How good is this Dell laptop deal?

[rf03]

It's the Dell E1405 notebook. Using their $750 off of $1999+ coupon, price is 2022 minus 750 = $1272, shipped plus tax.

Intel® Core? processor Duo T2500 (2MB Cache/2.00GHz/667MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
14.1 inch WXGA+ UltraSharp? TFT Display with TrueLife?
2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 DIMM
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
100GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
FREE! 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD Audio
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps)
Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhance Data Rate)
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

The laptop is for college, so I'll be needing it by the end of August. The coupon ends today, so I'm not sure if I should go ahead and go for this deal... or maybe wait later for either a better deal or maybe for the Merom Core 2 duo.

I'll be mostly using it for school related stuff, typical online stuff, Photoshop, burning discs, music, DVD's, etc. The most important thing to me is for Windows and my apps to be snappy and fast. I'll be gaming only casually.

A few Q's:

1. The Merom CPU is supposed to come out in August. Does that mean that retailers like Dell will be selling it in their notebooks by then, or does that come a while later?

2. The Duo is 32-bit. The Merom is 64-bit. How important is that to me? Note that I'm not going to be doing any system-intensive tasks, though I would like to upgrade to Vista when it's released.

3. I've heard that TrueLife screens have really annoying glare. Anyone have a tip on that? I personally might prefer not to include it, but I like having an UltraSharp screen and the only other option isn't. I'm not going to be using the laptop outdoors, though there will be windows in the room.

4. Is the upgraded battery bigger at all physically? I'm not going to notice any difference in appearance, right?

5. Does anyone know how common these 750 of 1999 coupons are? Would they probably be around again before August?

And as I mentioned in the topic title, how good is this deal?

*thanks*

 

[govtcheez75]

Originally posted by: rf03
A few Q's:

1. The Merom CPU is supposed to come out in August. Does that mean that retailers like Dell will be selling it in their notebooks by then, or does that come a while later?

2. The Duo is 32-bit. The Merom is 64-bit. How important is that to me? Note that I'm not going to be doing any system-intensive tasks, though I would like to upgrade to Vista when it's released.

3. I've heard that TrueLife screens have really annoying glare. Anyone have a tip on that? I personally might prefer not to include it, but I like having an UltraSharp screen and the only other option isn't. I'm not going to be using the laptop outdoors, though there will be windows in the room.

4. Is the upgraded battery bigger at all physically? I'm not going to notice any difference in appearance, right?

5. Does anyone know how common these 750 of 1999 coupons are? Would they probably be around again before August?

And as I mentioned in the topic title, how good is this deal?

*thanks*

Answers:
1. Dell is usually one of the "early adopters" and will probably be one of the first to offer the Merom processor. I'm guessing that they'll have models ready to go at or near the launch date.

2. You won't need the 64 bit processor until after Vista is released. Even then, it's not needed but rather a "nice to have". The Merom is a bit faster than the Yonah, so there is a slight performance gain.

3. People are very divided about the truelife/glossy screens. I happen to love them because the colors look MUCH more vibrant. My previous 4 laptops had this type of glossy screen and now I can't go back to owning a laptop that doesn't have it. You'll either love it or hate it, and if you love it...you'll get used to the glare.

4. The larger capacity batter is physically larger and will stick out.

5. $750 off $1999 coupons roll around every once in a while and is usually the best coupon (unless you're getting a system that costs MUCH more than $1999, in which case a 35% off might be better). Dell coupons are very cyclical and they're always having some sort of a deal.

 

[BladeVenom]

There's also availibility and shipping time to consider. They probably won't have any good discounts when they come out either.

According to Intel the performance to watt ratio is going to be twice as good with Merom.

 

[phantom309]

The glare on the glossy screens IS annoying but I understand the standard screens on the 1405 are very poor due to light leakage.