Dell laptop?

sallytheteamonkey

Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate advice on if this laptop is a good spec. I don't know what 'dual processor' means but I think that is quite fast right? I don't play games, just surf the net and watch tv/movies online so i want something that can do all that quickly and doesn't take ages to open word or adobe etc.
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=NRS15351&l=en&m_30=111789&oc=N0353501&rbc=N0353501&s=dhs
:T

macman

That spec should do the job as long as you're happy with a 15 in screen (as opposed to a 17in). If you're not sure go look at the difference in PCW (one of the only reasons for going there).
The hard disk is a bit small at 160GB, so you might consider paying a few pounds more to take that up to 250GB if you're thinking about keeping larger files on it.
RAM at 2GB is the minimum you need to run Vista, you can increase that to 4GB, but cheaper to do this after purchase from a firm such as Crucial.

liverpoolcarl

It looks reasonable for what you would like to do with it. A bit more memory maybe, 3gb.

If you like I can PM you my account manager’s phone number at Dell and you can ask her for a quote on a laptop that she recommends and then compare it to this one.

She always beats the price on their website and will put in a free bag.

There isn’t a lot of movement on price but it will certainly be a little cheaper than the website and free delivery.

PS: I don't get any kick back from Dell!

Dianefedup

Hi Sally,

I dony know much about laptops but what i can tell is you ought to do yourself the best favour and stay way from Dell. I bought a dell laptop for £900 3.5years ago and had nothing but trouble with it. In fact it crashed 29 days after i bought. If you looka round on the net you will find tonnes of reviews from people who have had a similar experience. I am now shopping for a new laptop this time for around £300 cause thats all i could save up as a student.

Dell is the biggest con out there and i definately wont be buying from them ever again.

sallytheteamonkey

Thank you for all the replies. I have read on here in the past that Vista can be really slow. I'd prefer XP to be honest, I have that already and I really like it. I do want a fast computer, I'm very impatient.

Thanks macman for the good advice (as always!!) about upgrading after buying

And liverpoolcarl, I will defo get in touch if I decide to go for this.

Dianefedup, sorry to hear about your experience. My friend recommended Dell to me but I guess it's a bit hit and miss. what are you going for this time? I have a good Toshiba but it broke at about 3 years old. Not a massive loss after that time I guess but annoying as I paid £300 for it one year ago as it was refurbished.

liverpoolcarl

If you like XP Dell will ship the laptop with XP installed and include Vista media so you can upgrade later, if my memory is correct they call it the down-gradable software option.

Up until a few years ago Dell had a few problems with support and the companies they used for regional support for warranty replacements but I persoanlly haven't had any problems for a long time and I purchase a lot of kit from them for my clients (laptops and desktops).

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

I bought my son a Studio15 from Dell Outlet last October.

It's a very nice looking machine and my son loves it.

The DVD drive failed last month and an engineer was out the morning after I booked the fault out and replaced it.

This was my first Dell purchase and I'm impressed so far.

macman

Isn't this downgrade option only available on certain Dell systems liverpoolcarl?

liverpoolcarl

It is suppose to be but if it can't be done on the system you want they can class it as a business deal so you can get the downgrade option.

Its definitely ok with Latitude and Precision laptops and some Vostro's.

You might get Vista Business rather than Vista Premium but there isn’t much difference that people would notice, maybe the media centre functionality but this is easily overcome and most use third party software for such functions anyway.

I think on their site premium and business are priced differently but over the phone the quote can be manipulated to suit.

I only really look at the site now and again to keep my account manager on her toes.

isofa

Never had any serious problems with Dell, by them personally and by the bucket load for work. Highly recommended.

The currently desktop I'm using must be at least 6 years old from Dell and it's solid as a rock.

For the best Dell deals use this site: www.dmxdimension.com

Only Vista Business has XP downgrade rights.

You should find the same prices if you go into the Small Business site or the Home site, just business doesn't include VAT. They will sell any machine to end users or businesses.

sallytheteamonkey

one of the things that attracts me to tell is that I've heard their support is good. would you recommend getting the upgraded support or is one year enough?