Looking at a dell laptop

[jhelgesen]

Wife and I are looking at a new dell laptop, getting confused looking at the home vs business systems, etc....

Trying to stay around 1k in price. Use will be for around the house with limited CAD use.

Anyone see anything wrong with this one or know of a better model? Is the shiny screen okay?

I know I don't want vista at this time.....


Description
Inspiron 6400 Dual Core
Date & Time: June 25,2007 12:06 PM CST

SYSTEM COMPONENTS

Inspiron 6400 Dual Core Qty 1
Intel® Core™ DUO T2350 (1.86GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB), Genuine Windows® XP Home Unit Price $1,273.00
$50 Instant Discount will be applied in cart!
Limited Time Offer!
- $50.00
Battery life of up to 6.90 hours
Battery

Save $90 on select Inspiron 6400 notebooks through the Small Business
Special offer
- $90.00
Catalog Number: 4 BNCWEXS
Module Description Show Details
Inspiron 6400 Intel® Core™ DUO T2350 (1.86GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Home
LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™(glossy)
Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 DIMM
Video Card 256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™
Hard Drive Size: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0
Optical Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Options Integrated Audio
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini Card (54Mbps)
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) No Security Subscription (Norton 90-day)
Primary Battery 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Warranty & Service 1 Yr Ltd Warranty, 1 Yr Mail-in Service, and 1 Yr Tech Support
DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS No ISP Requested
Digital Imaging Corel Snapfire Basic - Organize and Edit your photos
Miscellaneous 6400 dual
Media Direct Media Direct 3.0
Bluetooth Options Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
Purchase Intent Purchase is not intended for resale.
Processor Branding Intel Core Duo Processor
Labels Windows XP™

[TerryH]

Last year I bought the dual core Inspiron 9600 with 17" screen. For CAD, I'm sure you would be happier with a bigger screen too. They do get heavier and less portable with larger screens. If this is business write off, you may as well get a screen big enough to substitute for a desktop.

[Joeaksa]

John,

First off, what will you be doing with it? Just using it around home, traveling or multi-media?

Second thing, buy as much RAM and as fast and as large a hard drive as you can afford. Cheapest time is to buy it with the computer.

If you get 2 gigs of RAM specify that you want it in a 2 gig chip, not 2 chips of 1 gig each. Personally with todays OS's (Vista et all) I would not go with less than 2 gig and would think of getting 4 on a new machine.

I am typing this from London with a new Dell E1705 laptop. 17" screen, about the same config as above but 2 gig and 120 gig hard drive. You can find them for about $600 on Ebay if you look hard.

Joe

[jhelgesen]

I used one of those desktop replacement laptops, my back hasn't recovered yet from carrying it.....I'll check out the 17" screen though.

[azasadny]

I bought the Dell Inspiron 9400 a few months ago for $1000 and I absolutely love it. 2GB of RAM, 120GB hard drive, 17" screen and it's perfect. I'm running WinXP Pro instead of Vista and I haven't had any problems with it at all. It's really a "desktop replacement" and not a laptop because it's very large and heavy. I use it at work and when I telecommute.

[Joeaksa]

John,

I got the 17" only because I got a very good deal on it. Had worked with a 15" for years and it was fine. Course now that I have the extra large screen its very nice.

One problem. Do you work off of the battery only (no charger) often? If so then get the 15" screen as the larger screen takes more electricity and thus a shorter battery life.

[jhelgesen]

Somehow I just can't talk myself into buying one off ebay.....just don't trust it enough. I saw 1.7 hz machines, about the same config for about $300 less. Think I'd bit the bullet and buy new for that......

[Neilk]

John,

Before you buy your Dell, check out this link for tips on getting the best price from Dell.

[Joeaksa]

John,

Try looking on Ebay and see if you can find one selling in your area. I know what you mean but if you could look at it in person and check it out before bidding would have no qualms about it.

BTW, pls do not spend a penny on software for the machine unless you really need it. Its usually available for a lot less from other sources. They try to sell you virus and other software with the machine and you can get that for free.

[jhelgesen]

No software needed here, I have all the disks I need. I also went through all the different options, home office, small biz, even my company has an employee purchase plan. Haven't tried the newspaper ad route yet. I have all the configurations made and saved in my online cart, just have to pick one. Maybe I can find some coupons online somewhere for a few more bucks off.

[deanp]

If you want small and lightweight but a larger monitor, just get a flat panel LCD for the home/office desk. I have a laptop with a 15" monitor and 19" LCD. When at the office I entend the desktop and have 2x the area for windows, different apps, etc.

[slodave]

Joe: Why do you say this:
"If you get 2 gigs of RAM specify that you want it in a 2 gig chip, not 2 chips of 1 gig each."

In my experience, performance/speed is enhanced by splitting the RAM, using both channels.

jhelgesen: If you are going to run AutoCAD, consider using WinXP Pro, not home.

Dave

[jhelgesen]

I'm running solid works. What's the benefits of Pro over home? I thought it was just in the networking capabilities.

[Joeaksa]

Dave,

That way you can add a single 2 gig chip later and have 4 gigs of RAM when needed.

If you have two 1 gig chips in the MB with both RAM slots filled then when you want to upgrade you have to buy everything new as opposed to just adding one more chip.

[slodave]

Originally posted by Joeaksa
Dave,

That way you can add a single 2 gig chip later and have 4 gigs of RAM when needed.

If you have two 1 gig chips in the MB with both RAM slots filled then when you want to upgrade you have to buy everything new as opposed to just adding one more chip.

Yeah, that's true and a good point.

Dave

[slodave]

Originally posted by jhelgesen
I'm running solid works. What's the benefits of Pro over home? I thought it was just in the networking capabilities.

I was only referring to AutoDesk, AutoCAD. I don't really know about Solid Works. Yes, one of the major differences is networking capabilities. An office I used to take care of, had one XP Home PC running AutoCAD and it had problems.

Dave

[Eric Coffey]

If you are going to buy a Dell, I would stick with their commercial/industrial variants (Latitude or Precision). They are more rugged and not pre-loaded with all the useless consumer-based software. I believe they come with a longer standard warranty as well.

[MBAtarga]

go check out www.bensbargains.net if you haven't already. Dell is one of the merchants that is a sponsor. Right now I just saw a deal that looks similar to what you have listed above, but quite a bit less:
Grab the Inspiron 9400 Dual Core Notebook for $899 with free shipping. Comes with Windows Vista Home Basic installed.

Intel Dual Core Processor T2080 1.73GHz, 17" WXGA+ Display, 2GB DDR2

120GB 5400RPM SATA, 8x DVD+-RW Drive, Radeon X1400 Video, Integrated Audio

10/100 + 56k + 802.11g, MS Vista Home Basic, 53WHr Battery, 1-Yr Warranty

[Halm]

John, FWIW I prefer the Latitude line also.

Another place to check is Dell's Smart Value section:
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/smart_values?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~ck=fr1

You have to watch it carefully, but these are some excellent prices.

[FrayAdjacent911]

Look over at outlet.dell.com. I just bought a Latitude D420 from there, and got it for almost $500 less than it would have been new.

Given I work at Dell, I was able to look up it's history. It looks like someone ordered it, and either immediately returned it or cancelled the order.... so it was likely never even taken out of the box when it was new. Not a bad deal for me. Almost $500 less for a portable that is NEW. You can't beat that with a stick!