Ordering a Dell Insiron 9300

I'm about to order the Inspiron 9300, and Dell is strange. I saved 3 seperate "wish list" orders of the exact same configuration, and I have 3 different prices. One prints with the $750 off, and one does not, but will work. When I called to ask about ordering details, a rude and sarcastic guy who couldn't even speak English refused to help in any way. Whenever I'd ask a question, he would just ask me what the web site said, as though I didn't know how navigate through Dell's site and read on my own. Anything that wasn't on Dell's web site, he didn't know.

I still want to order one, but I'm going to try and give Dell as little money as possible.

Questions:

1. If I order with 256MB RAM, can I order RAM from another company? I noticed I can buy 2GB for the 9300 for $270 - WAY cheaper than Dell's $1,000 price. Is this wise?

2. Can the hard drive be changed out the same way?

3. How about the GeFroce Go 6800 256MB?

4. Anything else I can upgrade from someone else cheaper or later on?

I noticed there's a new wireless spec; 802.11n - what will we be able to do when this comes out? Will Dell sell us a new card for much more than we could buy it from someone else?

5. Warranty - does it cover dead pixels? The guy I spoke with at Dell didn't know what that meant. Any tips on how I can get this cheaper?

Here's what I'm trying to get:

Inspiron 9300
Pentium M 1.6 (would love faster, but too much $)
XP Pro
UXGA
2GB - from wherever
Biggest, fastest drive possible - 80GB, 100GB...
DVD burner
GeForce
9-cell
Most cost effective combination of warranty options...???
That's it!

I don't even want WordPerfect or trials of AOL or whatever else they're forcing me to purchase.

Any tips on how I can get the best price possible would be appreciated!

Thank you!

 

1. yes
2. yes
3. no
4. maybe the processor
5. yes

watch dell's coupon rotation for a month or two. you'll be able to tell if you're getting a good price.

 

Definitely a good plan to get third-party RAM--much cheaper. The hard drive is easy to swap, but not sure how much you'd save doing that (unless you have one already). The nVidia 6800 is well worth it. If you're handy and motivated, there is a way to buy a cheap processor and pin-mod it to run faster. You could save some money by not getting any extended warranty, but that's risky in my opinion. I opted for two-year complete care, not wanting to send off the laptop if repairs were needed. If you own a business (or can find a way to say you do) you could order through Dell's small business section, which I think is cheaper, and they offer coupons as well. Good luck, it's a nice rig.

 

Just ordered.

I went through the small biz options, and although it does seem cheaper, and you have more options to leave useless options out, you are also slightly limited on some options. I think it really was the 80GB drive that was not an option. I think it did have a 3 year instead though, but I selected the 2 year with Accidental this way.

It was tricky to get the $750 off to stick. They have ways of making things cost the same no matter what you do. If I got it cheaper through another set of options, the coupon didn't work.

I think tomorrow they have a limited time coupon for small biz. I'll try it and see if it works. They have seemingly great options like a free DVD burner, but in the end it all costs about the same. I'll findout if I'm right tomorrow...

I also just ordered my 2GB RAM seperately, saving $750!

 

hey...can u tell me if it works 2??...i was thinkin of gettin a 1 GB DDR Ram separately and getting a diff. hard drive separately 2..cuz i wanted the 2 GHZ processor as well

 

I know the RAM will work - I paid a little more than transcend and purchased the Crucial. They're the one's who make memory for Dell in the first place.

I decided the hard drive wasn't worth the effort - they're expensive no matter where you buy them.

 

kk.thanks...but i have another question..is it very hard to install a RAM chip/card..w/e...into the laptop??..and the transcend 1 Gb ram works on dell laptops..i've read the opinions on newegg.com

 

Installing RAM is as easy as removing 2 screws from the ram cover plate, and popping in the new chip. REAL easy. You cant put it in, but the correct way. I'd say a 7 year old could do it.



Jim

I9300
Pentium M 730
(1.60GHz/533MHz FBS)
1.25 gig's Dual DDR2/533MHz
128 Meg X300
80 gig HD
8X DVD -r/+rw
IntelPro wireless 2200 (802.11 b/g)WiFi

 

I ordered a 9300 yesterday, went for 512 ram, I can sell both sticks to someone at work, and will order ram from Newegg or someplace ASAP (As soon as I can get the cash together). 40 gigs is enough HD for me, and I can always go bigger later on, if I need to. Got the 6800 graphics too, and the truebright screen. Seems like we are all thinking the same way.

One question nobody seems to have a good aswer for:
Why does Dell want 200 bucks to upgrade to 1 Gig from 512?? I can buy 2 sticks of 512 for what 150 bucks on up to about 175?

I finally bit the bullet and ordered after pricing it out several times over the last month or so. I don't get all the different prices they have. What's the point of this? I had the same exact machine in checkout with slightly different prices. It wasn't much different, but enough to pay for cheap case or mouse. I just got the cheapest one. I had to laugh when I read dietrichj's post about the rude and sarcastic guy. I think a friend got him when she called to order a really stripped down Inspirion 6000 last month. She got frustrated and upset, and I ended up going on line and doing it for her. She got it in 6 days, nearly a week before the supposed "build date". Not bad.

And sadly, I was also charged sales tax. [ ]

Annoyed?? You bet your ass I'm annoyed!

Hemiram- at work, 90% of the time.

 

THE ORDERING PROCESS

Okay, here's a follow up to my original post now that I've finally placed the order.

Before receiving my order confirmation, I decided to sent Customer Care an email regarding the Windows XP they were forcing me to purchase again. It was a nice and polite email explaining that I already had Windows XP Pro and that I wanted to use that instead of buying an unused copy of XP Home. (I actually purchased two 9300's, one at a time to get the $750 off, and I have a brand-new unopened box of Windows XP Pro, and an old computer with another license which I was planning on transferring to the new system and retiring the old.) I clearly stated that I had just recently placed the order and have not even received my order confirmation yet.

Dell's response:
"I apologize, but I am unable to locate your account with the information that was provided. Please provide the following pieces of information for the account you are referring to:
Customer number
Order number
Full name, phone number and address as listed on account."

I had already given them most of the information in my original email. I told them everything again, except they hadn't provided me with the order number yet. They should have my information through my email address anyway.

Dell's next response:
"Please note that in order to assist you with the best support, I need to pull account information for your system. For the same, please provide the following information:
1) Service Tag#
2) Customer#
3) Order#
4) Express service Tag#"

Wow, so now they want me to locate the Service Tag # from the back of my computer! (Who does Dell hire???) I responded with a reminder that I have not received my system yet and could not provide them with the Service Tag or Express Service Tag numbers yet.

Then, I receive my Order Confirmation emails. I used my same account for both purchases, and my same billing information. The only thing I changed was the "Ship To" name. However, in the Order Confirmation email, the "Bill To" name had changed to the different name! It had a link within the email to "modify," so I clicked it. A Dell page appeared asking if I wanted to Chat or Email. I chose Chat, filled in all the information including the Order Number, and entered in all the details and my message. When I clicked on Send, I was taken to a page telling me that I was not a Dell customer!

I went back to my email, clicked on Modify again, same Dell page appeared. This time, I chose Email. I entered in all my info and the message all over again and hit Send. Moments later, I received an automated email from Dell. It told me my questions should all be answered within their bloated email, but if it wasn't I had to reply and enter in all my information yet again. I did.

And here I stand for now...

Not fun.

Anyone know of a different notebook maker who makes a 17" display and uses the Pentium M?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by JimRoss

 

Thats it. It is recommended to unplug the unit and remove the battery. Make sure you've grounded yourself to something ( so there's no static shock ).
There is a user manual on your new computer, and there is a section, with pictures, to show you how.



Jim

I9300
Pentium M 730
(1.60GHz/533MHz FBS)
1.25 gig's Dual DDR2/533MHz
128 Meg X300
80 gig HD
8X DVD -r/+rw
IntelPro wireless 2200 (802.11 b/g)WiFi

 

@ dietrichj:

Oh, brother. As with most companies, Dell is great as long as everything goes exactly right. I don't think (but don't know for sure) that they will ship without an OS. They're also tight about changing orders--often you'll have to cancel and reorder to change specs. Some people just keep calling back until they get a rep that will do what they want...good luck [ ]

Sony and Toshiba both make 17" with PMs--but cost more, lots of proprietary stuff, and inferior vid cards (compared to go6800). Good screens, too, from what I hear, but I love my screen (LG).

 

I have since received 2 emails from Dell, both incredibly amazing. I extremely impressed with how fantastic they are at completely dodging the question.

I'd post them for everyone's amuzement, but I don't think this is the place. Everyone here wants to be a Dell fan. I do, too, deep down inside. Deep, deep down. I want to like them, but they're not letting me.

But the more they do this the closer I am to buying a Mac!


Dear Dell,

You have good computers. Please hire customer support people who can read and write and speak.

Thank you.

 

why don't u just call them

 

I did. They either transfer me to an endless sea of people who either can't help or don't speak English and can't understand. At least with emails I have a written record...

Calling is actually more frustrating than emailing.