Final Config for XPS M1530..

Hi guys!
I'm plannin to place an order for the XPS M1530 this week, with the following specs..

Processor - Intel C2D T9300-2.5Ghz/6mb Cache..
Ram - 4GB..
Video Card - 8600M GT-256mb..
Hard Drive - 250GB-5400rpm..
Display - 1440x900-LCD..
O.S - Vista Home Premium..
Optical Drive - DVD Writer..
Battery - 6 Cell..
Warranty - 1yr..
Colour - Tuxedo Black..

Total Price including tax is comin to around 1670$..

After doin a lotta research on NBR, I came to know that there isn't much performance difference between the T8300 and the T9300 processor. But i'm still opting for the T9300 pro. coz I kinda like the feelin of havin a lotta power in my hands, even though i have no actual use of it!

I'm sticking to the standard 1yr warranty coz i've already stretched my budget way too much! This laptop is a gift from my parents, who had given a budget of around 1430$.. But then i thought of secretly pooling in my own money to get better specs..
Now I dunno whether i shud stick to the above mentioned specs and go ahead with the 1yr warranty, or lower my specs and get a bigger warranty?!
I do take pretty good care of all my electronic stuff, so really dunno if a bigger warranty is necessary for me!? Plz help, i'm seriously very confused!

Also, is it necessary to spend 14$ for the hard drive partitioning?! Can't i just do it myself when i get the lappy??

Oh and is it possible to lik 'bargain' while placin the order on the phone?
If yes, wht do i bargain for??
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but i suck big time at bargaining!

Thanks a ton in advance!!

 

I don't know about the other things, but I'd stay away from the 8600gt or any other 8xxx series card from Nvidia for now. Lots of them are having problems. If you absolutely MUST have it, I suggest you get a 3 year warranty. People have been having problems with the card.

 

Hey thar!

If you are going to feel fairly safe with the one year warranty, then stick with it..but the 3 year has the advantage of having a Techn. come to your home to repair if you have any probs A positive advantage for me.

I have the 3 year..because I don't have the best of luck with things, and this being my first lappy....I wanted to be covered all around

The screen is nice, I have it..no LED..some peep's prefer the LED vs. the LCD.

Sometimes you can get better pricing on the phone by doing some haggling if you get the right rep..several peep's I know have tried it and it has worked to their advantage..Theres a thread by Les on that..Let me grab it!

Here you go: A How-To on Making The Best Computer Deal
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=153497

When did you want to place the order by?

Cin

 

As far as I know, even a 1 year warranty will get you a technician coming to your home to fix things.. its a 1 year premium, in home service after remote diagnosis anyways.. so doesnt make difference with the years for the tech to come for onsite repair..

I know going for extra warranty is going to cost quiet a lot.. if its going beyond the budget, I would stick with 1 year (because for the GPU anyways you will have a 12 month more free limited warranty).. and then renew the warranty later, before its gonna end... no big deal..

In general the system config looks pretty good IMHO..

 

Yes, thank you so much for pointing that out to me, it's appreciated....I was thinking about something else, and you caught it before I could edit...But hey Thanks Again, always appreciated!

 

Your point is valid for US based customers. The OP is located in India and as we all know Dell is great at customizing their offerings for each country where they conduct business...

 

Thanks Rhodan, but as far as I could see, there was no sign that I saw which said the OP was from India or may be I 'missed' it..

In any case, even in India, the 1 year XPS service comes as premium service.. so I would guess its the same. Further, I said in my previous post like that, because last month my bro-in-law got himself a XPS and he got the 1 yr warranty for now, with the details as mentioned in my previous post... 1 yr premium service, with on site support...

Anyway... these are the options I saw from the Dell India site.. may be I am missing something, but I don't know...

 

Yes as fonduekid said , its the same , i have 1 yr XPS premium Warranty which include On-Site Repairs , XPS Dedicated Phone support etc....

 

Nik,

You can get a 320 GB 7200, 2-yr warranty, and 9-cell for at least $150 dollars cheaper (tax included).

I figure this is what you really want to know. Hope it helps.

 

I don't see anywhere that says he is from India either. Not even in his profile.

 

well since your not going to be using the 9300's power, why dont u cut down to the 8300 and increase your warranty instead? i think its a better place to put your money

 

WOW! So many replies!
God i luv the ppl at NBR....!!!

 

yea i know bout the defective gpu issue.. 'rezendevous' was kind enough to explain it to me..
i figured its not that serious of an issue.. and besides, i'm not a hardcore gamer, so the chances of it happenin to me are pretty low! and anywayz, dell is offering an extended warranty for all affected systems!
i'm in luv with the M1530, and wont let somethin lik the gpu issue prevent me from gettin one!
but thanks a lot for takin the time to reply!!

 

Well the problem is that the 2yr and 3yr warranty are costin 215$ and 337$ respectively! The only way I can afford that is by lowering my specs..

About the screen, we don't have the LED option here in India! And even if we did, i'm in no position to buy it! so i'm gonna stick to the 1440x900 LCD..

I'm thinkin of placin the order by the 19th or the 20th... Coz i'm movin to singapore(for my studies) on the 18th of Oct., so need the lappy delivered before that!

Thank you so much for pointin me towards that thread Cin!! Will take a look at it once i finish replyin to everyone...

 

Oh cool.. i didn't know it was possible to renew the warranty later! Thats just perfect for me! Guess i'll stick to the 1yr warranty for now!
And i also wasn't aware of the 'technician coming to ur home' thing.. thats awesome!!

Hey btw, under the warranty plans, for around 43$ extra, we get 1yr of "HelpDesk"... Is that needed?

Thank u so much for replyin mate! Really appreciate it!

 

well all that stuff looks gr8! but how exactly am i supposed to get it cheaper?
hope u can explain..
oh and thx for replyin!

 

I read this and if you don't need a lot of processing power and only a 1 year warranty why are you buying a dell where the gfx card is defective. Why not just get any other new centrino laptop like the T400, an HP or any other brand which uses non defective parts and parts that are faster with better batterylife?

By they way nik the GPU problem it doesn't matter if you are gaming. That's the problem with this. No one actually knows the details as to why the GPU fails. You don't HAVE to be an active gamer for the GPU to fail. Each time you turn the PC off and ON alone screws with the GPU. The GPU is simply not good and unless you are ensured for 3-4 years on your GPU you are pretty screwed. When the GPU fails out of warranty it will cost a fortune to replace because repairmen ALWAYS charge you 2-3 times more than the repair is worth and most likely you won't be able to repair it. Nvidia has 2 class action suits against them for these GPUs. You still want to rely on them?

 

I wouldn't take the helpdesk thing.... anyways with a premium support, u can call anytime and ask for support.. I do it anyway....

And yes, you can always renew the warranty as long as u want

 

yup, I am from India!!

sorry for not mentioning that earlier guys! my bad..

but I dunno how 'Rhodan' came to know that i'm from India!?
may be he has some kind of a 'Sixth Sense' or somethin?!

 

haha! Rhodan's just a smart, nice and helpful person all-around..must've been that *Sixth Sense* LOL

That's understandable It's what works for you that matter's anyways!

I have the 1440x900 LCD...you will like it very much

Well the 19/20th is not so far away...so that's a good thing! It's the waiting to order that would get me hyped up! lol

I'm glad your gonna check out that thread!!!

Good luck to you, and let us know how it ends up for you, ok


Cin

 

On your first post on NBR you added the Indian flag to your post. And in your 2nd or 3rd post you specifically told us you were ordering from India... Sure this was in another thread...

 

yea i know it makes more sense to use my money for a bigger warranty! its really foolish of me to waste my money on somethin i'm not gonna use..
but i kinda have this weird 'power obsession' for evrythin...!!
i'm the kind of guy who put a k&n for a 100cc scooter!

anywayz, now that 'fonduekid' made me aware of the fact that I can renew my warranty l8r, my problem has been solved!!

thanks for takin the time to reply!

 

well the problem is that the T400 isn't available in India, we only have the T61 which is way above my budget!
and, HP doesn't allow us to configure our system(lik Dell), and the pre-configured systems which they have aren't exactly what i'm lookin for!
besides, as i said earlier, i'm in luv with the M1530! and it fits my needs perfectly!

yea i forgot that the gpu problem isn't specific to gaming! thx for remindin me!
btw, 'Forte' has nicely explained the problem here..
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3727335&postcount=17

now that 'fonduekid' made me aware that the warranty can be renewed l8r, i'm most probably gonna renew my warranty to 3yrs once my current warranty comes to an end... and to add to it, Dell is gonna offer an extra 12month warranty for free, and even Nvidia is gonna offer a 200$ rebate for the defective gpu!
so I think i'm pretty safe now!!
thx a ton for replying!

 

oh yea.. thats right!
wow.. u keep an eye on everythin! gotta appreciate that...!!
oh btw, ur 'Top 10' thread helped me a lot mate! awesome work! thank u so much!!

 

oh ok.. then i guess i'll stick to the standard warranty which comes with the M1530...

thanks a lot for helpin me mate, u solved my 'warranty confusion'...!!
thanks a ton!!

 

You might want to check with Dell as to how much it will cost you to extend your warranty later versus doing it at the time of purchase. For instance here in Canada adding Complete Care on top of the 3 year NDB is $170 at time of purchase. Adding this later will cost you around $350...

And the Nvidia warranty extension only cover the GPU. So it's not a full warranty.

Getting the t8300 and using the savings to upgrade the warranty is probably a better bet. T9300 will go down in price in the future and you should be able to pick one of ebay for cheap in 12-18 months if you feel you really need the extra 100Mhz and more cache...

 

oh i'm pretty hyped up about it! been havin endless dreams of the M1530 for almost a month!
jus waitin for my dad to gimme the 'green light' now!
yeah will definitely keep you'll updated on how it goes!
thanks Cin!!

 

*Hyped up* yeps...you surely will be even more once you have ordered lol!

Hope, your Pop's gives your the *green light* like NOW..

That's great on keeping us updated!

*fingers crossed for you*

Cin