Plz, a moment of silence for my laptop - obituary

01/07/2008 09:31:33 AM · #1

Dell Inspiron 8500. It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Dell Inspiron 8500, "Slipmobile", suddenly on Friday, January 4, 2008, after a short battle, a complete videocardeurism took Slipmobile from us, to laptop heaven. Born August, 2003, beloved laptop of Slippy, editor of all of Slippy's DPChallenge entries.

Slipmobile had a 15.4" screen, a 64MB NVidia graphics card, a 2.2GHz P-IV cpu, a 30GB hard drive, and 1GB RAM. He worked hard, and he played hard.

The funeral service has already been held by the eldest daughter of Slippy, who now wants to bury it in the garden with the screen sticking out of the ground as a tombstone. But Slippy is trying to think of a different tribute. Perhaps an art project. (any ideas?)

Though there is really no way to replace Slipmobile, a successor has been ordered. A Dell XPS M1710, with Windows XP Home, a 17" Screen. 512MB NVidia graphics card, 2GHz Core-2-Duo cpu, a 120GB 7200rpm hd, and 4GB RAM.

Thank you for your sympathies.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

01/07/2008 09:34:32 AM · #2

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

a successor has been ordered. A Dell XPS M1710, with Windows XP Home, a 17" Screen. 512MB NVidia graphics card, 2GHz Core-2-Duo cpu, a 120GB 7200rpm hd, and 4GB RAM.

Thank you for your sympathies.

Sorry - i find it hard to be sympathetic after reading that ;)

Apple iPhone 5

01/07/2008 09:34:54 AM · #3

My sincerest sympathies Slippy. We're all here for you in your hour of need.

I'd suggest a cremation (videoed of course) as a fitting tribute.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

01/07/2008 09:40:54 AM · #4

One thing you could do is something akin to this:

Link

bennettjamie

Canon EOS-6D

01/07/2008 09:50:25 AM · #5

Originally posted by inshaala:

One thing you could do is something akin to this:

Link

That video was funny, I need to try something like that for when I need a new camera!!!

Bugzeye

Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital

01/07/2008 09:52:59 AM · #6

I personally think explosions are a very nice tribute. Fire works nice also.

Wenders11

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

01/07/2008 10:00:27 AM · #7

You have my deepest sympathies. My laptop just had a moment of silence in honor of your loved ones passing.

01/07/2008 11:10:57 AM · #8

Originally posted by Bugzeye:

I personally think explosions are a very nice tribute. Fire works nice also.

Hmmmmm, BBQ. The wife would hate that, but the kids would get a kick out of it (me too).

Message edited by author 2008-01-07 11:11:14.

01/07/2008 11:16:34 AM · #9

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Originally posted by Bugzeye:
I personally think explosions are a very nice tribute. Fire works nice also.

Hmmmmm, BBQ. The wife would hate that, but the kids would get a kick out of it (me too).

Hrm - just be warned that there is plastic in a laptop and thus toxic fumes when you burn it, plus you may need to buy a new grill as it will get stuck... Should have taken a motion capture of it falling from a window and smashing on the street below and entered it into the challenge ;)

01/07/2008 11:37:35 AM · #10

Originally posted by inshaala:

... Should have taken a motion capture of it falling from a window and smashing on the street below and entered it into the challenge ;)

LOL, that would be good, but I'd have nowhere to edit the photos anyway, without my laptop. :-(

icu1965

Sony DSLR-A200

Sony 75-300 mm f/4.5-5.6

01/07/2008 11:39:34 AM · #11

Originally posted by inshaala:

[quote=Strikeslip]a successor has been ordered. A Dell XPS M1710, with Windows XP Home, a 17" Screen. 512MB NVidia graphics card, 2GHz Core-2-Duo cpu, a 120GB 7200rpm hd, and 4GB RAM.

Thank you for your sympathies.

You were smart to go with the XP, don't know about the home version, but I bet it beats the hell out of Vista!

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

01/07/2008 11:39:52 AM · #12

Oh, I have a question for the Gaming Geeks of DPC. How well do you think the new laptop will be able to run current games?

I figured with lots of RAM and a good GPU, the CPU wouldn't matter so much?

Anybody here have one of these XPS M1710s?

idnic

Canon EOS-60D

01/07/2008 11:43:25 AM · #13

Take it to a river or stream!!!! ;D

Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical MF - Black

01/07/2008 11:51:55 AM · #14

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Depends what type of game and how much you boost up the image quality... i think you would definitely be ok with most games. The 4gb ram will help in large scale strategy games (CivIV etc) and the graphics cards should render some nice graphics on the FPS which tend to be the main graphics hogs. I ran games on my old laptop (which incidentally died last month after 5 and bit years of continued service - only the screen, but i dont want to pay for repair as the machine itself is worth about Â£50 now) without too much problem in it's early days and it was a 1.4GHz 128Meg Graphics with 512MB Ram. BTW - i just visited the Dell website and the model you ordered is touted as being "Mobile Gaming Supremacy" so you should be ok... and now you see why there was no sympathy from me... your new laptop is better than my desktop, minus the fact mine is a 2.8GHz... small consolation for me i suppose.

Message edited by author 2008-01-07 11:52:22.

scarbrd

Leica M10

01/07/2008 11:57:42 AM · #15

Originally posted by inshaala:

Originally posted by Strikeslip:
a successor has been ordered. A Dell XPS M1710, with Windows XP Home, a 17" Screen. 512MB NVidia graphics card, 2GHz Core-2-Duo cpu, a 120GB 7200rpm hd, and 4GB RAM.

Thank you for your sympathies.

Sorry - i find it hard to be sympathetic after reading that ;)

Me too, you could have used this opportunity to get a real computer, a MacBook. Too bad XP can only access 3 GB RAM, that extra GB will get lonely.

01/07/2008 11:58:06 AM · #16

Originally posted by inshaala:

Originally posted by Strikeslip:
Oh, I have a question for the Gaming Geeks of DPC. How well do you think the new laptop will be able to run current games?

I figured with lots of RAM and a good GPU, the CPU wouldn't matter so much?

Anybody here have one of these XPS M1710s?

Depends what type of game and how much you boost up the image quality... i think you would definitely be ok with most games. The 4gb ram will help in large scale strategy games (CivIV etc) and the graphics cards should render some nice graphics on the FPS which tend to be the main graphics hogs. I ran games on my old laptop (which incidentally died last month after 5 and bit years of continued service - only the screen, but i dont want to pay for repair as the machine itself is worth about Â£50 now) without too much problem in it's early days and it was a 1.4GHz 128Meg Graphics with 512MB Ram. BTW - i just visited the Dell website and the model you ordered is touted as being "Mobile Gaming Supremacy" so you should be ok... and now you see why there was no sympathy from me... your new laptop is better than my desktop, minus the fact mine is a 2.8GHz... small consolation for me i suppose.

Thanks! My old gaming fav was Quake3Arena. It's been many years since I played it. I love first-person shooters where I can play on the internet against real people. I remember tweaking it for FPS.

Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical MF - Black

01/07/2008 11:59:26 AM · #17

Originally posted by scarbrd:

Originally posted by inshaala:

Originally posted by Strikeslip:
a successor has been ordered. A Dell XPS M1710, with Windows XP Home, a 17" Screen. 512MB NVidia graphics card, 2GHz Core-2-Duo cpu, a 120GB 7200rpm hd, and 4GB RAM.

Thank you for your sympathies.

Sorry - i find it hard to be sympathetic after reading that ;)

Me too, you could have used this opportunity to get a real computer, a MacBook. Too bad XP can only access 3 GB RAM, that extra GB will get lonely.

WTF!?!? I didn't think XP had a RAM limit! Assmasters! There has GOT to be a fix!?!?!?

According to this old (2004) Microsoft kb article, the 32 bit version of XP Pro has a limit of 4GB. I assume this extends to the Home version, as it is in the "this applies to" in the list at the end of the article. Is WinXP being handed out these days as 64 bit, or was I dreaming that?

Message edited by author 2008-01-07 12:09:42.

scarbrd

Leica M10

01/07/2008 12:12:55 PM · #18

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Originally posted by scarbrd:

Originally posted by inshaala:

Originally posted by Strikeslip:
a successor has been ordered. A Dell XPS M1710, with Windows XP Home, a 17" Screen. 512MB NVidia graphics card, 2GHz Core-2-Duo cpu, a 120GB 7200rpm hd, and 4GB RAM.

Thank you for your sympathies.

Sorry - i find it hard to be sympathetic after reading that ;)

Me too, you could have used this opportunity to get a real computer, a MacBook. Too bad XP can only access 3 GB RAM, that extra GB will get lonely.

WTF!?!? I didn't think XP had a RAM limit! Assmasters! There has GOT to be a fix!?!?!?

According to this old (2004) Microsoft kb article, the 32 bit version of XP Pro has a limit of 4GB. I assume this extends to the Home version, as it is in the "this applies to" in the list at the end of the article. Is WinXP being handed out these days as 64 bit, or was I dreaming that?

When you get the computer check out the properties screen, you'll see something like 3.x GB RAM. At least that how it is one every XP Pro Dell laptop here at work.

fotomann_forever

01/07/2008 12:14:36 PM · #19

Keep it as a prop :-D

01/07/2008 12:19:28 PM · #20

Originally posted by scarbrd:

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Originally posted by scarbrd:

Originally posted by inshaala:

Originally posted by Strikeslip:
a successor has been ordered. A Dell XPS M1710, with Windows XP Home, a 17" Screen. 512MB NVidia graphics card, 2GHz Core-2-Duo cpu, a 120GB 7200rpm hd, and 4GB RAM.

Thank you for your sympathies.

Sorry - i find it hard to be sympathetic after reading that ;)

Me too, you could have used this opportunity to get a real computer, a MacBook. Too bad XP can only access 3 GB RAM, that extra GB will get lonely.

WTF!?!? I didn't think XP had a RAM limit! Assmasters! There has GOT to be a fix!?!?!?

According to this old (2004) Microsoft kb article, the 32 bit version of XP Pro has a limit of 4GB. I assume this extends to the Home version, as it is in the "this applies to" in the list at the end of the article. Is WinXP being handed out these days as 64 bit, or was I dreaming that?

When you get the computer check out the properties screen, you'll see something like 3.x GB RAM. At least that how it is one every XP Pro Dell laptop here at work.

Hmmm, dang! I'll check out the properties screen when it arrives and give Dell a call if it doesn't look like it's using all of the memory. If that's the case, there should be a warning about it in the Dell config screens on their website.

Good idea Leroy :-D into the sand with it!

Message edited by author 2008-01-07 12:44:36.

01/07/2008 12:49:44 PM · #21

Urm - XP systems have a max of 4GB - whether you have that or not is besides the point. I have heard that individual programs are allocated a maximum of 2Gig anyway, so the problem is not having your max 4gig useable it is just that one program will only be able to use 2gigs and what is 1.7gigs of free ram doing except for maintaining other things in the background ;)

fotomann_forever

01/07/2008 01:19:04 PM · #22

So, Slippy can dedicate 2GB to image processing in PS and the rest can be used for harassing DPCers?

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

01/07/2008 01:26:59 PM · #23

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

So, Slippy can dedicate 2GB to image processing in PS and the rest can be used for harassing DPCers?

That or trying to multitask playing a game at the same time ;)

It was my deciding factor when i recently upgraded my RAM - it was either get 2gigs of high grade ram or 4 gigs of low grade, so i decided that better get the faster stuff and just run PS and WindowsMediaPlayer and i should be better off than having the 4gigs anyway...

SamDoe1

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

01/07/2008 08:40:53 PM · #24

There is a switch in the XP boot.ini file where you can allocate 3Gb per application. And as far as the gaming thing goes, I run battlefield 2 on my laptop at fairly high res and it works great. 1.86GHz C2D, 256mb ATi Fire GL T2 graphics, 2Gb RAM.