I'm set on an XPS M1530...

So, after lots of thought, after looking at lots of notebooks, I've pretty much settled on ordering a Dell XPS M1530, but I'm not sure of how I should go about ordering it. So I have some questions:

1.) Since I'm currently a college student, is it better to order through the higher ed. website instead of the regular Dell website?

2.) Which configuration should I tool with when I'm ordering?

3.) What processor speed would you recommend for the M1530?

4.) How much warranty would you recommend I get for my notebook?

Thanks for your help.

 

All this depends on what would you be doing with the machine.

 

I think that if you'll spend over 1200 USD, you should get at least a 2 year warranty + accidental damage, if not 3..

 

Well, I'm obviously going to do schoolwork, but it's also going to serve multimedia purposes, i.e. watching movies, listening to music. But I've also thought of getting into photoshop. What's the best configuration to work with when I'm ordering?

 

Hi!

I would configure with the student discount you will be receiving, along with other config's (to compare what you are going to be getting, price wise).

Sometimes, the config's will come with the 3-year warranty on them.

My 1530 came with a 3 year warranty, and I added Accidental coverage for a nominal price...I added Accidental, as this is my first lappy (and I tend to be a tad clumsy at time)

Good luck with whatever you decide!!! Going with the 1530 is right choice (in my own opinion).

Hope this helps

 

1) I think it's probably better to order through the higher-ed website, but I'm not totally sure about the relative pricing you'll get through both sites.

2) Whichever one gets you the lowest price for your configuration. Dell's pricing is pretty sporadic so you should play with each and see which gets you the best deal.

3) Any of the processors offered with the 1530 will provide more than enough processing power for basic functionality. The T9 or T8 series will run a bit cooler and give you a bit more battery life. Photoshop (recent versions) is pretty good with multiple cores so I'd think it's more important to have a bit more memory than a super-fast processor. A solid, high-capacity 5400rpm drive may also be a better investment than a better CPU.

4) If you really want to be safe: as long as you're going to use the machine.

 

Based on what you've said, make sure you have at least 2GB DDR2 RAM at the least (3GB DDR2 is always good too), and nothing like the Core 2 Duos in the 2GHzs is needed or necessary for your tasks, maybe 2.2GHZ at the most needed (would only be necessary to have a CPU 2.2GHz+ if doing high performance tasks like gaming,etc.).

As for warranty, its not very common that people pay attention to the warranty that comes with Dell notebooks. It comes with 1yr warranty as the default. If that isn't enough for you, you can upgrade the warranty...

 

Thanks for your input. Here's the M1530 page on the higher ed website for my school. Which of these configurations do you think I ought to work with when I'm customizing/ordering?