dell 1720-good buy?

[bill]

does this seem like a good buy to those in the know? £740 ( but that includes 3 year extended warrenty ) or could anyone advise on something better value for money? cheers

InspironTM 1720(N0172008)
Date & Time: Thursday 27 December 2007 9:26 PM

SYSTEM COMPONENTS
InspironTM 1720(N0172008) Qty 1
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5450 (1.66 GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2-cache), Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English Unit Price Incl. VAT £902.89
Save 25% on 3 Year Consumer Hardware Support
Expires 31 January 2008 View Details
- £42.25

Get £ 120 off selected Inspiron models !
Expires 31 January 2008 View Details
- £119.99

Catalog Number: 202 N0172008
Module Description Show Details
Base Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5450 (1.66 GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2-cache)
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English
Memory 2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
Keyboard Internal Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY)
Video Card nVidia® GeForce™ Go 8400M GS with 128MB DDR2 dedicated graphic memory
Hard Drive 320GB (5400RPM) SATA Dual Hard Drives (2X160GB)
Modem 56.6k V.92 Capable Internal Modem & Adapter - UK
Optical Devices Fixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including Software
Wireless Networking Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini-Card - Europe
Shipping Documents English Documentation with English/Irish Power Cord
Gedis Bundle Reference N0172008
Microsoft Application Software Microsoft® Works 8.0 - English
Standard Warranty 1 Year Base Warranty - Collect & Return
Enhanced Service Packs 3 Year Consumer Hardware Support inc. Evenings and Saturdays
Protect your new PC No Security/Anti-Virus Protection - English
Power Supply 90W AC Adapter
Bluetooth Dell™ Wireless 355 Bluetooth 2.0 Module (up to 3Mbps) with Enhanced Data rate - Eur
Wireless Access Point and Base Routers Belkin F5D7230 Wireless Router DSL/Cable (802.11g)
Order Information Inspiron Order - UK
Primary Battery Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)
Carrying Cases No Carry Case
Dell System Media Kit Resource DVD - (Diagnostics & Drivers)
Colour Choice Jet Black Colour with Matte Finish & 2.0mp camera
Accidental Damage Support No Accidental Damage Support
Online Promotion Option for GEDIS Configs Dell Internet Order.
LCD 17.0" Widescreen WXGA+ (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™

TOTAL Incl. VAT:£740.65

 

[Mike_182]

I like them and while the processor isn't the fastest you can buy, my SZ has the older Core Duo 1.66 and it happily runs Vista.

 

[bill]

funny you should mention that, my mate has just said the processing speed isn't that good, but you can customise them, so whats a good processing speed?

think io may start a new thread lol

 

[Kris86]

imo that isnt that good. Im getting a Dell XPS420 gaming system with quadcore processors,620GB hard drive,4gb ddr2 ram,geforce 8800gtx 768mb graphics card etc etc all for £950. Granted im not getting a screen but my 20" one iv got is good enough for me..you could do better for the money i think

 

[Mike_182]

imo that isnt that good. Im getting a Dell XPS420 gaming system with quadcore processors,620GB hard drive,4gb ddr2 ram,geforce 8800gtx 768mb graphics card etc etc all for £950. Granted im not getting a screen but my 20" one iv got is good enough for me..you could do better for the money i think

Because that's a desktop. Butt out.

And you were robbed. I built a machine with an o/c'd GTX running faster than most Ultras, Q6600 at 3.6Ghz and around 4Tb storage on 2 arrays for £1200...

They're not comparable.

 

[Kris86]

meh warrenty and free delivery plus a legal copy of windows etc etc etc..dont think i was that robbed..

Plus another 8800gtx is getting sli'd when i get paid and everything overclocked..aint gonna run too much slower :rasp:

didnt know he was on about a laptop!

 

[Mike_182]

meh warrenty and free delivery plus a legal copy of windows etc etc etc..dont think i was that robbed..

Plus another 8800gtx is getting sli'd when i get paid and everything overclocked..aint gonna run too much slower :rasp:

didnt know he was on about a laptop!

I've not even finished yet +you're running a Dell system. You will get walked on!

And as for laptop here's some clues:
From OP:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5450 - T5-series (as with T7-series) are Mobile processors.
Keyboard Internal Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY) - I don't know of a desktop which has a built in keyboard...
nVidia® GeForce™ Go 8400M GS - A Mobile edition of the GeForce 8400 series.
Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini-Card - Wireless module for the internal PCI Express Mini-Card socket found in most laptops (on larger ones you even get a second, for WWAN)
Power Supply 90W AC Adapter - My PC wouldn't even turn a fan on 90w...
Primary Battery Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr) - Primary Battery on a desktop?
And there's the big clue - the Inspiron 1720 is a laptop!

Dear oh dear. With that level of knowledge good luck overclocking your machine. Feel free to wander over to my domain on the eVGA forums, or even the watercoolinguk forums... You can see mine and realise just how you can't buy one 'off the shelf' that comes close... :lolup:

And have Dell left their BIOS unlocked enough to clock your XPS? And does it use a proper power supply or another Dell proprietary connector job? Because you'll need lots of it to overclock, it's not just a case of "I'd like my computer to go faster".

As for warranty, I've got it on all the components. Probably for longer than your system - Graphics and Mobo are 10-year and the warranty isn't void if I pull it to bits to watercool them (which is handy, as I have!), the power supply is lifetime warranty as is memory, and my soundcard is 5 years as are my 8 hard disks...

And I've got a spare power supply, spare soundcard, and with 2 graphics cards if one goes I've still got the other, and the disks are all in redundant arrays... I'll not have any downtime while you wait for Dell's legendary 'customer service' to come and sort it out...

I also have 10x legal copies of XP, XP x64, Vista and Vista x64 to play with, and also Server 2003 and Longhorn (both 32-bit and 64-bit). That costs me £150 a year, and those aren't even the half of it.

 

[Mike_182]

meh warrenty and free delivery plus a legal copy of windows etc etc etc..dont think i was that robbed..

Plus another 8800gtx is getting sli'd when i get paid and everything overclocked..aint gonna run too much slower :rasp:

didnt know he was on about a laptop!

See above, and:

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=288868

Ouch!

 

[Mike_182]

Here's a snip of what you had to face at the start of the build - 6 months ago:
www.larwood.net/pc/7.JPG

 

[andywright182]

try enter code 9DGRQPZDFXQGBP. i know it gives 10% off desktops not sure bout laptops

 

[bill]

ok cheers guys, the deal runs out today so its time to bite the bullet or try and find a better option for the £500/600 quid mark, if i go dell the discount code will be used cheers pal, anyone got any better suggestions for the price bracket i'm in? or better still anyone fancy building one off the dell site

 

[JoelDee]

Seems a bit pricey to me, could get alot better for that money

 

[Mike_182]

That still seems like a fair buy for a decent 17" screened notebook. I'd say go for it - Dell have been good recently in my experience for customer support too (shocker!)