About Lauren Bennett Expertise I am a computer science major and my dad is an Electric Engineering, so my life has revolved around computers. For as long as I can remember, I have been buying and selling computers. I tend to travel a lot, so I have always had a laptop. I have bought 5 of them for myself, and bought around 30-40 for friends and family. I have dealt with the good and the bad of various version and brand names. If you are in need of buying a laptop, feel free to contact me and I'm sure I will be able to guide you into purchasing the laptop that will be the best fit for you. I will custom build you computers for you to choose from so you can get an exact idea of what to go and buy when you do it yourself and so that you have an exact price. However, I am in the USA and am only knowledgeable about computers here in the US. I do not know about foreign currency or the quality of computer brand names outside the US.
Experience B.S. in Computer Science. Buying and selling for years. Assisting friends/family.
Question Would appreciate if you could offer recommendations re: purchase of new laptop (am totally unfamiliar with laptops, wireless usage, peripherals, etc so am in desperate need of guidance).
Background: Primarily for small business use - (husband is independent contractor and frequently works outdoors)- estimate 30% field use (sales leads, e-mails, general access to internet) + 70% home use (business planning/cost analysis/marketing,web access etc.)
Primary concerns: model that will meet the challenges of an outdoor environment - realize that "rugged" models may be overkill but a protected keyboard and durable exterior case would be a big plus.
Budget: $1500 (unfortunately my 1st attempt @ config -see below- is way over-so would appreciate your thoughts on where I can cut some costs). After reading some of your previous posts, I visited the Dell site and made an effort to create a package, but admittedly was overwhelmed. Began with a Vostro 1700 (husband's wants large screen & doesn't much care about size/weight). . .here's the rest:
My System Details
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate edit
LCD PANEL 17.0 inch Wide Screen XGA+ LCD Display edit
MEMORY 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM edit
HARD DRIVE 250GB 5400RPM Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD+RW Read and Burn CD and DVD edit
VIDEO CARD 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS edit
MEDIA DIRECT Dell Exclusive MediaDirect™ Instant Play Software Application edit
WI-FI WIRELESS CARD Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini Card edit
WEBCAM Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera edit
SOUND OPTION Integrated High Definition Audio edit
My Accessories
BATTERIES 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery edit
My Software
PRODUCTIVITY Microsoft® Office Basic 2007 (Word, Excel, Outlook) edit
SECURITY Norton Internet Security 2007, 36-months edit
ADOBE SOFTWARE Adobe® Acrobat® Reader edit
FINANCE & ACCOUNTING QuickBooks Simple Start Plus Pack 2008 edit
My Services & Warranties
WARRANTY & SERVICE Get $75 Dell Gift Card w/3Yr On-Site Service,Parts+Labor,24x7 Phone Support edit
ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE SERVICE 3 Year CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service edit
DELL DATASAFE™ ONLINE BACKUP 10GB for 1 Year Online Data Backup by Dell DataSafe edit
AUTOMATED PC TUNEUP 1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup edit
STANDARD VOSTRO SERVICES TOOLS Dell Network Assistant edit
ON-SITE SYSTEM SETUP No Onsite System Setup edit
PURCHASE INTENT Purchase is not intended for resale. edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Labels Windows Vista™ Premium
Integrated NIC and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Processor Branding Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
Total=$2257 - DISCOUNT OF $281 = NET $1976
Besides investigating broadband access, anything extra I need to add (router?)
Thanks so very much in advance for your assistance
Jayne
Answer The reason it is so expensive is because it is the 17" computer. They tend to be a decent amount more expensive than the 15" ones. I have a 12", so even a 15" seems really big to me!! It might be a consideration to downgrade to the 15" to save a little money. They are still pretty big and a bit more portable. I used to have a 17" a few years ago.
You can save a little money by going with 1GB of memory and then upgrading it later yourself. You can probably do it for about $60 and probably cheaper if you sell the memory that you get with the system. I did this about a month ago and can help you out in buying, selling, and replacing.
You also probably don't need the N wireless card. Unless he is going ot be on the field connecting to a very remote signal that he may or may not pick up, you probably won't get much benefit from the N wireless because a vast majority of routers are still G wireless.
You can probably get Word and anti-virus software from sources other than Dell for cheaper as well. If you don't need Outlook, I would suggest Word Home & Student over Basic. I would check out the Sunday ads, newegg.com, buy.com, amazon.com, and do a search for academic software to get a better deal on Office and the anti-virus.
Additionally, if Quickbooks isn't an immediate need (and it doesn't come free) I'd wait as well. It took me a while, but i own both Quickbooks and Peachtree and got them free after rebate.
The accidental damage you got is a necessity due to the location of the laptop. This will cover any accidents that may happen to the computer and will be the best way to cover it. While the Vostro may be a bit durable, no computer is designed to withstand being dropped for a significant distance or having anything dropped on it. For this matter, you would be fine with an Inspiron computer as well.
I hate how the small business laptops only come with Vista Business or Ultimate. I prefer Home Premium myself. However, you will probably enjoy the multimedia features of the laptop so I'd definitely go with Ultimate over Business.
If you want to look at the Inspirons too, use code 88N40LQNT0MPVM to save $300 off any $1,199.00+ Dell Inspiron notebook. I believe this coupon is good through Friday.
I hope I covered everything. Please feel free to write me back if you have any other questions!!
