When to buy

I was just wondering if it's normally cheaper to wait till right after christmas to puchase a laptop from dell? I know other stores have after christmas sales but I wasn't sure if dell does also.

Also, I have tried to read around about GDDR3 vs GDDR2 in laptops but there seems to be conflicting opinions. Do all dell laptops cary only GDDR2? I was thinking about getting a Inspiron 1720 but don't want to if it doesnt carry GDDR3 and others do.

If other laptop versions do happen to carry GDDR3 can somebody list them?

Sorry for the potentially redundant questions and thanks for your help!

 

Also from what I head the 1530 might carry the GDDR3 but the monitor is terrible. Is there anyway to upgrade that monitor?

I couldn't use something that embarrasing.

 

the m1530 does have gddr3. the maximum resolution till now is 1200 by 800
but more will be avalible after christmas. there is never a rite time to buy . just get it wen it comes in your budget or u will be waiting forever

 

Dell always has coupons available for the inspirons. They sometimes have them for the XPS to. We don't know when the best ones will come. As the previous poster said I would just purchase so long as it is under your budget. Doesn't it always go, as soon as you buy a better deal appears? You'll be waiting forever if you are waiting on the best deal. Then when you do buy you will only feel cheated because a better one will come along.

The 1530's current low resolution screen looked beautiful according to Jerry in his review of the machine. However there seems to be a wide variation in quality when it comes to screens on the same models. Some will look greats, others may not. So, I guess its more or less the luck of the draw. Screens are also very subjective. If your unsure what resolution is most comfortable for you, visit a store and see some screens for yourself. Most 15.4 models in stored will have WXGA and most 17.1 models will have WXGA+. Supposedly higher resolutions are coming for the 1530 (I eagerly await WSXGA+ myself). Usually if you go to a Dell kiosk in a mall, the kiosk will have display models with high resolution screens if you wish to see those screens for yourself.

 

The reviews of the 1530 have said that the screen is quite good.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=196750
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=196815

If you play demanding games, make sure that your video card can handle a higher resolution with those games. You may need to reduce quality settings to get an acceptable frame rate at the higher resolution. How embarassing! (not that it matters) In those cases, you would have gotten a better image on a lower resolution screen. An excessively high resolution can also result in text that is too small to read without changing the dpi setting.

Having said this, if this poll is accurate, 40% of current NBR M1530 owners regret not having waited for a higher resolution screen:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=2387

Higher resolution and LED screens should be coming out in January - February. So, if it's a big deal, you're better off waiting to buy untill then.