Inspiron 1720 question

Hi all!

*If you have been to my other topic (asus v. macbook pro) you will know what i'm talking about.

I may get an inspiron 1720 soon, but i wanted to make sure it was worth it. is this a good deal:

Inspiron 1720 Intel® Core 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)

Intel® Core 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Jet Black
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
High Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1920 x 1200)
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
Size: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
Integrated Sound Blaster® AudigyHD Software Edition
Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card
Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Webcam
No Productivity software pre-installed
I chose the promotional security package with service
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
DellCare Plus Bundle with 4Yr In Home Svc, Parts + Labor
No ISP requested
Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
No Entertainment software pre-installed
Basic Black Matte LCD back color w Camera
Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor
Windows Vista Premium
DataSafe included with DellCare Service bundle
Subtotal:
$2,112.03
Shipping & Handling:
$0.00
Tax:
$102.71
Total Price w/Discounts:
$2,214.74

is this good or am i getting shafted?

 

Considering that you can get an HP 8710p with a T7300, 2GB, 160GB, and an 8700GT for $1999 with a business 3-year warranty...

...yes.

 

I can't get such high price when configuring it here...maybe it's Dellcare Plus? how does it cost?

 

i'm staying away from hp/compaq, so please don't go there.

john, i think it is the dellcare plus that makes it higher - i did this over the phone, but i tried to configure it online as well and the dellcare plus seemed to create the largest price hike.

 

wow thats high, call a sales guy and see what they can do.

 

that's what i'm doing tomorrow.

 

ok now I get your price...it's because of DellCare
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/services/inspnnb/1720_DNCWMA1?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Depends on your needs...it's more than 400$

 

i need this notebook to last through college (or at least most of it), so i figured a 3 or 4-year warranty was pretty good.

 

Get 802.11n Mini-card. It'll be the standard in a few years.

 

^ yeah, i was thinking about that...

 

bop to the top

 

No way!!
looks at my sig... i pretty much have the same setup as you. Maybe you should try going thru epp?

 

yeah, now i'm wondering why the heck i'm paying so much...

i'm talking to the sales rep today, maybe she can help.

 

btw, is an inspiron a decent gaming notebook (with the specs i have) or would i be better off with a vostro (XPS is a bit out of my $2000-$2500 price range).

 

That's an awesome machine to use as a gaming notebook... I don't know much about the Vostro so I can't answer that one.

 

i was referring more to build quality - any computer can have great specs, but the quality could stink (someone on this board told me that, but i don't remember who...)

 

its very solidly built...

 

I think paying the premium for the xps is not worth it. Unless you want the high end video card. The build quality is about the same in my opinion. I Had an insipron 9300 and a XPS 1710 side by side and honestly The cases looked the same, The connections for the motherboard, where the usbs, power, battery where all in the same places. I mean apart from the colors and the xps logos there was no difference between the XPS or inspiron.

I now have a 1720 and i feel its build/ design is far better than any other insirpon i have used or the XPS 1710 that i used.

All in all i say go with the 1720 and you will be happy. try to use dell.com/epp to make your purchase it may save you a couple hundred.

 

yeah, that's what i'm doing. it saves me about a couple hundred, which turned into 100 after i added a bag (i need one otherwise i wouldn't have got it) and a few other upgrades. so i'm paying a little less than what i was, but getting more out of it.

 

Ok, i changed it and here are the new stats. i'm still paying a lot, though...maybe someone can help find out why (and it's really long, so i apologize for that ):

Inspiron 1720, Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2.0GHz, 800Mhz, 2M L2 Cache
$2,160.19

Jet Black Color with Matte Finish

2GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm for Inspiron 1720

High Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1920 x 1200)

256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600

160G 5400RPM SATA hard drive 5400 RPM

DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP,INSP1720

Internet Search and Portal

Icon Consolidation Application

Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp

DELL SUPPORT 3.4,DIM/INSP

Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access

Media Direct 3.3

Dell Support Center 1.0

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English

Integrated 10/100 Network Cardand Modem, for Inspiron

ADOBE ACROBAT READER 8.1 DIM/INSP

8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive

Roxio Creator Basic

Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy

Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini-card

Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam

Creative Earbud EP630

Security 30-day trial

56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, Inspiron 1720

No Internet Service Provider Requested

No Productivity Software requested

1 yr Automated PC Tune Up

Insp Datasafe 10GB,1YR,DHS

DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS

DataSafe Online 10GB for Dim/Ins/XPS

Warranty Support,Initial Year

Thank you for choosing a Limited Warranty and Service Contract

Dell Support and PC Tune-up 1YR

Soft Contracts - Qualxserve

Warranty Support,3 Year Extended

4 Year Limited Warranty

Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year

Type 15- Third Party At HomeService with Nights and Weekends, 24x7 Technical Support,Initial Year

Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Extended Year

Type 15- Third Party At Home Service with Nights and Week ends, 24x7 Technical Support, 3 Year Extended

CompleteCare Accidental DamageProtection, Inspiron, 4 Year

Soft Contracts - Consumer Complete Care

Absolute - Computrace LoJack for Laptops 4 Year

Bundle LoJack Theft Recovery Service - 4Year

You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor

Basic Black Matte LCD back color w/ 2.0M pixel Camera Insp 1720

No Preinstalled Software

DataSafe included with DellCare Service bundle

-DISCOUNT/COUPON APPLIED

Platinum Deluxe Notebook Case Fits Notebooks of Screen Sizes Up to 17-inch - Black Platinum
$38.99

Subtotal:
$2,199.18

Shipping & Handling:
$0.00

Tax:
$107.05

Environmental Disposal Fee:
$0.00

Total Price w/Discounts:
$2,306.23


am i still getting shafted? the sales rep told me that it couldn't really get lower, though the monthly payments will actually make it less (that doesn't compute with me, but...)

some of these details i don't understand, so if someone could help me out with this, that would be appreciated!

 

sorry to keep BUMPing this, but the rep is calling me back friday with pricing and payment info, so i'd like to have an answer for her. *points to previous post*

 

I got my 1720 (see sig) for a GREAT price its all about the coupons!

 

explain.

 

They used to have coupons back in August -- really nice ones for $300 or more.

 

^ probably don't have those anymore though...*sigh*

EDIT: some things in my latest specification post i don't understand, like DELL SUPPORT 3.4,DIM/INSP, Media Direct 3.3, and Soft Contracts - Consumer Complete Care. what do these mean, exactly?

 

Bump-ba-ba-bump-bump...bump-bump

 

Dell Support 3.4 is some sort of software that ships with Dells.
link
Media Direct 3.3 is software that lets you play movies DVD's and music CD's either with or without Windows Vista running.
Consumer Complete Care sounds like your warranty.
DIM/INSP I'm guessing means it's for Dimension or Inspiron.

 

ok, thanks for the info. i'm talking to the sales rep tomorrow, maybe she can add onto that.

Thanks for everyone's help, if you have any other comments/suggestion feel free to post them!

 

>.> have you looked in to toshiba, asus, lenovo or just about any other laptops....thats a outrageous price to pay for such low specs. Dell notebooks just don't seem like they are worth it without the coupons.

 

I got a nice 1720. Mine costed around 1,300

look in my sig


it plays the crysis beta very well!

 

i wouldn't say they're low specs...

i'm going with dell because they're supposed to have some sort of payment plan for students. i'm talking with the sales rep today to see if she can help me out with this price.

that and the 4-year warranty (which is partially why this is, for now, costing so much)...

i was going with an asus, but a friends convinced me otherwise...

HP = BAD in my book

lenovo - i don't feel comfortable going with a business style notebook for some reason.

toshiba - i couldn't find a notebook w/ comparable stats for a decent price.

 

well, i've ordered it and i managed to save about $100 after talking w/ the rep. hopefully i'll be able to save more if i can remove any recovery discs it may have (i know how to make one, so why spend extra money on it?).

i just wish some of those coupons were still there...