26 replies to this topic

[Christopholofigus]

I spent hours upon hours looking online for a laptop as good as the specs of this one for the price of $889usd + tax and free shipping. I am very excited to get this sweet lady. I think that i got a pretty decent deal on it, but feel free to comment all you want. I have 21 days to return it (they might throw a restocking fee at me though).

Inspiron 1520 Certified Refurbished
(System Identifier: F5CXBKH8)
* Inspiron 1520 Notebook: Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium

Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
Memory 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 677MHz (2 DIMMs)
Hard Disk Drive 120 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Video 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Software Upgrade Microsoft Works 8.5 with MS Office Trial Version Software
Base Inspiron 1520 Notebook: Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Media Bay 8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
Network Interface Card 3945 802.11a/g Wireless Mini Card
NoteBook Screen 15.4 WXGA Notebook Screen Display with TrueLife
Hardware Upgrade Integrated 2.0 Mega Pixel Web Camera
9 Cell Primary Battery
90W AC Adapter
System Color Midnight Blue

I plan to wipe it as soon as i get it and start fresh with the Vista Premium. F--- all the bloat on it. I think i will try dual boot with Ubuntu on it as well, but i will only keep it on it if it works with the wireless card...yeah, famous last words.

Anyhow, comments from the peanut gallery anyone?

Edited by Christopholofigus, 11 January 2008 - 04:38 PM.

[talker]

Excuse me, can someone get me a towel, I need to wipe this drool off my desk. I just read the specs on Christo's new lappy...sigh...talker.

[Scuba]

Nice find!

[hog]

Ooooh, pretty nice! I wish I could afford something like that. Good deal

[Christopholofigus]

I got my laptop yesterday, and within hours the i had problems. When i unplugged it and ran off battery power, i would almost immediately go to sleep on me. So i rebooted and tried again...same problem. Ok, no big deal, crappy Vista right? I'll just wipe it and begin anew. I decided to use their self diagnosis f12 thingy and the whole time it was testing (and everything was passing by-the-way) the screen was flashing on and off. WTF?! One point the screen just went black. So i turned it on its side to check the serial #'s and junk, and the screen came on. Turned it upright, the screen flashed and went off and on. Well, the thing is brand new (so to speak) so i just packed it up and said F it. Called Dell and they are picking it up tomorrow and that is that. The guy asked me if there was anything else he could do for me and i told him to get me a laptop that worked. His reply was that would take 10 to 15 days to process and ship one out. I'm done with Dell, i think. Maybe i will save that money for a down payment on a motorcycle instead (like the wife would let me LOL)

[m.oreilly]

if you were going to get a crotch rocket, i'd agree with your wife. i know you like to cruse, so i would have to say...i dunno. i think she is thinking of the family's best interest atm, but you are such a devoted guy, i think she just might give her blessing. you deserve it christo

[Christopholofigus]

m.oreilly, on Jan 9 2008, 07:29 PM, said:

if you were going to get a crotch rocket, i'd agree with your wife. i know you like to cruse, so i would have to say...i dunno. i think she is thinking of the family's best interest atm, but you are such a devoted guy, i think she just might give her blessing. you deserve it christo

Thx M.o.

[Christopholofigus]

Ok, i am a glutton for punishment, but i am trying one more time (plus i got it about $20 cheaper):

Inspiron 1420 (ah, smaller than the first )
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 677MHz (2 DIMMs)
80 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM) yeah, smaller and slower, but i can upgrade later
128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capabilityd
Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache) look, i got a faster processor with a larger L2 cache
Bluetooth Wireless Card 355 lookie lookie, built in bluetooth on this one
Microsoft Works 8.5 with MS Office Trial Version Software
Sound Blaster Audigy ADVANCED HD Audio Software Edition like it really matters IHMO
14.1 inch WXGA Notebook Screen
9 Cell Primary Battery still got the big battery
No Camera what a shame...*rolls eyes
90W AC Adapter
System Color Midnight Blue same color w00t!
1390 Wireless Card

Let's cross our fingers on this one... Plus, if this one doesn't work, i will buy a NEW hp with about the same features, with a little more cost and a slight hit on performance.

[Christopholofigus]

Yes, but this means no glare (i hope).

Edited by Christopholofigus, 10 January 2008 - 03:48 PM.

[Christopholofigus]

Ok, well dell.com didn't get my order thru, and the lappy wasn't avaible this morning, so we are playing musical laptops...

New Lappy (did it over the phone this time to make sure it was ordered):

Inspiron 1420
System Price: $849.00 (free shipping again)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 677MHz (2 DIMMs)
160 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) (not the orginal 7200 but this one is bigger than the 2nd one)
128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GSMedia Bay
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2MB cache/2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB) (back to the original processor)
Bluetooth Wireless Card 355Network Interface Card
Dell 1505 Wireless-N (i guess the best of the best huh?)
14.1 inch WXGA TrueLife Notebook Screen (this is an upgrade at least...thx Scara;) )
6 Cell Primary Battery (smaller battery, but i can get a 9cell for about $65 elsewhere)
Integrated 2.0 Mega Pixel Web Camera (yay *rolls eyes* maybe i can do a video chat on skype now)
90W AC Adapter
System Color Ruby Red (hot hot hot LOL)

Wow, feels like a rollercoaster ride...LOL BTW- the wife wasn't going for the downpayment on a motorcycle option.

[Christopholofigus]

Guess what...yeah, another bad lappy. This time it was the motherboard (the AC adapter wouldn't charge the battery). Called and talked to Dell and they told me that it was the exact same problem the last owner had, and it should have been addressed and fixed when he returned it. There is a silver lining though, i now get a brand new lappy with equal system specs or better from them. I need to call to get it all going...i'll fill ya in with all the boring info later...

Hey, at least Dell has good customer service, even if their QA is a little below par...

//**********Edited**********
Looks like they are sending me an exact same system next day delivery...yay!

Edited by Christopholofigus, 17 January 2008 - 05:07 PM.

[Tweak]

Guess the 3 time lemon thing applies? 2 time? By any means, new is nice, congrats.

[Christopholofigus]

Tweak, on Jan 17 2008, 09:52 AM, said:

Guess the 3 time lemon thing applies? 2 time? By any means, new is nice, congrats.

Thanks Tweak...if this new system doesn't work...god help us all...