Questions before i purchase the i9300!

I have a few questions about the i9300 mode before i buyl...

1) Should i get the 1.86 ghz or 1.73 ghz? (the 1.86 is $100 more!)

2) Since i wont be burning DVD's (or even watching for that matter) Should i get the 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive or the
8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability . Maybe the 24x will make less noise and get more battery life???

3) Is the 512mb RAM that is included a single stick or 2 x 256? (im going to purchase another 512 if its just one stick)

4) Is the bluetooth worth $54 dollars?

AND LASTLY

5) If i do buy the i9300 is there a case on newegg that goes great with it? ( i was looking at these :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16834996911

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16834998132


Right now its about $1,624.35 shipped with coupon

 

Hello, I got the 1.86 ghz here and can keep up with a 3.2ghz pentium 4. I recommend the 1.86 as it is the sweet spot for value and performance.

For memory? Im pretty sure all you get standard is 256 megs of ram, I would order ONLY this and get a gigabyte of RAM from newegg or tigerdirect and save some money and get better memory, I bought a gig stick of OCZ at tiger direct for a hundred bucks, not bad at all.

I recommend getting the CDRW-DVD rom drive since your not gonna burn dvds and some of those dual layer dvd drives arent very good. This way you can watch DVD's and burn CD's and CDRW if you wanna back up files for example.

BLUETOOTH IS NOT WORTH 54 DOLLARS, you can buy a wireless notebook mouse that has a dongle that plugs into a usb port and works better than the blue tooth mice two to three times its price. ( I bougth the microsoft wireless notebook mouse). YOu can also get a usb adapter blue tooth module for far less if you must have blue tooth, personally I think blue tooth sucks, blue tooth schmew tooth.

I also recommend you get the 6800 card and as for a case, I went with the case that dell offers for the 9300 and it works out well, it was fifty bucks for me and I couldnt find any at best buy or office depot that were cheaper or big enough for a 17 inch lappy for that matter. If you get one elsewhere, make sure its for a 17 inch lappy.

Youre going to love the 9300, oh yeah I recommend getting WXGA resolution on your lcd, as WUXGA makes text small and costs alot more and most games dont support its high resoltuion so you have to play them at a lower resolution anyhow, WXGA screen is ultra sharp, brigth and just plain matte finish but great for games,dvds and everyday use.

Good Luck, Dont for get your 750 off coupon, check the web for dell coupons and discounts!!

 

I just looked at the bags at NEWEGG, the wenger one is really nice but I can tell from the pics its too small for a 17inch, you cant stuff a 17 inch lappy in a case and have that much room beside it to put the powerbrick in a zippered baggie.
Otherwise I would recommend a wenger but again I havent seen one big enough.

That said, the bag you can get for the 9300 is a samsonite and works very well Im quite happy with it, durable, custom fit pocket the lappy slides into, plenty of pockets for my mouse, the powerbrick, a surge protector, some cds/dvds and a usb plug in numeric keypad I bought.
Go with a wenger if you can find one big enough good luck, If not get the bag that dell offers, very tough ballistic nylon and good shoulder pad.

 

Thanks for your input. Im going to add that bag to my list for sure. BTW, how long ago did you buy your i9300? The reason i ask is that when im customizing the i9300 on DELL, 512mb is the standard. I want this thing to play both Battle Field 2 and Counter-Strike:Source? Your saying the TrueBright option isn't worth it?

 

One thing about bluetooth to remember if you carry your notebook around bluetooth is a godsend. It gets rid of all of the wires and dongles.

I could not imagine my 9300 without bluetooth. I use it all day every day. It connects my mouse so I don't need a dongle hanging out in space waiting to be broken off and also my IPAQ same deal. Seems like a bargain for $54 (I think it was closer to 30 when I got mine.)

 

I'd get the 1.73Ghz and spend the extra money on the 7200RPM hard drive. DVD burners are nice for backups. They don't use any more battery or aren't any noisier than a combo drive.

 

I will be getting the 60 gig 7200 HD already though.

The DVD burner is an additional $79 dollars; still think its worth it?

On the bluetooth issue, so bluetooth is pretty much used for a mouse most of the time then? If so i think i can just get a usb wireless thing (not too sure what they are called exactly ).

Also, i copied this text under system detials once i added the i9300 to my cart:

512MB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm

Does this mean it's a single 512 stick?

 

1.73 is the better choice between the 1.86 processor. I believe that is 2 x 256 but i can not confirm it. Any ways, YOU really wont see a difference. Of course there will be a little increase but not to the user. Think about it also. If you have 2 x 256mb there is no more room to upgrade. If you get 1 x 512, there is the other slot where you can add more

 

so is the transition from 1.73 to 1.86 worth the extra $100?

 

I believe 2 dimm means 2x256

bluetooth also drives cell phones and headphomes

 

Its not worth the $100 extra. I will get back with you on the hard drive

 

Alright. Ill stay with the 1.75 i guess. Ill buy 2 512's from newegg once i recieve my laptop ( i havent ordered yet). As for bluetooth, i dont have a bluetooth cellphone, headset, or mouse for that matter. I guess ill hold off. As for the harddrive I was thinking about getting the 60 gig 7200 (for an extra $100 i think) Thanks guys! I was going to order it yesterday but good think i held off and asked questions. Just a few more answers/inputs/suggestions and im ordering!

 

Yep, there you go, that is a very good choice! Good luck! By the way, i have 1.4 processor and im happy and you will be to with your 1.73

 

%35 off coupond not working at the moment.. If it was i would have ordered it 2 mins ago :*(

This is the message im getting:

We're sorry, the coupon code you have entered has previously been redeemed.

I only used the 35% off coupond. Is this for everyone or just me?

 

That means the limit of people have used it. Usually about 5 thousand. Do you have a account and did you save it, that might be it, check to see if it is.

 

Hmm I just tried it, didn't work.

 

Should i just wait until the next 35% coupon comes out or just use the $750 off for now?

 

well...tell us what your total price is without the coupons...then we'll let u know which 1 is the better deal..unless u want more stuff in your laptop if...b/c in some cases..ithere really isn't much diff. b/w the $750 off coupon and the 35% off coupon since ppl don't set the total prices that high

 

I bought mine in July, with 256 megs, while waiting on the system I ordered a gig stick of OCZ from tigerdirect, the memory arrived two days after the system did.

 

Check my specs in my signature, I paid 1477 with shipping and with a 750 off coupon.

 

actually you'll get just as good a performance out of the 80 gig 5400 drive compared to the 60 gig 7200 drive, many web review sites show benchmarks that prove this.

Save the hard drive money and spend it on the processor.

 

Exactly, but also headsets and cell phones though my cell phone can use USB, you can get a microsoft wireless notebook mouse that uses a small usb dongle and ave forty bucks over a bluetooth mouse plus the 54 dollar price of the blue tooth chip.
You can also buy the blue tooth chip from dell spare parts, put it in yourself and save about 35 bucks.

 

You will probably find very little difference in the 35percent discount and the 750 off coupon depending on your configuration.

 

duh! i feel so stupid not putting it up. Specs:
1.73 GHz
17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display
Memory 512MB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm
256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800
60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (53 WHr)
3Yr Ltd Warr
Accidental damage Service to 3Yr Lim Warranty

$2,359.00 before coupon and $1,689.00 after ($750)

I want to order it now :*(

MY VERY LAST QUESTION! :\

A 60 gig HD (im guessing its 5400) is standard

Will i see a noticable performance if i upgrade to a 7200 verison instead of 5400? If so will it be worth the extra $100 (or so) dollars?

 

Anyone? (should i get the 60 gig 5400 or the 60 gig 7200 (extra $100 and keep in mind this will be for bf2 and CS:S)

 

Regarding the Bluetooth, call Dell Spare Parts at 1-800-357-3355 and ask for the bluetooth card for Inspiron 9300 and it only cost $13.99 cents and put it in yourself. Just remove one screw and plug it in.

Forget dongle. I love my internal BT with MS BT mouse. Now I don't know what to do with the dongle that came with the mouse.

 

well...i think with that $100 that u should upgrade your RAM to at least 1GB thru like newegg or something...and keep the 5400 RPM hard drive...and regarding weather to use the $750 off coupon or the 35% off coupon...try them both and see which one u would save more money on...there might not be much more difference..tho i think u would save just a little bit more with the 35% off coupon...hope u like your 9300

 

All the wires and dongle? I have only One dongle for the mouse, thats it, doesnt seem like that much of a headache, while bluetooth on the other hand, is quite a headache, blue tooth has never lived up to its promises and never will, high priced JUNK.

 

Get your calculator out, which one gives you a better discount and if its the 35 percent off, whats the difference between the two???

 

The 5400 because again, there is really not a lot of difference Money spent better elsewhere, especially you can put it towards more ram which would be a more faster!

conghelech, how do you know that bluetooth will live up to its promise. Wait until the future to see how it is. Bluetooth is not bad, its good!

 

I must be that you have never actually used bluetooth at least the current flavor in the 9300. When I don't use the bluetooth it cost me nothing. When I am out and about it is handy to not have all of the extra stuff with me.

As far as anyone else if you plan to only use the machine to play games it may well be that most of the options have not much value for you. I guess if you are just starting college almost anything will handle that the gaming must be the most intensive thing the computer will do.