Good Deal???

[bostonfan05]

Alright so I would be buying this from the computer store at my college. It's a bit pricey if you ask me but I'm willing to spend a little extra for the convenience factor (close by, easy to get fixed) but don't want to be skrewed either. Here are the specs.

Dell XPS M1530
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz
160 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics
3GB SDRAM
Vista Home Premium (not thrilled about this but maybe it would work well with 3GB memory)
Microsoft Office Professional
Comes with 3 year warranty (This and Office seem to be what make it expensive...I need Office though but do you guys think the warranty is necesarry?) and some other little protection things...

Anyway it cost $1624 :eek: - I have the money but still...I know I could get something with much better specs but I think the software and warranty is holding me back...

The reason I might not think it is that bad is because ordering from Dell with the professional software would add $400 so it wouldn't be much cheaper...But IDK. What kind of deal do you think I would be getting? Thanks in advance for any insight.

[Hektik]

deffinitly not... the most expensive thing in there is that 80 dollar graphics card...

[maverickman4]

crazy expensive. yea. i would go with the office premium being the most costly item. but that would be software.

you could put together the same system for well under 1k. and have ability to expand. dell gives you what you order and nothing more. you want 2 sticks of ram thats all the motherboard will allow that they give you. dont want video? well they wont give you a pci-E or agp slot if you decide later that you do.

[bostonfan05]

crazy expensive. yea. i would go with the office premium being the most costly item. but that would be software.

you could put together the same system for well under 1k. and have ability to expand. dell gives you what you order and nothing more. you want 2 sticks of ram thats all the motherboard will allow that they give you. dont want video? well they wont give you a pci-E or agp slot if you decide later that you do.

Well...IDK about that..at least not directly from Dell- the base XPS M1530 package starts at $999 with 2GB memory, 1.83 GHz processor, and a 128 MB GeForce graphics card. Another question though- it looks like I can get Office Professional on ebay for about $180- I'm guessing that is easy to install (if I got a laptop without it)?

[hockey man]

I would go with something like one of these then buy Office separately:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114458

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115458[/QUOTE]

Be careful with software and Ebay!!!!!! Make sure you get a legit copy. Have you looked at newegg for office pro? You can get it for $400 and you KNOW it is legit! That would get my vote over Ebay.

[Hektik]

well microsoft office comes with vista..

[PrntRhd]

Hektik,
Not necessarily.

bostonfan05,
Leave Office off the order, you can usually arrange that.
Get Student and Teachers version of Office for less than $150 (you qualify as a student), or get Open Office for free.

[52vincent]

That's a quite nice choice, but is a little over priced.

[jlreich]

do you guys think the warranty is necesarry?
I certainly do. I have worked on a lot of laptops and I can tell you there are so many things that can go wrong with a laptop that are very costly to fix if you don't have a good warranty. LCD? Around $300. Motherboard? Same. Since so many things are integrated on the motherboard it leaves a lot of things to go wrong that would require a motherboard replacement.

I also highly recommend getting the accidental coverage. Spill a cup of coffee down the into the system? You are covered. Drop it on the ground and break the shell, LCD etc? covered. Do this without the coverage and you have a very expensive paperweight. This goes for any brand, not just Dell.

Let me put it this way. My wife bought a Dell laptop 6 months or so ago. I am a contracted Dell certified technician. I insisted she purchase the 3 year next day on site total coverage including accidental. ;) Of course this works really good for me since I am a DCSE I can have them just send me the part and I will put it in myself instead of a tech coming to my house. :D

Have you looked at the Inspiron series? They are cheaper, although you won't get quite as many options. You may not find what you are looking for but it is worth the time to take a look if you haven't already.

[rond36]

Building that laptop at dell.com would cost $2,373

You would save $749 if you buy it through university but the option to remove MS Office is not there you can't customize the package it is take it or leave it.

well microsoft office comes with vista..
MS Windows does not come with MS Office . Never has and never will!!!

[Hektik]

Building that laptop at dell.com would cost $2,373

You would save $749 if you buy it through university but the option to remove MS Office is not there you can't customize the package it is take it or leave it.


MS Windows does not come with MS Office . Never has and never will!!!

mine did... jus find a serial online :X

[bostonfan05]

Thanks for the input guys. Rond36- Yup you are right it would cost a lot more on Dell...thanks for that, and since the warranty seems to not be a bad idea and the fact that I need office makes me think I should order this. Thanks again.