Dell Inspiron E1705 Deal. Any good?

[BrettCB]

Dell Inspiron E1705
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHZ
1 GB RAM 533MHZ
17" UltraSharp WS UXGA Display
256MB GeForce 7900 GS
120 GB SATA HD
8x CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer)
Sound Blaster Audigy HD
Intel Pro Wireless/Bluetooth
36-Months of PC-Cillin Antivirus/Firewall/Spyware
6-Cell Lithium Ion Battery
3 year Limited Warranty Plus 3 Year At-Home Service/Nights & Weekends
Dell On Call 30 Day, Unlimited Incidents
Windows XP MCE 2005 w/ Re-Installation CD

Total: $1,680.59 Shipped

Seems like the best deal I'm going to get. Got the 20% + 12% through School Discount.

What do you guys think, a pretty good deal on this laptop?

 

[fbrdphreak]

Why did you get the Dell on Call? Seems like a waste of money unless you don't know how to work with Windows

Drop the RAM if you can, you can buy it cheaper elsewhere.

Is that Audigy an external card? If not, I wouldn't bother, I doubt it is going to provide much better quality than the internal. Internal = lots of electrical noise, regardless

How much is that 36-months of AV stuff? Unless its dirt cheap I would go with the free stuff or NOD32 for $50/year (http://www.nod32.com)

6-cell, is it just staying at home? If not, might want to opt for 9-cell

And get XP Pro, not MCE. MCE is Home with flashy crap built in. Pro actually has the security and networking features you may need someday. Besides, if you're getting MCE you'll want to wait because in October MS will be offering coupons to upgrade to Vista for free (MCE owners only: http://www.laptoplogic.com/news/detail.php?id=1372)

Otherwise, good to go

 

[BrettCB]

Dell on Call was only included because it was required to get the discounts/20% off. RAM is as low as I could get. I did go with the Internal Audigy card, was only $20 more and I didn't realize I wouldn't get a boost in audio quality. 36 Months of AV was also included w/ the 3 Year Warranty. I will hardly ever travel with my laptop so the 6-Cell works good for me. As for Media Center Edition it is what is included on my system standard.

As for the upgrade to Vista, this means I'm not going to be eligible or I am? From the sounds of it you have to purchase a system with MCE in October, however, any idea if this deal will include purchases now?

 

[fbrdphreak]

The info I've seen just says sometime in October if you buy a system with Vista you'll get a free Vista upgrade coupon, no details beyond that.

You probably have the option to upgrade to XP Pro and I would've. Better to have the necessary networking & security features if you need them...

 

[Acanthus]

If you can, wait for a $750 off $1500 coupon.

I got an E1505 with Core duo, 512MB, CDRW/DVD, 9 cell, 1680x1050 truelife screen, for $780 + free shipping a few months ago.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
If you can, wait for a $750 off $1500 coupon.

I got an E1505 with Core duo, 512MB, CDRW/DVD, 9 cell, 1680x1050 truelife screen, for $780 + free shipping a few months ago.

I'm pretty sure Dell doesn't do coupons anymore

 

[san9]

Hey...how do you get a $750 off $1500 coupon? TIA

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: san9
Hey...how do you get a $750 off $1500 coupon? TIA

Dell used to release weekly coupons, you could do a google search for Dell Coupons to see for yourself. They have or they are going to end the program though to help increase profits as sales have remained steady (especially as they near the holiday season, next year's release of Vista, etc...)

 

[san9]

Thanks, Brainonska511!

 

[san9]

Can anyone tell me if a Dell comes with a power adapter or are they separate?
TIA

 

[Enig101]

Weekly Dell Coupons

They update them every week. The past 2 weeks have been 20% off $999+. Not nearly as good as $750 off, but not bad.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: Enig101
Weekly Dell Coupons

They update them every week. The past 2 weeks have been 20% off $999+. Not nearly as good as $750 off, but not bad.

Yeah they only do the $750 off deal once a year or so, but the coupons are still very worth picking up.