Is this a good deal for the e1705?

I am getting this as my notebook for college. I went with he 17 inch because I figure I am not going to be taking this to my classes because that is more of a distraction. And I can always take it to the library or wherever with ease. So here it is:

Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2600 (2.16GHz/667MHz FSB)

Genuine Windows® XP Professional

17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™

2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz

256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS

100GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive

Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

FREE!8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability

Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD Audio

Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps)

80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery

2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr HW Warranty Support

Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal(2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)

Genuine Windows® XP Professional re-installation CD


All of this for $2,588.50 including tax and shipping.


I can't believe Dell is so cheap. I personally feel that this is an excellent deal. What do you guys think? Anyway to make it even cheaper? THe coupons don't work because Dell is already giving 34% off. What do you guys think about this. I will be ordering in a day or two.

 

omg more than 25 hundreds and you think that's cheap?? if you apply $750 off coupon it would be much cheaper? is this the price after 34% off?

 

Wow... that is one LOADED system. You've basically upgraded everything as far as it'll go. Well, seeing as you are (going to be) a college student, you may want to see whether or not your university offers student discounts through EEP. 12% off on a $2500+ system could make quite a difference, + you could qualify for additional rebates for your warranty.

With that said, here are a couple ways to lessen the cost of your system:
1. Go w/ the cheapest RAM option & purchase aftermarket RAM for your upgrade.
2. Drop the Sound Blaster "Upgrade"
3. Instead of purchasing the reinstallation CD's, try calling Dell for them afterwards. They usually ship them for free.
4. See if you can find any $35/$300 or $50/$799 coupons available. Those are generally stackable with other discounts.

Also, if you think having a notebook in the classroom wil distract you. Imagine how bad it'll be in the library or your dorm room.

 

Yes this is the price after the 34%off. I have tried all kinds of coupons, but they don't seem to work with this 34%off. The 34%off deal ends today, but I don't know if I should buy today, or wait for another deal. I doubt a deal can get much better than this.

 

how much you got for 34% off? is this epp or home office? if this is epp you can't apply the home & office coupon. when you apply the coupon, the 34% should be gone, so if you have price > 2200, you should use the 34% discount, otherwise use 750$ off coupon.

im sure this price is so so so expensive.
follow j4y_7's suggestion thou..you dont need to max all the options, as dell unreasonably charge them too much compared to the price outside....

 

Get a cheaper processor and buy RAM seperately, unless you use c-notes from your wallet once the toilet paper runs out.

 

XP Professional and MCE are basically the same, except for one function which can be unlocked. Go with the T2500 since its not much slower and is MUCH cheaper.

 

Wouldn't adding your own RAM void the warrenty?

 

I don't think the reason you are not getting the coupon to work is because of the 34% off, but rather because the highest configuration of the e1705 simply does not work with a coupon. When last weeks coupons were available, all models had the same percentage discount, but only the 3 lowest priced configurations worked with a coupon. You might want to try starting with a lower model and building up, you could end up getting a better discount that way...

 

The highest processor you should get is the T2500. Also get windows mce, you will save yourself a few hundred by doing that.

 

Well if you have a bottomless wallet and want to spend even more on a laptop, go with the XPS M1710. I believe it is a better built system overall and the basic config is about the same as the price you got there.

There also used to be 10% off XPS coupons floating around. I don't know if any still exist though.

 

aren't there disputed facts on if the XPS can handle a merom chip?