Woth the $$ for bigger battery?

I'm trying out different upgrade combinations for an e1705, and saw the upgraded battery, from the 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion battery to the 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion nattery. this upgrade is $79 it says. does anyone know on average how much longer the battery lasts? (i know that it will change with respect to what you are doing on the laptop) is it worth the extra $79? i'll be using the laptop at college, and since it's got its big screen, im sure that most of the time, it will be at a desk, plugged in. but im just curious approx. how much longer will the 9 cell add?

 

Since its a 9 cell vs a 6 cell, your looking at 50% more battery life.

Try reading one of the E1705 reviews here on NBR to see what they stated they got for battery life.

 

especially for the 17 inch screen, which will be power hungry, i would recommend getting that battery. my i6000 (15.4) gets a good 4-5 hours at medium screen brightness even though i have a dedicated graphics card and a 2.0ghz processor eating battery

 

I had the 9 cell for the Dell i6000 and the D620 and the extra cells give some significant increases of battery life. What you want to decide upon is this:
Will the extra time you get in battery life offset the total weight when transporting the notebook?

 

If you plan on using it away from the desk then yes it is a good move-in fact two batteries may be a good idea.

 

yeah I'm expecting my E1505 with two batteries. And btw... in my opinion, it's just more money effcient if you buy the six-cell battery and the nine-cell.... that is instead of upgrading one battery to nine-cell.

 

I would get the 9 cell on ebay and order it with the 6cell. That's where I got my 9cell battery. It was slightly cheaper on there. Battery life will probably be better even with a big ol' 17". I Didn't have any problems what so ever and I'm normally wary of ebay. I am very pleased with my 6000's battery life on the 9 cell. I get just over 5 hours. If Yonah is really going to live up to it claim. I'd suspect the E1505 users are going to be 'loving it.' as McDonalds would say.

 

I'm thinking now that the 6 cell should be sufficient. i don't really plan on moving it from the desk too often, as its rather large. and when i do decide to take it, i can afford to turn the brightness down and etc. to get more battery. There are so many possibilities for this laptop, im still confused on what is worth spending money on. my budget is about $1200. one thing that im not sure on, and maybe someone can help me with, but the memory. i want 1GB. is it worth the extra money to go from the 533MHz to the 667MHz? The processor will be the 1.8GHz. Then the other option, the video cards. Im not a big gamer, never really been into them. i've played games like, The sims, or Unreal Tournament. not Doom 3 or those graphic heavy games. But at the same time, i like to edit and work with video and photos. I'll be doing mechanical engineering in college, and im not sure if they use software that would be demanding on the graphics. The x1400 was initially the only upgrade, but now there is the 7800. would i be wise to save the $90 and spend it on another extra upgrade? as i see it, both have 256MB memory. why is the 7800 a better card?

 

In case this information is useful: I just got my e1705 (2.0 GHz Core Duo, ATI x1400, 100 GB 5400 RPM HD), and the 6-cell battery lasts 2 hours (got the 10% remaining warning at about 1:57) with all the power savings features turned off and the optical drive running for most of that time.

 

this must be fifth post that I told someone this, but in addition to your $750 off code "ZRFVGS97PK1F1?" don't forget about the $100 off code of "43SHS371Z9M09R" for grand total of $850 off of a $2000+ system. That should easily make your subtotal around $1160ish.... if you chose things right. And in my opinion from what I read, the 667 ram doesn't perform "that" much of a difference compared to the 533. (and btw... to save money and get a brand name ram for under the price dell's giving you... go to newegg to install your own ram... that is if you really want the 677)

And for what I know about graphics, the 7800 is definitely the better deal than the x1400. Although for you to get the system with the 7800, you would need to wait like 40 days till dell gets thier shipment of the 7800. And if you want to know, the 7800 is a high end card while the x1400 is a mid-low end card. A comparsion between the two cards would probably be that with teh 7800, you will get to use a game's maxium settings without a problem while with the X1400, you get to use a game's setting at around the mid-middle settings. Video/Photo editing will not be a problem when you have Duo Core with either cards.

 

One more thing: if your budget is $1200, it seems like the best way to go is to configure just above $2000, so that the $750 off coupon applies, but as close to $2000 as possible. I just spent a minute configuring the system below ($1251 pre-tax with $750 off coupon). If you don't want UXGA (I didn't), you can upgrade the CPU to a T2500 or get a better HD or go with 667 MHz RAM or something.

Inspiron E1705 Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz FSB)
Operating System XP Media Center Edition 2005
LCD Panel 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
Memory 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
Video Card 256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory
Hard Drive 100GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Combo/DVD+RW Drives 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW)
Wireless Networking Cards Intel PRO/Wireless 3945
Primary Battery 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Hardware Warranty 1Yr Ltd Warranty
Operating System Re-Installation CD XP Media Center 2005

TOTAL:$1,251.00

 

Didn't know about the other coupon for $100 off, but yeah, it sure does work. Drops the above price from 1251 to 1151.
Knifes, if you don't mind, when did that $100 go into effect?
Thanks.

 

dammit people take the $100 off code in addition to the $750 code for the final total of $850 off of any $2000+ Inspiron notebook. Trust me, you'll be doing yourself a favor
(look for the codes in my previous post)

erm.. lets just say I never seen an $850 code in the last four to five months that I have been eyeing on dell. And yes, I practically check every other day on dell for a deal this good. (about two months ago the there wasn't even a $750 off code... only a measly $650 code)

The $100 off code went into effect on 4/20 and will expire on 4/30.

 

i dont have one of the $750 off coupons, but do have one of the 40% off. i dont think i'm going to wait the 40-so days for the 7800. i dont think i have any reason for the 7800, i simply dont do that many games, and if the x1400 handles video/photo editing, then i'll be happy. fyi, the $100 coupon code is only for orders over $2000. I think i'll be happy with the 533MHz memory and the x1400. saves me some money that i can use to upgrade the wireless card, or buy a second battery. What exactly will the Media Center remote do for me? i dont plan on buying the TV tuner.

 

umm just use this code for the $750 off of $2000+: ZRFVGS97PK1F1?
and this code for the $100 off of $2000+ : 43SHS371Z9M09R

here's a system you might look into if you like the configuration:

Inspiron E1705
Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory
100GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
ntel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps)
3 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr HW
enuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition re-installation CD
Starter Entertainment Pack - Basic digital Music, Photo and Game experience

and then click on this link for the final price... courstesy of my screen shot.
http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs78&d=06171&f=dsfdsafadsfdaf.JPG
subtotal: $1151... which is under your 1200 budget limit.

 

Thanks, Knifes. And, Mike, the following codes mean you get 42.5% off. Just hit $2000 with your configuraton and you get the notebook for $1150. Whatever you decide in terms of GPU, RAM, CPU, what have you, the two coupons will get you a very nicely configured e1705, but only if you use them.
ZRFVGS97PK1F1?
43SHS371Z9M09R

 

i dont understand why i should use the 750 + 100 off, my 40% takes off about $800 based on my configuration, and add on top of that the 100, and that takes it up to about $900 off or so. im pretty much ready to buy it, but i think im gonna stick it out till May 2nd or so, when the 40% expires. that way, if they offer a free upgrade in memory or something... i can do that. if they dont bring something like that back, im still very willing to spend the $$ without anymore discounts.

 

What's that 40% coupon?

As for the battery, if you are looking for an upgraded one - go for the additional battery. It's much cheaper, and you'll have one 6 cell and one 9 cell.

 

Wow... I wish I knew about this 40% and extra $100 off coupons when I ordered my notebook :|

 

yah, mine showed up in the mail.... i never asked for it or anything. not that i remember. i've never bought from dell before. anyway, yah, it ended up taking $854.40 plus the $100 so im looking at almost $1k off my laptop. pretty good deal i'd say. now i just gotta wait till may 2nd, see if any new offers pop up!

 

someone told me that that the $100 off expires on 4/30... not really sure about this though :/

 

Ya, me too - I just ordered on Friday.

 

^Thats when I ordered... What did you get? (Specs too)

 

E1505 with:

Core Duo T2400
512MB (Ordered 2GB from NewEgg)
DVD+/-RW
TrueLife
6 Cell and 9 Cell
Upgraded Wireless and Bluetooth

All for $1050

I have the M140 now, but need better graphics. Although I'll miss the size of it, I'm looking forward to the better preformance, especially graphics.

 

can anyone verify this?

 

Directly from my order confirmation email.

Dell Home Customers: Save $100 off orders over $2000!
Expires on 2006-05-01 04:59:59

 

thanks knifes.
Dell would be a big bunch of jerks if they offered memory upgrades or something else between the 1st and the 3rd, when my 40% expires.