About to Buy a Dell Studio 1555...One Question

I am about to order a Dell Studio 1555 tomorrow. It is a graduation present and I plan to be using it (hopefully) for all of college. These are some rough specs on it:

-Midnight Blue
-1080p Screen
-T6400 (2.0GHz) processor
-4GB RAM
-320GB 5,400RPM HDD
-256MB ATI Mobility Radeon 4570
-6X Read-only Blu-Ray drive
-Back-lit keyboard
-Intel Wireless-N card
-Bluetooth 2.1
-3-year Warrenty with Accidental Damage coverage

After the current promotion's discount and the discount from my college's program, the total I believe (after tax and shipping) is right at around $1,298.

My question is the P8600 (2.4GHz) processor upgrade worth $125? The heaviest media usage this laptop will probably see are Blu-Ray movies and current (and some next-gen) games such as Call of Duty 4, Burnout Paradise, Valve games, Starcraft II, etc.

Also, is the battery life improvement from the processor upgrade really worth $125? Anyone know how many additional minutes I would benefit from?

One other question I also have now that I think about it, is just in general, how does this configuration look?

Thanks!

 

Check my sig to see what I got.

Now, I didn't get the blu-ray option because I rarely use DVDs in general, only for backups and for games. But honestly, you'll see a little difference with the processor upgrade, depending on what you do (video editing/ converting, programming, etc). What kind of stuff do you plan to do in college? That might determine if you want to upgrade the processor. I always felt the best sweet spot for anything is 2.4ghz.

Your price for the machine now is alright. I'd say go for it. With the 9 cell battery, expect between 2-3 more hours of battery life. Good job on your warranty choice, 3 years will serve you well.

Some final things I suggest to you are asking yourself if you would like to invest in blu-ray technology, and its movies (which can cost a bit pricey), and what you'll do in college do justify longer battery life with the 9 cell and an upgraded processor. Also things like bluetooth if you really need it. I didn't order bluetooth also. These kind of things can save you some precious $$.

Hope this helps you in your decision-making. Can't wait to get my 1555!

 

Your gpu won't be able to handle these games well. I suggest going with the base dell studio xps 16. It is cheaper and WAY better..

 

$1099+tax. You can also apply a coupon to decrease the price.

http://ecomm.dell.com/dellstore/bas...=CFG&oid=959b7c46-cd6d-459d-a597-d247d0b93f1d

 

the gpu will handle the games you listed fine. i have an 8600M GS and it handles them fine so I'm not sure what the problem would be with the 4570. the studio xps 16 does offer some nicer alternatives for a similar price though. i personally wouldn't get the warranty/bluray but that's just me. i feel that a bluray is meant to be watched on a large screen and 16 inches wouldn't do it justice.

id also recommend a 7200rpm HDD.

 

I would get the cheapest HDD option and upgrade later yourself.

 

Thanks for your replies!

I just placed the order also! I decided not to go with the P8600 and went with the next step-up from the T6400 and ordered the T6600 (2.2GHz, 2MB L2 Cache) for $50 more than the T6400.

The total after taxes, shipping (free), and the $199 and 7% discounts came to approximately $1,348 (MSRP was like almost $1,600).

Some of you were questioning the Blu-Ray drive also. The reasoning behind that was I want this to last me many years. If Blu-Ray is anything close to the DVD format in growth, we might soon start to see software offered on Blu-Ray discs for PCs in a few years. Also, I want to watch Blu-Ray movies on it, but I do realize that it is "only" a 15" screen. That is why I made sure that this laptop I am getting has HDMI-out so I can hook it up to HDTVs (portable Blu-Ray player!).

Also, as far as the 3-year warranty with the accidental coverage goes, I got that because I want piece of mind (being partly OCD), and I plan to be carrying it around a lot, so drops, liquid spills, etc. may be frequent issues.

At any rate, the ship date is early June (I believe the 3rd). Thanks for your help, and I can't wait to get it!