Coupon (and some E1505) questions

Hey,

Dell just delayed shipping me my E1705 one too many times so I'm thinking of getting the E1505 instead. My first question: is the current $750 off >$1999 coupon the best that Dell has to offer? I don't really mind waiting a bit so will I probably be missing out on a much better deal if I just buy the laptop now (today!)?

I'm also wondering exactly what configuration is probably best to hit the $2000 mark...right now, the 3 contenders now are:

1. 1.66Ghz chip, 100Gb 7200rpm HD
2. 1.83Ghz chip, 120Gb 5400rpm HD +$83 for dunno-what (better battery?)
3. 2.0Ghz chip, 100Gb 5400rpm HD

any suggestions?

would a faster chip or hard disk enhance speed more? or is that just a dumb question because they work on totally different things? i guess what i'm really asking is whether i'll get things done faster with a slightly faster chip or a slightly faster hard disk. i'll be doing some light programming on the laptop: matlab, mathcad, mathematica. also some image processing and gaming.

oh...and one more question: i considered getting the Soundblaster Audigy sound card. what does a sound card actually improve? would it significantly enhance mp3 listening?

Thanks a bunch! And i'd just like to say that this forum is great and has really helped me find a laptop that suits my poor student needs...

 

Here is another good deal in my opinion for the M140.

http://www.slickdeals.net/#p7319

 

thanks...that does sound like a good deal!

however, i decided that i wanted a laptop with duo core and an integrated graphics card, which is why i turned to the e1505