Is this a good deal on a 700m?

Hey guys, I've been a Mac user for a long time and have been checking out Dells for a while because I've found a need to get a PC notebook. I've noticed with the coupons that Dell has been giving out that they basically want you to spend $1,000 as the sentiment on forums seem to be that they won't be having those $750 off 1500 coupons anytime soon.

So I figure it would be smart to get the best deal for my $1,000 so I configured a 700m using the $500 off 1499 and a $50 off Dell game coupon, tell me what you guys think. My needs for the 700m are word processing, surfing the web, watching DVDs, and storing some photos.

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 735 (1.70 GHz/400MHzFSB)12.1-in WXGA

Genuine Windows® XP Home

Memory 512MB DDR SDRAM 2 Dimms

Hard Drive 100 GB 5400rpm Hard Drive

Network Adapters Integrated Network Card

Modem Internal 56K Modem

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0

CD ROM/DVD ROM FREE! (Savings included in price) 8x CD/DVD burner +/- RW

Wireless Networking Card Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)

$958 subtotal
$1,064 with tax and shipping

I figure I could get more RAM for cheaper later on and the 100 GB hard drive more than fits my needs and will last me for a while. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

 

First off, have you taken a look at the Dell 710m?

The Dell 710m is much different except the keyboard and trims around it, nothing else is updated, in case your big on looks.

Your laptop is nice, but however be warned it won't support dual channel, as its not on the 915G platform, the 700m is an older Dell laptop that has been around for a while now year I think? It's really up to you to decide.

Just letting you know, however if your fine without dual channel go for it?

Now know, this laptop is fine for running the office applications and maybe some minor multimedia, but shouldn't to be used a Desktop replacement

 

The keyboard 700m is takes some getting used to as it is small. If you are looking for a good budget notebook, I would look at the Compaq v2000z with the Sempron CPU. You can configure one at HP.com. If you need a good keyboard, I would suggest a ThinkPad. There is a inexpensive one here, but it is obviously much larger:

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product_Id=4070380

 

How can you tell it's not on 915G? B/c of the available processors 735, 755, etc, as opposed to 750, 760? Will it really make a performance difference now or in the future?

 

The 915 chipsets are not offered on the 700m becasue it is a Dothan Pentium M. Dothans come with the 855 which is not necessarily bad because they are extremely low power which leads to better battery life.

 

Why are you recommending the Sempron CPU? And the v2000z has a 14" screen not a 12" one like the 700m. Not to mention it weighs about 1 lb more.

 

Because the OP was looking for a budget notebook. I personally consider the Sempron to be a better budget CPU than the Celeron offered in a lot of budget notebooks though not the case with the 700m. Just cause they are looking at a 700m doesn't mean they won't consider other options.