Was this a good deal?.. and more!

I tend to think I over paid but, it said $763 savings and the offer ended soon so, I jumped. My specs are as follows:
$1910 (including tax) $1790 (before tax) ... aprox.
Dell XPS M1530 product (red), T8300 2.4 Ghz, 4GB ram, 320GB 5400rpm HDD, 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT, 1680x1050, Wifi N, Bluetooth, 6 cell bat, Sound Blaster HD, Vista Ultimate (red), 3yr extended warranty, LoJack 3yrs, MS Office Home and Student and McAfree for 3 yrs.

I think I have seen other people on this forum pay $1500-1200 and get similar if not better specs. Also I would like to know if the 2.4Ghz is going to hurt me latter down the road. I/pops just did not have the money for anything more. I know its Crysis but I can only play it with a good frame rate on the lowest settings with x2AA, 1280x800 res. I really got it for school, off and on gaming, Photoshop CS3, CAD programs (I want to go into car design) and multimedia (videos, music, pictures).

So did I do alright or get suckered?

I just found out about this whole graphics card fiasco and was wondering if since my pops bought my laptop with an Amex Gold card and I got the best 3yr warranty if Dell/Amex would give me/him my/his money back? I got a cooling pad and my idle temps are in the 40-50 C is this high, low or average?

If you read and responded to all of this THANK YOU VERY MUCH! If not tanks anyways.

 

no!..... if ur in america

in dell epp (if ur a college student or have access to Dell EPP), it'd be around $ 1300-$1500

if in dell Home, it'll be around $1500 w/o tax

2.4ghz is more than enough, it susually the GPU thats limiting the framerate.... and u can play medium on Crysis with nVidia 8600

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=354428&t=863669
Dell EPp, M1530 for $1268+tax for
T8300, 4GB, 250GB 5400rpm, LED LCD 1440x900, nVidia 256MB 8600M GT, intel-n card, 4 yr warranty and accidental damage, mcafee for 15 months

use ur college to get Microsoft OFfice for cheap

 

You got RIPPED THE **** OFF MAN.
BIG TIME.

Check out this For Sale thread...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=280601

 

Yeah I am in America... F***. That sucks.

 

Read my sig.. you got ripped big time, I can get office for $60 and the mcafee is 15 month.. so extend another 15 month is probably like $30 or so... and the rest of our specs are pretty much equal (1650x1080 vs 1440LED).. and such

 

How the hell did you get it for $1207? I looked at that crazy coupon thing but I have no idea how it works. When I go to the dell business link and configure a m1530 there it is exactly the same as what I have except it is about $120 cheaper. (but no 320gb HDD and the res. is smaller. So I am confused how do I get what I have for less (what everyone else is paying)?

 

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=354428&t=863669

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

suggest u upgrade $80 for 4th yr of warranty with a $70 gift card

From Dell EPP

more info, go to www.delluniversity.com since u said u were going to university

 

Sorry but the sign says newbie and this whole coupon thing still does not make sense. I appreciate the help I just don't understand how to utilize it. I got the Dell university link but its the same deal as the small business one. It starts at $1299 but when I configure everything as close to mine as possible it still ends up in the 16-17 hundreds. What I am confused about is how to apply the underlined parts: "only thing added is $80 4-yr warranty with $70 GC, deal comes out to $1205 plus tax after 8% off and 5% stackable coupon get 12% off if you add more stuff to get laptop over $1600, use DPA to get a further 4% off".

 

I don't see the point of buying with dell university, etc... I go there, and I get like 100 dollars off a 2400 dollar laptop, with the 25% coupon I get 500-600 dollars off. The "member discounts" seem ludicrously small compared the the basic 400-600$ deals advertised daily on the site or the coupons. Is there something I'm missing here, or are the members actually paying more?

 

Does anyone actually know specifically to get and apply these coupons? Also is there any chance in hell I will be able to return my laptop and get my money back or at least be forced to buy a different Dell configuration?

 

Yeah just say something is wrong with the laptop and return it for a full refund.

 

Well, NBR has a lot of the coupons, but you can only apply them to the "home and office" section of the site, and not with any other offers. Even still, I have been messing around with all the various offers they give, through the dell site and through the member/university program, and nothing comes close to the 25% off coupon and buying through the basic site. And, the bonus of buying through the basic model and not all the other offers is you get to customize everything you want, i.e you can get the 160GB 7200 RPM drive for $75 more, rather than having to massively upgrade to a 250GB drive for $275 more if you wanted 7200 rpm, and only get 3 GB of ram, rather than being forced into 4. So, you'll end up saving a lot of money just by being able to get exactly what you want.

 

It is really that easy? I know I could think of a million reasons: screen bleeds like crazy, screen is fuzzy, HOT as hell, mouse pad doesn't respond sometimes, some keys need extra press to recognize an input. Otherwise besides getting ripped off I am happy.

 

ya, but the $1268 is a very good deal for a almost-fully-loaded machine with warranty....

just click on the basic dell link that i have
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...&eep_orig_cs=6004&fb=1&l=en&oc=AYDWHMPA&s=eep

product red is a scam....the only thing u need to upgrade from that basic link would probably be the hard drive(though i dont tihnk its worth to upgrade a 250GB to 320GB hdd, screen (though the LED Screen is probably the best thing to choose), Vista Ultimate (uh... u can get vista ultimate for $80 thru ur school, and the upgrade isnt worth it IMO) , MS Office and Home(buy though ur school, much cheaper), SOudn Blaster HD(its a software upgrade, not hardware, useless) and more McAfee(i would just stick with the 15 month option, and buy Nod32 or AVG(freeware) after that

therefore, ur price would be $1299 + $80 4th yr warranty + whatever crap u added - 8%(or 12%), definitely under $1500... and heck, u get accidental damage


the 5% coupon is expired, u cant get that deal

right now, with the BASIC CONFIG, u get 8% back from warranty on machines $800-$1600 .... if u config the machine to past $1600 before the discount, u get a better 12% discount

 

Johnny is it really that easy. If I can send it back to Dell that is great. Also AmEx has a great cutomer service department that in the past for us has resolved almost any issue. I could think of a million things that are actually wrong with it: screen is fuzzy and bleeds, HOT as hell, bad mouse pad, keys are not always responsive etc etc.

To paper: Ok I see now. But... how the hell are people getting what I have for under $1300?

 

well, what u've been getting = (basic config)$1299 * .95 (5% stackable coupon expired last sunday, so no deal for u) * .92 (standard 8% off for warranty) = $1135......

then another $80 or so out of pocket for vista upgrade......... another $90 for Microsoft Office , just above $1300 without taxes ..... and many states have tax-free weekend holidays (not mine, unfortunately ......



and whenever Dell has those 'special $8xx off this config' deals, they just boost the pre-price by $7xx .... fake deals.... sigh.... though they rarely have some good 'special $xxx off this config' deals

 

I've been wondering about this. Is the sound blaster HD software significantly better than integrated? Is the expresscard x-fi any better than the audigy HD?

Also, it seems buying through dell member program would cost $50 less than using the 25% off coupon, with a bigger hard drive on the member program as well.

 

Yeah seriously just call them right when you get the laptop and give the problems with the laptop and that you wanna return it. Just do it within 21 days I think, and there will be no charges. I think you get everything back except shipping fees, but the return shipping is free I believe.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=138924

software would enhance the sound, but whatever sound u get is still coming out from those crappy speakers(or ur own better sspeakers).... search ^----helps a lot

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3714
not sure about the expresscard though

i've always found better 'loaded' deals in the member program....

 

I just talked to Dell and they gave me the following options: they access my PC and reinstall the drivers for my minor problems (this is not going to happen), send a technician to my house to fix the problem (that lets him decide if there is a problem so that is a no) and then send it into Dell and they replace the parts that are causing my problems (maybe). None of this gets me my money back. It has been more than 21 days since it shipped but I received it in about 18--20 days so WTF was I supposed to do instantly know all my computer's problems and call them in 24 hours. My goal is to at least to get a small refund and a reconfigured laptop. Should I demand to talk to a manager and say "I paid 2 grand for a laptop with problems give me my money back"? What do you think I should do.

 

Hmm, I thought it was 21 days after you signed for the package (proof of receiving it). Mine luckily (and I say this half-heartedly) actually had a defective screen, and an unresponsive touchpad. I called Dell right away and demanded a refund -- they kept asking me if I was sure and tried to convince me to replace it or get it fixed by one of their technicians. They finally obliged and refunded the full amount...

Which is good, because AAFES has a deal (with better specs than what I paid for) on an m1530 with a Dell 2407WFP-HC (a legendary 24" monitor) totalling $1,600. The monitor itself goes for $750+ new and Dell doesn't sell them anymore.

Just a heads up if you or someone you know is in the services.

 

I made a new thread on my issue.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=281031

Oh the drama...

It is a different topic than the original so I thought it should get a different thread. If you could respond to my previous post there it would make things a little easier. Thanks

 

That seems like a solid deal to me. It's always close to $2000 whenever I configure it (assuming this was pretty decked out which it seems to be).