For programmers, what laptop, Dell latitude or Dell inspiron? [closed]

For programmers, what laptop, Dell latitude or Dell inspiron? [closed]

"First of all, I'm not sure if I can ask such a question here, so if you felt like this question doesn't fit in the superuser.com suite, then vote to close it, please!

Ok. In short I want to buy a new laptop and I see that both Dell Latitude e5500 (2.0/2m GHZ core 2 duo processor, 2GB ram up to 4GB, 250 GB HD, 15.6 inch WS, etc) and Dell Inspiron (2.2/2m GHz core 2 duo processor, 2 GB ram up to 4GB, 250 GB HD, 15.6 inch WS, webcam,etc)
is pretty suitable to my needs. Everyone I know recommends the latitude over the inspiron series as the latitude is more geared for business and therefore it's faster than Inspiron. I really don't understand how the latitude can be faster, I mean look at the technical specs. The inspiron processor is even faster (2.2 GHZ vs 2.0 GHZ). The inspiron is (~100 $) cheaper than the latitude and its technical specs is the same (or better) as the latitude!
which one should I go for?"

Asked by: Guest | Views: 349

Total answers/comments: 2

Comments display order:

Guest [Entry]

"Personally, I would go for whatever is cheapest with the fastest CPU and newest chipset, then go for the slowest hard drive and smallest memory.

Buy yourself a couple of sticks of 2GB or 4GB sodimm and either a SSD or 7200RPM drive and upgrade your laptop yourself.

This shouldn't void your warranty as long as you do not do damage as you replace parts."

Guest [Entry]

At the risk of confusing matters and introducing a third choice; Personally, I prefer to use a HP Pavilion HDX, as I find the build quality on my Dell Latitude "less than brilliant". I've also consistently struggled with WiFi reception on Dell machines in the past. The HP is available as a quad-core which would come in very handy for virtualisation, especially as it is also available with two internal hard disks.