Would you talk me out of spending my life savings on this computer?
Dell XPS M2010
Starting Price ,424
Instant Savings 5
Subtotal ,699
Components:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7600 (2.33GHz/667MHz/4MB)
Genuine Windows® Vista Ultimate Edition SP1
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
Size: 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Slot Load Blu-ray Disc Drive (BD/DVD/CD burner with BD write capability)
256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1800
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™HD Software Edition
My Software & Accessories
McAfee SecurityCenter 15-months
No Productivity software pre-installed
My Service
1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor,24×7 Phone Support
Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr
Also Includes:
20.1 inch WSXGA+ Wide Screen with TrueLife™ and Integrated Web Cam
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
XPS, Specialized Support
Windows Vista™ Premium
Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor
AVerTV Hybrid NanoExpress
I plan to use it for presentations, with Visio and VR Tours. You’re right the battery life probably isn’t very good. I really like the 20 inch screen and portability.
October 6th, 2010 on 2:29 pm
if you want it for gaming get a desktop. Truth of the matter is that you won’t be moving your laptop around ( I doubt that model is very portable and probably has bad battery life). If you buy a desktop with similar specs you will save a lot of money
October 6th, 2010 on 2:29 pm
unless ur 15 years old or younger, YES!!! computers change as often as you change your underwear… its all nice now but next month it will be rubbish again… get what you need, and gradually upgrade…
October 6th, 2010 on 2:29 pm
Try NEC half the price for the same thing
October 6th, 2010 on 2:29 pm
Probably not. But if I let your mother know your are planning to blow your savings on it, I am sure SHE can talk you out of it. (LOL)
(Looks like a nice machine if you can afford it.)
October 6th, 2010 on 2:29 pm
Yes I would talk you out of spending any money on that computer. It’s made by Dell, one of the few companies I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole since the quality of their systems went downhill big time.
October 6th, 2010 on 2:29 pm
As soon as you take it out of the box, it’s obsolete.
You’re doomed.
October 6th, 2010 on 2:29 pm
Yes I would. Lets go about this step by step.
First- Its a Dell. If you want a computer with those similar specs, you can get the parts and build it yourself (or get someone else to build it) for somewhere near $500-$1000 less.
Second- The sound card you have chosen here uses both the words Integrated and HD. Those are usually mutually exclusive. It appears to be some sort of marketing scheme put onto you by our friends at dell.
Well I guess the first reason there is the main one, try to find a friend who will build it for you, give him/her those specs and see what kind of price he/she comes up with. If you don’t know anyone, try to find a local computer shop near you (no chains, no evil corporations) and see what sort of price they offer you. Then, if it breaks, you don’t have to ship it far away and wait weeks to get it back, you just drive down the street.
October 6th, 2010 on 2:29 pm
I’ve done my research with this one. Dell pc’s/laptops are really over priced. Check out/google "Lenovo" computers. They are still stylish and have what you want, but more importantly ‘more affordable’
October 6th, 2010 on 2:29 pm
Personally, I think buying a new computer is a waste of money. I’m a MAJOR computer guy, but the bulk of what I do is just :
Internet
Word Processing
Photoshop
Dreamweaver (Web design software)
Email
I watch all my TV and Movies through my PC’s
I have 3 computers at home (office, bedroom, and living room) and they’re all P3′s 866mhz except for the laptop which is a P4 1.1 ghz. They run great. I bought them for about $250 a couple years ago, and then sell for under $100 now.
I’m not suggesting getting a P3, but i’m saying you can get a pretty decent computer for under $600. Unless you’re a GAMER : in which case spend your life savings on a new computer every 12 months. ;)
So the REAL question here is : What do you intend to do with your computer ?
You’ve answered what you will be doing with it so this is my ADDITIONAL DETAILS :
Considering you’re using it for presentations, and I didn’t realize we were talking about a laptop, here is my opinion :
dmntd1 said it best : "It sounds like a VERY high-end laptop, and it’s been my experience with laptops that you should stay low-mid level …… I’ve gone through 10 laptops in the past 12 years, and will stick with my $500 Toshiba’s from this point forward."
He’s 100% right with those statements and I feel the same way. My girlfriend has a 600$ DELL refurbished laptop from Future Shop (Which I hate btw ; Future Shop AND Dell) and I must admit it’s a kick-ass laptop. $2600 is WAY TO MUCH to pay for ANY computer unless you have REALLY specific requirements. Save your money for the Projector that you will probably need for this.
For the love of god, whatever you get, insist that it comes with XP and not Vista. When running Vista, you basically need double the computer you had with XP for it to run the same.
Good Luck !! Find those refurb computer dealers near you !
October 6th, 2010 on 2:29 pm
Looking at those figures.. I’d hold out for something better, or a price drop. Not to mention Windows Vista Ultimate is NOT worth the upgrade. I’d definitely wait for Windows 7 or ask for an install of Windows XP. However, then you lose support for DirectX10 for gaming purposes (though I don’t believe there are that many games that have been written for DX10 yet). If anything, I’d lower your figures and look into being able to upgrade it.
You can find a lot of good computer items at http://www.newegg.com so compare the cost of getting the 4gig of ram to getting the equivalent or better at a site like Newegg. Also the RPMs of that HDD are a little lacking.. I’d look for something more in the 7200 range for sure.. The faster the better. A lot of the other features seem unnecessary. Do you have a Blueray disc player?… You can probably lower the standards on the computer to get better performance upgrades after market. Personally I’d recommend doing some shopping, because you can come up with pretty good systems that have plenty of power without the fluff and stuff that Dell puts into them.
Basically, I don’t know if that system is worth dropping 2.5K on.
October 6th, 2010 on 2:29 pm
As has been stated, you ought to mention what you will plan on doing with this computer. It sounds like a VERY high-end laptop, and it’s been my experience with laptops that you should stay low-mid level. The high-end qualities of this laptop, while they sound wonderful, will make it quite the burden to carry around.
I’ve gone through 10 laptops in the past 12 years, and will stick with my $500 Toshiba’s from this point forward. My $2200 laptops have all been replaced with desktops and an iMac.
fwiw, I currently run with two laptops (one for work, one for play), two desktops, a server and an iMac for video editing. My favorite laptop so far, above all of the rest, was a Black Friday BestBuy Toshiba special for $300 3+ years ago. Only thing that’s been changed on it is a memory upgrade and new hard drive.