July 14th, 2008 Denham Coote
Pricing on the Dell Studio 17 is available. The Studio 17 looks like a great machine. The pricing is even better! It sells for less than the Vostro, looks nicer, and has more features. Awesome.
I’ve ordered the following:
Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 (2.5 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 6 MB L2 Cache)
4096MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
17.0″ Widescreen WUXGA+ CCFL (1920×1200) TFT Display with TrueLife
160GB Free Fall Sensor (7200RPM) Hard Drive
8X DVD+/-RW Drive
256MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3650
9-cell 87 WHr Lithium Ion battery
Biometric Fingerprint Reader
Wireless 1510 Half Mini Card (802.11n)
Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
AVerMedia AVerTV Hybrid NanoExpress DVB-T TV Tuner
2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera
Travel Remote Control Express Card
I can’t wait for it to arrive!
Posted in General | 4 Comments »
July 7th, 2008 Denham Coote
I have been trying for the last 4 hours to speak to a human being at Dell. I have tried the sales dept. I have tried placing a new order. I have tried customer service - all 4 sub-options. I have tried accounts. Damn, I even tried the section for government officials. Dell’s telephone system is an inescapable abyss of incorrectly routed calls to dead lines, incorrect mailboxes and in one case, the sounds of dogs barking in the background. I shit you not.
A sign of things to come? If so, I will likely cancel my order and purchase my laptop elsewhere. (If I’m lucky enough to get through to them, that is)
Dell, please get your act together, sort out your telephone system and for the love of small animals, SOMEONE PHONE ME ABOUT MY ORDER.
Posted in General | 3 Comments »
July 1st, 2008 Denham Coote
I am in the process of hunting for a laptop. I’ve looked at countless offers from various vendors. As with any purchase one makes, the usual barrage of “sweet deals” from every.single.person.you.know has accompanied the exercise. Everyone and their uncle can get a great deal. You gotta love capitalism. (Thank you, though - your offers served as good yard sticks)
The following specs have been the influencing factors:
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo
- 2.2GHz or above. (Looking at around 2.5GHz)
- Preferably 800MHz FSB.
- Preferably 4MB+ cache.
Memory
2GB (1 x 2048)
Screen
17″ Wide.
- I don’t mind 1440×900 , though I would prefer larger (1680×1050) if it falls within budget, but this is not a “must”
GPU
I can live with the crappy Intel X3100, but would prefer an nVidia chipset.
HDD
Since I have a desktop with 1TB+, size not an issue, 250GB would be perfect, but 160GB is fine too.
Extras
DVD Writer, Wireless - essential.
Bluetooth - Nice to have
Software
If possible, I don’t even want an OS. I’m not going to be using windows, so would rather not have to pay for it. Thing is, most vendors have to supply a Microsoft OS. Sucks, but oh well.
At this point, the Dell Vostro 1710 is looking good. The “best” option comes with nV GPU, and can be further customised to meet the above spec exactly. As cool extras, it has a 1920×1200 screen, 6MB cache, nvidia gpu, biometric fingerprint reader, built in webcam and bluetooth.
Another contender is the HP 6820. I think, however, that the Dell packs more punch. Apart from that, HP never got back to me, so they can sit on a stick and rotate.
I would very seriously consider the HP 6830, but that’s not been released yet. Looks awesome.
While writing this post, I came across the Dell Studio 17. It looks decent enough, but at the time of writing I am unable to customise my own nor get a price. I’ll have to make some calls tomorrow.
I’ll post an update in the coming days.
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