Good Buy?

[jdogg707]

So I am looking for a laptop around the $1000-$1200 mark suits a number of needs. First being fast as I will be using the machine as my main computer and don't want to run into any slowdowns. I mainly use the PC for light gaming (C&C 3 the most recent game I am playing, but I am only a casual gamer), media encoding (lots of h.264 encoding), and office apps. Portability is nice, but not the most important factor for me. I have speced out the following laptop through my companies EPP program and would like to know what you guys think:

Inspiron E1505
Intel® Core? 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)
Windows Vista? Home Premium (Will change to Windows Vista Business when I receive it)
15.4 inch UltraSharp? Wide Screen SXGA+ Display with TrueLife?
2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM
256MB ATI MOBILITY? RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory?
120GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Integrated Audio
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N (I have a 802.11n Airport Extreme)
Norton Internet Security? 2007 Edition 15-months (Can't remove, will use Kaspersky upon receipt)
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
1Yr Ltd Warranty and At-Home Service
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)

TOTAL: $1,184.00 + Tax (Free Shipping) after EPP Discount and Dell Preferred Account

When I get the laptop I plan on doing a clean install of Windows Vista Business and Office 2007 Professional, both of which I already have (Power Together Promotion). I will also be using Kaspersky Anti-Virus instead of Norton. Does the laptop allow me to plug in my Logitech Z-5500 speakers via a mini-toslink connector? Is there a better deal to be had?

Thanks for the help!

 

[compman25]

Looks nice. I'd buy it, oh wait, I did. The exact same config except it is the 17" version. I really like mine.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Good deal. The CPU and RAM are perfect for your media encoding needs. For gaming, you won't get spectacular settings out of the x1400, but it will run older games at good settings.

You can connect your z-5500's to your laptop, but it will only output in 2.1 channel. You'll need an add-on sound card to get all your speakers channels. This from creative is looking nice for us with express card slots

 

[RossMAN]

$689+tax

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=493498

Choose Core Duo instead of Pentium dual-core.

Inspiron 6400
Intel® Core? Duo T2250 (1.73GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display
Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 DIMM
Video Card Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Hard Drive 80GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Optical Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini Card (54Mbps)
Primary Battery 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (for Nearly 7 Hours Battery Life)
Warranty & Service 1 Yr Ltd Warranty, 1 Yr Mail-in Service, and 1 Yr Tech Support

 

[shadowofthesun]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
$689+tax

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=493498

Choose Core Duo instead of Pentium dual-core.

Inspiron 6400
Intel® Core? Duo T2250 (1.73GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display
Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 DIMM
Video Card Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Hard Drive 80GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Optical Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini Card (54Mbps)
Primary Battery 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (for Nearly 7 Hours Battery Life)
Warranty & Service 1 Yr Ltd Warranty, 1 Yr Mail-in Service, and 1 Yr Tech Support

I don't particularly agree with this option;
The OP says he does media encoding. In that case, the Core 2 Duo 7200 will serve him much better than the Core Duo 2250. Also, he will probably want a bigger HDD; finally, he won't get any C&C 3 gaming at all (even casual) out of that GMA 950.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: shadowofthesun

Originally posted by: RossMAN
$689+tax

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=493498

Choose Core Duo instead of Pentium dual-core.

Inspiron 6400
Intel® Core? Duo T2250 (1.73GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display
Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 DIMM
Video Card Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Hard Drive 80GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Optical Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini Card (54Mbps)
Primary Battery 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (for Nearly 7 Hours Battery Life)
Warranty & Service 1 Yr Ltd Warranty, 1 Yr Mail-in Service, and 1 Yr Tech Support

I don't particularly agree with this option;
The OP says he does media encoding. In that case, the Core 2 Duo 7200 will serve him much better than the Core Duo 2250. Also, he will probably want a bigger HDD; finally, he won't get any C&C 3 gaming at all (even casual) out of that GMA 950.

I wasn't recommending that particular configuration, it was just a copy/paste from the OP of that thread.

Obviously I would recommend $689 + upgrades.

 

[mad0maxx]

Originally posted by: shadowofthesun

Originally posted by: RossMAN
$689+tax

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=493498

Choose Core Duo instead of Pentium dual-core.

Inspiron 6400
Intel® Core? Duo T2250 (1.73GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display
Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 DIMM
Video Card Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Hard Drive 80GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Optical Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini Card (54Mbps)
Primary Battery 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (for Nearly 7 Hours Battery Life)
Warranty & Service 1 Yr Ltd Warranty, 1 Yr Mail-in Service, and 1 Yr Tech Support

I don't particularly agree with this option;
The OP says he does media encoding. In that case, the Core 2 Duo 7200 will serve him much better than the Core Duo 2250. Also, he will probably want a bigger HDD; finally, he won't get any C&C 3 gaming at all (even casual) out of that GMA 950.

A 256MB ATI MOBILITY? RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory? will not run C&C3 very smoothly ethier... if you want a gaming laptop you gotta dish out the big money!