Team-BHP - The Laptop Thread: Configs, deals & questions

Quote:

Originally Posted by devarshi84 (Post 1192400)

2. Not really. I would have said yes maybe for 8gb but 6gb is not that great upgrade over 4gb for $250.
3. Probably the home repair service. In Care value you need to send in the notebook I suppose.

ok so 4GB and Ultimate it is.
funny but their Care Value costs more than their In-home (after) Remote (diagnosis) Warranty.

so the option that makes sense is this one
XPS 1330 Pink/Blue, Vista Ultimate SP1, 3 Year InHome-Remote Warranty, 4GB RAM $2069

OK?

i dont think the US prices will hold in India. Check Dell's India site Learn about Dell's notebooks, laptops, desktops, monitors, printers plus computer electronics & accessories. before finalizing. Look at the Toshiba and Acer. There are some really good deals with thm, and they are agressivly looking at pushing into the market.

If you are looking at a Dell, i would not recommend the Inspiron, but a Vostro. The Vostro is for the SMB market, and the service support is much faster. Inspiron being targeted at home users, falls to the back f the queue for support.

I would also recommend a downgrade license, which you can downgrade to XP from Vista. This would be nice considering your wife is looking at Photoshop & Music at the same time.

have made a rough config - dunno if i can attach the same. cant seem to upload it.. am copy pasting config here.

Base System:
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4
GHz, 3MB Cache, 800 MHz FSB)
V1510T8300

Genuine Windows Vista(R) Business with
Windows(R) XP Professional Preinstalled

Microsoft Software:
Microsoft(R) Office Home & Student 2007
OEM Version

LCD Panel:
15.4" Widescreen WXGA (1280x800) TFT
Display

4GB ( 2 X 2048MB ) 800MHz Dual Channel
DDR2 SDRAM

Hard Drive:
250GB (5400 RPM) SATA Hard Drive

with integrated webcam and the NBD Onsite support.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anupmathur (Post 1187938)

Sai_ace, I can only comment about this part of your query. (I have no idea about the warranty issues with Dell).

You will benefit greatly by having another partition. All important data (pics, music, documents etc..) should be stored in the non-system drive. If your system drive gets badly hit by a virus and you are unable to boot, you might need to do a recovery or a fresh install of the OS.
This will involve loss of all your data stored in C.
If you regularly back up your important files to drive D or E or whatever you name it, such data will not get lost.
However, a physical crash of the HDD will mean losing EVERYTHING! Advisable to maintain backup on another physical HDD or on optical discs. :)

Thanks anup! wil contact the dell customer care for the warranty implications. Any idea how to partition the discs?

Quote:

Originally Posted by navin (Post 1191656)

we came up with 4 options all with 256GB SSD, 9 cell battery, Dell Qflix DVD drive

Navin,

having an XPS myself, there is a lot to be desired on the build quality of the laptop. It just does not feel as solid as an HP or Sony. I got my 1530 in India itself but maybe its better in US. And also having a nine cell battery may help with longer hours, but the laptop becomes bulky and and battery themselves feel flimsy.

But then, with the added height of the laptop thanks to the 9cell, you do get some gap between the bottom of the laptop and the surface it is placed upon which aids the ventilation.

cheers!
sai

PS: all opinions based on XPS1530. not 1330.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sai_ace (Post 1193106)

having an XPS myself, there is a lot to be desired on the build quality of the laptop. It just does not feel as solid as an HP or Sony. I got my 1530 in India itself but maybe its better in US. And also having a nine cell battery may help with longer hours, but the laptop becomes bulky and and battery themselves feel flimsy.

But then, with the added height of the laptop thanks to the 9cell, you do get some gap between the bottom of the laptop and the surface it is placed upon which aids the ventilation.

cheers!
sai

PS: all opinions based on XPS1530. not 1330.

that's one of the firsts I have heard about XPS quality. My Compaq Charger and My friends Dell XPS 1725 charger are the same and built at the same place. Except that the XPS is supposed to be a premium brand with a dedicated call center. If you get a lemon, return it and get a new one. you are entitled to that much service atleast for the premium brand and price you pay.

My friend got his XPS replaced twice in 3 years which basically means he is using his laptop investment in his 5th year.:)

Now I am not supposed to divulge how I know so much about dell.:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by madan80 (Post 1192887)

i dont think the US prices will hold in India.
If you are looking at a Dell, i would not recommend the Inspiron, but a Vostro.
I would also recommend a downgrade license, which you can downgrade to XP from Vista. This would be nice considering your wife is looking at Photoshop & Music at the same time..

we were planning to get it fro the US - they have more options there. I dont think they offer the 256GB SSD in India

The laptop must be under 4lbs. We started out considering the Mac Air with iLife.

Why downgrade? I thought Vista was stable after SP1.

Quote:

Originally Posted by devarshi84 (Post 1193199)

that's one of the firsts I have heard about XPS quality.
Now I am not supposed to divulge how I know so much about dell.:D

So do you still recommend Dell? or XPS?

Quote:

Originally Posted by devarshi84 (Post 1193598)

I would suggest you stick to your decision. XPS M1330 is a great product. Do select the WLED display option with Draft-N wireless.

ok what protection plan (warranty plan) should I get so that my wife gets attention of DELL India?

the WLED display with VGA camera is better than the standard display and 2MP camera? I know it is thinner, lighter and nicer looking but is it better?

What is Draft N wireless? I thought all laptops have 802.11g built in. Do you mean 802.11n? Good idea as we will eventually get a 802.11n router.

My wife's usage:
1. She writes short stories for kids so she needs Word Doc.
2. She catalogues our home pics and AVCHD movies so she needs Adobe Premier and Photoshop (Sony's Vegas and Pinnacle's Studio 11 plus software need more hardware than Adobe)..
3. She Skypes with her sister and my sister who live outside India.
4. She make small presentations for kids embedding photos into powerpoint.
5. She needs superb portability (think "light") so she can work anywhere.The Vostro 13" is too heavy. So think sub 4 lbs. One reason we are looking at a 256GB SSD technology.
6. She she writes when inspiration hits she needs a fast boot time. Second reason we are looking at 256 GB SSD technology.

We started with the MacBook Air then looked at Sony which was to expensive (more than Air) and now looking at the XPS 1330 in pink.

BTW dont you need a 64bit OS to address more than 3GB? I thought the 32bit OSes couddl only address 3072MB (3GB)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by devarshi84 (Post 1193199)

Hmmm. I would call it a lemon if the machine has some problems w.r.t the functions right? I dont know how one could possibly exchange on the basis of build quality? Also, I havent seen any other xps1530 to compare with :(.

The laptop otherwise functions brilliantly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by navin (Post 1193673)

Warranty plan is a personal preference but my suggestion is this. If paying from personal expenses stick to a basic 3 year warranty, otherwise go wild and get the best warranty available.

WLED is an overall better technology than CCFL backlighting. power, contrast, colours, weight, batterylife, viewing angles etc etc. The downside will be the price as the manufacturers have just embraced this technology.

Draft N is the successor of g standards of wireless. Yes you need a Draft N router but having a Draft N card will just futureproof your pc.

SSD beats HDD by most ways and is a great option but do compute the price difference between 128gb and 256gb. If its huge, better get an external hard drive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.V.R (Post 1195880)

I have a budget of around 30-35k for a laptop for my parents.The usage is going be minimal such as Microsoft Word,Internet browsing etc.

Which is the best model in this price range?Would prefer the Laptop to have a webcam,Wifi and good connectivity options.

Thanks

D.V.R

Check out Inspiron series from Dell as well. My friend uses it. Quiet nice and reliable and also within your budget.

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.V.R (Post 1195880)

If not CARRYING around then look at the Dell Inspiron 1530. Should be about 35-36. Much better than compaq Counterparts.

Strict advice. Stay away from Acer. Not everyone has been having good ownership reviews. I was in Bestbuy the other day and they had 14 Acer units returned for issues. And this is not a one time issue.