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 I am also looking for a laptop and I was investigating the Dell laptops. I got a quote from Dell business for the Inspiron 6400. I'm not sure of the difference between the 6400 vs. the E1505, but the person I was working with at Dell could only sell the business products. He wasn't too informative about the difference between the two lines. Here is a configuration I was quoted...I wanted to know your comments...mostly about the price, but if you think you have a suggestion about the configuration that would be fine.
Also, I have additional questions:
What are the major differences between the 6400 vs. E1505 and which do you prefer?
What about the difference between this operating system and the Business form of Vista?
I read your thoughts about the battery. This configuration has the basic battery. Please note that the laptop is plugged in 90% of the time and that's why I didn't think it was too important to upgrade the battery, but I still welcome your comments.
Lastly, I THINK I asked for just one year warranty and I will probably change that to 2-3 years. Here is the configuration:
Base Unit:
Inspiron 6400, Intel Core 2 Duo processor T5600 (2MB/1.83GHz/667MHz) (222-4663)
Processor:
15.4 Inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WSXGA+, for Inspiron 6400/E1505 (320-4652)
Memory:
2GB, DDR2, 533MHz 2 Dimm for Inspiron 6400/E1505 (311-5778)
Video Card:
256MB Ge Force 7300 Graphics card for Inspiron 6400/E1505 (320-4810)
Hard Drive:
120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive for Inspiron 6400/E1505 (341-3316)
Operating System:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English (420-6556)
Operating System:
Internet Search and Portal (420-5769)
Operating System:
Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access (463-2282)
Feature
53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for Inspiron 6400/E1505 (312-0404)
Service:
Warranty Support,1 Year Extended (900-8221)
Service:
Soft Contracts - Qualxserve (412-0359)
Service:
Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Extended Year (985-3549)
Service:
Type 3 Contract - NextBusiness Day Parts and LaborOn-Site Response, 1YR Extended (902-1721)
Service:
Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year (985-3538)
Service:
Type 3 Contract - NextBusiness Day Parts and LaborOn-Site Response, Initial Year (980-2800)
Service:
Warranty Support,Initial Year (960-2780)
Misc:
AOL for Broadband (412-0933)
Misc:
Earthlink (412-0934)
Misc:
Corel Snapfire Plus Starter Edition and Paint Shop Pro XI trial (412-0931)
Media Direct 3.0 (465-8714)
Thank you for choosing Dell (466-5563)
Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor (310-8314)
You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System (310-8628)
Purchase is NOT intended for resell (462-4506)
Special Pricing Applied (463-0742)
The price before taxes is $1218. Lastly, I understand you had some coupon codes that have now expired. Do you have any new ones that might make the pricing better than the quote I have? Thanks for your response!!!
Answer the only real difference i've seen between the two is the warranty services are a bit different (geared towards a business vs a home), the outer shell is a bit tougher (for those on site construction jobs), and they generally only offer vista business/ultimate, where most users really only need and want vista home premium (although i see you got home premium)
i'd go with the E1505 for one main reason - the warranty bundles. you can build that exact computer you showed me up there but get a warranty bundle with it. with the 3 year PC Care Bundle Plus you get 3 year at home service warranty, 3 years of overnight shipping, 3 years of 24/7 tech support, 3 years of antivirus software, 3 years of accidental damage coverage, 3 years of theft recovery, and 30 days of dell on call. on top of that, you get 7% off the final price of the laptop. i've bought it on all the new laptops and desktops i have purchased.
however, i'd just configure both laptops with what you want and use the coupons and see which one comes out the cheapest and go with it.
Here's some new coupons:
# Use code 05SF554JGRJZSF to save $500 off any $1,499.00+ Dell Inspiron notebook. (valid 5/3/2007 7:00:00 AM - 5/10/2007 6:00:00 AM)
# Use code 3WBWBT01KSXPCS to save $300 off any $999.00+ Dell Inspiron notebook. (valid 5/3/2007 7:00:00 AM - 5/10/2007 6:00:00 AM)
the configuration looks great. if you use the laptop not plugged in with the screen on bright, a battery goes quick. i'd still get the 9 cell battery. you never know when you are on a car trip or plane flight and want to play around on the computer or watch a movie. it will also help a lot if you intend to sell the computer down the road : )
finally, a warranty is sooo useful. you'll want one that lasts longer than a year and with it you'll use it for everything. one pixel out in your LCD? someone comes to replace it. the accidental damage is nice too - drop it, spill coffee down it, etc it is still covered.
i hope i answered all your questions - let me know if there is anything else i can do!!!
