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 QUESTION: hi i looked at one of your previous answers, advice to college stundent for a basic laptop and that machine sounded like the one for us, first time buyers ,light use for email and pictures. i went to dell site built it as you described,inspiron 1501, and when i tried to enter coupon, it would not accept it. it needed more info. also as far as the wireless card would i be better getting cingular card also it is an additional $209. we will be using it on our 2 week road trip in las vegas and yosemite national park. any other advice would be appreciated
thank you
ANSWER: as long as you just want to connect wirelessly, you will just need a wireless card. i would recommend getting the N-wireless card.
make sure to get updated coupons offline (www.notebookreview.com/dellcoupon.asp) because it may not work. otherwise, just keep trying because dell's website is random. another option is to build it through their online chat sales support and they will be able to use it or give you a real reason why they can't.
if you have the $, i'd go w/ the 1505 over the 1501, but otherwise not much difference.
would you like to send more some more information on your budget and I can configure you one tonight?
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QUESTION: hi again our budget is not really an issue, i just dont want to pay for alot of extras that we wont really use. we have our desktop. and the kids wont need it for school untill 2 years. we wont use it for business just some light use at home and on vacation, games, video,pictures, internet etc..it seems to run in the 700 to 900 dollar range thanks again fran
Answer yes the 1501 is decently priced. keep in mind that this price will go up when you add in the warranty. i'd highly recommend getting one for the length you intend to use the computer, up to 4 years. dell's pc bundle is a great deal especially with the extra discounts you get when you add it to the cart. most people do 3-4 years. you get the 24/7 tech support, on-site repair service, accidental damage coverage, antivirus software, software support, and theft recovery and protection.
i would get
-AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TK-53
-Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
-1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm
-80GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
-8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability (a DVD holds 6 times as much data as a CD so you can backup your entire computer on one DVD)
-85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
-Dell 1505 Wireless-N
-No Entertainment software pre-installed
-No ISP Requested
The total the way I built it is $1,226.67. Feel free to ask me why I picked to upgrade something that I did and I will explain it to you and how it is beneficial to you. This is with the 3 year warranty bundle and starting with the cheapest option.
Take a look at this and let me know what you think, if you want any explainations on why I configured it the way I did, or if you'd like to go another route!
