Is this a good deal?

Latitude E6400 Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo T9800 (2.93GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
256MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M With Express Card
Integrated Webcam with digital microphone
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
6 Cell Primary Battery
No Fingerprint Reader
250 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Genuine Windows XP Pro with Vista Business License
1 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (1 DIMM)
Back-lit Keyboard
Internal 56K Modem
14.1 inch UltraSharp WXGA+ LED Display - Brush Metal Black
90W AC Adapter
Intel WiMAX/WiFi Link 5150 802.16e and 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card

free 3-5 day shipping.
Bluetooth upgrade
E-Modular bay. (I'm planning on taking the cd drive out to save a bit of weight.

after tax
$1,005.92

Obviously I'll be picking up some Ram. 4gigs. Point me in the right direction?

This system is probably a little bit more powerful than I really need, but it's an excellent price and it has everything I'm looking for in a system.
What is the power consumption like on the t9800? How much battery life am I going to be losing?

 

i think you'd better go with a thinkpad t400. it's cheaper and better specced.

 

It looks like it's coming out to about the same, if not a bit more expensive. Maybe I'm not going through the right channels?

the t400 is also nearly a pound heavier.

*edit After a Ram upgrade seems like the dell would be slightly more..

 

I think that's a a pretty good deal considering it is a E6400 and has a really wicked fast CPU (for a laptop). You definitely need to upgrade the RAM though as you stated. I'd trade my XPS M1530 for a E6400 with those specs anyday.

 

Do you need that much cpu power? It will suck your battery faster and produce more heat. If you need the cpu power then that is a pretty good price.

 

Probably not, but I'm willing to deal with it.
Here's the problem.
School started yesterday. I need a new laptop asap, but I'm also not looking to spend too much. Thus I'm planning on buying through the outlet. (I had them send me a quote so the system is saved for a bit...) This is the best deal right now with everything I'm looking for in the system.
The processor. I would be okay with 2.53. However no systems are available right now, with that processor that has the other things I need/want. I've been watching the store like a hawk the last couple of days. and this is the nearest that I'm come across and not too shabby of a price.

So the question and the problem is...do I wait it out for another day and hope that something a little better comes along? or I jump at this one?

 

Don't quote me on this, but I believe Dell's business outlet coupons will be coming out tomorrow--that is, if they keep with the 3-week pattern that they have been on.

 

Oh man. Placed the order this morning. Are these guys nice enough to retroactively apply coupons? Given that I made the purchase the (speculating right now...) day before the coupons came out?

 

Sometimes when you call requesting a return they'll offer you some money to keep it.

 

I think it's a pretty good deal. And the T400 does not have DisplayPort nor eSATA. DisplayPort can be converted to HDMI with an adapter (but does not have sound I think), and eSATA allows you to connect an external hard drive with very fast speeds (much faster than USB).

The E6400 also has WXGA+ which the T400 does not. In my opinion, Dell won against Lenovo on the 14-inch battle (but lost the 15-inch...).