New Lappy

[marcro]

Ive got the Dell XPS1530 and im really pleased with it, very quiet compared to my last HP laptop.

I have the XPS1530 too and give it the big thumbs up.  It also gets top ratings in most laptop reviews.

Does it have a shiny screen?

Not sure what a "shiny screen" is but the picture clarity produced by the screen is excellent - watching the Lost World of the Jaguar on BBC's iplayer exceeded my expectations.

With regards comments on Dell's service and support - from my experience I rate them as excellent.

The 1530 has a 15 inch screen.  If you need a bigger screen look at the XPS 1730 - the Daddy of gaming laptops.

I forgot to add I bought my Dell on ebay - it was brand new with 3 year warranty and quite a bit cheaper than buying from Dell.

[RED-DOG]

The only problem with this is you aren't going to see a Dell in the shops, and they do have a good price/features ratio.

A dozen people saying 'I have a XDF5674FV6-C and it's great' isn't really going to help you much.

What about those recent PC World adverts.  They seem to be implying that they sell Dell nowadays.

Presumably at a premium ?  But can you see the machines instore ?

Dell Inspiron 1720 (As Seen On TV)


http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/editorial/Laptops_homepage/?int=home_nav

£399. (£400 for cash) I could go an have a look at it, just to get an idea. How does it compare, specwise, with the fetching little green number that Longines was advocating?

[Longines]

Poncy silver and black rather than macho camo green.

Same spec as the base 1720 from Dell with the processer upped one notch (would cost £479 direct from Dell).

Comes with standard 1 year warranty after which it's £96/year for a collect and repair service.

However, the PC World website says "The Dell 1720 comes with a NVIDIA GeForce 8600 dedicated graphics card and a 17” TrueLife widescreen". Whether the ones Dell have actually supplied to PC World have TrueLife screens is one of those coin flips...

[RED-DOG]

Poncy silver and black rather than macho camo green.

Same spec as the base 1720 from Dell with the processer upped one notch (would cost £479 direct from Dell).

Comes with standard 1 year warranty after which it's £96/year for a collect and repair service.

However, the PC World website says "The Dell 1720 comes with a NVIDIA GeForce 8600 dedicated graphics card and a 17” TrueLife widescreen". Whether the ones Dell have actually supplied to PC World have TrueLife screens is one of those coin flips...

So it looks like I'm still going to be happier with the macho green effort direct from Dell. (I'm surprised that PC World does it cheaper though)

[RED-DOG]

So I went to PC World to have a butchers at the 1720, and, as far as I can tell by looking, it seemed ok.

It was indeed cheaper than buying directly from Dell, but you can't avail yourself of the Dell waranty, you have to take the PC World warranty, which is crap.

Unusually, the young man who I spoke to in PC World was as helpful as he could manage to be, and he didn't try to flog me anything, he just answered my questions. (Big + to him)

He did say however that the Dell In-Home Warranty Support, (including evenings and Saturdays) was not a patch on the Dell On site next day support.

Anyone know anything about that? Has anyone used the "In home" jobbie? Do they come the next day

Bear with me guys, I'm almost there....

[RED-DOG]

One last question. (Lol) If I buy it online from Dell, do I get a cooling off period where I can change my mind and send it back?

[AndrewT]

One last question. (Lol) If I buy it online from Dell, do I get a cooling off period where I can change my mind and send it back?

Under the Distance Selling Regulations if you buy anything over the internet you have a seven day cooling off period in which you can return something - even if the reason is 'I don't want this any more'.

[Longines]

It's the "Consumer Protection (Distance Selling Regulations)". If you buy from the business channels of Dell, you have no protection. Buy it from the Home section and it does apply.

You have 7 days to return it. There are a few exceptions - Interflora would go bust otherwise....

Details here http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/distance-selling-regulations/

Re the other question Tom, I've no experience of Dell warranty claims.

[cia260895]

1 thing i'll bear in mind the next time i get a new laptop is the position of the power adaptor and mouse connections,mine are on the opposite sides to how i would prefer them

[Laxie]

I've been kicking around the idea of a laptop for ages and went searching for this thread today.  Information overload is my excuse for putting it off so long.  Red, did you buy anything in the end?

[RED-DOG]

I've been kicking around the idea of a laptop for ages and went searching for this thread today.  Information overload is my excuse for putting it off so long.  Red, did you buy anything in the end?

No, I decided to wait until I had "A touch" before spending the money. 

I think a skunk with a cold sore is more likely to get a touch than me at the moment. 

[TheDJ]

Might not have the best spec, by my new laptop im very happy with...

Windoxs Vista, Built in Webcam, staples threw in laptop bad, optical mouse, and norton and office, its a HP g6000.

Cost me £375 total... I like the roll pad, on the mouse pad area, there are 2 thin strips on the right going vertical and bottom going horizontal to be able to sideways up and down etc

I can run 3 or 4 poker sites and adobe photoshop with no lagging problems in the slightest... Definatly worth a look for the money!

[RED-DOG]

Dell Inspiron 1720

17" but 'only' 1440x900 so pixels are quite big. Choose the non True-Life one for non-shiny.

Standard T2370 processor will be fine. I would be tempted to shell out another £50 to get the T5550 for some extra future-proofing and the bigger cache which will make things run more quickly.

Upping the RAM from 2GB to 3GB for £30 is worthwhile IMO.

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=NRS17201&l=en&oc=N0872001&rbc=N0872001&s=dhs


There is a downside though. The outer casing comes in "Spring Green or Sunshine Yellow, both with a microsatin finish". No really.

I saw our intrepid reporter "JungleCat03" at DTD this weekend. He has this model. He says it's slow, it overheats, and it sounds like a cement mixer with bricks in it.

Now what?

[lazaroonie]

Dell Inspiron 1720

17" but 'only' 1440x900 so pixels are quite big. Choose the non True-Life one for non-shiny.

Standard T2370 processor will be fine. I would be tempted to shell out another £50 to get the T5550 for some extra future-proofing and the bigger cache which will make things run more quickly.

Upping the RAM from 2GB to 3GB for £30 is worthwhile IMO.

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=NRS17201&l=en&oc=N0872001&rbc=N0872001&s=dhs


There is a downside though. The outer casing comes in "Spring Green or Sunshine Yellow, both with a microsatin finish". No really.

I saw our intrepid reporter "JungleCat03" at DTD this weekend. He has this model. He says it's slow, it overheats, and it sounds like a cement mixer with bricks in it.

Now what?

Tom,

if reliability is one of your main criteria, then I honestly dont know why you are looking at Dell.

They have gone from being a reputable mid-range manufacturer, to a low-end budget manufacturer, who are working on huge volumes. The failure rates on their machines is so high at the moment, they are seriously considering going down the 3rd party manufacturing route, which for Dell was always considered unthinkable.

The serious quality manufacturers I would say are Lenovo (formerly IBM), HP(Compaq) and Toshiba. They all produce a wide range of machines, from the top end business machines (Lenovo T series, Toshiba tecra etc), down to the lower end leisure market (Lenovo R Series and Tosh satellite). The build quality is generally the same throughout the range.

If I were you, with a preference for a 4:3 ratio screen I would seriously consider a nearly new business machine with 2gb ram - something like a T42 thinkpad from Lenovo/IBM. They are pretty bulletproof, but they dont come in pretty colours.

[RED-DOG]

Dell Inspiron 1720

17" but 'only' 1440x900 so pixels are quite big. Choose the non True-Life one for non-shiny.

Standard T2370 processor will be fine. I would be tempted to shell out another £50 to get the T5550 for some extra future-proofing and the bigger cache which will make things run more quickly.

Upping the RAM from 2GB to 3GB for £30 is worthwhile IMO.

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&kc=NRS17201&l=en&oc=N0872001&rbc=N0872001&s=dhs


There is a downside though. The outer casing comes in "Spring Green or Sunshine Yellow, both with a microsatin finish". No really.

I saw our intrepid reporter "JungleCat03" at DTD this weekend. He has this model. He says it's slow, it overheats, and it sounds like a cement mixer with bricks in it.

Now what?

Tom,

if reliability is one of your main criteria, then I honestly dont know why you are looking at Dell.

They have gone from being a reputable mid-range manufacturer, to a low-end budget manufacturer, who are working on huge volumes. The failure rates on their machines is so high at the moment, they are seriously considering going down the 3rd party manufacturing route, which for Dell was always considered unthinkable.

The serious quality manufacturers I would say are Lenovo (formerly IBM), HP(Compaq) and Toshiba. They all produce a wide range of machines, from the top end business machines (Lenovo T series, Toshiba tecra etc), down to the lower end leisure market (Lenovo R Series and Tosh satellite). The build quality is generally the same throughout the range.

If I were you, with a preference for a 4:3 ratio screen I would seriously consider a nearly new business machine with 2gb ram - something like a T42 thinkpad from Lenovo/IBM. They are pretty bulletproof, but they dont come in pretty colours.

Link/price/spec....?


I can't believe what passes for advice these days.