So, "dude," I am most likely purchasing a Dell...

I believe I've sold my parents (at least my dad, who has the money...my mom distrusts both Gateway and laptops in general, but I put her at ease with Consumer Report's study placing Gateway as 3rd in reliabilty, behind only Dell and Apple...shows how trustworthy CR is, eh?) on my "trade-up plan." The Dell Inspiron 9300 I've settled on looks like this:

Pentium-M 750 Sonoma (1.86GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
2GB Dual-channel DDR533 RAM (purchasing from newegg.com; I'm getting the default 256MB from Dell)
GeForce Go6800 256MB PCI-E (will be overclocking this, of course)
100GB 5400RPM Hard drive (I've endured through 6 months of 4200RPM, plus I'll have plenty of RAM, so this won't be an issue...yet.)
CD-RW/DVD-ROM (My AVERATEC has a DVD burner, and my parents' "new" computer has a Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW, so I'm good with this.)
17" WXGA+ (This'll be plenty of desktop space for my needs, and the lower resolution will fool me into thinking my games are running better.[ ])

I have a few questions/concerns:
1) What are the prerequisites to buying from the Small Business store? It's about $50 cheaper from there, and every little bit helps.
2) Should I replace the RAM before activating Windows, or before starting it up for the first time? Will replacing the RAM void the warranty?
3) Is there actually any warranty (90 days or just no DOA, or something?) if you don't buy any extended service plan?

I got a chance today to actually look at some real Inspiron notebooks (just the 600m, 700m, 2200, and 6000d...apparently they were afraid good computers might get stolen or something) at the Dell Direct store in the Volusia Mall. They aren't as hideously ugly as the pictures I've seen had led me to believe. I quite like the styling on on the I6000...I trust the I9300 looks similar?

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Dell Inspiron 9300 (Waiting on a good coupon): Intel Pentium-M 1.86GHz Sonoma, 1.25GB DDR533 RAM, GeForce Go6800

Gateway 7422GX: AMD Athlon 64 3400+, 1024MB DDR RAM, 64MB Mobility RADEON 9600 (Going to my parents.)

AVERATEC AV3270-EH1: AMD Mobile Sempron 2800+, 512MB DRR RAM, 64MB (shared) S3G Unichrome

 

use dell coupons =D

and yea the 9300 is just a bit bigger than the 6000, look similar

 

1. there is no prereq, when the sites asks you for a business name, just put in your real name a second time

2. replace whenever you want. ram is considered user-upgradable; warranty remains intact

3. the warranty is expressly stated on the configuration page. no one can answer this question except you since you are config'ing the laptop for purchase

 

1. i'm not 2 sure about it...i dont think u need 2 buy anything 1st..except i think that the small business customer service is in the USA and the Home edition service is in india

2. it dus not matter wen u replace the RAM...i would do it after activating windows so it actually starts up first..then add it...and no it won't void the warranty...it's a law that happened in 1973 or sumting that said that people can do watever they want wit their products that they buy or sumting...and it was on sum site 4 RAM upgrades...i cant remember the site tho...but im 110% sure that it will not void the warranty

3. there mite b a 90 warranty...sum1 else on this forum said that they add 1 extra year warranty 2 w/e u have..but i would get the 1 yr warranty 4 $29 1st and then u can get another warranty b4 that warranty expires....hope this helps [ ]

6/14-Ordered Inspiron 9300 wit:1.86 GHZ Pentium M | 512 MB DDR RAM | 80 GB hard drive | 256 NVidia GeForce Go 6800
**6/29: Expected Shipping
Update-6/20: Expected Shipping
Update-6/23-6/27: Expected Delivery

 

Dell has been dishing out a lot of $750 off coupons lately. I would check back here daily and pounce on it when it comes around again.

 

careful too, through Dell SB you'll be taxed everytime. Through Dell Home *most* states you will not get taxed on your purchase, not all though (TN, TX for example have tax). The taxes can add more than $50 on a purchase such as this. Use coupon codes too, most times Dell Home is cheaper.

DigitalCameraReview.com | BargainPDA.com | TabletPCReviewSpot.com

 

Regrettably, I think there is tax in Florida (it estimates it at my local sales tax rate on the "Cart" page), although I'm not sure.

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Before you ask, check the FAQ!
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Dell Inspiron 9300 (Waiting on a good coupon): Intel Pentium-M 1.86GHz Sonoma, 1.25GB DDR533 RAM, GeForce Go6800

Gateway 7422GX: AMD Athlon 64 3400+, 1024MB DDR RAM, 64MB Mobility RADEON 9600 (Going to my parents.)

AVERATEC AV3270-EH1: AMD Mobile Sempron 2800+, 512MB DRR RAM, 64MB (shared) S3G Unichrome