M1530 - Is this a good deal?

Hi everyone
With the help of a coupon code I have configured a pretty decent machine and I'm wondering if this looks like a good deal to those of you who are more experienced in purchasing Dell laptops?


configuration is: Midnight Blue, 3 GB Ram, 250 GB (5400rpm) HDD, 1440x900 LCD, 6-CELL Battery, 2.0 GHz (T5750) C2D, and Bluetooth+BT Travel Mouse

after coupon code it's about $1015.

I don't really need the bluetooth but the coupon code requires a minimum of 1249 on the laptop and this config seems like a cheap way of getting the price to slightly over the 1249 so I can apply the coupon code. Unless you guys could recommend a better configuration for roughly the same price after the discount?

Thanks in advance!

edit - getting rid of the Bluetooth stuff, changing to the "Tuxedo Black" color, and instead upgrading the processor to the 2.2 GHz C2D results in a ~$1059 final price after discount.. is it worth it to go this route or should I just keep the 2.0? Thanks!

 

You're gonna want the Bluetooth. But other than that, it looks pretty good.

 

Keeping Tuxedo Black is good, the Midnight Blue is not that great at all, at least not worth the 25 dollar price. I personally like Tuxedo Black. It is a great configuration you have there. Keep it!

 

No it's not, you gotta bump that Core 2 Duo of your's from a T5750 to a Penryn T9300, it would make a world of difference..

Check out how mine is spec'ed, it came out to be $1283.48 shipped next day air, but that is with a EPP discount, and if you configure the BASE XPS M1530, the one that is starting at $999, without extended warranty and accidental, you can get a kick-a$$ system like mine.

Color doesnt matter, but you should get the LEAST amount of RAM you can on Dell, then buy a 4GB kit off Newegg for like $50, RAM is cheap so dont buy it off of Dell, upgrade it yourself..

Is your LCD the regular one or LED LCD? I suggest you get a LED LCD like mine.

Also, i dont see a graphics card in your list, i would highly suggest you to get a 256MB of Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT..

Think about it.. It will come out to be around $1400 but its gonna be a really really good and fast machine.

With the 25% off coupon ofcourse..

 

I don't need a ton of power.. I'll be using it for schoolwork, moviewatching and casual (CASUAL) gaming.. when Starcraft II comes out I'll be playing that but not much else also I can't really justify spending $150 more for LED backlighting. Is it really that much of a difference?..

 

It saves alittle more power, brighter screen and maybe it is not worth $150 more but i would think it is, thats why i got mine like that..

You don't need a TON of power but your T5750 is really crappy compared to the Penryn T9300, it isn't even that much more to get a T9300, i would suggest you getting it or i say you would regret it pretty soon after you get it.. So it is $1015 compared to $1400, go on to Dell and configure it yourself and see how much it will finally comes out to after the 25% off coupon..

If you really dont wanna get the T9300, which i think is a mistake of not getting it, but it is not the end of the world and you can live with a T8300 and be fine with it.. But the T8300 only got 3MB of cache and the T9300 got 6MB of cache.. Something to think about...

 

One thing about the new Penryn CPU is that it's not so hungry in power consumption as the previous generation. Translating directly into longer battery life.

There's also 3MB more L2 cache, which is quite a large difference!

Good write up here about the new processors:

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3195

 

hey friends, if he doesn't have the means, then don't force him to buy something that he can't afford. The 2.0 core2duo will be enough for a student.he won't be doing advanced video encoding and processor intensive tasks.. its a good choice mate, i say go with it!!!

 

He saids he wants to game, so I think he should get at least a T8300, saves power and its only about $125 more..

 

Not to bad. I would get a better CPU, but for older games, word, internet, etc. its a great system.

What video card are you getting? 8600GT? If its the 8400, you won't be doing much gaming.

 

You don't need the bluetooth if your never going to use it. You can always buy it later on if you do choose to use it later. The installation is very simple. Chances are, your not going to use it. Then again, it is only 20 bucks, so why not.

 

I got bluetooth on mine. I have never used bluetooth before, but figured I might want to try it. Plus, my cell phone has bluetooth, so that might be cool to mess around with.

 

Lol bluetooth is only $20 so i dont see the point of not getting it..