About to buy an i5 R2...

for 650$ with 8 GB of ram, 320gb hd... worth it?!

 

definitly worth it. got my r1 for that price

 

only bad thing about it so far it seems is it's lunar shadow

 

lunar shadow doesnt look bad, i like it. it looks way better in person

 

Are you gonna do the upgrade to 8GB of RAM? or is already in the settings? Because you can go with 4GB and upgrade other thing, or upgrade to 8GB (if you need it) later for like half the price Dell ask for...

 

i'm doing the deal locally on craigslist. gonna check it out tomorrow. Anything to look for? and how does the warranty work? the seller says he got it a week ago.

 

If he bought it new a week ago, he could just return it for more then he's selling it for. Ask him for the service number so you can verify warranty status.

 

Yup, always check the warranty status.

It sounds to me like the seller used Dell Financial in order to get a laptop and sell it for cash. I've seen ALOT of students do this at my college.

 

That's what I thought at first. Got mine and I've got to say, a picture never did it justice. It looks much more high quality, less a toy, and more an expensive piece of hardware than the black.

 

Lunar is alright, imo.

At least the R3 is supposed to have Nebula Red and Stealth Black options From the looks of it, they dropped Lunar Shadow altogether.

I'd say Red > Shadow > Black ...if I had the choice.

--

But yeah, 650$ is a great, great price for a new R2

 

The only things really to look for are all cosmetic. Check the screen is not scratched or in some way impaired. On some models the screen rests on the keyboard when the lid is closed and this can cause issues. Check the hinges front and back to make sure they are not separating. Check the case around the screen to make sure it is solid and not coming apart. Similarly, check the main case around the keyboard to ensure that there is no movement there and things are not coming loose.

It's normal to have a bulge in the keyboard , left of center, so if you see that don't worry too much. Check also that the machine, while idle, doesn't sit with the fans running - if it does, the machine may need to be cleaned out, or possibly even have the temp sensors and fans checked.

Given that you are getting it off craigslist, I'd push for $500. $680 is a great price for a new machine, but you may be able to squeeze him lower for a used one (you aren't getting to choose the name tag on the machine, you're going to have to spend time re-installing the OS - or at least I would - etc etc).

 

The M11x R3 is also supposed to have unicorns come out of the DisplayPort if you press the right button combination on the keyboard.

I'd seriously advise against making any purchasing decision based on vaporware. Buy what you need, when you need it, and just accept the fact that whatever computer equipment you ever buy in your life will be obsolete in 6 months no matter what.

 

what if this thing is hot? how will I know?

 

I wouldn't push for 500 ~ or you'll most likely lose your shot at the computer. $680 was the promotional price from 3 weeks ago after taxes for most. The seller is giving someone the opportunity to take advantage of a past promotion, without the silly Dell games. You may be able to push him at cost for like 10-20$, but anything more is downright insulting unless you have solid grounds that the laptop isn't worth as much as he paid (which is difficult when Dell is charging over 1000 after taxes for the same machine).

~ Just the way I view it, lol.

 

i asked him if he knew the service status # and he hasn't emailed me back...

 

You want the "Service Tag". Assuming that you perform the exchange in a place that has internet, you can actually do a "Service Tag" lookup here: Dell - System Information - just click on "Find My Service Tag"

Dell installs a small program and looks up the Service Tag imprinted in the hardware. From there, you would be able to see the warranty information associated. This is probably better than relying on a sticker for a Service Tag, which could be doctored if this seller is malicious.

 

made the purchase. everything is good so far.

PS.

F/S MSI GX-630 turion X2 2.2ghz 4gb ram 9600m GT!