2 posts shown.
I need some help here...
How do I completely wipe this OS (Win7) and roll my laptop back to MS-DOS? I want that black screen with just one line saying something like "Please insert bootable device and press any key..." If I don't, the guy I bought it from won't let me return it because of these missing specs.
(Dell G15 SSD+HDD (Y0a58EA))
Hey everyone.
Just looking for some input from people who actually know their stuff. I'm torn between these two laptops—on paper, the hardware is basically identical. Long story short: which one would you pick and why? Is it a build quality thing, or am I going to deal with overheating issues? I'll mostly be using it for 3D modeling and some gaming on the side.
Alienware m17. Just another machine in the pile.
The processor. Just the chip. Nothing more, nothing less.
Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ. Just another chip in the machine. It'll get the job done, I guess.
Tech stuff. Always moving, always breaking. Just more noise in the machine.
Intel Skylake chipset Mobile Intel HM170 express Chipsets. Just more silicon to burn through.
The chipset. Just more silicon and traces on a board. Not much to say there.
Intel Skylake chipset Intel HM170. Just another piece of silicon in the machine.
System memory. Just more hardware to fail eventually.
Just one stick of 16GB DDR4. Typical.
Two SO-DIMM slots. Just enough.
The hard drive. Always where things fall apart. Just waiting for that inevitable click of death.
Just another PCIEx4 128G M.2 SSD. Another piece of hardware to deal with.
Just a standard 1TB SATA hard drive. 5400RPM. Honestly, it’s ancient tech, but I guess it gets the job done if you just need a place to dump files. It’s slow, but hey, nothing is truly fast anymore.
Optical drive.
Standard SATA setup. It’s an 8.9mm 8X SuperMulti drive with double layer support. Just what I needed for my old tech pile.
The monitor. Just staring at it. Another day, another screen.
17.3" LED backlit screen. 300 nits brightness. Full HD 1920x1080 at a 16:9 ratio. Anti-glare coating. NTSC 72%. WVFILM gives you about a 140-degree viewing angle. Just another screen.
Graphics.
The Nvidia ® GeForce ® GTX 960 m 4 GB GDDR5. It’s fine. Not groundbreaking, just enough to get by when you aren't dreaming of high-end rigs. I remember my old desktop struggling with half these specs; this actually feels decent for the era.
The audio? Honestly, it’s just okay. It’s got that Dolby Audio setup, nothing groundbreaking. Just enough to get by.
Dolby Audio. That's what it says on the box.
Speakers. Just more hardware to eventually fail.
Built-in speakers. Just what I needed.
Built-in microphone. Just another component.
Built-in microphone. Just what I need for more endless Zoom calls.
The connection. Typical.
10/100/1000 Mbps network
Wireless connection. Still acting up.
It’s got 802.11ac plus Bluetooth 4.0 (Dual band) and Intel WIDI. Standard stuff.
The I/O ports. Just looking at them.
Just one microphone-in jack. That's it. Just one.
Just one headphone-out jack. That's it. Typical.
It's got one USB 3.1 Type-C port. Just one. Typical.
Just one USB 3.0 port available. Honestly, in this day and age? It’s a joke. I remember when having a single port felt like enough, but now? Good luck finding enough space for a mouse and a thumb drive at the same time. Typical.
Just two USB 2.0 ports. Honestly, it’s a joke. I remember back when this was enough, but now? You can barely plug in a mouse and a thumb drive before you're out of luck. Typical.
Just one RJ45 LAN port for your wired connection. That's it.
Just one HDMI port. Typical.
Just one mini DisplayPort. That's it. One.
Whatever.
The built-in HP Wide Vision HD Camera with dual speakers dual microphone setup works fine. It gets the job done.
The SD/MMC card reader. Just another thing to check before you realize it's missing.
Illuminated Chiclet Keyboard. It’s there if you need it. Dark rooms, late nights... you know how it goes.
Battery life. Always the same old story.
It's a 48 WHr battery. A 4-cell Li-ion pack. Nothing special. Just another thing that eventually dies.
Battery life. Always the same question.
Up to autonomy... just how long that battery actually lasts.
The 41.5 dimension. That's it.
It's got a 41.5 dimension. A bit chunky, honestly. Just one more thing to lug around.
Weight. Just how heavy is this thing?
It weighs about 6.6 pounds, assuming you've got the 4-cell battery tucked inside. Heavy enough to feel it in your shoulder after a long day.
Color. Just color.
Just another day, another black plastic chassis. Nothing special here.
The operating system. Just another layer of code between me and actual productivity.
Just comes with FreeDOS. No OS out of the box. Typical.
Which OS should I run?
Windows 10 64-bit software. Just another day in the machine.
Software. Just more digital clutter to deal with. Always feels like I'm spending half my life just managing updates instead of actually doing anything useful. Typical.
ASUS Utility software. Just another layer of bloat on the system.
Peripherals. Need stuff for this thing.
Warranty. It’s always about the fine print.
The service center covers you for 24 months—though the battery only gets a 12-month warranty. Typical.
Dell G15. Just another laptop in a sea of them.
The processor. Just the CPU.
Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ. 2.6 GHz, hits 3.5 GHz when you actually need it. 6 MB cache, 4 cores. It gets the job done, I guess.
Tech stuff. Always moving, always breaking. Just more noise.
Intel Skylake chipset Intel HM170. Just more silicon in the machine. Same old story.
The chipset. Just another piece of silicon under the hood.
Intel Skylake chipset Intel HM170. Just another chip on the board. Nothing special about it.
System memory. Just more hardware to worry about.
16 GB of DDR4-2133 SDRAM (2 x 8 GB). Just enough to get by, I guess.
Hard drive. Just more hardware to fail eventually.
Just a standard 1 TB 7200 rpm SATA drive. Nothing fancy, just enough space to store all my regrets and some old files.
A 128 GB M.2 SSD. Just enough space to feel the squeeze almost immediately. I remember my first drive back in the day—barely anything on it and it still felt like running out of air. You'll be deleting files faster than you can save them.
Optical drive. Just what everyone needs in 2024.
Still seeing those SuperMulti DVD drives around. Honestly, feels like a relic from a different era. Just one more thing to break, I guess.
The monitor. Still waiting on an update.
It’s a 17.3" FHD IPS display. Anti-glare, WLED-backlit, 1920 x 1080. Just another screen in a world full of them.
Graphics. That's it. Nothing more to say.
The Nvidia ® GeForce ® GTX 960 m 4 GB GDDR5. It’ll get the job done, I guess. Not exactly cutting edge anymore, but hey, it's better than nothing.
The sound quality on this thing? It’s okay, I guess. It uses Dolby Audio, which helps, but don't expect a concert hall experience. Just standard stuff.
B&O PLAY; HP audio boost; dual speakers. Just more buzzwords for the marketing department to throw at us.
Speakers. Just more hardware to deal with.
The audio setup on this thing is just okay. You get the B&O PLAY tech paired with HP audio boost and those dual speakers. It's fine for casual listening, I guess. Not exactly groundbreaking.
Built-in microphone. Just another thing to worry about.
Built-in dual microphone array. Just what I need for all those endless Zoom calls.
The network. Just one more thing to deal with.
Standard 10/100/1000 gigabit ethernet LAN. Just what you need when the Wi-Fi inevitably dies.
Wireless connection issues. Again.
Wireless connectivity. Bluetooth 4.0. Standard stuff.
The I/O ports. Just listing them out here.
Just one HDMI port. Typical. Always seems to be missing that one thing you actually need.
Just one headphone/microphone combo. That's it.
Just one USB 2.0 port. Honestly? Typical. I remember my old desktop back in Chicago had half as many, but still... you can't do much with just one.
Got two USB 3.0 ports. That's about it.
Just one RJ45 ethernet port. Typical.
Whatever.
It’s got an HP Wide Vision HD Camera with dual speakers dual microphone. Just another thing to deal with.
SD media card reader. Just another thing to lose or break, probably.
It's got a full-size, island-style Illuminated Chiclet Keyboard. Plus, the touchpad supports multi-touch gestures. Simple enough.
The battery. Always the battery.
It’s got a 6-cell battery, 62 Wh Li-ion. At least you can swap it out yourself when it inevitably dies.
Battery life. Always the big question.
Up to several hours of battery life. Not that anyone actually stays plugged in long enough for it to matter.
Dimensions. 41.5 dimension. Just the facts.
It’s about 41.5 dimension. Not exactly a featherweight, but I've carried heavier gear through airport security before.
Weight. Just how heavy is this thing?
Starts at 6.3 lbs. Heavy as hell.
Color. Just color.
Silver finish on the cover, charcoal wood around the keys. It’s got that Linear wood look with those digital thread patterns. Simple enough.
The operating system. Just another layer of code between me and actual productivity.
FreeDOS 2.0. Just another blank slate.
What OS should I run?
Windows 10 64-bit software. Just another day in the machine.
Software. Just more stuff to deal with.
If you grab one of the models that comes with Windows OS, they’ve already got the software pre-installed. Just an FYI.
Just an extra note.
Warranty. 12-month warranty. Typical.
Twelve months at an authorized service center. Just my luck.