dell notebook

myhamster · 10-01-2003, 08:44 PM

Hello all,
I just got a dell inspiron 8500 notebook. It's a 2.2 GHz P4 with 256 mb DDR ram. I've never had a computer that's over 1GHz, so I'm not sure, but I assumed that the notebook would run much faster than my 3 year old 800MHz P3 desktop. The notebook seems to run slower in some cases. Of course, I'm only double clicking on programs and see how long it takes them to come up. I'm aware of some things like if IE was open right before you open it again, it'll come up pretty quick, but aside from things like that, the general performance of the notebook is kinda dissapointing.

I was wondering if my expectations are just too high or maybe there's something wrong with my laptop? It works and everything, just kinda slow. It's running Windows XP Home edition, and my desktop is running windows2000. Maybe the home edition sucks?

Let me know what you think. Thanks

Eric

bachviet · 10-01-2003, 08:51 PM

Sometimes the laptop goes to *efficient mode* to reduce the battery usage. Another thing is that the laptop hard drive is running at lower RPM.

seqiro · 10-01-2003, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by myhamster
I was wondering if my expectations are just too high or maybe there's something wrong with my laptop? It works and everything, just kinda slow. It's running Windows XP Home edition, and my desktop is running windows2000. Maybe the home edition sucks?

Let me know what you think. Thanks

Eric

Possibly too high, but also the way you are comparing is flawed. You have to remember that the hard drive in your laptop is most likely slower than the one in your desktop (to keep the heat down) which is going to affect launch times of applications since they must be loaded from the hard drive.

Edit: Um, which is what bachviet said. Maybe I should READ replies.

Apex · 10-01-2003, 09:56 PM

Part of that is due to the amount of stuff loaded onto laptops by the manufacturer. Only a clean install can solve that. Part of that is due to the 256mb of memory.

d12agonxboi · 10-01-2003, 10:20 PM

also if the laptop is unplugged, its going to be running at a much lower mhz/ghz then it would normally run when its plugged in to save batter life.

another thing might be to change the monitor power setting to home/office when its plugged in, sometimes it runs at a lower clock speed as well when its plugged in due to setting it as laptop.

I had to change that on my 600m to get my max clock speed while plugged in.

A clean install like Apex said is a good idea.

eSDee · 10-02-2003, 02:06 AM

Put another 256 chip in it and you will notice a substantial difference. XP hogs a lot of resouces.

PCC · 10-02-2003, 07:06 PM

A laptop computer is not optimized to be a performance machine, it is optimized to be lightweight and compact first, then the performance is looked at. Think of it this way, it needs to be compact and lightweight above all else or else why would you carry it around? Laptop video cards are designed to be efficient and to produce as little heat as possible, for obvious reasons. Laptop hard drives are made with ruggedness in mind, first, with data transfer being secondary. This is because laptops are bumped around a lot more than your typical desktop computer and usually with the platters spinning.

Now look at your typical desktop system. It has no need to be compact nor lightweight so they can design the internal architecture of the system in such a way that it performs much better than a typical laptop with the same MHz speed. Video cards do not have anything restricting them, short of design and budget considerations and heat is not an issue since a heatsink and fan will fit easily into a case. Since the hard drives don't have to endure bumps and scrapes on the road, they can (and are) designed for speed and performance.

Another thing to consider is the operating system itself. You did not mention the OS on your P800. Assuming that you had Windows 98SE or (GULP!!!) Windows ME, Windows XP is a slouch in comparison. Admittedly, I have never used XP Home, but I am using XP Pro. I just upgraded my brother from a P3-700E with 128MB of RAM running Win98SE to a PowerEdge 400SC (thanks, Got|Apex!!!) running a 2.8GHz 400FSB P4, 256MB RAM, running Windows XP Pro and he says that it does not seem any faster than his old system.

myhamster · 10-04-2003, 08:00 PM

Thanks for helping everyone! It's so cool when people reply. Yeah, my desktop is running win2k, and my notebook is XP. I have not installed a RAM monitoring program to check out how much of the 256RAM XP is eating up, but I'll do that soon.

I've been using it pluged in, but that power options would be a good thing to change, make it home/office. Thanks for the great ideas!

Eric

glagic · 10-04-2003, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by d12agonxboi
also if the laptop is unplugged, its going to be running at a much lower mhz/ghz then it would normally run when its plugged in to save batter life.

another thing might be to change the monitor power setting to home/office when its plugged in, sometimes it runs at a lower clock speed as well when its plugged in due to setting it as laptop.

I had to change that on my 600m to get my max clock speed while plugged in.

A clean install like Apex said is a good idea.

how do you change it so that the 600m will run at max clock speed while plugged in? mine seems to run at about 700 or so when it's plugged in. i do recognize that itll sometimes go up to its full speed (1400mhz) but quite often it stays low.

d12agonxboi · 10-05-2003, 01:41 AM

go to display properties, screen saver, power and under power schemes click home/office desk, that'll make it not limited while plugged in, but this also changes how long til it goes to standby, etc. so change those options to what you'd like as well.

10-01-2003, 08:44 PM	#1
myhamster Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: MI Posts: 50	dell notebook Hello all, I just got a dell inspiron 8500 notebook. It's a 2.2 GHz P4 with 256 mb DDR ram. I've never had a computer that's over 1GHz, so I'm not sure, but I assumed that the notebook would run much faster than my 3 year old 800MHz P3 desktop. The notebook seems to run slower in some cases. Of course, I'm only double clicking on programs and see how long it takes them to come up. I'm aware of some things like if IE was open right before you open it again, it'll come up pretty quick, but aside from things like that, the general performance of the notebook is kinda dissapointing. I was wondering if my expectations are just too high or maybe there's something wrong with my laptop? It works and everything, just kinda slow. It's running Windows XP Home edition, and my desktop is running windows2000. Maybe the home edition sucks? Let me know what you think. Thanks Eric

10-02-2003, 02:06 AM	#6
eSDee Old Skooler Numba 1 Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Diego Posts: 10,063	Put another 256 chip in it and you will notice a substantial difference. XP hogs a lot of resouces. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 days ~ Willie Nelson 3 days I dread to see arrive 3 days I hate to be alive 3 days filled with tears and sorrow yesterday today and tomorrow

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10-01-2003, 08:51 PM	#2
bachviet What's Da Pho*? Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SoCal (714) Posts: 13,296	Sometimes the laptop goes to efficient mode to reduce the battery usage. Another thing is that the laptop hard drive is running at lower RPM.

10-01-2003, 09:56 PM	#4
Apex Can you hear me now? Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Here Posts: 5,506	Part of that is due to the amount of stuff loaded onto laptops by the manufacturer. Only a clean install can solve that. Part of that is due to the 256mb of memory.

10-01-2003, 10:20 PM	#5
d12agonxboi Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: N. Cal 916 Posts: 92	also if the laptop is unplugged, its going to be running at a much lower mhz/ghz then it would normally run when its plugged in to save batter life. another thing might be to change the monitor power setting to home/office when its plugged in, sometimes it runs at a lower clock speed as well when its plugged in due to setting it as laptop. I had to change that on my 600m to get my max clock speed while plugged in. A clean install like Apex said is a good idea.

10-02-2003, 07:06 PM	#7
PCC Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: SFBA, California Posts: 147	A laptop computer is not optimized to be a performance machine, it is optimized to be lightweight and compact first, then the performance is looked at. Think of it this way, it needs to be compact and lightweight above all else or else why would you carry it around? Laptop video cards are designed to be efficient and to produce as little heat as possible, for obvious reasons. Laptop hard drives are made with ruggedness in mind, first, with data transfer being secondary. This is because laptops are bumped around a lot more than your typical desktop computer and usually with the platters spinning. Now look at your typical desktop system. It has no need to be compact nor lightweight so they can design the internal architecture of the system in such a way that it performs much better than a typical laptop with the same MHz speed. Video cards do not have anything restricting them, short of design and budget considerations and heat is not an issue since a heatsink and fan will fit easily into a case. Since the hard drives don't have to endure bumps and scrapes on the road, they can (and are) designed for speed and performance. Another thing to consider is the operating system itself. You did not mention the OS on your P800. Assuming that you had Windows 98SE or (GULP!!!) Windows ME, Windows XP is a slouch in comparison. Admittedly, I have never used XP Home, but I am using XP Pro. I just upgraded my brother from a P3-700E with 128MB of RAM running Win98SE to a PowerEdge 400SC (thanks, Got\|Apex!!!) running a 2.8GHz 400FSB P4, 256MB RAM, running Windows XP Pro and he says that it does not seem any faster than his old system.

10-04-2003, 08:00 PM	#8
myhamster Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: MI Posts: 50	Thanks for helping everyone! It's so cool when people reply. Yeah, my desktop is running win2k, and my notebook is XP. I have not installed a RAM monitoring program to check out how much of the 256RAM XP is eating up, but I'll do that soon. I've been using it pluged in, but that power options would be a good thing to change, make it home/office. Thanks for the great ideas! Eric

10-05-2003, 01:41 AM	#10
d12agonxboi Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: N. Cal 916 Posts: 92	go to display properties, screen saver, power and under power schemes click home/office desk, that'll make it not limited while plugged in, but this also changes how long til it goes to standby, etc. so change those options to what you'd like as well.

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