Dell Vostro is here!!!

Wow that sucks.

 

I had the same thing happen to me with the 1520's. I talk to the rep and he couldn't tell me why

 

Dell is really getting on my nerves, thats really strange considering you can still get the 8600 GT with the 1500.

 

has any1 found the physical size of the harddrive? if i buy a 1500 vostro, i will put in a 160GB 7200 rpm drive. also, does anyone know of a good site for harddrives, namely the momentus?

 

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Drives

 

speaking of new egg, their 2 gig sticks just came back in stock. I just picked mine up, total rang to $100 but you get $40 back, so 2 gigs for 60 bucks.

 

anyone have any idea how long it takes to get the rebate check?

 

is the 1.6 GHZ processor enough for gaming? stuff like FEAR and newer games?

 

It should be as that's the CPU I ordered for my Vostro to play strategy games, memory and the GPU are much more important these days than the CPU. Years ago, say prior to 3D cards it was the CPU that took all the workload.

Today it's mostly handled by the GPU.

 

Why don't you save $100 on the harddrive and just get the 120GB. You can buy an 500G external hard drive with $120.

 

does anyone know if the prcoessor is upgradable? like a year down the road, could i swap it out with a better one?

 

Bad Idea IMHO.

Buy the best processor you can now.

When buying a new computer I always spend the most money on the most "static" parts, CPU, GPU and screen, everything else can be replaced later.

 

so even at the best deal in the internet u can find 2 GB memory at around 100$ ( 1 GB x 2 ) - to take the 2 GB with dell is 150$ upgreat so evenceally u save here around 50$ - - what do u say guys? its worth the trouble changing the memory by my self ?

 

Have you counted the shipping costs for that ram?

Personally I'd go with the Dell's 2GB, $50 is not that much to disassemble a new laptop for it.

 

Have you counted the shipping costs for that ram?

Personally I'd go with the Dell's 2GB, $50 is not that much to disassemble a new laptop for it.

 

i dont thing it will effect the shiping time but im calling them right now
decise taking the 2 GB and the premuim vista for total of 179$ upgreat so the total of the notbook is 799$

 

Its not $100, its $100 before rebates. I just bought mine for $100 even including shipping. Im getting $40 back in rebates, so I am paying $60 for two gigs, nearly $100 cheaper....to me that worth it.

 

You can also probably get like $30-40 for the 1gb of ram that comes with the laptop.

 

few things:
1. 100$ its 100$ ! u get it in rebate but u pay 4 it now.
2. to sell it sound complicate but duable
3. what about all the technical issue ? to change it all by your self specially when the memory is under the keyboard . .

 

Having never done any of this I don't know how hard it will be. The memory under the keyboard may take a little work, but I have opened up a lot of desktops and I don't think this will be much different.

As far as selling the 512 ram...i don't think I can get 30-40, i think I can get closer to 15-20 total. After looking on Ebay most people end up selling their 512 sticks for about $10 or so. I don't know if I'll even sell it, I may just hold on to it. Either way, im saving $100 by taking only a small risk, i have confidence that I can swap out the memory.

 

lol, dont you guys shop around for ram. im seeing price form $60-75, and its maybe $5 to ship. then you can sell your ram for $20 on ebay. you'll probably end up saving $100

as far as upgrading the processor, you can do it. dell even tells you how to do it

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/vos1500/en/sm/cpu.htm#wp1179976

 

well i disagree with you on the CPU part. upgrading processors now tend to be very expensive and with little real improvements.
out of the GPU, screen and CPU CPU is the easiest to upgrade and with plenty of available parts out there

 

darn...only $15-20? oh well...

if you look at the 1500 manual, there are detailed instructions on how to replace the ram under the keyboard. it doesn't look as hard as ppl make it out to be. somebody posted their own instructions on how to change the ram but he completely disconnected the keyboard from the laptop which isn't necessary.

 

i just upgreat my order to the 2 GB and i asked the rep fro dell if the computer arrive with a remot control and he say it does !
there was an opsion to buy it for 40$ when i did the order on line if im not mistaking but i didnt check it and any way he say its coming with one . . . what do u think ?

 

It won't come with one. I'm sure of it.

 

very strange . . i hope ill find a suprise . . and if not ill definitely going to call Dell and say they promise me one . . .

 

when I first ordered the vostro wwwwwaaaaay long ago (2 days) I asked and he said the remote is part of a promotion going to some random media center PC's that have home edition vista. He said no vostros come with them. He was sure of it.

 

i guess that if u bug them they will give u one evencually

 

Where are some real pics of the Vostro family ? and are there any coupons/EPP discounts available for Vostros yet?

also, to respond to many posts in this thread.. Vostro has Magnesium alloy chassis + HDD Shock absorber + $169 for 3yr warranty + better price with Smart Values (I got mine for only $1,122 with the same config as 1520 which was $1,168)... versus just some magnesium parts (back lid) + no Shock absorber + $250 for 3yr warranty + slightly higher price even with the $300 coupon!!

 

Is it worth the $40 to upgrade to the 14.1 inch Wide Screen XGA+ LCD Display with TrueLife™?

 

Some people don't like Truelife- say its too reflective. I posted a link to a site that gave it a negative review earlier in this thread.

 

Yes it will come with remote !!!! Dell India sure has an option of buying the travel remote for Rs. 622/- around 14 USD.

 

it depends if you need the real estate. as for the truelife, ive actually been hearing good things about it.

 

someone told me that a higher resolution actually makes everything look better. Is that true?

 

i guess it depends from person to person. i think it looks better, but some people dont like it because it makes the text to small

 

ok stupid question but do i buy pc2 5300 or 5400 ram? and whats the difference?

 

For the 14.1 inches display, I think the 1280x800 resolution is enough. A higher resolution will make the icons and character smaller, which I think will be too small on a 14.1 inches display.

 

I'm curious what would be the real differences in Vostros anyway I only found that:
- Vostro has the FSB 533/667/800 while Inspiron has only 667/800;
- Vostro has Sigmatel STAC9205 HD Audio while Inspiron has Intel HDA Azalia;
- Vostro has the whole chassis in magnesium alloy while Inspiron only the lid;

I've read all the pages from both manuals and I must admit that the design is exactly the same with both series, so what's the catch then? Is Vostro really a Business class ?

 

I think it's just a way to get lots of money from "small businesses". Remember, that most of the people buying the Inspirons aren't supposed to be buying the Vostros, so I don't think there's a catch.

 

did anyone who ordered a vostro have a problem ordering or do you all have small businesses. when i ordered mine they surprisingly asked for a tax id number and stuff. which isnt a big deal because i actually do have a small business. but i just figured as long as they make a sale they wouldnt be worried about it. and they wouldnt let me pay threw my dell preferred account, i had to open a business card with them. anyone else have this problem.

 

Nice observation, I'm a bit hesitant ordering either a Vostro or an Inspiron, not knowing what exactly is installed in them, what quality components...

 

That's odd :/

Did you order over the website? and they called you to asked for an ID or did you just order over the phone?

 

When I ordered mine they did ask for a tax ID number. I told them it was a very small business not even registered at this point and I pay taxes under my personal ss # (which is all true) and then they asked what we produced and that was all the questions he asked. But yeah it caught me off guard, I figured they wouldn't care.

 

In order to have your RAM's work at "dual-channel", you have to buy the new RAM's in dual channel "kits" that come together in the same packaging. Just by getting two of the same brand/speed/model might not do it because these manufacturers get their chips from different factories.

If you want dual channel, you can't just get two separate 1GB RAM's for 2GB, you have to buy "kits".

Frys had a good deal on Friday where a Crucial two gig kit was only $45 after rebates. They are out of stock online for those but you can still get them at a frys store (if one nears you) for $49 after rebate, helluva deal.

 

i ordered over the phone and the dell rep asked for the tax id number and i said i dont have it off hand because i didnt. he said ok and that he guesses i didnt need it so he used my SS and everything went threw. then the next day i got a call from someone else from dell saying they had to put a hold on my order till they got a tax id number, so i gave it to them and everything is cool. just wondering if they gave this hassel to anyone else.

 

Not for us that ordered over the internet, I gave them the name of my "small business" and that's it. No questions askes. They shipped the bag I ordered the same day. The only thing that sucks is that DHL will deliver the package to the fake business, so I'm hoping that THEY don't require some kind of business ID or something.

 

I had that same problem when I tried to order over the phone but three different reps told me I can't order one unless I have a tax payer ID. I told them this is "America" and we are free to do what we want, if we have the money, we can buy whatever. The foreigner on the other side of the phone seemed confused by that.

Just order online, no problems. Plus it's cheaper online with the online package that they don't offer over the phone.

 

There is no difference or much of it if any, it should be 667 Mhz on both of them. Different brands call them different names, that's all.

 

Yup I remember being asked for my Federal Employment Identification #. I had to provide it on their website before I could complete the order. But if i'm not mistaken you can also make a Small Business purchase with a guest account.

I think the reason behind asking for your FEI might be to see if they can sell you more systems later on.

 

your wrong about that. all you need to have is the same size of ram. you dont have to buy the kit. i know this because my dads laptop had one 1gb stick and when i added another 1gb stick (different manufacture and speed), dual channel was enabled