Shoutbox

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
(though I find them usually bigger/bulkier than compareable brands; it's like they waste more space ).

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Yes, I agree with that as well. At school, we own a few Dell Laptops and they aren't that visually attractive, and are very thick and heavy.

If you budget is looser, I would buy a different brand, if you do mind the think and heaviness.

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Originally posted by Wikipedia Boy
At school, we own a few Dell Laptops and they aren't that visually attractive, and are very thick and heavy.

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Dell makes more than one model of a laptop, which come in differing thickness.  Saying that "Dell laptops are thick" is a lot like saying "BMW cars are big" when you have only ever seen the 7-series. 

Lattitude D420 and Inspirion XPS M1210 are certainly not thick; low end Inspirions and desktop replacement models are, but that's consistent with what one would expect for that type of product.

It is true that one shouldn't pick a laptop just going by the brand (at least, one should try to select an appropriate model).  However, laptop brands do matter more than desktop brands.  Construction quality is a huge factor in how long it will last and how enjoyable it will be to use -- that doesn't mean actual failures, but how solid the unit is and how well it stands up to wear over time.  As far as that goes, Dell is usually not the best, but on the better side from the average.

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Originally posted by CookieRevised

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Originally posted by RebelSean
I'm looking into buying a laptop, and I've been thinking about going with Dell. Does anyone personally own a dell that can give me some advice before I buy one? I own a Dell PC and it's perfect for my needs .

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First decide what your laptop should include and what the specs need to be.

Decide what is important to you: graphics, disk storage, cpu, connectivity, external ports, ... on what should the emphasize be on (eg: for what is your laptop going to be used the most and what is only secondary or nice-to-have-too).

Think about stuff like: do I need a serial RS232 port? Are 2 USB ports sufficient or do I need more? Can I do something with a PCMCIA port? Do I need a SVGA output? VGA port? Does it support dual view or only clone view? Do I need extra buttons to toggle the sound, start applications, etc? Do I need a webcam? Do I need a dedicated keypad? And even: what's the maximum wide my laptop can be, as there are laptops which are as big as your whole desktop... What is the max weight they can be (factor which is quite often forgotten). Does the touchpad have a seperate scroll area or not. Does the laptop have a touchstick (the small button like stick in the middle of the keyboard). Is the laptop going to travel with you all the time, or just sporadic... etc...

Second, decide in what price range you want to stay. Then you can look at several brands and compare their offers...

I would never buy a laptop just by brand, I would buy a laptop (or anything for that matter) depending on the specs...

Dell isn't bad. It also isn't uber-good. It is just yet another brand laptop. They have good laptops and shitty laptops, like any other brand. (though I find them usually bigger/bulkier than compareable brands; it's like they waste more space ).

Advantage for going for such brands as Dell, HP, etc is that those brands are highly commercial brands; each PC store has one on offer, so you could often find good deals in one shop or the other.

(then again, you can order any brand you like from anywhere in the world these days in almost any shop, it just takes a few days longer for a laptop to be ordered (within 3 days I had my Fijutsi laptop which isn't available in any shop and needed to be ordered directly from wherever they make them)).


With lots of searching and patients you should find the laptop you want with the specs you want in roughly the pricerange you want. But you need to be patient and look around a lot and compare a hell of a lot of specs and brands... unless you're lucky of course ... (It took me a few months to find the one I wanted)

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If I knew what half the specs you listed were, it would not have made my head hurt trying to think of what the hell those things are, I do however know what some are. Thanks for the advice . I guess I'll start looking around today at different brands.

Make sure to use the coupon codes... they save you hundreds..

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Originally posted by RebelSean
If I knew what half the specs you listed were, it would not have made my head hurt trying to think of what the hell those things are, I do however know what some are.

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ask away...

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Originally posted by atown44
Make sure to use the coupon codes... they save you hundreds..

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you sound like my mom no offense

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Originally posted by atown44
Make sure to use the coupon codes... they save you hundreds..

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you sound like my mom no offense

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lol... yeah, I could have stated it in a more informative manner and it would have sounded better.

Here is a link to the coupon codes at CouponMountain.