should i buy the 1330 now or wait?

Basically, i have a stackable coupon for 16% off in EPP, which expires at the end of this year. With the 4th of July sale, i have a xps m1330 system configured like this for 1570$ (not including tax/shipping and handling)

SYSTEM COLOR Alpine White
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
LCD AND CAMERA Slim and Light LED Display with VGA Webcam
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
HARD DRIVE Ultra Performance: 64GB Solid State Drive
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW Drive)
VIDEO CARD Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
WIRELESS CARDS Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
BLUETOOTH AND WIRELESS USB Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
BATTERY OPTIONS 37Whr Lithium Ion Battery (4 cell)
SOUND OPTIONS Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition


what i was wondering is since the coupon does not expire for quite a while, is this a good enough deal to buy now, or to wait for a potentially better deal, or for a possible xps montevina refresh combined with one of the regular sales going on?

thanks for the help!

 

just wait a little while

 

Yea just wait. But boy would I love to be able to use a coupon like that. :| I'd buy a M1530 instantly since I need it for college in the fall.

 

I recently got my XPS M1330 that I bought from the 1-day sale in June, and a few days later I hear about Nvidia's announcement about defective chips, and now the expected Montevina update. Do you guys think it's worth keeping this one, or should I return it? It has a T8300, 4GB RAM, and 250GB HD and I got it for $1400 after about $150 in S&H + tax.

 

^ There's always going to be something new around the corner, you upgrade to Montevina and then you regret not waiting for Nehalem, you upgrade to Nehalem and Calpella comes along etc.
If you're really concerned about the NVIDIA announcement, contact Dell and see if you're covered.

 

i thought nehalem is a desktop platform.

 

how u get the 16% coupon ....!???...... i really want one for EPP.... only EPP stackable coupon i've seen so far is the 10% off coupon in april

nehalem is a processor chip out from intel on both notebook and desktop

EDIT: do u really need an SSD? reports are out that SSD actually uses more power than normal disk-platter drives, and slower write times.. only plus is the 'instant' access

 

Re: Contacting Dell. I just got my m1330. Am not sure when these GPU issues with the NVIDIA card are going to hit me - if even at all - cos i don't do any hardcore gaming or video editing etc. So my question is how long do you think it takes for a defective GPU to show itself? I sometimes wish i didn't find this forum - so many seeds of doubt have been planted, and makes me think that i should have just got the Macbook - even if it was about 600 more.

 

do you have a link to this source? i've heard only good things about SSD, and was on the assumption that it was better than normal hard drives on the exception of pricing.

and unfortunately, the coupon code is for boeing employees only :/

 

Montevina is coming in a few weeks where as the other platforms are coming next year. Getting a new computer and having it out of date in a few weeks is one thing but having it being out of date in a year is another.

I suggest you wait a few more weeks.

 

coupon

the articles i read about SSD being less power-efficient came out recently(past few weeks on engadget, gizmodo, ....

heres one
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-hdd-battery,1955.html

the one thing i remember is that SSDs only have a on-off state, meaning when the computer is switched on, SSDs are always-on.... disk-platter drives don't spn all the time, they thus go to 'sleep' mode when hard drive isn't being used, thus possibly being the discrepency in power usage.....

wait a few more years before the technology of SSD matures and prices go down

 

i start school in late september. will there be enough time after a new model/xps refresh to order and receive before school starts?

 

what company do you work for?
i've worked for best buy, target, and even the student discount doesnt match 16%.....lucky.