Advice on Dell 9300

badbrian

Hi if someone has the time to advise us we'd be very grateful.

The girlfriend and I would like to buy a laptop with Wireless compatibility. For the short term we'd be using it for Internet, Digital Photography and the RW facilities. Ultimately we'd like to be able to use VOIP (not too clued into this yet tho) as my girlfriend is Polish and likes to call home. We'd like it to be a computer that should be powerful enough for further (unsure of as yet) uses. Does the computer below at €1,054 represent a good deal. Should we add anything else.

ii) The price below includes only 1 year of Warranty. Would people be tempted to opt for the 3 year warranty (c. €300 extra)

Thanks

Apologies for unreader friendly description


Brian

Module Description Show Details
Base Intel ®Pentium ®M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 533 MHz FSB)
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2
Memory 512MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x256)
Keyboard Internal Keyboard (UK/Ire)
Video Card ATI Mobility™ Radeon® X300 64MB HyperMemory™
Hard Drive 60GB (5.400rpm) IDE Hard Drive
Floppy Drives No Floppy Drive Option
Modem Internal 56K v.92 Capable Fax Modem
CD/DVD Drives 24xCDRW/8xDVDComboDrive
Wireless Local Area Networking Intel® ProWireless 2200 802.11b/g Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card
Shipping Documents System Documentation
Gedis Bundle Reference List N11935 - DHS 9300 Good
Microsoft Application Software Microsoft® Works 7.0
Standard Warranty 1-Year Collect and Return service
Cover It with Dell Support Services 1-Year Collect and Return service
Use It with E-Learning MS Windows XP Beginner - 60-day license - English - Go to www.learndell.com/euro to register
AntiVirus & Security Software No security subscription
Power Supply AC Adapter D-Series 90W Power Cord
Dell Photo Album Photo Album™ SE Basic- basic photo management with 60-day trial of Premium features
Paint Shop Paint Shop Pro™ Basic Edition - 60-day trial version
Order Information Inspiron Order - Ireland
Primary Battery Primary 6 Cell 53 WHr battery
Carrying Cases No Carrycase
Colour Choice No QuickSnap™ Cover Option
Dell Media Experience Dell Media Experience 3.0 Basic- Inspiron
Adobe Reader English - Adobe Reader 6.0
Promotions Hidden Option Class Reporting -Promo - Free 256Mb memory - "Double your Memory"
Dell Internet Order Dell Internet Order.
LCD 17" UltraSharp™ Wide Screen WXGA+ (1440 x 900) TFT Display

TOTAL Incl. VAT:€ 1,053.76

maidhc

The model you have selected does seem to be a good deal and should fulfill your requirments.

At a future stage you may find the 512mb or ram to be lacking a little, but this isnt a major issue. It will most likely be cheaper to upgrade this yourself in the future when necessary than buying extra from Dell now.

I would go with a 3yr warranty with a laptop, since they are very expensive to repair, and do tend to give more trouble than "normal" computers. €300 is very expensive though, and it might be a good idea to ring Dell and talk about this. They can normally do a warranty for under €200, and often less.

mrblack

I bought a 9300 last March after lads here on boards advise me strongly against a 9200 model & I am glad I took their advice coz its a great bit of kit imho. Even survived having a cup of tea spilled all over it. I use it as a music player now more than the stereo in the living room & rarely use the desktop unless the wife is hogging this one. But the 9300 is offered with 1024mb of memory now according to todays dell sales brochure in the paper so why not take that option. Also I regret not having the bluetooth module installed as its handy for transferring files/pictures/ringtones to my phone so I would recommend that option if you think you would use it at all. In fact I ordered a bluetooth module on ebay yesterday as its simple to retrofit/install on a 9300. The specs you have are exactly same as mine and I paid 1469 incl. Vat for it back in March. :eek:

Mrblack