Inspiron 6400 - Core 2 Duo - Good Price?

Configured this on Dell Canada. Is this a good deal? or should I wait for Santa Rosa and vista to come out?


Components
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T7200 (4MB Cache/2.00GHz/667MHz FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Home edit
LCD DISPLAY 15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen SXGA+ Display with TrueLife™ edit
MEMORY FREE Upgrade to 2GB Shared DDR2 SDRAM- $300 Value! edit
HARD DRIVE 80GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability edit
GRAPHICS CARD 256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™ edit
BATTERY OPTIONS 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery edit
WIRELESS NETWORK CARD Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Internal Wireless edit
Accessories
Software
PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE No productivity suite- Includes Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD edit
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee Security Center w/ VirusScan, Firewall and Privacy, 90-day trial edit
OS RE-INSTALLATION Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition re-installation CD edit
ADOBE SOFTWARE Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0 edit
Service
HARDWARE SUPPORT 1 Yr Return to Depot Service with 1 Yr Tech Support edit
INTERNET ACCESS OFFERS No ISP requested edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

CDN $1403 (around US $1,265.55)

 

Hi, I'm not in the CA so I'm not sure how much of a premium you have to pay vs us.....

If you have a little expertise behind you, you might be able to strip the config and upgrade a lot of that yourself. I just picked up a Core 2 Duo 6400 system for $830...

BTW in the US you can use this code to get 20% off:

TMLZVFQ44WR72D

 

Thanks for the response.

I don't think i have the time or the expertise to upgrade a laptop (and i don't want to accidentally void the warranty).

Seems like a good price since all the HP's, gateways and toshibas at best buy and staples are a lot more expensive even though they have 1/2 the RAM, poorer graphics and a much lower screen res.

Out of curiosity - what was the config. for your 6400 you got for $830 (that's US$ right?)?

 

The price you configured is ok. Try to use a coupon to bring the price down a few bucks

 

My config:

Core 2 Duo 1.66Ghz
512MB memory (2x1GB PC5400 is only $150) sell the 512 for $30 locally...
60GB SATA (120GB 5400RPM Samsung is only $115 sell the 60GB for $60-70)
WSXGA+ (1680x1088 or close to) (upgrade from the 1440x900)
Standard wireless
256MB ATI X1400 Video (I'm told it is faster or at best equal to the NVidia that is more expensive)
DVD-R burner upgrade

$1037 - 20% total price (I have a business so they didn't have to charge tax.

 

This coupon will likely *only* work for one particular pre-config'ed package.

I found a $100 off coupon, but it only worked on that one config that the link on the promo website pointed to. I have not been able to find any coupons that work on any of the start-from-scratch configs. I really tried, and I googled the hell out of it.

 

I guess that price is not too different from the config I had given the fact i had 2 Gigs of ram, a bigger hard drive, and a faster processor. i just can't decide whether i want to buy now or buy around June 2007 when santa rosa, vista are all out. I'm a student, so i want this lappy to last at least 4 years.

 

If you use a laptop a lot, it'll probably start to break down after 3 years. The keyboard will cry from pain, and internally, the little connectors will start to corrode and come loose.
My Inspiron 8200's video card connector has gone bad, and the screen totally garbles up, after 3 1/2 of fairly heavy duty operation. The laptop looks pretty worn out, the keys on the keyboard look half melted, and two keys broke.
It also developed a problem, where after I turn it on, I'd only get a flashing cursor in the corner. After it warms up after 5 minutes, it would start.

Anyway, my point is, I think that if you carry it around a lot, you'll last maybe 3 years. I bet the care bear won't cover normal wear and tear...

 

man im still fighting the laptop decision.. i found a HP something for $1399 with 2gig ram....
and jus the other day, on the back of the sun was a deal ending Aug 30th
dell with duo core (older?) 2400
2 gig of RAM!!!!!!!
120gig HD
and whatever else for $999!!!

i never called to see whats what but i bet thats was a gr8 deal..

i want one soley for photo editing,

i configured the core 2 duo for $1409 with 100gig of ram and only 1.83ghz .. id much rather the $999 though

 

if the processor has been upgraded, you could probably drop it down to 1.8 or even 1.6. im not sure how you'll be using the laptop, but you wont experience any speed differences especially with daily usage. ie. web, music

 

if u can still get it at that price, then i suggest u go ahead and get it, although the free upgrade to 2 gig ram is over so now to have all that stuff and 2 gig ram, its like $300 more, so i suggest u bring that down to 1 gig (i got mine with the free updgrade , but then the very next day core 2 duo came out for only $45 more with all the same stuff )

 

i'm going to be doing school work, photoshop, web, maybe some light video editing. is the upgrade to 2.0 a waste of money?

foosa123- i just checked. everything IS like $300 more now. How does dell do that? They're ripping customers off!

 

Yep, everything on the CDN site *IS* a lot more.
And the C2D *will* cost you 100's more on the 9400 at least.

The way I see it:

1) Merom will give 5-15% overal better performance, not *huge*.
2) Merom will cost you $300 more on a rich configured system.
3) Merom, from what I read, has a longer wait time.
4) Merom provides extra instructions, but software generally don't leverage it at all.
5) When 64 bit software does come, it'll likely detect 32 bit and run its 32 algorithms.
6) 32 bit will be fine for video, including hdtv, the cpu's simply really are ample fast - oh yes how they really really are.
7) I'm not going to get anxious over crap that Microsoft puts out, over how Vista's video features will require 64 bit for certain formats. There *will* be all kinds of alternatives that will run a o k on 32 bit.
8) I'm not buying "futureproofing" crap at this point.
9) You can upgrade yourself if you're daring enough to open your laptop. With a Dell I would no sweat - but your responsible yourself if you screw up.
10) Life will be just as happy with a C1D as with the C2D, unless you get a kick out of boasting and feeling all proud and mushy and better than everyone else. What / ever...

 

its cause they give free upgrades each week so it just so happens that that week was like the best deal of the month, and maybe even the year...i mean free 2 gig ram, thats crazy!

 

thanks for the insight. I think i'll buy the next time dell has some major deals... everything is so expensive right now. The config i had last week costs like $250 more now.

 

SYSTEM COMPONENTS
Inspiron 6400 Dual Core Qty 1
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T7200 (4MB Cache/2.00GHz/667MHz FSB), Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 Unit Price $1,569.00
Dell Customers: Savings on your Online Purchase
Expires September 5, 2006
- $303.00

Catalog Number: 70702 OCINSP64C2_FEAT_E1
Module Description Show Details
Inspiron 6400 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T7200 (4MB Cache/2.00GHz/667MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™
Memory 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm
Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™Go 7300 TurboCache
Hard Drive 120GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Combo/DVD+RW Drives FREE 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW)
Sound Options Integrated Audio
Wireless Networking Cards Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Internal Wireless
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) No productivity suite- Includes Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) McAfee Security Center w/ VirusScan, Firewall and Privacy, 90-day trial
Batteries 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Carrying Cases Nylon Backpack Carrying Case
Hardware Support Services 3 Yr Return to Depot Service with 3 Yr Tech Support
Digital Imaging Corel Photo Album™ 6 Starter Edition - Organize and Edit your photos
Internet Access No ISP requested
Operating System Re-Installation CD PC Restore recovery system by Symantec

ACCESSORIES
Belkin 10-Outlet SurgeMaster Gold Qty 1
Dell Part# A0361244 Unit Price $22.00
You have qualified for 20% savings with your online purchase
Expires September 7, 2006
- $4.40

Notebook Cover with Red Dragon Design for 15.4" Di Qty 1
Dell Part# A0663448 Unit Price $25.00
You have qualified for 20% savings with your online purchase.
Expires September 7, 2006
- $5.00



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dell All In One Inkjet 924 Qty 1
Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 924 CA Unit Price $124.00


what do u think of this deal??? the total after tax comes to $1'627 yeah im in canada, need a laptop to last me 3 years.

 

God you are like the super troll of these forums. Everything you just said is completely wrong. The merom costs $100, not $300 to upgrade, it is a 10-20% increase, etc. etc. We know you are pissed off because you missed the merom upgrade date, stop trolling everyone's threads with this anti-merom bullcrap, it gets really old and i'm sure people are tired of hearing you post.

 

So "everything" I said is wrong, completely wrong. What exactly is wrong?

I feel tired finding that article where I clearly pointed out how when you compare the best possible deals, there IS a price difference of $300 for a 9400/e1705 with a C2D in Canada. I'm sorry that you and one particular other stubborn person around here can't seem to get that in their noggin.

Which points that I listed are "completely" wrong - and what is the *right* answer then?

. . . (cricket noise) . . .