Mazeroth
07-26-2008, 06:22 PM
I purchased a new Dell Vostro 1700 4 months ago and have used it for approximately 30 hours. It was an impulse buy and only really got used recently for the last 2 weeks when I took apart my family room to paint it and unhooked my main computer. The unit is in flawless condition. Items in bold are upgrades or additions:
Intel® Core 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
17.0 inch Wide Screen XGA+ LCD Display with TrueLife
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce 8600M GT
120GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
8X CD/DVD+RW Read and Burn CD and DVD
Integrated High Definition Audio
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Wi-Fi Internal Card
Microsoft® Works 9. Does NOT Include MS Word
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (barely used; almost always plugged in)
1394 Firewire and Memory card reader
Swiss Gear SIERRA Single Gusset Computer Case
2 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 2 Year NBD On-Site Service
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery (New Dell policy is to buy an extended battery warranty, NOT an additional battery)
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
This is where my honesty comes out. I've owned over 10 laptops in the past 8 years thanks to working at Circuit City in college and snagging them when customers would return them. I'd use them for a few months, sell them for a small profit, and buy another. This is truly the nicest laptop I've ever used. I was worried it may be a bit big due to the 17" screen but after using one I don't think I could ever go back to a smaller screen. The weight is a non-issue for me and I think most would agree as well.
I tried building this laptop on Dell.com to see what it prices out to now. I noticed you can no longer get the 8600GT this laptop has and Dell doesn't allow you to, as far as I know, purchase a second battery. Instead, they offer you a $79 2-year warranty so that if your battery dies they'll send you another one. I'm sure you can call them and purchase a separate battery but for the online config it's not an option. I believe I paid $79 for the extra battery.
This also comes with 2 years of on-site warranty and a very nice Swiss carrying case. I also only opted to go with 1GB of RAM and was going to upgrade to 4 gigs which can be found for $50 any day of the week. After using this computer with only 1 gig I don't see the need to upgrade. I installed two games to test the video card and never once felt it lagging. It currently uses around 150 MB of RAM just browsing the computer which leaves 800+ for other things. Like I said, you can get 4 gigs of RAM for $50 AR all day long and even cheaper for 2 gigs.
This system config was over $1300 when I purchased it plus tax (gotta love that!) and I'd like to get $850 for it with shipping, insurance, and signature confirmation through UPS. I'm leaving for the day and will try to get pictures posted tomorrow.
Oh, and my sales rating was a (10) before the new rating system went live. Click on the (1) to see the old ratings.
Thanks.
Intel® Core 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
17.0 inch Wide Screen XGA+ LCD Display with TrueLife
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce 8600M GT
120GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
8X CD/DVD+RW Read and Burn CD and DVD
Integrated High Definition Audio
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Wi-Fi Internal Card
Microsoft® Works 9. Does NOT Include MS Word
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (barely used; almost always plugged in)
1394 Firewire and Memory card reader
Swiss Gear SIERRA Single Gusset Computer Case
2 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 2 Year NBD On-Site Service
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery (New Dell policy is to buy an extended battery warranty, NOT an additional battery)
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
This is where my honesty comes out. I've owned over 10 laptops in the past 8 years thanks to working at Circuit City in college and snagging them when customers would return them. I'd use them for a few months, sell them for a small profit, and buy another. This is truly the nicest laptop I've ever used. I was worried it may be a bit big due to the 17" screen but after using one I don't think I could ever go back to a smaller screen. The weight is a non-issue for me and I think most would agree as well.
I tried building this laptop on Dell.com to see what it prices out to now. I noticed you can no longer get the 8600GT this laptop has and Dell doesn't allow you to, as far as I know, purchase a second battery. Instead, they offer you a $79 2-year warranty so that if your battery dies they'll send you another one. I'm sure you can call them and purchase a separate battery but for the online config it's not an option. I believe I paid $79 for the extra battery.
This also comes with 2 years of on-site warranty and a very nice Swiss carrying case. I also only opted to go with 1GB of RAM and was going to upgrade to 4 gigs which can be found for $50 any day of the week. After using this computer with only 1 gig I don't see the need to upgrade. I installed two games to test the video card and never once felt it lagging. It currently uses around 150 MB of RAM just browsing the computer which leaves 800+ for other things. Like I said, you can get 4 gigs of RAM for $50 AR all day long and even cheaper for 2 gigs.
This system config was over $1300 when I purchased it plus tax (gotta love that!) and I'd like to get $850 for it with shipping, insurance, and signature confirmation through UPS. I'm leaving for the day and will try to get pictures posted tomorrow.
Oh, and my sales rating was a (10) before the new rating system went live. Click on the (1) to see the old ratings.
Thanks.