Just bought a D610 from Dell Outlet - did I get a good deal?

Hi everyone -

My trusty I3700 died several months ago (stopped turning on), so I've spent the past 2 months obsessively hunting for good deals on Dell notebooks. I was going to wait till the end of this month for possible EOQ sales, but I stumbled across this deal on a Latitude D610 in Dell Outlet and jumped on it.



I know that relatively, this is a good price for a D610....but $1073 is a lot of money for me (working and in grad school).....so now I'm feeling a bit anxious about this purchase. I would really appreciate it if I could get honest feedback about whether this was a good deal?

Latitude D610 = $849

Intel Pentium M, 740 (1.73GHz)


14.1 SXGA+, Intel GMA900
Win XP home
512 MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz (2 DIMM)
No floppy drive
60GB EIDE HD (5400 RPM)
Internal 56Kbps Modem
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 mini PCI Card
24x CD RW/DVD Combo Drive
90W AC Adapter
Nylon Carrying Case
6 cell battery
Various software and CDs


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3 year on-site and accidental damage coverage = $119



Total (incl tax/shipping) = $1073


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I wanted something light since I would be using this laptop for work/travel/school. The most frequent applications I'd run on it would be Internet, the Office Suite, and statistical analysis programs. I figured I can eventually upgrade the RAM pretty easily, and I can get a Win XP Pro upgrade CD through my University for $10. And, a CD burner is more useful to me than a DVD burner.

The extent of my gaming activities is solitaire , but would a Radeon x300 be a better overall choice than Intel GMA900?
Also, what's the difference between a mini PCI card and an Internal Wireless NIC? Which one is better? Or are they the same thing?

Any feedback is appreciated!!

(By the way - this website has been incredibly, incredibly useful.....the in-depth reviews have really helped me understand the systems, especially since we can't view most of the Dell products in person.)

 

Not bad especially with the three year onsite. Dells onsite service is usually pretty good.

 

That is one of the best deals I have ever seen someone get on a Latitude! Especially nice that you got the SXGA+ screen and the 3 year warranty!

Yes, the Radeon X300, while not a very powerful chip (you can play games on lower settings), is a much better solution than the intel GMA900, because it won't leech off your system memory (it has its own), and, it will speed your system up overall.

The internal wireless is a Mini-PCI card, yes - they're the same thing.

Congrats on your purchase, thanks for complimenting the site!

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts when you get it! :centrino:

 

cool. i just ordered pretty much the same thing also except with 65W AC adapter (whats the diff between the 90W and 65W) for about the same price. suppose to come in this weekend but wont be i wont be home from school for a few weeks. let me know how you like it and if you find any problems, especially that static noise i keep reading about.

 

i wanted a latitude but no $ had tosettle for a 700m

 

This D610 as configured will be a great machine for your uses. The integrated gpu will be just fine, and give you the maximum possible battery life, all other things being equal. The D610 is markedly more portable than the i6000/D810, but has the D810's full-size beauty of a keyboard, unlike many of the smaller Dell notebooks. Ram is easily increased, but you may not find a need to. Try the present setup first. SXGA+ is really good option - perfect for the 14.1" standard-ratio screen. 3-year accidental damage worth every cent. ​