is this a good deal? dell laptop...

ramanujan

Background to purchase: i have a desktop already with plenty of space on the hard drive and a decent amount of ram so I amn't after a super laptop but have about a grand or so to spend on one. I'm pretty impatient so dont want a slow p.o.s but then dont want to waste a fortune either

anyway here's what I'm looking at
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7250 (2.00 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB)
Vista - (will probably load up xp pro instead)
COLOUR CHOICE Crimson Red & 2.0 mega pixel Camera for CCFL Display
LCD 13.3" UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) CCFL Display (220nits) with TrueLife™
BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION Biometric Fingerprint Reader
MEMORY 2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
HARD DRIVE 160GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive edit
GRAPHICS CARD Integrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100
OPTICAL DRIVE Fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load Drive, including SW
PRIMARY BATTERY Primary 9-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (85 WHr)
biggest battery available, will be useful

only real weakness i can see is a the lack of a proper graphics card... but then since im not a gamer that doesnt really matter!

any opinions on price / other things i should be looking for?
thanks

BostonB

Is the price in there somewhere?

ramanujan

WHOOPS SORRY!
it's working out at €940 , and its a dell machine, (fairly entry level xps m1330)

kev

AlmightyCushion

I wouldn't call that spec entry level. It's a very good spec.

Voodu Child

Yep, nice spec, nice lightweight machine, no problems there. Upgrade to the LED backlit screen if you're inclined, they're lovely altogether.

The 9-cell battery will give you great life, but it's a butt-ugly design, the sleek look of the laptop is ruined and it's awkward to fit in the slip-case, sits funny on your lap etc. It slants it up in the air, might be good for cooling but I find it pretty uncomfortable to type on an upward slant.

Your mileage may vary, maybe see if you can get both a 6 and a 9, will be handy enough to have an extra no matter which form factor you prefer.

ramanujan

ah yes, good spot, indeed the battery is a bit abtruding... had a look at it on youtube.

will give them a bell and see how much it is for additional batteries, a 4 and a 9 might be nice, one for looks one for function.

"I wouldn't call that spec entry level. It's a very good spec."-
it's an entry level m1330, but not an entry level laptop, sorry for the confusion.

can see the price rising well over the grand now!!:(

ChowChow

Get thee an ebay account! Dell have an ebay outlet (dellfactoryoutlet) and there are some cracking deals on laptops. I bought an M1330 with the spec you've listed (except a slightly slower 1.8Ghz processor), but with the upgraded LED screen, dedicated graphics card and a 7200rpm drive for a little over 700 delivered. You do need to be patient though as they don't have auctions everyday, so it's a case of playing the waiting game.

DingDong

I got a Inspiron 1520 T7500 2.2GHz, Geforce 8600M GT 256Mb, 2gigs of ram, 160 gig hard drive, 9 cell battery and a nice blue colour on the Dell ebay store before Christmas for 660plus 30 delivery.It worth looking there too although at the moment nothing much on it.

ramanujan

cheers for the advice, i gave ebay a shot, there was two nice m1330 on there. however both of them went outside my budget during the bidding!:mad:

but when i heard that the dell oulet was giving 80 quid off, and free delivery i jumped on it! heres the spec i got
SYSTEM SPECIFICATION
INSPIRON XPS M1330
XPS M1330 CORE 2 DUO T7250 2.00GHz
English - Vista Business
Dell recommends Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional (<--- thought that was funny)

Operating System: English - Vista Business
Memory: 2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024)
Hard Disk Drive: Hard Drive 160GB Serial ATA (5400 RPM)
NoteBook Screen: 13.3 WXGA (1280x800) White-LED Display with TrueLife?
CD Read-Write Drive: 8xDVD+/-RW Slim Slot-Load Drive
MISC: European Dell TrueMobile 355 internal Bluetooth Module
Tuxedo Black 0.3 MP Camera for White-LED
English/Irish Ship Accessories - Power Cord
Uk/Irish Internal Keyboard (QWERTY)
Primary 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion Battery


ended up getting the white led upon your and youtube's recommendation.

Cant wait for it to arrive!:)