The processors they are talking about are alot more than what you need, if your just using it internet and a little word processing you dont need something all that fancy. I recently ordered a laptop from www.tech4less.com . Very good customer service ! They sell refurbished stuff but it comes with either a company warranty(dell, compaq....) or if it doesnt have a warranty they will back it up the same amount. I found this place by a friend that lives in Colorado Springs. He has bought several laptops and desktops from them in the past. Just give it a look. They are cheaper.

 

screw Dell build your own

 

I have been working on computers for the last 3 years in the Marines. Pretty much all we deal with besides tactical gear is Dell, and we even use Dell in the field. I recommend the Inspiron 6000, with whatever upgrades you feel necessary. I am a Certified Dell Tech but i dont own any Dell products, i prefer to build my own computer. But if i had to go for a basic laptop that i could trust i would go with Dell.

 

if your going with a desktop, dont get a "name brand" pc... get something built by a pc builder using "good" quality parts, the comercially built pc's suck. check out ebay for a custom built rig, you should be able to find an intel 9XX series dual core rig for a decent price range...

if you go with a laptop, i wouldnt keep my mind fixated on a dell... look around to other name brands like compaq, ibm, alienware, hitachi, etc... you are gonna want to get the new core duo, or core solo chip.. they are constructed on a .65nm die, and use a huge percentage less power than any other of the mobile chips, so you get longer battery life, and these chips are faster than most other pentium 4's clock for clock, and in most cases can outperform the amd's, w/ less power. try epinions.com for reviews on laptops, or try newegg.com for user reviews.
the 7200rpm hdd's are very nice, and are a big step up from the 5400. most desktops have a 7200rpm hard drive, and if your used to that, than going to a 5400 in a laptop will make the rig seem slower than even a crappy desktop. the 5400rpm hard drive are down right slow (if comparing to a desktop)
also, i wouldnt settle for the "intel" graphics driver. go with the geforce GO graphics.

trey

 

I'm set on a computer with all the specs and accessories that I want, I call back today to do some finalizing and to my surprise, the deal/promotion they had going on ended today. So the savings are no longer valid. I was wondering if anyone here worked at Dell or know someone that does that could hook me up. I really need a computer. Its going on a week now that I've been out of one. Its becoming a hassle buming around using someone's computer. If anyone could please help me out, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks a lot!

 

I have a relative that works there and gets me free laptops b/c of his position.

Check www.gotapex.com for deals on dell systems

 

i know you're in a tough situation being without a computer, but dell changes their promotions allllllll the time.... just keep your eyes open and a deal just as good will come up again soon.

 

that means absolutely nothing about the quality of Dell computers, just the hard drive they put in them. do you honestly think that Dell manufactures the hard drives in their computers? i guarantee you that if you open up that computer, the hard drive will have a Western Digital/Maxtor/Seagate (or some other big HD maker) logo on it. blame them for the quality (or lack thereof) of the hard drive. you can only blame Dell for choosing to go with that brand.

that would be like saying that F-bodies are total crap, just because of the tires that they come with from the factory.....

don't get me wrong, i'm not defending Dell, because as i stated before, i would never buy a Dell desktop system.

now.....



actually, the dual-core processors make multitasking a WHOLE lot more bearable. with my old single-core CPU, when i would have several things running at once, then tried to do something else while they ran in the background, the whole system would be a lot less responsive. now that i have a dual-core CPU, switching between apps and running lots of things simultaneously doesn't present much of a problem at all. so don't think that just because he's not a "power user", that a dual-core CPU can't benefit him.





5400rpm vs. 7200rpm on a laptop hard drive is a trade-off. sure, the 7200rpm will load stuff faster, but it will also generate more heat & a little more noise. for general web surfing/word processing/etc., i wouldn't bother with upgrading the hard drive speed, unless you can find a deal where they upgrade you to a better one for free, like Dell sometimes does (although it will probably be a smaller capacity).

as far as laptop upgradability, think about it....

where can you find laptop motherboards that fit the EXACT size/shape of the laptop you have? and what about a video card, should it need to be upgraded? obviously a desktop-sized video card will definitely not fit in a laptop. the parts for laptops are similar to parts for Macintosh computers....you just can't really find them widely available, which makes the parts more expensive when you can find them, and makes it a pain in the *** to even find in the first place.

now that said, take a look at the Inspiron E1705 series of laptops (if you're dead-set on a laptop). as they come pre-configured, you can get one with a 17" widescreen for $1280 for the highest-powered system (it will obviously be a little more if you customize it and add stuff to it), or as low at $919 pre-configured for the base-level Inspiron 1705.

 

Maybe trade them your stock cam for $75 off the price

Like slayer said, they run promos all the time -- typically very aggressive towards the end of each month. Keep an eye on the site for the configuration you've decided on, and pull the trigger when you see a deal you like.

 

it will load everything much faster, the heat is maybe 1-2degrees higher which in all honesty isn't ****, and my 7200rpm does make a little more noise. but the performance difference is night and day.... trust me, the 7200rpm hdd was one of my smartest choices i made when building my laptop.

heres a write-up:
http://www.laptoplogic.com/resources/detail.php?id=16

 

hmm...well THAT didn't last long....they raised the price of the two upper-level lappies, and (slightly) lowered the price of the base-level one....

 

but then again, it all depends on what the computer is used for, and how much RAM it has. for a basic internet surfing / word processing / movie-watching laptop, the 7200rpm won't make a HUGE difference (assuming it has a lot of memory so it doesn't have to swap to the hard drive), except for during the initial load. once the program is loaded into memory, the hard drive speed means jack ****, unless you run out of physical memory and it has to swap to the HD, or if it has to constantly read more stuff off the hard drive.

now for a gaming laptop, yes...there is absolutely no question that 7200rpm is the only way to go, and even faster if they made faster ones for laptops. things that have to access the HD on a continuous basis (games, audio/video encoding, large file transfers, etc.) will greatly benefit from the faster speed.

basically, it boils down to what you're going to be using it for, and how much you're willing to pay for the extra performance, just like anything else. me, personally....i would go 7200rpm all the way regardless, because i do some audio/video encoding, and if i ever bought a laptop, it would be used a lot for gaming when i'm away from home.

just make an informed decision regarding what you want, and you can't go wrong....because it will be chosen based on YOUR personal needs, not the needs of what someone else tells you that you need.

 

Toshiba's are good PC's, but expensive IMHO, just like the $ony's
you can get a good laptop with more stuff than a bare bones Toshiba, you want a good bang for your buck...go with Compaq or HP, even Gateway has some pretty loaded ones for a decent price. Just stay away from Sempron or Celeron Processors. Shop around and compare spec's at each store (Best buy, Circuit City, etc...) and go from there. But before your shop, make sure you know what your computer needs are gonna be, what will you use the PC for?? Internet?? Gamiing?? Word processing?? then do some shopping. if you need more help, let me know

 

I built a computer through Dell just a few days ago and it came out to $1800 even. I just built the same exact one a few minutes ago and it came out to $2160. Plus, I called in, talked with a Dell rep and they knocked off an additional $125 plus another $100 for a preferred account. So it was going to be around $1650 for the system. I'd like to buy immediately. The Dell rep also told me that they've never ran 35% off of their systems before and that the percentage is usually around 20-25%.

blk03, do you think your relative could give me a discount?

 

He is full of crap! I see 20-25% ALL the time and 35% PLUS epp discount of 12% about 6-7 times a year. Just the other day I saw a "suprise" coupon code that would be worth either 35,50 or 75% off

You can either go where blk03 suggested or http://www.tweak3d.net/deals/ for deals.

 

check the newspapers as well, they usually throw in a free shipping coupon on there, or whatnot

 

Still, if you buy a Dell Desktop your getting those particular brand H/D, right?

 

My dell sucks. And its messed up and they wont come fix it.

 

basically whatever brand is cheapest for them to put in there thats what you'll get.

 

There's free shipping and handling right now.

Bad Habit Bird, where did you see this "surprise" coupon?