DUDE! I'm gettin' a Dell! (need laptop for school, here's what I picked out, need suggestions/have questions)

[Maverick2002]

First off (because I know someone will notice this) this thread is kinda a repost from one in General Hardware. I'm posting here because this is an urgent situation and I might have to order it tonight or tomorrow and need quick answers. Hope a nice mod will understand

I own/run Mikhailtech so I know a bit about PCs, but I'm a notebook n00b.

Ok, I'm going into digital design major and I need to get a laptop. There will be a lot of Flash, Photoshop and 3D StudioMax/Cinema 4D. This will also be used for occasional gaming/DVD playback. Dell is the only place I've found that gives me the customizations I want (looked at Fujitsu, Toshiba, HP, etc). Here's what I priced out so far (educational pricing):

FREE UXGA Display Upgrade! Mobile Pentium® 4 1.6 GHz-M, 15.0 UXGA
128MB,DDR,266M,1DIMM (I can get 512mb-1gb SODIMM DDR for free so this can be the minimum)
64MB DDR 4XAGP NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go? 3D Video [add $67]
Save $99 (Savings included in price) 40GB Ultra ATA 5400 RPM Hard Drive [subtract $46]
FREE 24XCD-RW/DVD Combo Upgrade (from DVD) Roxio's Easy CD Creator®
3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year At-Home Service [subtract $114]
Technical Support Priority Call Routing Service, 4 Years
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Microsoft®Works Suite 2002 w/ Money 2002 for CD Drives [subtract $189]
No Modular Floppy Drive [subtract $19]

Total:
Inspiron 8200
$2,073.00

Is there something wrong with my configuration? Anything I should add/get rid of?

Now, for some questions:

Is Dell the best place to get a laptop? How good/fast/reliable/stable are they?
What's the difference between SXGA+, UXGA and UltraSharp displays (couldn't find it on the site)?
This is a dumb question, but I can get the cheapest OS and then reformat (can I go into the BIOS and change boot order on the Dell?) and install WinXP right?
What kind of BIOS settings are available?
What's the performance difference between a "regular" hard drive (I assume 4200rpm) and the "performance" (5400rpm) drive?

Ok, next question about the tech support options:

Optional Support Services

Choose Priority Call Routing to express your path to 24X7 Phone Support! Shortens your hold time by routing your technical support call to the head of the line! Save time no matter when you call, every time you call!

None [subtract $79]
Technical Support Priority Call Routing Service, 1 Year [subtract $40]
Technical Support Priority Call Routing Service, 3 Years [subtract $10]
Technical Support Priority Call Routing Service, 4 Years

I chose 4 year, is this even worth it? I mean, how many times do you have to call Dell? And when you do, do you wait a long time without the routing?

Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options

Upgrade Dell's Award-Winning service and support. Hardware phone support is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can choose from a variety of services to supplement your Limited Warranty2, including At-Home service3. Click on the ?learn more? for important consumer information regarding your limited warranty and service. CompleteCare is not available for Dell Home Sales customers in WA, CA, FL or NY; not available for Employee Purchase Program customers in WA, CA or FL.
3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year At-Home Service
3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year At-Home Service and CompleteCare [add $141]
4 Yr Ltd Warranty plus 4 Yr At-Home Service, FREE Training [add $114] Dell Recommended
4 Yr Ltd Warranty plus 4 Yr At-Home Service and CompleteCare, FREE Training [add $283]

Is the CompleteCare worth it? It protects from spills, power surges, etc, but what's the difference between that and just telling them to replace your parts because something happened to your notebook?

 

[vi edit]

My advice - if you buy a laptop for portability, then buy a laptop for portability. An inspiron 8200 w/ a 15" display IS NOT portable. After you load it, and all the gear with it, you are looking at upwards of 12 pounds...not something you really want to lug around much.

At that point, you have a compact desktop, that cost you double what a *real* desktop of equal specs runs.

My suggestion is to buy a $1000'ish laptop from their 4000 lineup with a ~12"-13" screen and decent ram/hd, and then spend $1,000 on a decent desktop to put in your dorms.

Just my advice, speaking from experience here. Laptops sound cool, but the novelty wears out quickly, and you are out a boatload of $$$.

 

[Maverick2002]

Well, I'm only going to be taking it to a few classes in the morning; maybe a few LAN parties. The dorm issue doesn't apply to me; I live close by and have several functional PCs.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Maverick2002
Well, I'm only going to be taking it to a few classes in the morning; maybe a few LAN parties. The dorm issue doesn't apply to me; I live close by and have several functional PCs.

If that's the case, then I definitely say save $1000 and get a smaller, more portable one. The 8200 is major overkill.

 

[Maverick2002]

Here's why I don't like thin laptops: modular drives, more expensive if you want them internal, harder to get internal drives. I don't mind the size/weight, but I would like something that will last me 2-3 years no problem. What about the customer care options?

 

[ElFenix]

don't get tech support routing. the only good tech support at dell is LCA, if you order from home or small biz you're still going to be talking to a clueless guy reading a script in dehli who claims his name is jeff.

complete care might be worth it but you may be able to get something similar from the same place you get renter's insurance.

if you want portability i'd go with the 4000 series.

sxga+ is 1400x1050, uxga is 1600x1200 (and usually unreadable because everything is tiny) and ultrasharp is uxga with a wider viewing angle. which is what it tells you when you press "learn more" to the right of the monitor selection.

you can format and put whatever you want on it. and you can change boot order.

bios settings are pretty basic and mostly involve boot order, passwords, and some other things that aren't going to kill your system if you screw them up.

get the darn floppy. its 89 if you don't and you need one later.

another 1200 rpm is a 30% increase in speed, so thats pretty good.

 

[vi edit]

For the warranty, I'd just get one that covers three year parts and labor. On site is nice if you can afford it, so that you don't have to ship the laptop into dell for repairs.

 

[ElFenix]

i think they're all onsite now

 

[Maverick2002]

Ok, I'll get the FDD then. Should I pay the $114 for CustomerCare warranty? I mean, it covers spills and things like that (I assume if something falls on it or if it falls that means replacement). Regular warranty won't cover those accidents will it?

 

[RossMAN]

I would recommend checking out this laptop just make sure to get the P4 instead of a Celeron.

 

[Maverick2002]

So I guess the final question is: should I or should I not get CompleteCare? It's worth $140. It covers accidents, something I don't think the regular warranty covers. What do you think?

 

[RossMAN]

If that $140 CompleteCare covers 3 years then yes I'd say it's worth it.

$46 per year ($46 x 3 = $140)
$4 per month
$0.13 a day

So if you can afford $4 a month or $0.13 a day then I'd say yes get it.

How are you paying for the laptop? I hope you'll use a major cc (VISA/MasterCard/Amex) which gives you a free 1 year extended warranty on top of your 3 years with Dell.

 

[Maverick2002]

It's a Wal-Mart MasterCard. Does that work? Also, the extra year warranty, does that cover CompleteCare-type incidents?

 

[CrazyDe1]

You'll love the 8200...yeah, sure it's kind of large, but it's not so large that you can't lug it around easily. I got an inspiron 8200 w/ 1.6ghzM, 384 megs ddr ram, 30 gig hd, 15"uxga geforce 2 32mb ddr and dvd for 1350. I can't go back to normal monitors anymore becuase the uxga looks so damn good. It's plenty portable, I carried it in my bag to class all day today(didn't use it though). I also have been carrying it to and from on site jobs, to my friend's house for web design jobs, and its not any worse than carrying around my smaller HP for work. If you think about it, 5 lbs isn't very much...
Never buy a compaq..they're the biggest pieces of crap I've ever seen in my life.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Maverick2002
It's a Wal-Mart MasterCard. Does that work? Also, the extra year warranty, does that cover CompleteCare-type incidents?

It depends on your credit card issuer, not ALL of them offer the 1 year free extended warranty. The best way to find out is call your Walmart MC's customer service number or contact MC directly and ask them. Tell them you have a Walmart MasterCard.

I don't think the free 1 year extended warranty covers accidents/spills/laptop falling off car/etc.

 

[ElFenix]

i say check with whoever is providing you renters insurance and see if they offer something similar for less. the thing about completecare is its the same price on a $1200 lappy as on a $4000 lappy. chances are your insurance company will offer something of the same term but it goes up to some specified cash value, so probably costs less.

 

[Maverick2002]

I'll look into it. Also, does opening up the laptop (for memory upgrades, per se) void any warranties or raise eyebrows?

 

[Maverick2002]

In terms of insurance, I looked at our University's specs and they recommend SafeWare as laptop insurance. Now I selected $2200 coverage and the quote was $132/year. While this is going to end up being more than the $141 CompleteCare for 3 years from Dell, it does cover more incidents, namely theft. Do you think it's worth it?

 

[iamwiz82]

the 8200 is way too heavy for my tastes. The freaking thing is a brink. A coworker just got an 8200 with the 14.1 screen and it weighs more than any of the inspirons we have here.

 

[ElFenix]

theft is the biggest thing, completecare won't cover that, and laptops are pretty regularly lost/stolen at universities. so i'd get that rather than completecare

 

[Mister T]

Compaq Evo N800
or
IBM Thinkpad A series

the 8200 is way too bulky for my tastes

 

[Maverick2002]

Ok, I think I'll go with SafeWare then; at least it won't cost me anything extra the first year.