PURCHASING - a few questions

Ok, so I'm looking to purchase a Dell XPS M1530. First off let me show you the specs I want, so you can give me some feedback, and then I want to ask some questions. I intend to use this for college, possibly some gaming such as UT3, some photoshopping, music, and movies.



(PRODUCT) RED
T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB, 6MB Cache)
Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED
1920x1200 LCD & 2MP Camera
4GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
160GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
Slot Load DVD+/-RW
256MB GeForce 8600M GT
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
Built-in Wireless USB capability
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+EDR)
56 WHr 6-cell Battery
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition



My Questions:
1) Does Home Premium come with the Product RED extras?

2) Is Vista Ultimate worth the upgrade? I know you can get the features for free online, but I don't want to go through the trouble.

3) 1920 or 1440 LED? I've read LED is worth it, but I always like to have the highest resolution I can.

4) Bigger HDD but lower RPM or smaller HDD but higher RPM? Should I stick with my current selection or go with 250GB/5400RPM?

5) Are the new 8600Ms produced by nVidia fixed or is it still just a BIOS update?



6) This is the most important question. So I'm starting college on Semptember 24th, and I'd like to have a laptop on that day. I heard the XPS line will be refreshed sometime soon. I would rather get a laptop from the new line for the following reasons: newer sexier design (hopefully), Montevina is a better chipset (from what I understand), hopefully a new GPU without heat problems, and maybe better components. However, I understand that will take some time. First, Dell has to announce the laptops, then it'll take a while for them to be available, and last, it takes 2-3 weeks for them to ship from what I understand. My question is two part. First, will the new laptops be worth it? They will obviously be better, but probably a bit more expensive, but will it be that significant of a difference (maybe not immediately, but long term?) And second, should I wait? Will I be able to have my hands no one by the time I start school?

 

All affected product lines are being shipped with the new BIOS which implements the Thermal changes Dell added to bandaid fix the GPU issue...

My suggestion, wait for the refresh or go with a lappie that does not have a GPU included in Dell's original statement...

http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/07/25/nvidia-gpu-update-for-dell-laptop-owners.aspx

Regardless of your choice, make sure you go with the longest possible warranty you can afford and aff Complete Care... it's worth it.

Just my 2 cents...

 

1) Yeah, Product Red no matter what version of Vista, gets the extras.
2) Ultimate is worth it if you like to have better networking capabilities from Vista Business since its a combination of Home Premium and Business... though people have reported that it runs slower.
3) The 1440 is definitely the better buy. I love the WSXGA+ resolution the most for 15.4'', and would get the 1920 if it had LED. I chose the 1440 LED. The screen quality is phenomenal and the brightness and color reproduction beats out all other CCFL displays. After using an LED screen you will seriously think that all the other displays you've used are way too dim and dark. You will wonder how you could have used those.
4) It all depends. if you do a lot of video encoding and want faster boot up times, file transfer times, go with faster RPM, lower storage. If you have a lot of files, and don't mind slower transfer rates and startup times. (They will still be less than a minute) then just go with the 250GB 5400RPM. One thing I would like to make note, I don't know about 250GB 5400RPM, but the 250GB 7200RPM from samsung is DEAD silent. No noise whatsoever.

5) The new ones are fixed being shipped by Nvidia as stated in the official SEC statement, but you never know if Dell is getting rid of their currently possibly defective stock. So its not really just a bios update.

5) You would have to wait till late August or September. The new laptops will not be worth it in value because you pay the price for being an early adopter and rest assured there will not be 25% off discounts or any major EPP discounts. You will be looking at paying close to 2000+ dollars for a maxed out XPS unlike now, which you can max it out for about $1300-1400 bucks.

If you want the best bang for the buck, buy now. If not, then wait.

The difference is not too significant. The previous laptop had a X1400 which later got the 8600GT. However with the new refreshes, the gap is much less since the 9600GT reall doesn't pack as much performance over the 8600GT. In addition the MOntevina platform does not offer much of an improvement over Santa Rosa. It is much better to wait for Calpella. In other words, not only does the M1530 have the better value, but it is also better if you wait for Calpella where there will truly be a bigger gap. Lets just say Merom to Santa Rosa was a much bigger jump than Santa Rosa is to Montevina.

 

1) yes
2) It really depends on what kind of user you are check out the differences here
3) That really depends on your likes....I went with a LED screen b/c i valued that over increased "real estate" on my screen
4) For now......bigger HD should be fine.....you will hardly notice the difference except when you are transferring big files
5) not fixed per se.....the BIOS update just makes the fan run all the time so that the system "stays cool" however.....this problem is not extremely common....its just that everyone who gets screwed comes here to mope.....and plus the warranty should help you deal with your troubles...in the unlikely event that any arise
6) Since we don't know when the change will be....and what it will entail....It is hard to answer your question.......for all we know dell might not release centrino 2 updates on the xps line until after school begins which might be troublesome....also i doubt the design will change....or very much......the difference between centrino 2 and the older chipset....is not going to be huge right now.....though there are distinctive advantages.......you have to realize that the refreshed laptops will also be more expensive.....make yourself more aware of the differences by googling it up....and decide if waiting is necessary...I say probably not in your case but who knows?

 

a) look at the EPP M1530 deal in my signature, see if its cheaper

b) current M1530 laptops from the deal above have an estimated Ship date of September 3rd... probably would come sooner, but Dell has all your guys(college kids) ordering now... /me laughs at all you people with sep-ship dates

c) do you really want a dell xps brand laptop? look at other brands (hp = bad customer service, but ok laptops)....

 

Wow, thank you Batboy, Forte and rezendevous.

I think I will be purchasing a laptop now in that case. Only thing left to decide now is whether to get the 1920 CCFL or 1440 LED. I love the 1920 resolution, but I would really like the LED quality. I just photoshoped my desktop in both resolutions with a 15.4" diagonal like the M1530, and I have to say I'm not too happy with the way the 1440 looks.

Well thank you for all your help

 

Believe me, you will LOVE the LED quality on the 1440.

Also there is a higher change of getting a grainly screen when going with the 1920 CCFL display, though the large majority, almost all, of the 1440 LED displays have been perfect.

The color reproduction is very very good with the LED and despite I kinda miss the extra estate for editing and making gfx with photoshop on my WSXGA+, the overall brightness, colors, and contrast make my gfx looks better.

In the end its all up to you, but whatever the case, your getting Dell's best laptop so... its all good!

 

a) Thank you, but neither of the two have the config I want, and I'm planning on using the 25% coupon. Just waiting for TIMBUK2 coupon to pop up again for the M1530.

c) Well for me it came down to Sony vs. Dell, but in this screen size, Sony has no fingerprint reader, the graphics card isn't as good, the processor is weaker, and I'm not sure they use LED. For the same components / customizability, I would have gone with Sony. HP doesn't appeal to me in terms of looks, it's more expensive, and has no coupons to lower the price.

Thank you for offering me these alternatives though, I appreciate it

 

well, what exact config did you want?(T9300, 7200rpm HDD?).... even with the 25% coupon, dell epp might be a little better..... just look at differnt configs of the same machine in dell epp and dell home and dell s&b.... (i know its troublsome, but dell has like 50 configs of the same M1530, making it hard to compare.... the specs u listed in the first post should run about $1500+)

c) HP might be cheaper with coupons... look at slickdeals.net
hp had like a $400 off in july and some other randmo deals....

 

Yeah, HP actually typically is cheaper, but build quality is not always better.

 

Dang it, Product RED doesn't have LED.

Yeah, HP just doesn't appeal to me.

And for EPP, I have a Boeing 16% coupon I can use. I've configured it on both websites at the same time, and they came out at the same price. Then with the 25% coupon, the Dell Home site was cheaper.
I think I'll configure the laptop how I want and then give it another try and see which one is cheaper. I don't really understand how you get to that price for the one in your sig...

 

start here:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...&eep_orig_cs=6004&fb=1&l=en&oc=AYDWHMPA&s=eep

5% EPP coupon, maybe stackable with ur Boeing 16%

http://instantwin.dellsavings.com/

 

Hmmm, it looks like that doesn't come with bluetooth or wireless USB...

 

it has Bluetooth.... WUSB = bleah....

(edited my post at slickdeals to make it clearer...)

 

Wow, all right that's a sweet bargain! Thank you!

 

ur welcome

too bad about the september ship date

 

Will it be that late? Because of the LED?

 

check the right side when u config... est 9/4..... because of the massive amounts of people(students) ordering for college....

usually its like 1-3 weeks..... depends..

dont worry, dell usually ships before that date, but delays have been known to happen