M4400 : many questions before order mine !

hi !

i'm quietly at the point to order a M4400 notebook, but i have any issue in configurator choices :

First about the harddrive :

Does a twice bigger 5400 hard drive is quicker than a half capacity 7200 one ?

what does mean "Optical Drive Not Included" ? does it mean there will no DVD drive ?
if i just want a burner one, without cd/software which choice is it ?

Then, what is the main difference between all the wifi adaptator ?

Will i have less drivers problem in Linux with Intel card ?

How special is the MiniCard for Core 2 Extreme Label is i choice a extreme cpu X9100 ?

Then, about the memory kind :

is it really DDR2 and not DDR3 or is it a problem ? it looks very strange to offer centrino2 architecture without DDR3, specially if i choose the X9100 CPU !
Even the nvidia use GDDR3 memory !
If is really DDR2, does the FSB is still at 1066MHz or less ?

And what about the bios :
can it allow to activate Virtualization technology (i will use VMware on the netbook) ?
and EIST technology ?

A last none objective question to finish :
Does the lightning keyboard is more beautiful than the Alienware M15x one ?

To all have already bought it, and reading me, thanks, even if you don't anwser me (i hope not !!)

 

The 7200 rpm is going to be faster then 5400 rpm, Size doesn't matter...

Get the 8X DVD+/-RW Drive with Optical Media Included [ajouter 60,00 €] it's the only DVD burner

I've heard bad things about Dell wifi so I'd go with intel just for that buty also yes intel will be better supported in Linux

It's DDR2, But it's not a big deal at all DDR3 doesn't give that much of an improvement

I'd say the M4400 it's an all around Beautiful Machine

EDIT: one more thing, I just ordered my M4400, And I saved ALOT from calling a rep
I highly suggest you do that

 

Yeah same here,you really can save some $$$ if ordering thru phone rather than online..I called the rep and gave me discounts plus free gift..but a good negotiation skill a bonus..

 

thats NOT true, the 400gb 5400rpm drive will be faster than the 200gb 7200rpm drive. heck, even the 320gb 5400rpm drives are faster than the 200gb 7200rpm drives.
not only that, the 5400rpm drive will consume less power and run cooler.
there are lots of complaints about the intel 5100, so i would recommend going with the 5300.

as for DDR2 vs DDR3, the performance difference at the moment is minimal, and the high cost of DDR3 outweighs the marginal performance benefit. there are quite a few threads discussing this. try using the search feature

 

thanks all for your answers !

shall you explicit how many you saved by ordering by phone ?

To have a reduce, did you speak about leak product or other concurrence product, or did he just offer it to you even without asked !??

 

i bought through the business channel, i got a 500USD discount and 2 free premium mouse.

my sales rep says that they are allowed to give much higher discounts if its a business purchase instead of a personal purchase. you can always say you have a business at home, they dont check.

the order process is slightly different though. they will send you a quotation, and you have to sign it and fax/scan and email it back to them, and then they will call you and ask for your credit card details, or you can post them a cheque.

hope this helps

 

whooooo $500 is big !!
Did you get more even the price reduce or you bought it full price ?

 

i dont really understand what you mean by

"Did you get more even the price reduce or you bought it full price ?"

the full price was 2500USD, i negotiated it down to 2000usd, and 2 free dell premium 4 button mouse.

my system specifications are in the owners thread i think, just click on my name and search for my previous posts.

 

@Danao

It is always best indeed to call the sales rep.....also complaining about HDD and RAM being much cheaper if you buy them separate and they will lower the price to be competitive witht those prices. And also options that are not listed in the European config menu's are actually available.

Mine was lowered to 1810euro...specs also in owners lounge

 

I didn't know this
I thought speed was just about the rpm and how good the drive was, and cache of it and that stuff...
Sorry about that