Laptop Questions

[pbumbaca]

So DH got a bonus and even tho I'm out of work he gave me half and said I can't use it on bills I have to use it on something fun. I want a shiny new pink Dell!

My questions, for $200 less I can get 4 gig of memory and a 320gig hard drive with the 15.4" screen. Is it worth it to take less memory and pay more money to get the 17" (3 gig of memory and 250gig hard drive) or can I make do with the smaller screen?

TIA!

[lizzyfizzy]

no way...get the big screen. you will love it!!!

[ColleenSwerb]

Will you keep all your stuff on the laptops harddrive, or do you use an EHD?

If you use and EHD like I do, then go for the bigger screen
I only just started putting scrap stuff on my laptops HD, and I still might take it off. So far I only put my CT's, SSD, and my most used stuff on it. It's kinda nice to go away and not have to bring the EHD (which is big and clunky for me).

[MandaBean]

Lord girl..do not even get me started on Dell. Well..since you did..you asked for it.

I'm pretty sure I bought the one you are talking about last week..is it the XPS M1530? Either way, I have vowed to myself and to Dell that I will prevent as many people as I can from buying from their shit-hole of a company.

I went to Dell after hearing that this laptop was on sale and since it was such a great deal, I put an order in. The orginal price was like..1199 and there was a 399 rebate instantly. Well after adding the laptop and a mouse to my cart, I got out of there spending almost 800.

So..I was a little worried that Dell was pulling their weekly "price mistake" and I would lose the order. Dell called me the day of the purchase..confirmed my order..told me when to expect it to ship..yadda. So I thought..OK great, I'm getting a nice new pink laptop!

Those effers took the money out of my account and I guess played Monopoly with it for a week, before cancelling my order night before last. ONE freakin' week with those funds out of my account and they decide to email me and tell me "sorry, we made a mistake and you can't have the Dell after-all..price mistake".

Of course, I replied back to their email with my ranting and they then responded with a copy of the first email they sent me. UGH..I could type so many really nasty words right now.

Now..I know your question was not whether you should buy a DELL or not, but I am seeing red with that company from now on, sooooo..*spit on them*!

Good luck with your new laptop though...LOL! Just don't make the mistake of buying one on sale from them.

[MandaBean]

Oh btw..I *think* one of those screens are LCD and one is LED..that might be the difference as far as price.

[aggiefamily]

I just bought a 1720 Inspiron from Dell. I love it! It is HUGE so if you are planning on doing a bunch of lugging it around you might want something smaller. You can Hello me if you want any more info on it.

And the one I bought was on sale and I found a 25% off coupon for it. I had no problems with Dell but I did have problems with DHL- who shipped it.

[pbumbaca]

thanks girls! Manda I am looking at the Inspirion 1525 I got a flyer with sale prices so now you have me worried.

Amanda, I did look at that 1720 too that's the one that would be less memory but bigger screen. Thanks!

[aggiefamily]

They must have changed the deal. Mine has 4 G and 2 320g hard drives.

[Robin Carlton]

I say go with the 15" - I just got a 15" macbook pro and I cant imagine it being any bigger than it is. It's perfect!

[tuneskids]

the 17" widescreen is very hefty to carry around, and there are not many bags that are large enough to carry it well. I thankfully, have an old leather briefcase/messenger bag from when I did my graphic design program that it just barely squeezes into.
Just a word of caution, not all the 1500 series laptops actually latch shut like my 1720 does. That was one of the major reasons we got this one (ok, really, it was hubby that wanted the larger screen for gaming - which he hasn't done in the 6 months we've had ours! lol).

Mine is 3GB with 160GB hd, only thing I wish I had increased was the HD!!! Never glitches, never lags.

[MyEbella]

ahhh ... to just convince hubby I "need" one....

[kresta]

I have an HP, but it's 15.4" and I wouldn't want any bigger. It would be too big and heavy to carry anywhere. I haven't had to carry it anywhere yet, but I will do so in the future and don't want it to be too heavy. I don't feel like my screen looks small at all.

[rach3975]

I have a 15.4 and love it. Yes, sometimes it would be nice to have a bigger screen, but I wouldn't want to make the tradeoff of having an overall bigger laptop to carry around. Throw in your HD-size tradeoff, too, and I'd go for the smaller screen.

[meems]

i have a 15.4 too and don't think I could handle anything bigger.

[ColleenSwerb]

Yea I will say that the 17" is heavier and such. But I don't usually carry it much, so it doesn't bother me too bad.

[uptowngirl]

i have a 17' and it is fab BUT i like to go out sometimes to get away and scrap at panera bread on their wifi and what a pain to carry it! and forget about buying a bag for it. hard to come by. so, it is great but has drawbacks... i say go for more space for all your scrap stuff!! lol!

[aggiefamily]

This is the bag I got:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php...ng_id=11683250

and it is really nice! I think I am going to go ahead and get a sleeve also. Just for extra protection.

It is heavy to carry but I had to replace a desktop and got as much as I could. I also had a hard time finding the graphics card I wanted with all the other specs I wouldn't compromise on.

[my4boys]

OK, I have a Dell Inspiron E1505 and I LOVE it....no problems at all. My DH bought it for me ( to my surprise!!) and he is really picky so i am assuming it was a good deal or I would not have it !!!! BTW, he has had his Dell for over 4 years now and still loves it and it works like a charm.

Now for screen size....my nephew has the 17" screen and he HATES it...too big, tough to carry around...blah, blah, blah!!!! I think you should go with the larger memory and such...if it were me

Good Luck and have fun spending your $$$$$$$

[newfiemountiewife]

Oh yay Pam!!!!

I have the pink Dell, I got the 17", but I really beefed mine up and got the 4GB of RAM and 500 GB hard drive, but in all fairness I needed it for work. Yeah. That's it. Work........LOL

I LOVE the 17 inch screen, I already had a bag from when I had my old laptop, and I don't find it cumbersome because my bag has a shoulder strap. I also bought a sleeve for it, when I just had to take it for a little bit, and wouldn't need any power cords, etc.

When it arrived, I thought, this is a big ass laptop (my old one was 15") but I love it, and am glad I did. IF you aren't going to actually travel with it much, the weight/size shouldn't be much of an issue.

Good luck deciding! Have fun!!!

ETA mine IS the one that latches, It's the 1720.

[juliemarie]

If it were me, I'd pick the 4 GB of ram. While you may not need it now, sometime down the road photoshop will run better with 4 gb than 3

[Jennilyn]

Originally Posted by pbumbaca

thanks girls! Manda I am looking at the Inspirion 1525 I got a flyer with sale prices so now you have me worried.

The 1525 doesn't have a latch which was the biggest reason I got the 1520 instead. I find the 15.4" screen the perfect size, especially since the laptop is actually sitting on my lap all the time. Wouldn't want anything bigger on there!

I recommend you read the reviews on the 1525 & 1720 and pick which has less complaints. LOL