Dell Laptop, £352 Delivered Vista or XP, Good Spec?

hammodt

Nostromo wrote: »

It does have a years warranty the 90 day thing just means upto 90 days Dell will collect the laptop fix it then send it back without charge.After that its up to you pay for shipping charges.

I bought my current Dell laptop almost a year ago now, and went for the 90 day warranty. My laptop charger has broken twice, most recently last week. I must say Dell's customer service has been VERY good. I phoned up in the afternoon, and they sent out a brand new charger which arrived the very next morning. This was despite the fact I was out of my 90 days warranty - very good service!

Other than the laptop charger, the unit itself has been very reliable, and a great little machine! I think the chargers are a bit sensitive to spikes in the electric. Saying which, the spike did blow all the fuses in my house, so perhaps it's not 100% the charger's fault!

David

gromituk

hammodt wrote: »

This was despite the fact I was out of my 90 days warranty - very good service!

They know that in the EU there is consumer protection which obliges them to repair or replace equipment which is expected to last a certain amount of time, if it fails earlier. A reasonable person would expect a laptop power supply, a television, a DVD player, etc, to last not only 90 days but more than a year. That is why the standard year's guarantee carries little legal weight.

khana

Having had many many laptops over the years, I would never go for a 17"+ screen UNLESS it was going to stay on a desk and never be used actually on my lap.

Past experience has taught me that it's a killer after a prolonged web surfing session, anything more then 3KG is to much weight to put on your lap.

Saying that though, large screens are ace, just in the right place.

As to the Vista/XP debate, i'd always go for the newest OS, after all, while there will be teething problems, Microsoft has quite a lot of financial reasons to get them sorted out quickly.

Spendless_Dosh

If you're looking to save some money and have your heart set on a Dell, why not try the Dell Outlet site and the Dell Outlet site on ebay shops?

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/notebooks?c=uk&l=en&s=dfh

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Dell-Outlet

Stock changes daily so check regularly. They are really good deals compared to buying from the main site and I've bought a desktop and a laptop which have performed without any problems.

They may have cosmetic damage (scratched) but otherwise are in A1 condition.

Hope this helps

SenorGroucho

SenorGroucho wrote: »

I've been looking for a laptop for months and the Dell range in this price band seem to offer the best deal. I've just ordered a 6400 with intel core duo with 1 year collect and return warranty for £385 after quidco...doesn't seem much else around at that price.

It arrived yesterday and its a cracker, nicely built and runs faster than I expected (once I'd decrapified it).
Recommended.

tightus_wad

watch the Dell batteries...I had an inspiron 1300 with the bigger 6 cell battery, only lasted 1 year and 1 month and only use it for home use! Not impressed with quality of the battery - laptop is fine otherwise.