Inspiron 1420 to buy or not to buy...

Hello, I've read a lot of reviews and experiences about this notebook on this forum (thanks for that). I am now in the progress of ordering the 1420. I have a few questions/concerns I haven't seen addresses (or i missed it). For starters, the micro satin issues people been having, some people reported the micro satin comes of fairly fast, do the white glossy and black matte sufferfrom the same issues? Dead pixels, we all hate them, I'm going to order the 1440x900 screen, anyone had any bad/lit/dodgy pixels on these panels? I know the 1440x900 does not suffer from the graininess issue. And last does this model has a TPM module, couldn't find anything on that. The config as I'm about to order is:

Base System:

[WP737] Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T5550 1.83 GHz, 2MB Cache, 667 MHz FSB
[G056G] Preloaded Genuine Windows Vista(R) Home Basic 32 bit (English) OEM Version 1
[KN154] 14.1” UltraSharp(TM) Widescreen WXGA+ (1440x900) Display with TrueLife(TM) 1
[BCOL-018] Alpine White Color with Gloss Finish and Integrated 2MP Webcam
[HJ805] 3GB (1X1GB+1X2GB) 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 1
[MY607] 160GB SATA Hard Drive 1
[UM334] Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Combination Drive with dual layer write capabilities 1
[KN146] NVIDIA(R) GeForce(TM) 8400M GS with 128MB GDDR3 dedicated graphic memory 1
[GM489] Intel(R) 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini-Card 1
[BSC-012] Integrated Stereo Sound 1
[MU832] Dell(TM) Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module 1
[WW119] 6-cell 56Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery 1
[RH778] 90W AC Adapter 1
[KG641] TV-out cable w/ SPDIF 1
[WXPH813-INL(SA)] 3 Years Plus Phone Support: Mon-Fri 0900-2100, Sat 0900-1600
[SRVCINTI] International Support For Laptops
[WXPV113-INL] 3 Years Complete Cover Accidental Damage Protection
[WXPH611-IN] 1 Year - HelpDesk (Software, Virus, Spyware & Peripherals)
[WXPN913-IN(S)] 3 Years Plus Night & Weekend Onsite Service (M-F:0800-2100, Sat-Sun:0900-1700)

Also getting free noise-cancellation ear buds, bluetooth mosue and some other freebies. Hopefully I can reduce the 3 YRS NDB to a normal one without phone-plus to save some more. The above package is costing me:

3652RM or 1141.25USD

Is there anything I should change, remove, add, please let me know. Thank you!

 

The black finishes do not have that problem. If you get a dead pixel you can always get a new screen. It should have good viewing angles vs the standard screen. I'm nearly positive it does not have a TPM module.

Everything on your config looks good. Good luck with the purchase.

 

I bought 2 1420s last November. 1 red (mine), 1 pink (daughter`s). The micro satin finish is the same as the day they arrived. The pink seems to show dirt a little bit more. These laptops see very little travel, which I think can contribute to problems with the finish. WE got different screen resolutions, 1200x800 matte and 1400x900 glossy. I use the 12x8 because I need the larger print, and I dont really like the glossy screen The 1400x900 is not grainy and has no leakage. We have had no problems so far and I think a good indication is the lack of negative posts on this board. So far we`re both very satisfied with the 1420`s and would recommend them without hesitation.

 

Unfortunately, the colors do not wear off. I was really hoping the pink would wear off of my inspiron 1520 ... but I had to buy a sticker from skinit to hide the pink.

If you want to save some money, buy less memory with the laptop and upgrade it later. Although you will have to put in Dell's memory for any warranty work.

 

Thanks for the positive replies! I will try and get Dell to drop the extra phone support and late night on-site to save some money, as for the RAM its a free upgrade from 1GB to 3GB so I'm not too bothered with it. Thanks again!