Should I pull the trigger?

[splashpot]

With that new Dell coupon, I'm very close to buying this beast. However, I talked to support and it appears the 7200rpm harddrive upgrade would not be available on the system I want to build. The system that qualifies for the coupon is less configurable than normal. I can't get the 7200 rpm harddrive, processor not configurable, must get CD/DVD burner, etc. What do you guys think? Should I buy anyways?

-Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
-Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
-17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife
-256MB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 1 Dimm (buying another 1GB from newegg)
-64MB ATIs™ Mobility Radeon™ X300
-40GB Hard Drive
-8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability
-Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)
-6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (53 WHr)
-1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr At-Home Service, and 1Yr Technical Support

Price before extra RAM from newegg: $1048

[Nfinity]

You really want a 7200 RPM hard drive.

Rest of the system looks nice.

[splashpot]

[ QUOTE ]
You really want a 7200 RPM hard drive.

Rest of the system looks nice.

[/ QUOTE ]
Would this stop you from taking this deal if it were you?

[climber]

i had a similar situation found a 750 off coupon but i couldn't configure it without the integrated graphics somehow. I ordered it then called and complained the enxt day and they let me reconfigure it on the phone. They said something baout some inital choice i clicked at the beginning of the configuration process that locked me in to some value line with less options. Starting the config from scratch off of there site i was able to get it right. Try that.

the 5400 to 7200 is a prety big jump--probably more significant than the difference between 256mb ram and 1gb ram. I'd try really hard to find a way to get the 7200.

[MicroBob]

yes. you definitely the extra memory.


I might be jumping on this deal myself.

[MicroBob]

where on the site did you get this system for such a low cost?

I must be looking in the wrong place.

[splashpot]

[ QUOTE ]
i had a similar situation found a 750 off coupon but i couldn't configure it without the integrated graphics somehow. I ordered it then called and complained the enxt day and they let me reconfigure it on the phone. They said something baout some inital choice i clicked at the beginning of the configuration process that locked me in to some value line with less options. Starting the config from scratch off of there site i was able to get it right. Try that.

the 5400 to 7200 is a prety big jump--probably more significant than the difference between 256mb ram and 1gb ram. I'd try really hard to find a way to get the 7200.

[/ QUOTE ]
The problem is this. I tried from the base website to configure it. I went to the main Dell website and went through all the steps. I configured a system with the 7200rpm. I then tried to apply the coupon code, but it didn't work. So I called support and he told me to go to www.dell.com/save750 (http://www.dell.com/save750) and it would work. I went to that site and it looks like it will work, but the 7200rpm option is not available. I really don't know if I want to try buying it, calling them to change the configuration, and risk not being able to. Is it a viable option for me to buy a seperate 7200rpm notebook harddrive and install it myself?

[splashpot]

[ QUOTE ]
yes. you definitely the extra memory.


I might be jumping on this deal myself.

[/ QUOTE ]
Bob, does the no 7200rpm bother you?

[MicroBob]

my knowledge of computers is too minimal.
I have absolutely ZERO idea what the difference is.

Is this a big deal? What does this even mean?

[MadManMund]

Buy another hard drive to replace the slower one. Problem solved.

[MicroBob]

[ QUOTE ]

the 5400 to 7200 is a prety big jump--probably more significant than the difference between 256mb ram and 1gb ram.

[/ QUOTE ]


why do you say this?

total idiot here....I'd like your opinion on what the problem would be with the lesser hard-drive.

is it really a bigger difference than 256 vs 1k in RAM?

[hhughes]

I would also like to know where you saw this on the website...best I could come up with was ~$1200 after the coupon...this was for the 9300

Priced a 6000 with the smaller screen but still 1600x1200 for just under $800...

[LondonBroil]

I'm not the brightest when it comes to this subject, but I believe that when the computer needs to find something saved to the hard drive (something not currently in the RAM), the hard drive spins around and the processor picks out the sections of data that are stored. The difference between a 5400 and a 7200rpm hard drive means that the drive spins 33% faster meaning you get your info quicker. Defragmenting your drive can also speed your computer up by placing data the belongs together near each other.

Am I close?

[just2pimp]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not the brightest when it comes to this subject, but I believe that when the computer needs to find something saved to the hard drive (something not currently in the RAM), the hard drive spins around and the processor picks out the sections of data that are stored. The difference between a 5400 and a 7200rpm hard drive means that the drive spins 33% faster meaning you get your info quicker. Defragmenting your drive can also speed your computer up by placing data the belongs together near each other.

Am I close?

[/ QUOTE ]

yes everytime a program or whatever needs to access it your hard drive will have to spin to wherever its stored. so the more information you need from the hard drive the more important this is. poker tracker and gt+ will obviously benefit from the higher rpms

[HesseJam]

I don't think it is so important unless you want to do a lot of data queries. Normal use of PT (like importing data every 2 minutes) does not require 7200rpm drives. You might be gaining a second or two on the import. This will be even more valid, once PT gets away from the Access data bases which is in beta testing right now.

Frequently defragging and more ram is more effective.

I have 5000 rpm drive on my 1.2 ghz laptop and it imports 16 tables every 4 minutes just fine. It is somewhat slow if you let PT display the whole database (you set the preferences all blank). This takes about 15 seconds for a 100.000 hand database. With a 7200 rpm it would take 10 secs. But how often do you do that juxtaposed to the regular use?

[MicroBob]

Thanks for your wisdom on this to help educate the total ignormases (ignorami??) such as yours truly.

I don't even see where it says 'rpm' for the hard-drive.

I just see 40GB or 80GB.

[J_B]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for your wisdom on this to help educate the total ignormases (ignorami??) such as yours truly.

I don't even see where it says 'rpm' for the hard-drive.

I just see 40GB or 80GB.

[/ QUOTE ]

Most drives are now 5400 rpm unless they say 6200 or higher.

Aas for teh 7200rpm vs. 5400rpm, think of an LP spinning at 33 and how much faster it can play through at 45. Faster speed means faster drive. In most cases larger drive means faster drive too. A 250gb drive at 5400rpm is faster in most applications than a 40gb at 7200rpm (think about this - physical area is the same!)

[MicroBob]

okay....we'll i'll go with the 80gb drive I guess and hope it works out okay.


I am trying to think about this as you suggest....but I don't know what the gb is in the first place.
Does gb mean that it's twice as wide or something.

I can see the difference in rpm and can visualize it spinning as fast as it canny-canny-can to find something.
But I have no idea what the difference between a 40gb and 80gb hard-drive is physically...I just don't know what that means.


But the one I have ordered right now has 40gb and it sounds like for running PT and GT+ this might eventually be an issue and that my chances of it continuing to run smoothly are better if I just splurge for the 80gb (and it looks like my only option is for the 5600rpm).

[SoCalRugger]

[ QUOTE ]
But I have no idea what the difference between a 40gb and 80gb hard-drive is physically...I just don't know what that means.

[/ QUOTE ]

There is no difference in the physical dimensions. But the 80 GB can store twice as much information as the 40 GB. If you're just using it for poker, then 40 GB would probably do the job, but you 80 can't hurt.

[MicroBob]

i had so many slow-down issues on this computer with PT and GT+ (don't know the specs on it amazingly enough) that I'm going to pretty much 'play it safe' and change my order to 80gb (on hold with them now).
I think I only have 512RAM on this one so that could be part of the problem I suppose.
Sometimes it would get really slow after 200 hands...other times it would work fine after 2000 hands. It was weird.
Possibly related to also surfing on mozilla-firefox while playing.


I'm not going to press for the 7200rpm as it seems the consensus here is that I will be okay with the lower rpm which is 'standard' anyway.


Here are the updated specs on my computer:

Inspiron 9300 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)

Display 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™

Memory 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm

Video Card 64MB ATIs™ Mobility Radeon™ X300

Hard Drive 40GB Hard Drive (will be changing to 80GB)

Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

CD/DVD Drives 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability

Wireless Networking Card Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)

Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) No productivity suite - Corel WordPerfect word processor only

Security Software No Security Subscription

Primary Battery 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (80 WHr)

Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr At-Home Service, and 1Yr Technical Support



Comments - don't know what the quality of the video-card, network-card or wireless networking card are. I think I have the cheaper option on all of the above but don't think I do anything on my computer to make it worthwhile to get the more expensive option.
What they offer is probably good enough for me.

I believe I still have my microsoft-word and excel CD's around. If not then perhaps I can transfer that stuff over via the networking cable. No need to purchase it again.

Same for the Norton security. I'm assuming my subscription can just carry over the other computer or I can network it over...if not then I can just order it again and cancel the other subscription perhaps.

Will also transfer ad-aware over via networking card perhaps?? Or I can just download it again.

[Hoopster81]

I just bought a 9300 a couple weeks ago after much investigation and searching these forums. I can offer some constructive criticism - take it for what you will.

[ QUOTE ]
Memory 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm

[/ QUOTE ]

I ordered it with 256 MB at 1 DIMM, ordered 1 GB off NewEgg (~$100), and Ebay'd the 256 piece.

[ QUOTE ]
Primary Battery 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (80 WHr)

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe this upgrade is $100, but for $129 you can just get an additional 9-cell and then also have the 6-cell as a back-up for $30 more.

As for the security stuff, just search these forums for the free alternatives (AGP, MS Spyware, etc.)

Good luck

[MicroBob]

Well Crap!!

The retards at Dell won't help me.
they say that if I 'change' the order that's really just cancelling this order and then making a new order and thus I would lose the one-time only coupon.

so I am apparently stuck with the 40GB hard-drive.

I might order an internal 80GB hard-drive seperately at some point for $239 (or perhaps less from new-egg or e-bay or somewhere) or I can get a 40GB external hard-drive as a back-up or something like that. Mostly stuff that I'm not terribly familiar with.


I'm kind of pissed at Dell for not letting me change the order.


Is there any point in calling them back and hoping to get a representative who will be more flexible??


Thanks guys.

[RunDownHouse]

I think I've heard that you might have luck trying another rep. How much is it going to cost you to call back?

[MicroBob]

Well...you even THINKING this might be good enough for me.
the biggest issue is the annoyance level of being on hold for 15 minutes and dealing with morons.

Sometimes I don't play well with others when I'm not getting my way.


It just seems REALLY stupid for them to not change my order when I'm willing to pay MORE money for asn UPGRADE.

I'm guessing it will be another $150 or so to upgrade that hard-drive....but they will take-away the $750 coupon and make it a $900 charge.
OR - I can just order the 80GB internal hard-drive seperately for $239.


Arrgghhh...Dell is pissing me off just thinking about it.

Here goes another call.

[MicroBob]

Well....the next guy I got had no problem changing the order at all.
WTF?!?!

sure glad I called back.
wonder why the other guy was so freaking difficult.


I changed the battery to the 6-cell as suggested and saved $99...
I'll order a 9-cell seperately some other time...perhaps via new-egg or e-bay.


I changed the hard-drive from 40GB to 80GB.


The total cost is LESS than what I was paying before which had me a little concerned at first since it seemed strange.


But I'm saving $99 on the battery.
And he says I'm only paying $40 or $50 or so extra for the better hard-drive.

Not bad.


I didn't bother with the whole RAM bit.
I just want it there when I get it. maybe I could save some dough by selling the low RAM unit and getting the 1k on e-bay but I don't feel like dealing with that because I'm lazy.



Sorry for hi-jacking this thread away from the discussion of 7200rpm and so forth. But I got on a roll asking questions about how all that crap works...and after awhile it felt silly to just start a new thread saying 'okay...here's the specs on my computer....tell me what you think' when we already had this one going.


Thanks for your help everybody.
Looking forward to my new machine.

[RunDownHouse]

Glad it worked out. I guess its just one of those CS things where if you get a completely apathetic or jolly rep, you're good to go, and if you get a pissed-off or uptight one, you're SOL.

[splashpot]

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry for hi-jacking this thread away from the discussion of 7200rpm and so forth. But I got on a roll asking questions about how all that crap works...

[/ QUOTE ]
No prob. I learned a lot from the responses too. I too bought a laptop. However, I went with the 6000. I'll either buy a seperate 7200rpm HD or just put up with this one. Depends on if I get annoyed enough. I went with the 6000 because it was cheaper, total price ended up being $867. I still need to buy more RAM, but that should only cost another $100 or so. Yes, the screen is smaller, but I improve my mobility. My current screen is only 13 inches so I'm sure 15.4 will seem plenty big to me. I too am looking forward to my new machine. And I can't believe I got it for under $1000 including RAM!

[MicroBob]

Yeah...that's a nice score.

I would have very much considered this if I was on a more significant budget...but those 17" screens just sound too cool to me...and absolute is footing the bill anyway (see my other thread on this).



I guess I forgot that I can just buy a 7200rpm drive later if I need it. So I'll be less worried about that knowing that I can just change in the future.
somehow I doubt I'll need to though. I mean, this thing (5100) is kind of crappy now...but it still gets the job done and I can play on it just fine. So I suspect the new one with the increased RAM will be just dandy for me.

[hhughes]

I know Im probably SOL, but do you think those coupons are still available????? /images/graemlins/blush.gif

[steveg]

I'm looking at external harddrives that work through a usb port. It seems like a better deal then installing a new harddrive in a notebook. Any one have experience doing this?

[splashpot]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm looking at external harddrives that work through a usb port. It seems like a better deal then installing a new harddrive in a notebook. Any one have experience doing this?

[/ QUOTE ]
I already bought a new external 7200rpm 250GB harddrive. But my understanding is that the internal harddrive speed is more important. Because the OS and other applications will be on the internal drive.