Is it too late?

I wish I'd found this site sooner. I hadn't seen the online coupons when I ordered my dell.
I bought a 1520:
Intel Pentium Dure Core T2310 (1.46GHz 533Mhz, 1M L2 Cache)
80G
nVIDA 128MB GForce 8400
dvd +cd burner
webcam
flamingo pink color
glossy truelife screen
1GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Prim

the total : $908

It is still in production, I ordered 11/23. Expected ship date is 12/3 and expected delivery is 12/6-12/10.

I will be using this laptop through college and I'm a junior in high school now so thats five years. [at least] I'm also paying for about 800 of it myself. My parents are paying the monthly installments until june as a christmas present, so I need it by christmas.

Now I'm worried that I missed out on upgrading it to better specs for the same price. Is it possible to add specs and a coupon and still have it by christmas? And if so, would I still get it at around the same time? Any advice?


Thanks!

 

You can do MUCH better than that!

Find a coupon and, at the very least, get a better processor. Also, if your using Vista, 2GB RAM would be very beneficial

www.techbargains.com has good coupons almost all of the time....

 

Also the base Vostro 1500 is better than that and it starts at $599. (The Vostro 1500 is the same as the Inspiron 1520)

EDIT: although it doesn't come in pink. lol.

 

Cancel Right Now ! And Find Coupons And Reconfig !

 

DuesEx is right! You can get a better HP at that price for crying out loud! (Never thought I'd say that!)

 

I think I will. Any suggestions on what I should change?

I might want the 17 inch screen instead, but I'd like around the same price range.

This is my first laptop so I'm not sure what I should add and whats a good price.

EDIT: Also, would I still receive it by christmas?

EDIT: Probably a dumb question, but I didn't register an account with dell, is there a way to cancel the order online?

 

my personal advice would be to get one of the dell 15 inch laptops. in my opinion they are the best bang for the buck. Vostros are cheaper so if you want a laptop now get one of those. If you can wait, then do so and see what upgrades the new 1520 line will put out.

now as for what you should change? Depends on what you need hte laptop for !

-if you do gaming then get the 8600m gt, if not then even integrated graphics are fine for you
- do you have enough HDD space? what are your individual needs ? if you feel you need more then upgrade, if you dont fill up your hard drives then dont bother.. empty space wont help much if you dont use it. (keep in mind however that vista does take up quite some space).
- What kind of work do you do ? cpu intensive? upgrade your cpu to something along the lines of T7100 - T7250 (middle of the road).
- Make sure you get 2 gb of ram, vista is a hogger. (assuming you getting vista).

I could recommend a good laptop based on your needs if i knew what it is that you will be using it for. Without that info this is the best i can do.

 

I did order it with vista.

I don't do much gaming aside from the Sims 2 with expansions.
I basically would use it for school essays, music, and watching DVDs. Oh and of course internet. Oh and pictures also. The size/weight of the laptop doesnt bother me because i wont be traveling with it much. I am getting this to replace my desktop though, if that helps at all.



PS: thank you for the fast replies! this forum is amazing :]

 

assuming your budget is the same as your last laptop 910$. here is what i can recommend (if anyone else see a better deal help out).

Dell Vostro 1500

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic edit
LCD PANEL 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife™ edit
MEMORY 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM edit
HARD DRIVE 160GB 5400RPM Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability edit
VIDEO CARD 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS edit
MEDIA DIRECT Dell Exclusive MediaDirect™ Instant Play Software Application edit
WI-FI WIRELESS CARD Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card edit
WEBCAM No Webcam Option edit

PRICE: $864 before shipping and taxes.

Here are some additions you can make on your own: 160 GB hard drive space enough? doubles your previous config ! but you can upgrade even further even on your own budget !

-OS: i recommend basic because it doesnt include and features that you wont need, but you can choose a "better" os if you want. (i think extra features are crap just go to MS website to compare the versions of vista).

- i recommend leaving the dell wireless card and not changing that; as far as i know it performs just as good as the intel card. I got the dell and it works great i might add.

-You can change the LCD if you prefer another resolution. I just chose the one that offered a GLOSSY true life screen for you because thats what most people prefer (not me though). (and its a 0$ upgrade).

- You can add another battery as these are quite expensive if bought AFTER your laptop purchase.

This laptop will be quick, will be able to store PLENTY of data, and will even run most games (nothing as extreme as crysis). I know you said you dont game, but they didnt have a downgrade from the 8400 gs for the vostro 1500.

 

Is the vostro available in 17in also?

There isnt a webcam option? And also, I thought I read somewhere that you can't do the monthly payments with a vostro, is this true? Thats the only way I can buy one right now.

EDIT: Just got off the phone and it's officially cancelled.

Now I really need help, I don't want to mess up my order again and have to cancel

thank you!

 

yes there is a 17 inch vostro available if you want it ! will cost a bit more, but im sure it will still stay in your budget.

there is a webcam option IF you need it. (only 20$ i believe).

as for montly payments, im not sure i have never done that. You should call dell for that, or maybe forum members here can answer that for u.

 

Ah yeah, I'm confused about the monthly payments for this, it says lease? What exactly does this mean compared to the DPA I was going to use?

Sorry I don't know that much about how dell or laptops work.

Thanks again :]

EDIT: What exact coupons would I use? I feel overwhelmed but I'm relieved that I can get a better laptop.

 

There are no coupons on the Vostros at the moment. But they come with a better base system for less so they are still better than the Inspirons with the coupons in most cases. As to the payment plans, no clue.

 

Well I configured one with these specs:
My System Details
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic
17.0 inch Wide Screen XGA+ LCD Display with TrueLife™
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
250GB 5400RPM Hard Drive [would make smaller, but not an option]
8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability
128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS
Dell Exclusive MediaDirect™ Instant Play Software Application
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card
Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera
Integrated High Definition Audio


total without shipping and tax 1100, is this a good price? I didn't really want to spend that much, but I don't know what else to do. And if anyone knows about payment plans for vistro please let me know.

I also plan on ordering this tonight if possible.

 

well i do have a question for you. What will you be using the laptop for mostly? . thats what it comes down to in the end. because 17 inch laptops are pretty damn big, so it limits the portability factor a lot. You could get a desktop if you dont plan to carry it around.

The reason why i offered a 15 inch laptop is because they are the middle of the road choice and are usually the best mix of portability and performance. (good graphics cards, and other hardware components, and higher battery life than the 17 inch laptops, not to mention price).

im going to go through the config again to see if you missed anything.

 

It's not bad, but I've seen better. Not sure that you really need the 2 GHz CPU though. Personally I think you would be better off with the 15 inch.

 

Mostly, I would just be carrying it around the house or to the library/friends places. In about a year and a half I'll be taking it to college.

I'd probably be alright with the 15in, aslong as it doesn't feel small. I have no idea how to compare sizes. I've only seen 17in. Thank you so much for your help.

According to your advice, I should probably switch to 15in for a better price.

EDIT: What GHz CPu would you recommend? Sorry If i missed this

 

Yeah, what he said! What are you going to do? And 15 inch has more power but a 14 inch is much more portable.

 

thats what i think also, which is why im wondering what he needs to use it for.

what i dont like about the 17 inch vostro at the moment:

-no option for a smaller HDD
-graphic card upgrade is expensive.
-no decent lcd panel choice... either the smallest wXga or the largest Wuxga.


think about this man its your choice but... with the 17 incher, you pay 200 more, and you dont even get such a good config like with the 15 incher... its 1.6 inch... so its up to you ultimately.

 

Yes fifteen inch would lower the price a lot. Also moving around it's much better. It will not be too small. If you can run to a store with laptop and get a look at screen sizes.

 

trust me man... the 15 incher wont be too small. Once you recieve the box you'll see what im talking about

 

Yeah, thought fifteen inch would be to small till I saw one and was like "WOW! I think I want something smaller" And my mom has a 17" nice but hard to move around and poor battery life.

 

Considering you are on a budget. I would downgrade acouple of the specs. Get 1gb ram. Upgrade it yourself, IT IS VERY EASY! Dell actually gives instructions on how to do it. You can get 2gm ram from newegg.com for $30, with the rebate. I would also downsize the HD.

I would also upgrade the processor to the T7500 and the video card to the 8600GT. These can't be upgraded later, so get them now, and this Laptop should last you through your college years without any problem. Considering that you'll be lugging this thing around for school, the 1520 may be a better option the the 1720.

MAC

 

alright i reconfigured

My System Details
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5270 (1.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife™
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
120GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability
128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS
Dell Exclusive MediaDirect™ Instant Play Software Application
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card
Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera


how does this sound?

 

oh yeah price is about 770 before shipping

but i added a wireless mouse and earbuds/remote

EDIT: 850 if I add 2yr in home service

 

The option to down grade the HDD and RAM is not there. And a CPU and GPU like that would be over kill since the laptop won't be used for gaming really.

 

Looks good. Think I would up the CPU to 1.6 ghz though just to be safe.

 

Alright I think I will upgrade it to that.

Then I just have one problem, confused about the lease/monthly payments?


Thank you guys so much for all the help!

edit: 935 before tax

 

That sucks dell raised the price since i looked this morning that system use to be $599 base. funny they didn't raise the 1400 too.

 

yeah everything looks good but i would also consider upping the processor a bit if it is an option for you. if not oh well.

just to be clear... you are a college student, but you are NOT planning to do any seriosu gaming with this machine correct?

 

!!! I clicked apply for the lease [monthly] and it asked for company name? Ah, I really want this. Now I'm freaking out. Any help ASAP would be greatly appreciated

 

I am a high school student 11th grade, I will be taking it to college though, and I don't do serious gaming.

 

yeah dude.. put any company name... it doesnt matter..

my name is dom so i put DomZ inc... they dont care

if no gaming then you got excellent specs and price and you are ready to go

 

Because the laptop needs to last for the next 5 years, I would at least upgrade the processor?


Michael

 

Just use your name as your company.

 

I'm using a P3 850 MHz CPU, 5 year later and still working. But I don't game.

 

even if applying for lease? they ask for company phone and federal tax number. if i called dell would I be able to set this up on DPA?

 

Do I have to redo all of this on an inspiron and use a coupon? Thats what they said on another board. I really want this one though. But Ill take what I can get, I suppose.

 

hmm try calling and getting another sales person... if that doesnt work, isnt there some way you could pay for it in full and then repay your family or whoever it is who will be apying for it ?

 

nobody as ever had a problem with this before that i know of. i don't see why someone can't buy a biz lappy if there not a biz. i mean i'd rather have a biz class any day.

 

Post your question a new tread. You should get more answers that way. Sorry I can't help further.

O4

 

the dell rep is telling me i cant get vistro, and hes configuring an inspiron again

 

my only advice at the moment is... you need to pay for the entire laptop up front if you want the vostro 1500.. its a better deal so if you can you should go for it...

 

im getting xps 1530 i think

 

You think? What about a HP? They have 30% off right not! Great deals! And they look a lot cooler than Dells. (Not downing Dell, I like Dells better)

 

OK here are the current dell coupons

$300 off on select Inspiron Notebooks $1199+ ZDWPS9CZT37LLB

$200 off on select Inspiron Notebooks $899+ TPT4DGZDQ38MFS

 

OK check out this HP.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto.do

Make it over $999 and and coupon NB3075 and get it for $750!

 

i think he means he ALREADY got an xps... lol in any case i agree hp;s do look better.

 

WOW! The HP comes out about the same has the Vostro!

 

Forget the XPS get the HP!!!