Laptop Suggestions

[ODogg]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

I ordered a Dell XPS 1530 on May 22nd and it's due to ship June 9th just to give you an idea of the time frame involved.

Here are my specs (I went with the Midnight Blue design)

-XPS M1530, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.0GHz/800MHzFSB, 3M L2 Cache)
-Midnight Blue Casing With Microsatin Finish XPS M1530
-4GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
-High Resolution 15.4 inch LCD(1440x900) & 2MP Camera
-256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
-250G 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
-Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
-High Definition Audio 2.0
-Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
-6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for XPS M1530
-Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
-McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 24-months
-Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.1
-Lord of the Rings Online Game
-Roxio Creator DE 10
-3Yr In-Home Service, Parts Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
-Add Accidental Damage and LoJack Theft Protection to 3Yr Warranty

$1320

[Beantown]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

Yeah, the prelim ship date for mine, right now, is the 11th, so we'll see when it actually gets shipped. I'm just hoping my current one doesn't break before it gets here.


For those that are computer knowledgable - what do you think of the specs a post or two above this one? I really have no idea what any of it means, truthfully, so I figured I'd get some input on whether or not that looks like a "good" computer.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

I'd say bump the DDR to 4GB since memory is so cheap.

This is the jist of what I bought about a month ago for a little under 1k:

Dell Inspiron 1520 w/ Intel Core Duo @ 2.0GHz/667 2 cache, XP OS
4GB DDR
320GB HDD
15.4 HD W/S
Intel Media Graphics Accelerator X3100
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
Default battery, I believe its 56whr

[ODogg]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

Yeah, the prelim ship date for mine, right now, is the 11th, so we'll see when it actually gets shipped. I'm just hoping my current one doesn't break before it gets here.


For those that are computer knowledgable - what do you think of the specs a post or two above this one? I really have no idea what any of it means, truthfully, so I figured I'd get some input on whether or not that looks like a "good" computer.

As a former computer salesman and technician I can tell you that your specs look great IMO. I mean hell look at mine, nearly identical. I got 4gig RAM only because that was the default for the Memorial Day special. You will be able to play games without any problem at all. Does your setup show that your getting Lord of the Rings online when you go to Dell.com and look at your order? Mine didn't say anything about it when I placed the order but it has it on my shipping setup now.

[Beantown]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

I'd say bump the DDR to 4GB since memory is so cheap.

Yeah, that's the one thing I wanted to do, but I was given an $1800 budget by my mom and I think everything I got (when adding in the warranty, Microsoft Office Student Edition, etc) came to a total of 1,726. Tax put it at about 1,810, so I barely made it under that, haha.

I wish I had known about the Memorial Day deal, though. I would've ordered it then and probably could've gotten the same exact thing for a couple hundred bucks cheaper.

[ODogg]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

Yeah, that's the one thing I wanted to do, but I was given an $1800 budget by my mom and I think everything I got (when adding in the warranty, Microsoft Office Student Edition, etc) came to a total of 1,726. Tax put it at about 1,810, so I barely made it under that, haha.

I wish I had known about the Memorial Day deal, though. I would've ordered it then and probably could've gotten the same exact thing for a couple hundred bucks cheaper.

When did you order yours? I ordered mine on that weekend and according to Dell's site I got $550 off the laptop. I also used their EPP website because my company gets a discount through Dell and saved another $250-300 (and by doing that it also gave me the 3 year warranty stuff at no extra charge).

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

You can get MS Office about 30 bucks cheaper off Amazon.

[ODogg]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

You can get MS Office about 30 bucks cheaper off Amazon.

I got Office from my company for $20, they have a program through Microsoft where I can buy the major apps for $20.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

I got Office from my company for $20, they have a program through Microsoft where I can buy the major apps for $20.

Very nice. I love 2007. Layout took some time getting used to, but I've enjoyed working with it for my classes.

[ODogg]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

Very nice. I love 2007. Layout took some time getting used to, but I've enjoyed working with it for my classes.

Oh that's the thing, i bought mine a couple years ago so I have the one right before it, what is it, Office 2004 or something?

[SqueakyD]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

My specs look like this:

-XPS M1530, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800MHzFSB, 3M L2 Cache)
-2GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
-15.4 inch Full Hi Definition Wide Screen WUXGA TrueLife LCDwith Camera for XPS M1530
-256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
-160G 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
-Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
-85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for XPS M1530


I actually secretly (to my mom, that is) upgraded the processor and the video card to make the laptop that much better than my current one, upgraded the size and speed of the hard drive, upgraded the battery and the screen.

For those that are computer knowledgable - what do you think of the specs a post or two above this one? I really have no idea what any of it means, truthfully, so I figured I'd get some input on whether or not that looks like a "good" computer.

It's a good computer, no doubt. If you're looking to just to do web surfing, email and office applications, this kinda spec totally exceeds what you need. For school, this is perfect computer to have when it comes to doing papers, and listening to music/watching DVDs. (The M1530 comes with a remote too!)

As for gaming, it's somewhere between average and above average... That's what the higher spec XPS systems are for, and I don't think anyone wants to spend 2500 in a heartbeat...

I also agree with Fresh T on the RAM upgrade if you have the money... The price of memory per MB goes down when you buy high... so getting 4 is worth it if you have the funds. I won't tell anyone!

As for wireless internet, you will get better performance if your wireless router is capable with the G standard.

The only thing that nags me is the WUXGA screen... sometimes you don't need the highest resolution because: 1.) it can be too expensive to have the best one 2.) the highest resolution usually gives you text too small to read which leads you to having to lower the resolution within Windows, thus... 3.) resolutions lower than the native one for your screen will be noticeably blurrier... Money could be saved here by going one or two from the top of the screen choices IMO.

ooother than that... It's a great laptop for most people and you certainly won't regret buying it.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

Oh that's the thing, i bought mine a couple years ago so I have the one right before it, what is it, Office 2004 or something?

I think its 2003. I used that for my comp. class (might even still have my text book for it) at my community college before I transfered to JMU. The Summer I transfered is when they switched over to 2007.

[ODogg]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

The only thing that nags me is the WUXGA screen... sometimes you don't need the highest resolution because: 1.) it can be too expensive to have the best one 2.) the highest resolution usually gives you text too small to read which leads you to having to lower the resolution within Windows, thus... 3.) resolutions lower than the native one for your screen will be noticeably blurrier... Money could be saved here by going one or two from the top of the screen choices IMO.

ooother than that... It's a great laptop for most people and you certainly won't regret buying it.

I can tell you I agree there, I use a 24" monitor here at home but it's often hard for me to see stuff because everything is so damned small. It's irony, the bigger the monitor should mean the easier it is to see, not harder.

[Beantown]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

It's a good computer, no doubt. If you're looking to just to do web surfing, email and office applications, this kinda spec totally exceeds what you need. For school, this is perfect computer to have when it comes to doing papers, and listening to music/watching DVDs. (The M1530 comes with a remote too!)

As for gaming, it's somewhere between average and above average... That's what the higher spec XPS systems are for, and I don't think anyone wants to spend 2500 in a heartbeat...

I also agree with Fresh T on the RAM upgrade if you have the money... The price of memory per MB goes down when you buy high... so getting 4 is worth it if you have the funds. I won't tell anyone!

As for wireless internet, you will get better performance if your wireless router is capable with the G standard.

The only thing that nags me is the WUXGA screen... sometimes you don't need the highest resolution because: 1.) it can be too expensive to have the best one 2.) the highest resolution usually gives you text too small to read which leads you to having to lower the resolution within Windows, thus... 3.) resolutions lower than the native one will be noticeably blurrier... Money could be saved here by going one or two from the top of the screen choices IMO.

ooother than that... It's a great laptop for most people and you certainly won't regret buying it.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was aiming for: exceeding the most basic of my needs, without going overboard. Surprised that I actually did a well enough job.

For me, getting the upgraded screen was about how much I use the screen for DVDs and watching TV shows online. Plus, it fit in my budget, regretfully, more-so than the extra RAM did...plus when I asked my mom who was sitting next to me while building it, if I could go up o 3 or 4, she said no. I just didn't mention the screen thing. And I actually think I chose the second-highest screen. I am pretty sure that there was a more expensive option - I believe my upgrade was 75, when there was a 125 option.

As for wireless...yeah, the network set-up in my house works with the card, so i was a simple choice.

As far as gaming, didn't really need it to be anything above "Above Average" so I think I fell in the perfect range for that.

I'm actually pretty happy with it. I didn't have any say in my first laptop, because my mom bought one through Dell using the Student discount. This time I got to actually build it myself and then use my Dad's preferred account. Even though I didn't pay for it, this was the biggest "purchase" I've ever went through...so I'm just excited in general.

[ODogg]

Re: Laptop Suggestions

Even though I didn't pay for it, this was the biggest "purchase" I've ever went through...so I'm just excited in general.

You and me both brutha, you and me both...