Decisions to make for E1705

I decided on the E1705. I planned on upgrading the RAM myself instead of through dell, but what should I plan on getting through Dell to start with? Is it necessary for RAM speeds to be the same? Is it worth getting the 667mhz over the 533mhz? Also, because of my funding I can either afford the duo core 2.0ghz and no accidental coverage, or the duo core 1.83ghz with the 1 year accidental coverage. Any help would be appreciated.

This is how I have it configured right now:

Inspiron E1705 Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2500 (2GHz/667MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
LCD Panel 17 inch Wide Screen XGA+ Display
Memory 512MB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
Video Card 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 7800
Hard Drive 80GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Combo/DVD+RW Drives FREE!8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card (54Mbps)
Office Software (not included in Windows XP) No productivity suite- Corel WordPerfect word processor only
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) No Security Subscription
Primary Battery 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Hardware Warranty 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr HW Warranty Support
Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Wireless Personal Networking Card Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal(2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
Operating System Backup & Recovery Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition backup CD
Dell Digital Entertainment Starter Entertainment Pack - Basic digital Music, Photo and Game experience
TOTAL:$1,491.00

 

The user will not be able to see the difference in RAM speed. From what I have seen on other websites the performance increase is 3-5% which isn't much.

2GB of Gigaram 667Mhz is going to cost you about $270. Found here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&description=&srchInDesc=&minPrice=&maxPrice=

2GB of OCZ 533Mhz is going to cost you about $175. Found here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&description=&srchInDesc=&minPrice=&maxPrice=

Those prices are from www.newegg.com

Personally unless you are wreckless with your PC I would just get the 2.0...otherwise I would get the warranty.

RAM speed doesn't have to be the same...but say if you put in a stick of PC-5300 667Mhz and 1 PC-4200 533Mhz...the 667 stick will downclock to 533Mhz.