Some Pre-Purchase Ponderings...

I'm about ready to put an order in, just a few last decisions that people might be kind enough to help me with? .


RAM:
I'm only looking to get 2Gb RAM right now, but I'm considering whether or not to anticipate a later upgrade in my config. The decision is between a single 2 Gb stick or two 1 Gb sticks (both PC5300). Is the performance boost from dual channel worth the monetary loss of later replacing one of the sticks?
From this thread most people seem to go with 2x1Gb, but it's also been stated that the performance loss (single channel) is only about 5%.
Another issue might be that I can't find a sufficiently identical stick of RAM when I come to upgrade. Zepto don't currently sell the 2Gb sticks in the accessories section :S.

On the subject of RAM, why is 4Gb (two 2Gb sticks) so much more expensive than one 2Gb stick? I'm probably missing something, but shouldn't it be roughly double the price of one 2Gb stick?
We don't know where the price of RAM starts, but £227.19 to add a 2Gb stick of RAM to another 2Gb stick seems very steep.


OS:
I'm not sure whether to get a retail version of Vista Home Premium or go with Zepto's OEM. I don't immediately intend to use Vista (but will eventually), so I'd end up formatting and installing XP. I may dual boot, though. Is this feasible with the OEM or am I better off getting a retail version (£40 extra, but it also means I can clean-install how I like).
Also, has anyone tried (or know if it's possible) this method of getting a Vista clean-install by using your prior OEM installation?


Warranty:
What warranty length do people usually go for? I plan to still be using the laptop in three years, so I guess 3yr is my best option? The only risk is that something unfortunate happens to Zepto in the mean time. They've apparently been doing very well for the past few years so should be okay finance-wise. Hopefully there'll be no 'acts-of-god' .


Cheers .

 

personally I'd go with 2x1gb now, and by the time you want to upgrade to 4gb the prices will probably have dropped significantly so you can get 2 new 2gb sticks of the same kind and be assured not to run into trouble. Then you can sell the 1gb sticks. But thats just me.

 

Ram
First of all your right that the performance loss from just getting a 2gb stick for now isnt that much and it would make perfect sense for someone looking to add another stick later to just got with 1 2gb stick.

The problem is that i dont think theres any way to configure a single 2gb stick on zeptos website so if you went with their 2gb option then they'd send you 2x1gb which isnt what your looking for.

Also the reason they are charging so much for the 4gb option is simply because this is what oems do. It'll always be cheaper for you to buy your own 4gb kit(2x2gb) and install it yourself when you receive you new notebook.

So if i were you i'd configure it for the lowest option. Which for me on the international site is 1gb and purchase a 4gb kit or 1 2gb stick. You'll come out alot cheaper than what you'd pay zepto for the ram

Os
This depends on if zepto gives you a disk for the oem version of vista or if your only option is a restore partition on the hard drive. If you get a disk then you shouldnt have any issues because you'd always be able to reinstall whenever you choose to. You'd also be able to partition your hard drive whichever way you wanted(dualboot etc). Getting vista from zepto is also going to be slightly cheaper than buying retail.

Warranty
Im sure someone will be able to give you some better advice on that than i would. I dont purchase extended warranties on anything. I get new electronics often so it never really is an issue for me and the few times i did go with extended warranties it ended up being a waste of my money.

 

Zepto gives you a full OEM disk. It is basicly like a retail disk with out limitations on the install. Only limitation is that you can only use it on the Zepto laptop and that it comes only in 32bit. You can reinstall as much as you like and it is like a 'retail' clean install.

Warranty I would go for 2 years. I always feel that if it didnt break in the 1st 2 years it wont break later either.

 

HE's right and I did the same 2 years C&RTB and a 32bit DVD rom of Windows Vista ultimate which Zepto pre mounted (to the HD) a auto boot installer image of too.

Wise Monkeys

 

This sounds good. So it's essentially a retail copy, except it can only be used on a Zepto laptop? You go through the standard installation process of Vista (rather than just having an image copied to the HDD) and can choose which partition to install it to?

Viiiper: Is the CD/DVD an image or actual installer?

 

YES like wave said, here are pictures I took of the DVD and case. This is what you get. The OS for your laptop OEM distribution copy for Zepto laptops.

 

Thanks very much for your input all. I'm going to go with this config:

Configuration
Keyboard Znote 6x14W Black UK
14,1" WXGA+ 1440x900 - 6224W
6 Cell Battery
NVIDIA® Geforce 8600M GT
2.00 GHz Intel® Core™2 Duo T7300 800MHz
2048MB (2x1024) DDR2 667/PC5300 SODIMM
160GB Hybrid 2,5" 5400RPM - SAMSUNG
Intel Pro/Wireless 4965AGN
SAMSUNG DVD-RW DL

Accessories
Zepto Sleeve M
NERO Xpress 7

Service
36 months pick up & return
(I'm a pessimist when it comes to components )

Totaling £986.43 (without the £35.00 shipping) Going to try and organise a wire transfer too, to avoid the nasty payment surcharge.

 

Ultim4 you can definately get cheaper and just as good sleeves on, say, Amazon.

 

The sleeve's 6.25 pounds, 8 euros, or $10. Good price if you ask me...

 

Hey,

Sorry to stick this in here Ultim4, but I've got some similar pre-purchase questions that I don't think justify a new thread!

Basically, I'm in a similar situation and am considering buying either the 6224 or the 6234. I've pretty much settled on a specification if I do decide to purchase one of the two, but I still have a few questions before I go ahead.

Firstly, there have been various pictures of the keyboard not sitting within the case correctly. I don't think I'd be too bothered by this, provided that the distance apart isn't too extreme, but I wondered whether it was a fault common to every 6x34 laptop, or just a quirk that appears in some? For anyone that did have this problem, were you able to fix it yourself (easily would also be a bonus.. I'm a bit of a novice), or if not were Zepto able to fix it for you?

To any of the Zepto guys: I'm from the UK, and some of the prices listed on the UK site differ from one another for the same model (from what I can tell). For example, the main 6324 page lists the Power model starting price as £697.51 (inc. tax). If I then follow the configure link for the same model, the price - without any upgrades, which I assume should still be the initial £697.51 - changes to £755.88. Is this intended, or a small mistake? Forgive me if I am missing something obvious!

Thanks for any help!

 

Ram price is pretty much at the bottom right now. There is almost 0 to none profit for ram manufacturers during the last two months. The only thing that ram price will go is up. You might be able to get cheap ram when the standard is 10gb, but not going to happen in the next 1 - 2 year or until 64bit os is taking off.

 

Lambda - the lower price you see does not include the 1 years pick up & return service that is selected by default. On the 6224W and 6324W you aren't given the choice to remove it, should you wish to - but you can always remove it from your shopping basket after you've put your configuration in the basket.

 

Ok, I can see that being the case with most ram sticks, but I refuse to believe that the 2x2gb sticks packages are so much more expensive to produce than 1gb sticks. For all ram except the very high end (fastest and most memory) your theory might be true. But as the demand for 4gb system reaches the regular computer user and more brands starts to offer them, I believe the prices will drop.

 

It is not rather you refuse to believe it or not. First, it is the truth that the cost of producing 1X2gb modules is a lot higher than producing 2X1gb modules. Not going to take the time to explain why, but if you really want to know, search it up on google. We will have lower price for 2gb modules by the time ram manufacturers get to 60nm DRAM manufacturing technology which is sometimes the end of next year. Right now it is not going to happen with 80nm manufacturing technology.

Second, 4gb ram will not take off unless 64bit environment becomes the norm. At the moment, it doesn't look like Vista is doing any good with pushing 64bit environment to consumers. So I don't see how demand of 4gb system will be become standard anytime soon.

 

But if you get different sticks from different companies, won't you lose performance that way?