Should I get this Centrino2 Studio 15 now or wait for a better deal?

With my 7% EPP discount and the additional 4% discount for using my dell card with no interest for 9 months, the total BEFORE tax and shipping for the configuration below is $1694........is that a good deal? Or would you wait and see if a better price comes along soon?

SYSTEM COLOR Tangerine Orange
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9400 (2.530GHz/1066Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
HD DISPLAY Hi Resolution/Bright, glossy widescreen 15.4 WLED display (1440x900)
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
HARD DRIVE Size: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
VIDEO CARD 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE 6X Slot Load Bluray (BD) Combo Drive (BD Read Only)
WIRELESS NETWORK CARDS Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11agn Half Mini-Card
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.1)
INTEGRATED WEBCAM Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
BATTERY OPTIONS 85 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0
KEYBOARD Back-lit Keyboard
FINGERPRINT SCANNER Integrated Finger Print Reader
4 Year In-Home Service (GET BACK $75 DELL DOLLARS)
4 Year Accidental Damage and Lo-Jack

After 6.5% sales tax and $39 for 2nd day air, the total is $1846.26

 

Dell Outlet Coupon Code 20% off Refurb Dell Inspiron or Studio Laptops $500+, Oct. 30 10 AM

Dell Outlet is offering this coupon code. $19.99 Shipping.

20% off Refurb Dell Inspiron or Studio Laptops $500+ Coupon
Code: PKW194HWJGXPVN (Exp 10/31 or after 1000 uses)

Stock changes during business hours, so refresh every 15 minutes

 

Thanks for the info, but anything that comes even close to that configuration that I've seen in the outlet this past week, is pretty much the same price once you add the Warranty. So, I'd rather have new than refurbished if I'm only going to save $100 or $200 on a lesser configuration, even with the coupon, once it's all said and done.

And they don't have Centrino 2.

Is this a good price with the New Centrino 2, New, or should I wait?

 

I've been looking at the Centrino 2 Studio for some time. Personally, the GPU is not powerful enough for my use so I'll wait since the refresh is coming soon or so they say.

For that price you could get a way better computer with ASUS or even the Lenovo Thinkpad line.

 

Isn't the T9400 the new GPU that just came out in July?

Does the ASUS or Lenovo have a backlit keyboard and in-home service warranty's? Those are big deals to me.

 

What applications are you hoping to run?

 

u shouldnt be wasting money on the warrantys and security option, they are useless adn worthless.

 

Internet, photoshop for basic things, and just regular programs....... no gaming. Watching blu-rays on flights.

 

I got more than my money's worth on the warranty on my 2 1/2 year old E1505 .......... why do you not like the warranty's from Dell and think they are a waste?

 

The 3450 is more than powerful enough for those applications; it can also decode HD videos, but unless you have an HD resolution screen (which I don't think the Studio does), all you can do is output the signal to a screen that is HD.

 

Really? Somebody on another thread said they have the same screen I was looking at (1440x900 LED) and that blu-rays look great on theirs.

 

the ones from dell are very good. It was worth it for me.

 

I'm not sure whether the Studios offer HD resolution screens... you'd have to check. In any case, the GPU is powerful enough.

 

Lenovo do offer in home quality service. I don't think they offer backlit keyboards. They do have Thinklight which is basically an LED light that shines on your keyboard. However there are some reviewers who complained that the the Thinklight blinds the eye in the new generation of thinkpads.

I don't think ASUS offers in Home service.

 

Thanks, I'm going to look up the lenovo's now

 

Just looked Lenovo up......they don't have Centrino 2 ..............or blu-ray (unless you get the $3200 model) and without those things and 1 less year warranty .......they're only about 200 less..... Dell beats them on price with the specs

 

Wait all current lenovo Thinkpad laptops the T-Series or the W-Series has Centrino 2. Were you looking at the consumer line laptop i.e the Ideapads as opposed to the business line the thinkpads?

I just checked and it has BlueRay Recordable as well albeit for $450 more.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=315651
Visit that that. It has a link to the EPP savings which lasts till tonight. I would suggest taking a look at the T500 or W500. Newer technology, better GPU and I would say better build

But the T500 or W500 is a totally different beast compared to the Studio.

 

Thanks for the info and link.......however when I configured one the exact same way, the levnovo was $570 more than Dell....... it did have blu-ray write instead of just blu-ray read like the Dell.......but I'm not sure if that's worth the extra money for the same system.

 

You're welcome. But yeah definitely it's a difference price range if you want all the warranty and etc. I would personally just choose the 3 year depot warranty which would cut out the $300-400 but everyone have their reasons to get what they want.

 

The studios best resolution is 1920×1200. That's what I have. 1080p (HD) is (1920x1080) .....I think

 

Ya........ I couldn't decide...... I want the LED screen..... so that's what made me decide on the 1440x900