I need your help for my first Dell Precision!

Hi everyone
I desperately need you help.
I'm planning to buy a new Dell Precision mobile workstation, I think I'll choose the M6700 due to the better expandability.
It'll be my first notebook of this type.

The specs that I have in mind are a quadcore cpu, the ips screen and the nvidia quadro K4000M.
For the others options I need your help to choose.
I'd like to buy separately hds and ram, because they are too expensive on dell's website.
For main disk a samsung 830 256gb/512gb and a classic 7200 rpm disk for the data.
Are there any 7200rpm 1 TB disk?
I have always seen 750 gb, never 1 tb.
Which brand of hd can you advise to me?
For the ram I'm thinking of 2 or 4 sticks of 8 bg ddr3 1600 mhz.
Even with the ram I don't know which brand to buy...any help?

And last some questions about options:
For the wifi I see 4 different types of wireless card, two dells and two inter centrinos: which is the best?
For the fingerprint reader what are the differences between the swipe reader and the fips reader? One is better then the other?
And the last thing: I see an option "dell energy star 5.2" which costs 5 euros in Italy: is it useful?

Thanks a lot for reading all of my mess and sorry for my poor english...
I know that are a lot of questions, but I don't know where to find answers.
I'm sure you can help me!
Thanks to all in advance

 

I ordered mine last week and did the same as you are planning to do.
I purchased with 128 GB Solid state drive as the only drive and purchased another separately. I know the one Dell uses is the 750 GB Western Digital Scorpio Black 7200 rpm which I purchased separately for $100 (vs $360 from Dell). I dont think you can get more than 750GB with any brand.
I also purchased the system with 2 Gigs of ram and purchased 32 GB (4 x8GB) Corsair Vengence 1600 mhz ram for $200 vs ($810 from Dell). There are several brands for the ram, but after researching I found the Corsair Vengence are really good and have great value. Crucial is the more expensive brand and Kingston is also better value and good quality. I would say what ever you find the best deal on.

For the wireless cards, I believe the more expensive Dell has a longer range and is the one I selected. I couldn't find any reason to pay more for the centrinos as they all do the same thing.

I went with the swipe reader, I think the other option has increased security for corporate use. not entirely sure though.

Hope it helps!

 

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Hard Drives, Laptop Hard Drives, 750GB and higher, 1TB

Newegg.com - Patriot Signature 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model PSD316G1333SK I have two of these kits in my M4600 Precision. :thumbsup:

In the States, 6300 Wifi. Over there I do not know. As locally.

 

I got mine from new egg too! The M6700 does take faster Rams. 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) to be more specific.

Newegg.ca - CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10

 

I also got the Corsair Vengeance RAM (though I found it a little cheaper to buy them individually instead of in pairs at the time that I ordered). 4 of them. Working great.

 

Thanks everyone for your help, I really appreciate it!

So the centrino 6300 is the best between the 4 wifi card?
I can order it on Italy's dell site
The name is "EMEA Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (802.11 a/b/g/n 3X3) Half Mini Card"...is it right?

And what about this ram?
16GB kit (8GBx2), 204-pin SODIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800 upgrades for Dell Precision M6700 (4 SODIMMs) Laptop/Notebook, CT3397240 from Crucial.com
Might be ok?

I have also a couple of other questions.
I'm not used to install the os from scratch, but I will have to do it if I'll buy separately the ssd.
With the pc come dvds with windows 7, drivers and software from dell to re-install from scratch all the software that is on the hard disk when the pc is shipped?Or I'll have to download something before?
For example I think that there is some software to manage the ips screen, etc...
Which are the differences between the basic and the pro support?
And a last question: any advice on which backpack should I buy that accomodates well the precision with the power pack and other accessories?

Thanks again to all!!!

 

Yes the Intel® Centrino® Ultimate-N 6300 802.11n 3x3 Half Mini-card is better because it has/works with 3 antennas vs 2 ea. like the others. Apology about the RAM recommendation. My M4600's RAM runs at 1600 up to 16GB RAM, greater than that up to 32GB it runs at 1333, which is why I went with the 1333. For your machine I would go with 32GBs (4 x 8GB) with tight timings because this is about the cheapest it has ever been (aftermarket) and you can and will use it all with an M6700. The prices have even gone down since May. But remember DDR2? At some point the prices will reverse when the DDR4, or what ever is next, comes out. Plus this gives you the option to deactivate or reduce pagefile safely. Order your computer with all discs for complete reload because the price goes up afterwards. They will try to tell you about making a "recovery disc", but that is different, insist on all discs for Reinstallation. Making a recovery disc is like backing up your user files...ie Documents, Photos, Videos, ect. Here you can order the discs with the computer for $3.00 each. I ordered mine late, and just for the OEM Win7 OS and Dell Applications only (2 each), it was $36 with shipping. Order with ProSupport with NBD Limited Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis and CompleteCare Accidental Damage Protection for the years of your choice. This covers Everything. I went 3 years but should have gone 4. Will bump that later, but the price will surely be more. They will also assist you when loading you SSD with all, including the order of drivers, Camera, and other things people run into problems with. I still highly recommend getting outside help to assist you with this and with the optimization of your install with Windows. We ordered with the Dell Sleeve and Dell Adventure Backpack. They are very good quality and Son loves them in his College environment.

Sorry if I rambled a little. Work nights, and just came home after a rough one.

Hope that answers some of your questions. Best Wishes.

 

Thank you so much for your answer.
Now my ideas are "clearer": to upgrade the pc I'll order a samsung 830, a wd 750gb 7200 for data and corsair 32 gb ram kit.
Any other advice before making the order?

p.s. is not possible on this forum to send private messages to other users?

 

Be polite to them and negotiate the price. I called several times and talked to half a dozen reps before I locked in. Off to work again.

Go to your General Setting and select Private Messaging.

 

Today I'll contact them in chat to ask about some options, then I'll call by phone.
About private messages: my profile is disabled, I think because I don't have enough posts, only 5 with this.
Someone know how many posts do I have to do before I can use private messaging?

edit: I found that I need 5 posts to gain the ability to private messaging.