purchase a 8600 or 600m

I'm considering purchasing a 8600 or 600m really want a workstation m60
Should I upgrade to 2.0Ghz
Dell 1350 or Intel 2200
60gb (7200) or 30gb (upgrade later when i need it)

For grad school and work usage plus watch dvd on business trips
No games unless madden
playing around trying to edit digital images and videos
Heat and battery life are my biggest issues
Like the weight of 600m
Like the wide screen of the 8600
any suggestions or advice maybe lower the price?


8600 setup
Inspiron 8600 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 745(1.80GHz/400MHz FSB) 15.4 WUXGA
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional WPXP
Memory 512MB DDR SDRAM 1 Dimm
Video Card 128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY® RADEON™ 9600 PROTURBO ATI128M
Hard Drive 60GB Hard Drive at 7200RPM 60G7200
Power Adapter AC adapter - 65w, 19.5v 65W
CD ROM/DVD ROM FREE 24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive with Sonic RecordNow Upgrade! 24COMBP
Wireless Networking Cards Dell® Wireless 1350 Internal Wireless (802.11b/g, 54Mbps)
Wireless Personal Networking Card Dell™ TrueMobile™ 300 Bluetooth Internal Card TM300I
Productivity Software Productivity Pack including WordPerfect® ICORELM


Limited Warranty, Services and Support 3Yr Ltd Warranty, 3Yr Mail-In Service, and 3Yr Technical Support
CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service Add CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service to 3Yr Lim Warranty


Docking Solutions Home Bundle A: Advanced Port Replicator,D/View Stand,Mouse and Keyboard DHOME

$2037

600m Setup
Inspiron 600m Pentium® M Processor 745(1.80GHz/400MHz FSB) 14.1-in SXGA+, 64MB Video
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional WPXP
Memory 1GB DDR SDRAM 2 Dimms 1024M2D
Hard Drive 60GB Hard Drive 60GB
Integrated Modem and NIC Internal 56K Modem and Integrated Network Card 56MPC
Optical FREE 24XCD-RW/DVD Combo Upgrade (from DVD)
Wireless Networking Cards Dell® Wireless 1350 Internal Wireless (802.11b/g, 54Mbps) TM1350I
Wireless Personal Networking Card Dell™ TrueMobile™ 300 Bluetooth Internal Card TM300I
Primary Battery 6-Cell Lithium Ion Battery (53Whr) 53WHR

Limited Warranty, Services and Support 3Yr Ltd Warranty, 3Yr Mail-In Service, and 3Yr Technical Support
CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service Add CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service to 3Yr Lim Warranty

Docking Solutions Home Bundle A: Advanced Port Replicator,D/View Stand,Mouse and Keyboard

 

by the way
also purchasing a apple powerbook g4 at the end of the end for video editing

 

To cut cost I'm thinking about putting in an aftermarket ram one 1gb to either the i8600 or i600m.
so far looking at the Corsair 1GB PC3200 DDR SODIMM Memory for $236 but will the 600m (pc2100) or 8600 (pc2700) have problems with this memory. I've been told in a desktop the pc3200 will run at the lower speed is this the same for notebooks. any other suggestion

Inspiron 600m Pentium® M Processor 745(1.80GHz/400MHz FSB) 14.1-in SXGA+, 64MB Video
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional WPXP
Memory 256MB DDR SDRAM 1 Dimm 256MB
Hard Drive 30GB Hard Drive
Optical FREE 24XCD-RW/DVD Combo Upgrade
Wireless Networking Cards Dell® Wireless 1350 Internal Wireless
Limited Warranty, Services and Support 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-In Service
Wireless Personal Networking Card Dell™ TrueMobile™ 300 Bluetooth Internal Card TM300I

Docking Solutions Home Bundle A: Advanced Port Replicator,D/View Stand,Mouse and Keyboard
$1503 + $236 = 1736

Inspiron 8600 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 745(1.80GHz/400MHz FSB) 15.4 WUXGA
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional WPXP
Memory 256MB DDR SDRAM 1 Dimm 256MB1D
Video Card 128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY® RADEON™ 9600 PROTURBO ATI128M
Hard Drive 60GB Hard Drive at 7200RPM
CD ROM/DVD ROM FREE 24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive with Sonic RecordNow Upgrade!
Wireless Networking Cards Dell® Wireless 1350 Internal Wireless (802.11b/g, 54Mbps
Limited Warranty, Services and Support 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr Technical Support
Wireless Personal Networking Card Dell™ TrueMobile™ 300 Bluetooth Internal Card
Docking Solutions Home Bundle B: Advanced Port Replicator, Monitor Stand, Mouse and Keyboard

$1616 + $236 = 1856

no point get extended warranty since i'm voiding it by upgrading
Still can't decide on which one about to flip a coin ( need to decide by 2am tonight)
600m like the size and weight
8600 love the screen and battery life

 

Never buy any extra RAM from Dell, it's always a rip off. Crucial has good product, you may consider them as well. As for the 8600 vs. 600m, those are two very different machines. You're going to have to decide how important mobility is to you.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Thank You Brian for reply back

They are two different machine which made the decision that much harder. However, my sister has a D600 so I decide on the 8600. In my logic I could anyways convince her to switch as a backup. Just purchase the notebook and happy now. Waiting game now.


Inspiron 8600 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 745(1.80GHz/400MHz FSB) 15.4 WUXGA
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP HOME
Memory 256MB DDR SDRAM 1 Dimm 256MB1D
Video Card 128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY® RADEON™ 9600 PROTURBO ATI128M
Hard Drive 60GB Hard Drive at 7200RPM
CD ROM/DVD ROM FREE 24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive with Sonic RecordNow Upgrade!
Wireless Networking Cards Dell® Wireless 1350 Internal Wireless (802.11b/g, 54Mbps
Limited Warranty, Services and Support 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr Technical Support
Wireless Personal Networking Card Dell™ TrueMobile™ 300 Bluetooth Internal
Card

$2026-$500
(GPG2WX?WJRLZ11 Save $500 on select Inspiron notebook purchases $1499+)
= $1526 - $30.52
( At check click on Pay with one credit/debit card online pay option. Then a "Save 2% using the Dell Preferred Account!" option appears)
=$1495.48 - $200
( mail-in rebate for Inspiron 9100, 8600, 700m or 600m notebooks)
= $1295.48 final price i'm happy

used that $200 rebate for the Corsair VS1GSDS333 SODIMM 1GB DDR333 PC2700 Value Select Memory Retail $236 at zipzoomfly.com
can't find crucial cheap for 1gb
1295.48 + 236 = 1531.48 still happy