Need a laptop for the wife.

[KK]

First off she doesn't need anything powerful. She want's compact, and wireless. Other than that, that's about it. I though want it cheap, so if I can get something with a good deal, I'll forego the compactness size.

I found this at dell.

Module Description Product Code Sku Id
Latitude D500: Pentium® M Processor 1.30GHz with 14.1in XGA Display D513X [221-2339] 1
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition, SP1, with media XPHSP1 [420-2389] 11
Memory: 512MB DDR SDRAM, 2 DIMMS 512M [311-1874] 3
Mail-In Rebate Offer: $100 Mail In Rebate not combinable with Memory promotion RBE100 [462-5989] 56
Modular Bay Devices: 24X max/10X min CD-ROM Drive 24X [313-1296] 16
Hard Drive: FREE UPGRADE! 30GB,HD,9.5MM,4200RPM 30GBP [462-3870] 8
Wireless Local Area Networking Options: Dell TrueMobile? 1300 WLAN (802.11b/g,54Mbps) miniPCI Card TM13 [430-0482] 19
Bundle: Dell Latitude Notebook NOMSBE [461-8702] 22
File Systems: NTFS,FILE SYSTEM, WIN 2K NTFS [420-3699] 37
Battery: 6 Cell Primary Battery 6C [312-0054] 27
Floppy Drive Options: No Floppy Drive NFD [340-8854] 10
Modem: Internal 56K Modem I56 [313-1865] 14
AC Adapter: 65W AC Adapter 65AC [310-4225] 15
Purchase Intent: Purchase is not intended for resale. NOT4SEL [462-4506] 138
Hardware Support Services: 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-In Service T111YRR [950-8500] [950-9057] 29






Discounts and Coupons Total

You saved 15% off items priced $799 or more as a valued Dell Small Business e-mail customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts or coupons and excludes select Dell products. -$190.35


Price
Sub-total: $1,269.00
Discounts: -$190.35
Shipping: 1 $0.00
Tax: 1 $75.51
Total Price: $1,154.16

I could knock off the 512 memory to 256 and save 50 or so dollars, and there is a 100 MIR, which would bring the total around a grand. Would this be overkill.

Thanks,

KK

 

[firtol88]

Should work fine or you can save her a pound and go with the C400.

 

[dnuggett]

A DVD upgrade may be in order as well...?

 

[Bekker]

Or if you will forego compact for price, I have an 1100 Inspiron and love it ... cannot be beat for the price.

Bekker

 

[KK]

THe price of the C400 doesn't justify a pound worth.
Yes, a dvd is probably also need, I forgot about that.

I priced out a inspiron 1100.

Inspiron 1100
Intel® Celeron® Processor 2.3GHz, 14.1 XGA, Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
Qty: 1
Price: $877.00

Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 11:36:59 AM CDT
Catalog Number: 4 04
Module Description Product Code Sku Id
Inspiron 1100: Intel® Celeron® Processor 2.3GHz, 14.1 XGA AC23GHM [221-3431] 1
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home WHXP [313-1714] [313-2208] [420-2198] [412-0408] 11
Memory: 256MB Shared DDR,266Mhz,2 Dimms,PC2100 SDRAM 256MB2D [311-2117] 3
Mail-In Rebate Offer: $100 Mail In Rebate not combinable with Memory promotion RBE100 [462-5990] 56
Fixed CD/DVD Drives: 8X Max Variable DVD-ROM Drive 8XDVD [313-1370] [313-1403] 16
Floppy Drive: No Floppy Drive NOFD [340-8972] 10
Hard Drives: FREE Upgrade! 30GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive 30GBP [462-1005] 8
Wireless Networking Cards: TrueMobile 1300 802.11b/g PC Card TM1300I [430-0582] 19
Network Adapters: Integrated Network Card INTNIC [430-0399] 13
Modem: Internal 56K Modem 56MPC [313-1399] 14
Dial-Up Internet Access: No ISP Requested NISP [412-0148] 37
Productivity Software: Productivity Pack including WordPerfect® and Money® ICOREL [412-0398] [412-0552] [412-0556] 22
Security Software: Dell SecurityCenter by McAfee, 90-day introductory offer MCAFE90 [412-0548] 25
Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MUSICMATCH MMBASE [412-0298] 26
Digital Photography: Dell Picture Studio, Image Expert® Standard DPS [412-0275] [412-0277] 38
Multi-Media Players: RealOne? Player, with 14 day SuperPass trial REALBAS [412-0380] 40
Primary Battery: 94Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery LIION [312-0153] 27
Purchase Intent: Purchase is not intended for resale. NOT4SEL [462-4506] 138
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-In Service T111YRR [950-9057] [950-3520] 29

On this configuration, how much does a 65Whr battery differ than a 95Whr. enough for 30 dollars worth? Also, performance wise, Pentium-m 1.3 vs celeron 2.3. How much difference?

Thanks,
KK

 

[Bekker]

I have the Celeron 2.2 which meets my needs fine, but don't know how it stacks up to the 1.3 you named. You might try going to the forums at Dell and ask around. Bekker

 

[sciencewhiz]

The 1.3 Pentium-M is at least as fast as the 2.3 Celeron. a 95Whr battery is going to last 33% longer then the smaller battery.

I would say if you have the money for the D500, get it, otherwise, the 1100 isn't to bad. My sister has one, and it certainly isn't the worst laptop I've used.

 

[alexruiz]

Edit Never mind, I skipped the "compact and wireless" part......
Maybe the Averatec 3150P at OfficeDepot?

I have a Compaq Presario 2100Z (Athlon XP 2000+) and it works great..... Boots almost as fast as my desktop, and the 40GNX/512 MB combo make it feel as responsive as any desktop. Battery life is also quite good, a little over 3 hours for normal usage using a cheap 57 W/hr battery

You can get the Compaq Presario 2172 or 2195 for close to a thousand after the rebates (Both XP 2500+ Barton).

However, if she doesn't mind added power, try this:

http://www.newgenpc.com/smoreinfo.asp?iid=88855

KT333, Athlon XP2500+, mobility radeon 9000, firewire and built it MP3 player that doesn't need the PC on to work.... This machine (uniwill N251C2) configured with a Barton 2500+, 20 GB 5400 rpm drive, 256 MB RAM and XP home for $1362..... not bad.

 

[dnuggett]

The 1.3 M is going to be comparable to a 2GHZ P4, which is faster than a 2.3GHZ Celeron. What is she going to use the machine for? Office apps and web surfing will be more than fine with both machines. If mobility is a concern (I'm guessing since she wants comapct and wireless) than the extra $35 would be well spent when upgrading the battery.

As far as knocking off the additiononal 256MB of RAM on the D500 I wouldn't suggest it. Not for $50. If you decide to go with the 1100, make sure to upgrade it to 512, if it costs too much at Dell go to Crucial.

 

[preslove]

Or you could get her a 12 inch ibook for $1100. Chicks dig macs...

 

[alexruiz]

Originally posted by: preslove
Or you could get her a 12 inch ibook for $1100. Chicks dig macs...

sounds like a good choice...

 

[KK]

Shes a teacher and would be using it for school stuff. Unforunately computers at school are not macs, but that was a good idea.

for 777 shipped from home includes 256 memory( 2 128 chips). they want another 100 dollars to up it another 256. would 384MB be good enough? I'm thinking keeping it stock 256, and if she b1tches that it's too slow, for 50 dollars I could get a 256 chip and have 384. How's that thinking?

KK

 

[dnuggett]

384 is better than 256, start w/ that and see what she says.

 

[Frightcrawler]

i recommend getting the inspiron 1100 with the celeron processor, with the least amount of ram and processor speed.
then buy a pentium 4 chip from a computer store thats fast, but not fast enough to be expensive.
(example: lets say hypothetically 2.6 ghz pentium 4-m is $500. 2.5 ghz would probably have a price close to that, but 2.4 ghz would be significantly cheaper.)
Replace the celeron with the chip. if you dont know how, read some guides floating around on the net. Buy ram from a cheap ram manufacturer, such as crucial.

the bad thing is, i dont know which chip the celeron can be replaced with. It's either the Mobile Pentium 4, Mobile Pentium 4-M, or just plain Pentium-4.

I would hope for the Mobile Pentium 4 or the 4-M.
I suggest asking around in the dell forum. That is, if you actually decide to go with my idea.
It might cost a bit more, but its worth it.

 

[firtol88]

So $100 is too steep to loose a pound, bad part is that most of the hundered dollars is accounted for by the 3yr vs. 1yr waranty difference (can't select 1 year on the C400).

Get the D500 then

 

[KK]

Latitude C400
Mobile Pentium® III Processor, 1.0GHz-M with 12.1in XGA Display, Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition, SP1, with media
Qty: 1
Price: $1,427.00

Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 10:21:09 PM CDT
Catalog Number: 4 04
Module Description Product Code Sku Id
Latitude C400: Mobile Pentium® III Processor, 1.0GHz-M with 12.1in XGA Display C10X [221-0693] 1
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition, SP1, with media XPHSP1 [420-2022] 11
Module Bay Devices: 8X DVD with Software MPEGII SWDVD8 [313-0671] 16
Memory: FREE Upgrade! 256MB SDRAM (2x128mb) for the price of 128MB!! 256MZ [461-4851] 3
Hard Drive: FREE UPGRADE! 30GB,HD,9.5MM,4200RPM 30GBP [462-3874] 8
Modem: Internal 56K Modem INTMDM [313-3506] 14
Microsoft® Office: Corel WordPerfect® Office 11 WORD [412-0405] 22
File Systems: NTFS,FILE SYSTEM,WIN NT/2K/XP NTFS [420-0153] 37
Wireless Accessories: Internal TrueMobile? 1150 Mini-PCI Wireless Card INTMPCI [430-0244] 101
Battery: 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery 6CBATT [312-4606] 27
Hardware Support Services: 3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year Mail-In Service J3YRR [950-9080] [950-9092] 29

Sub-total: $1,427.00
Discounts: -$214.05
Shipping: 1 $0.00
Tax: 1 $84.91
Total Price: $1,297.86

Here's the C400. So for 240 more, I lose a pound, lose .3Ghz, and 256 memory from the D500, but gain 2 years on the warranty. And although the D500 looks good, the inspiron is looking better at $777. I wished they'de have a deal to drop it down below 700 though.

KK

 

[KK]

Inspiron 5100
Intel® Pentium® 4 processor,2.66GHz,14.1 XGA, Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
Qty: 1
Price: $1,098.00

Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2003 6:29:03 AM CDT
Catalog Number: 29 19
Module Description Product Code Sku Id
Inspiron 5100: Intel® Pentium® 4 processor,2.66GHz,14.1 XGA AB26GHN [221-1879] 1
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home WHXP [420-2114] [313-1714] [412-0408] [313-2208] 11
Mail-In Rebate Offer: SAVE $150 with mail-in rebate! System price shown before rebate 4DHS150 [462-5609] 56
Memory: 256MB 266MHz 2 DIMMS 256MB2D [311-2124] 3
Hard Drive: 30GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive 30GB [340-8029] 8
Fixed CD/DVD Drives: FREE 24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive Upgrade! (from DVD) 24CDVDP [313-1370] [462-5321] 16
Video Card: 32MB ATi Mobility? Radeon? 7500 ATI32MB [320-0550] 6
Floppy Drive: No Floppy Drive NOFD [340-8972] 10
Primary Battery: 96 WHr Lithium Ion 12-Cell Battery LIION [312-0059] 27
Productivity Software: Productivity Pack including WordPerfect® and Money® ICOREL [412-0398] [412-0552] [412-0556] 22
Security Software: Norton Antivirus®2003, 90-day introductory offer NAV2003 [412-0324] 25
Multi-Media Players: RealOne? Player, with 14 day SuperPass trial REALBAS [412-0380] 40
Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MUSICMATCH MMBASE [412-0246] 26
Dell Picture Studio: Dell Picture Studio, Image Expert® Standard DPS [412-0275] [412-0277] 37
Modem: Internal 56K Modem 56MPC [313-1404] 14
Network Adapter: Integrated Network Card INTNIC [430-0489] 13
Internet Access Options: 6 Months America Online Internet Access Included AOLDHS [412-0439] 38
Wireless Networking Cards: Dell TrueMobile? 1300 WLAN (802.11b/g, 54Mbps) miniPCI Card TM1300I [430-0507] 19
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-In Service ST111RR [950-9057] [950-3337] [950-3550] [412-0361] 29

Sub-total: $1,098.00
Discounts: -$100.00
Shipping: 1 $49.00
Shipping Discount: -$49.00
Tax: 1 $0.00
Total Price: $998.00

I think this may be a better deal, 848 after rebate. What do y'all think, is the weight on the 5100 any different than the 1100.

KK

 

[firtol88]

Is your wife a large woman? (if so you have more choices)
The reason I ask is that my wife is very weight conscious where notebooks are concerned, very.

I would at least get her the D500, but if you want cheap the i1100 should fit that bill quite nicely.

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: firtol88
Is your wife a large woman? (if so you have more choices)
The reason I ask is that my wife is very weight conscious where notebooks are concerned, very.

I would at least get her the D500, but if you want cheap the i1100 should fit that bill quite nicely.

LOL, no, but for difference in price, she'll get over it. And by lugging it around it should keep the pounds off too. I went and got the i5100.

KK

 

[Bekker]

I think you will like the 5100 very well. In my opinion, although many people seem down on Dell for some reason, Dell still offers the greatest value for $ spent of the major notebook players. I have been shopping hard for one for work since my employer has asked me to find one and I have about decided to go with the 5100 also ... but I will be paying much more for it than you did or do! We have to buy under state contract and cannot use rebates or coupons, so a 5100 costs us about $1800 to $1900. You are getting as bargain. Bekker

 

[Bateluer]

I hope she likes the i5100. What'd you get in it for hardware?

 

[Frightcrawler]

Originally posted by: KK

Inspiron 5100
Intel® Pentium® 4 processor,2.66GHz,14.1 XGA, Microsoft® Windows® XP Home
Qty: 1
Price: $1,098.00

Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2003 6:29:03 AM CDT
Catalog Number: 29 19
Module Description Product Code Sku Id
Inspiron 5100: Intel® Pentium® 4 processor,2.66GHz,14.1 XGA AB26GHN [221-1879] 1
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home WHXP [420-2114] [313-1714] [412-0408] [313-2208] 11
Mail-In Rebate Offer: SAVE $150 with mail-in rebate! System price shown before rebate 4DHS150 [462-5609] 56
Memory: 256MB 266MHz 2 DIMMS 256MB2D [311-2124] 3
Hard Drive: 30GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive 30GB [340-8029] 8
Fixed CD/DVD Drives: FREE 24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive Upgrade! (from DVD) 24CDVDP [313-1370] [462-5321] 16
Video Card: 32MB ATi Mobility? Radeon? 7500 ATI32MB [320-0550] 6
Floppy Drive: No Floppy Drive NOFD [340-8972] 10
Primary Battery: 96 WHr Lithium Ion 12-Cell Battery LIION [312-0059] 27
Productivity Software: Productivity Pack including WordPerfect® and Money® ICOREL [412-0398] [412-0552] [412-0556] 22
Security Software: Norton Antivirus®2003, 90-day introductory offer NAV2003 [412-0324] 25
Multi-Media Players: RealOne? Player, with 14 day SuperPass trial REALBAS [412-0380] 40
Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MUSICMATCH MMBASE [412-0246] 26
Dell Picture Studio: Dell Picture Studio, Image Expert® Standard DPS [412-0275] [412-0277] 37
Modem: Internal 56K Modem 56MPC [313-1404] 14
Network Adapter: Integrated Network Card INTNIC [430-0489] 13
Internet Access Options: 6 Months America Online Internet Access Included AOLDHS [412-0439] 38
Wireless Networking Cards: Dell TrueMobile? 1300 WLAN (802.11b/g, 54Mbps) miniPCI Card TM1300I [430-0507] 19
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-In Service ST111RR [950-9057] [950-3337] [950-3550] [412-0361] 29

Sub-total: $1,098.00
Discounts: -$100.00
Shipping: 1 $49.00
Shipping Discount: -$49.00
Tax: 1 $0.00
Total Price: $998.00

thats the hardware

 

[Bekker]

Why does your summary read less $100 discount when the rebate shows as 150? I suppose it is because there was an instant 100 off or something like that. Good deal. Bekker

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: Bekker
Why does your summary read less $100 discount when the rebate shows as 150? I suppose it is because there was an instant 100 off or something like that. Good deal. Bekker

That was using the home 100 dollar coupon, picked up from fatwallet.

KK

 

[Bekker]

You got a great deal and if your experience is like mine, you will really be pleasantly surprised with how fast the rebate is fulfilled. I think mine took between 2 and 3 weeks. Bekker