2D which I don't need in my 3D programming and other two seems to be not very useful for my 3D work.The plus point of nvidia is I get features like Optimus, PhysX, CUDA, 3D Vision, FXAA, TXAA, OpenCL, Direct Compute,and much more which could be explored in 3D programming...so I will go for Nvidia

BTW GTX 570 is good but not in my bugget...

Thanks

 

FWIW, I would _not_ give windoze 8 a try. Unless you have a touchscreen, stay away. It is AWFUL, really, and I haven't heard one word spoken in favour of it. It think's it's on a smart phone. Everything that makes m$ software productive or useful is incorrigibly knackered. And worst of all, they insist on manufacturers using a bios implementation of UEFI designed to frustrate dual boot installs.

To even switch the %@£&! thing off, you grab the right hand corner with your mouse, and a panel lazily appears in the window. Then it's
Settings / Power / Shutdown / Confirm or some such nonsense

 

If you're doing 3D game programming you're going to want something better than the laptops you have listed. That Dell is a slightly upgraded, mass produced, run of the mill laptop. Check out some of the laptops around $1000 with 570M, 660M.

Is a desktop computer not an option? You could get a much better PC if you build it yourself.. and if you're getting into programming then it would be beneficial both financially and educationally.

 

aye, forget 3d gaming if you cant get a 570M, even that is pretty much ageing now.

a desktop might be the best within your budget as mentioned.?

 

for feature i prefer nvidia,
win 8 its not that bad,firts i hate it,have dificult to operate and navigate,but after download driver and utility for touchpad and enable all feature and gesture, win 8 its fun.even without start button.operate without external mouse or touch screen is quick,just touchpad!
dualboot it works on my acer 4736,i just shrink drive c and instal(custom) win 8 on partition created after shrink drive c,
plus its faster to shutdown and to boot,even with alot auto start up program enabled,give it try and decide what suite u.