I've decided to get the Z690, but...

I just wanted to see if I'm missing anything here. I'm gonna order a CTO with the following specs:

# Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz)
# Standard Battery (BPS12) (extended seems to be way too big)
# 320 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm] (Flash is sooo expensive )
# LCD 13.1" (XBRITE-DuraView™
# Premium Carbon Fiber
# Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit
# 4 GB DDR3-SDRAM (DDR3-1066, 2GBx2)

I've got my student discount for 10% off

I've added the $199 service plan plus the $36 usb mouse and $21 neoprene case to get the -$300 promotion

So the total comes outs to:

Subtotal: $2,083.66
Promotional Discount: -$300.00
Tax: $163.92
Shipping: INCLUDED
Your Price: $1,947.58

I've got a couple of questions I would like to hear some opinions on...

-Is the P9600 really worth an extra $200?

-Would I still be able to get one of the productivity bundles with my current order? and if so, which have you guys decided to take?

-Would a slower drive give me more battery time?

-Am I missing any other way to save some extra cash?

-Any regrets about your purchase/how much do you love your z?

###EDIT###
It also states on the site that the current config is out of stock...does that mean they're gonna update it or something? Should I wait to order?

 

See below:

 

If the CPU was a 45nm vs 32nm (like the future Nehalem) it would be worth it, but since they are both 45nm I wouldn't do it. A 7200 RPM drive will, however, give you a noticeable increase in performance over a 5400.

You can only get a
a) 10% + -300$ warranty rebate
or
b) 10% + mail-in productivity bundle

but not
c) 10% + mail-in productivity bundle + -300$ warranty rebate.

According to Sony. Boblow is trying (c) out right now as we speak lol, so if you're really curious (as I am waiting for) we'll see if he can manipulate this.

They aren't going to refresh the Z690 as that just released this month.

 

Thanks to both of you, I guess I'm gonna be buying this config.

Which do you guys think is a better purchase, 3 year extended or the rebate package?

 

That's personal preference and what you find more useful. I'm leaning towards the 3 years through induction, if you take advantage of everything in the productivity bundle then that would be a much better choice. You can buy a Provantage 2 year ADH warranty, the exact same as Sony, for significantly cheaper price of 119$+shipping.

 

Hi.
What's different between two processor P9500 (2.53) vs P8700(2.53)
Thanks

 

P9500 - 6MB L2 Cache
P8700 - 3MB L2 Cache

 

P8700 only has 3MB L2 Cache vs. 6MB for the P9500/P9600.