Is it a bad idea to purchase a m1530 now?

I was just about to bite the bullet and purchase an M1530 today. I can get almost $700 off a $2000 computer:

SYSTEM COLOR Tuxedo Black
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
LCD AND CAMERA High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440x900) & 2MP Camera
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
HARD DRIVE Size: 320GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
WIRELESS CARDS Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
BLUETOOTH AND WIRELESS USB Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
BATTERY OPTIONS 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery edit
SOUND OPTIONS Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition
FINGERPRINT SCANNER Finger Print Reader XPS M1530

ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter 15-months
PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE No Microsoft Office
PHOTO, VIDEO & BURN SOFTWARE Adobe Photoshop + Premiere Elements
My Service
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 3Yr In-Home Service, Parts Labor, 24x7 Phone Support



ACCIDENT AND THEFT PROTECTION Add Accidental Damage and LoJack Theft Protection to 3Yr Warr.




Software - Adobe Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
Processor Branding Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
Doms Camera and Color High Resolution,Black glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440x900)&2MP Cam


I have to have all these options.

It retails for $2,709, and after all my discounts the total is $1,361. So it seems like a damn good deal. The only problem is I'm seeing a lot of shipping and delayed building woes here. I'm worried that by the time I would finally get this computer, the Montevina platform would be here and I could have gotten that. I'm a big gamer, so I'm also worried about the 8600GT. Does anyone know if its DDR3? I really wish there was some way to fit an 8700, 8800, or 9700 in a 15.4 in screen.

I guess my question is: Are all the new techs coming out later this summer going to extremely expensive? I know there will be 15.4in laptops with 9700s and 8800s in them, but are they going to be over $2000? If that's the case, I'll just get this Dell. But if I'll be able to get the same config, but with an 8800 or 9700 in July, for the same price, there doesn't seem to be any reason to buy this computer now.

Also, one other question (sorry). I'm a big gamer, is the 1440x900 screen going to be an issue? I have bad eyes, so I hate the 1900x1200 option, text is too small. It seems like 1680 would have been perfect. Does the 1440x900 do alright upscaling to higher resolutions for gaming?

 

How'd you get it for that price? I'm also interested in the XPS 1530, but I'm not sure if I should wait for the new line.. Some people here are saying it won't be out by August

 

dell epp?

its a good deal if u want the warranty(at slickdeals, you could get that w/ 1 yr warranty for like $900, but it comes by rarely and its often gone quickly)

montevina ~ July 14... dell might get a new line by end-july/early-august..... shipping delays?

theres always new stuff around the corner..... bite a deal now or keep waiting forever

 

Where are you getting $700?
2709 - 1361 = $1348, which is a lot more than $700.
That's a great deal.

Yes the 8600GT has GDDR3 in the XPS.
The Inspiron only has GDDR2.

Upscaling? It can't do that at all. You'll never get 1920x1200 out of a 1440x900 screen. Games will run smoother at 1440x900 than at 1920x1200 though. You'll have a better frame rate at the lower resolution. And I'd be surprised if you could tell a difference in the quality of an image at 1440x900 as compared to 1920x1200 -- especially in a game.

 

Id like to know how to get this deal too so i can print it out. This is dell.com deal ? not sure how you got that price

 

Ohh oops, I meant $2079. I do play a lot of my games at 1600x1200, but I guess that's pretty close to 1440x900. So this seems like a reasonable deal? I've seen better prices for similar computers at XoticPC, but that's without the warranties and with a smaller harddrive.

 

It's a Dell members deal. I get it when use my University's Dell portal and then set up the most expensive M1530 that's not in the gaming line. If that makes sense. I get $599 off, plus about $200 off for my educational discount.

 

I would not bother. You are not likely to see the laptop until late July.

 

I'm amazed it lists my estimated ship date as 7/11. That's over 20 days away. I'm really on the fence with this computer. I also have not the greatest eyes, so I'm thinking about a 17in lappy. Damn...tough decision since I have to make it by tonight, when the deal runs out.

 

delayed shipping b/c of shortages of 6-cell batteries.... try upgrading to 9-cell and see if the date changes

hmm... the deal runs out? i've seen this deal last forever in epp

might want to pull another $80 for 4-yr warranty+accidental damage+$70 Gift Card

 

xps laptops are great, the 17" xps "M1730" is quite expensive. and weigh alot and are nearly desk-bound
this 15" is must one of the best laptops for size to performance ratio. and looks amazeing.

the new studio 1535 will be between xps and inspiron so the xps line will still be better and i havent heard of them upgradeing the xps line very soon. so its good to buy now

dell laptops dont break done much anyway, and in the usa you get a 2yr warrenty as standard right? so you should pick that as its quite a bit cheaper and the price should go down. those warrenty and acident cover plans you picked made your laptop cost ALOT more, unless your really need them, i wouldnt recomend them

if you are a big gamer, id go with the T9300 because of its 6mb L2 cache, its not alot more. the 1440x900 should be ok as at 1920x1200, you wont get very high graphics and good fps at the newest of games.


i got this M1530:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.50 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 6 MB L2 cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English
1 Year Base Warranty
2.0 mega pixel Camera & Tuxedo Black for CCFL Display
15.4" Widescreen WXGA+ (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™
Biometric Fingerprint Reader with BLACK accent
4096MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
320GB (5.400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8600M GT with 256MB dedicated graphic memory ( is it DDR3?)
Fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load drive, including SW
Dell™ Wireless 355 Bluetooth + Dell™ Bluetooth 2.0 Stereo Headset(Free!) - Eur
Dell™ Optical Scroll Premium USB Mouse (free)
Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-Card - Europe - Core 2 Duo Processors
Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)

all for £703 which is about $1400 and pc's are quite a bit more expensive in the uk, so i got a good deal.

if your are buying, make sure to push the dell sales people to give you as many discounts as possible, i got about £250($500) worth free in extras and discounts. some sales rep's wont give you any discounts so try others, it might take a few calls , but you will end up with a sleek, fast and very portable laptop for very low prices compared to others.

,

 

What will be better about the montevina chip?

 

WiMax (mobile broadband)
Better integrated graphics card (useless if u get nvidia 8600)
better battery life
believe it supports 800mhz ram

 

Alright, I'm going to go ahead and do it. My current Compaq is working alright, but it's over 5 years old now...and I really don't want to risk having it die on me after I start med school. So I'm gonna order this Dell tonight, and just hope that it gets here by August. I'm also excited to finally be able to play new games on my own computer for once!