Dell 9200 advice needed

Hi im currently looking for a new notebook, right now i have a desktop in college and it is like carrying a brick home and back to school every vacation. I have my sights set on a Dell I9200 1.8 ghz p-m, 512 ram, 60gb 7200rpm, XGA+, ATI 9700 radeon. Its about 1656 $$ (W/ 20% off coupon) when im all done with applying settings( cutting alot of options too! like choosing lowest battery etc.). I usually play mmorpg games and some fps games like halo, far cry, maybe half life 2 someday if i can afford everything. I don't like the I8600 cause it looks plain and i don't like the feel of it when i used my friends notebook. The I9200 looks nice but i need advice on if it will last me about 4 years of college, with all the new games coming out. Also i heard that a P-M 1.8ghz processor is comparable to a p4 3.0ghz... is it true? I also missed a nice dell coupon code for 25% off right before christmas, but now i have the 20% coupon. Im thinking on waiting till after new years if they are goign to give a bigger discount. Im anxious for getting a new computer but i don't want to miss out on a dell deal better than 20% after ordering it a computer. Is this computer worth getting?

 

I'm using one right now and I am extremely happy with it. My specs are similar, except I got the 1.60 GHz processor and the 80 gig hard drive.

I haven't played many games on it since I've been out of town, but the battery life is great. I got both a 9 cell and a 6 cell battery. The 9 cell does last a long time, but the 6 cell isn't bad either. I watched two hours of Seinfeld on the way home and still had about 15 minutes left on the battery. I guess that's not that bad, since it was using the DVD drive. Burning CDs and stuff would kill it though. I'm sure gaming would too, but it's still great for DVDs on the road.

I do plan on playing plenty of games, since this is my first computer capable of playing games that I actually want to play. I'm downloading a demo for Unreal Tournament 2004 and soon I'll get Americas Army. I've heard that lots of games run great on this machine.

Overall, I am very happy with it. It isn't the smallest and lightest machine available but it does have a huge screen. I'd recommend it to someone who wants a great multimedia laptop without having to be tied down to a wall.

 

did you get any coupon or deals for the 9200? what was the highest coupon (ie. percentage off ) for this notebook? I hate waiting to buy it and i have this 20% coupon that will expire 1/4/05. should i buy it now or wait till after new years to see if any better deals arise??? thanks

 

A little background:

System as ordered:
i9200
1.6 GHz proc
512 RAM
XGA+
60GB 5400rpm

1. This order has been in "boxing" status since 12/20, with scheduled ship date of 12/22 and delivery on 12/24. Dell is able to tell me that it's "backordered", but not for what or any other info. They also never seem to update the website that offers this "information". They DID offer me $110 off for my trouble.

2. I'm wondering now about the wisdom of my choice of processor. Everyone I've seen in the various forums seems to have the 2.1 GHz proc, and they love their i9200.

3. I'm not much of a gamer, but I'm thinking I might start up again after years of being out of touch. Am I going to be crippled by the 1.6 GHz processor? Upgrading to the 2.1 is really costly, but should I bite the bullet, cancel this incessantly delayed order and order one with the better proc?

 

I bought my girlfriend a 1.6ghz 9200 on 12/10 and received it before X-mas. I may have gotten in just in time. Anyway, I (and she) love the thing so much I just ordered myself one this morning. I got the 2ghz, 60gig, 512mb, XGA+ variety. I priced it under both Home and SB. Under home they currently have a 15% off coupon and I could get it under $1700 but with only 256mb and 40 gig hd, but free wireless card and printer. I could get free upgrade to 60 gig, 512mb, add the wireless for $29, no printer(don't need it) under SB for about $80 more which seemed like the better deal. The premium to jump up one more to the 2.1ghzM didn't seem worth it. Can't wait, currently have a est. ship date of Jan. 5th. Good luck with yours Rat, it's bad arse.

-Kevin

 

I spoke with Dell again today and got them to upgrade the shipping to Next Day for free (when the thing finally ships, lol). Brings the cost of mine down to under $1800, and that includes all taxes, 3 year warranty and accidental damage coverage, plus the upgraded battery and the Dell nylon carrying case. Since current projected ship dates for new orders are 1/6 and so is the new date for mine....I'm going to ride with mine, hope it gets here quicker, and hope the 1.6 proc doesn't slow me down.

Glad to hear you and your g/f are impressed, Dock. Thanks for posting!

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by ratbatblue

 

Just my two cents...

If you don't plan on carrying it to class everyday (pretty heavy) then I would go with the 9200. I run the 9700Mobile in my I9100 and am playing doom3, HL2 and EQ2 with no problems. It's mobile, yet not great for everyday traveling.

As for 4 years of college, im sure the processor would be fine although I would reccomend picking up another 512 (make sure you get 512 on 1 chip) when it gets a bit cheaper. The video cards are nice for this time but; I'm guessing that you would be able to upgrade the vid card in the 9200(9800 or hopefully 6800go soon) more so than the 8600(Will probably fade out). Hope that helps.

Dell Inspiron 9100
P4 3.2 HT
1 GB RAM
60 GB HD @7200rpm
ATI 9700 Mobile 128MB
15.4" WUXGA @1920x1200

 

I got it with a 20% off, but I have seen 25% off coupons. I don't know when you'll see another one of those.

The processor isn't my main concern. I actually am more worried about my slow hard drive. It does impact performance, but I guess I can't do much but wait for an 80 gig or 100 gig 7200 RPM drive.

I do really love this computer. The only problems I've had are with the slow harddrive causing the system to be a bit slow. Also, I've tried downloading some really big files (UT2004 Demo and Americas Army) but everytime they are almost done, Firefox stops responding. I am going to try to use a download manager and see if I can get around that. Hopefully it is just a Firefox thing.

Good luck to everyone who wants one, who has one, and who has ordered one. They are great laptops.