'Bout to pull the trigger on a Dell Inspiron 11z...any conflicting/supporting op

[myrockfight]

Hey guys. I've got a couple surgeries coming up and am going to be stuck at home/hospital for bit without being able to comfortably sit in a chair (not that I can now anyway since the accident). In said accident, my notebook/tools/and everything that was in my truck was stolen by either the tow truck driver or someone at the scene of the accident.

Either way, I haven't had a laptop for a few months now and have had to use my girlfriend's after not really being able to sit in my desk chair for any appreciable period. So I've been shopping around and decided to go with another Dell since I had really good results with the first one I bought in 2005.

This one is going to run me $614 with a $50 discount code (happy to pass it along to anyone who could make use of it). I upgraded the Celeron processor to a Pentium, the RAM from 2G to 4GB, and the battery from a 3 cell to a 6 cell. The upgrade for the processor was $75, the RAM upgrade $120, and the battery upgrade was only $35. I figure I will have this one for a few years also, hopefully longer  . Do you guys agree with the upgrades and think they are worth the prices? The biggest one I'm on the fence with is the processor. I don't know if processor stepping of the Pentium makes that much of a difference along with the extra MB of cache. Any thoughts? The specs are as follows:

Inspiron 11z  
Operating System:              Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English 
Processor:                         Intel® Pentiumâ„¢ SU4100 (1.3GHz/800MHz FSB/2MB cache)   
Memory:                            4GB,DDR2,800MHZ,1 DIMM  4GB  [317-1800] 
LCD Panel:                         11.6" High Definition WLED Display (1366x768)  HDFLCD  [320-8215] 
Video Card:                        Intel® GS45 Integrated Graphics, WLAN  WLANGRP  [320-1189] 
Hard Drive:                        250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)  250GBCT  [341-9988] 
System Color:                    Obsidian Black  BLACK  [313-8296] 

Wireless Networking Cards:   Dell 1397 WLAN 802.11a/b/g – Half mini-Card  DW1397U  [430-2929] 
Camera:                            Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam  DCAM  [320-8220] 
Battery Options:                 56WHr Lithium-Ion Battery (6-cell)  6BAT  [312-0901] 
Hardware Support Services:  1 Year Basic Mail-In Service Plan  ST111RR  [903-4827][904-3180][950-3337][950-9057][960-2780] 
Service:                            1  Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year 

[Declaration Day]

I upgraded the Celeron processor to a Pentium,...........   I don't know if processor stepping of the Pentium makes that much of a difference.........Any thoughts?

This is probably the best upgrade you made.  I've made the mistake of buying a Celeron laptop (from Dell) and I wished from day one I had upgraded to a Pentium.  Celeron processors slow to a crawl as soon as you try to multi-task.

Check Best Buy or other retailers online before you commit to that Dell.  I bet you could get a nice Acer or another brand for considerably less money.  You might not be able to fully customize it like your Dell but IMO its worth a look.

Edit:  Here you go:  http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Gateway+-+Laptop+with+AMD+Athlon%26%23153%3B+II+Dual-Core+Processor+-+Coffee+Brown/9605383.p?id=1218130488875&skuId=9605383

[myrockfight]

My main problem  is weight. I used to have an 11" Dell that I really liked because it was portable and lasted a really, really, long time with a 6 cell battery. That is why I came to the aforementioned conclusion. I could have gotten a cheaper 15", or 14". But when they are pushing five pounds. Or just over. The 13" was way overpriced, so I just went with the 11" again. I'm probably going to cut the 4GB of RAM to 2 GB to save some $120. Then just upgrade later when the 4GB RAM stick becomes cheaper later on.

I welcome any and all input! Thx DD. I have been looking around too, but I can't seem to find any laptops that put the value of the money I'm spending in the right places. I don't want xtra software, or Vista. I don't need a 320GB hard drive, but I do want an extended 6 Cell battery. And your recommendation shores up the Pentium choice.

[Gewehr98]

1.3Ghz processor?   

[stuckonpolitics]

1.3Ghz processor?   

Its a netbook, that's not a bad CPU considering the form factor.

That said, my two-year-old, $400 15.4" laptop has a dual-core 1.9Ghz CPU.

[Gewehr98]

The 64 bit wide data path is the only redeeming quality of that system at 1.3Ghz clock speed, IMHO.

Moore's Law ain't dead yet.  Prices will drop on multi-core notebook CPUs with faster clock speeds, but it is a waiting game.

[Iain]

The 1.3 CULV processors seem to do fine.

Here's another option - http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptops/review/2009/11/25/Acer-Aspire-Timeline-1810TZ---11-6in-Intel-CULV-Laptop/p2

When it comes to replacing the AA1 then I'll be torn between the mini-laptop option and the even more netbook than a netbook ARM offerings if they ever materialise. The ULV chips look to be very capable and give great battery life. If the ARM things ever materialise they should offer even better battery life and be very small and slim.

[Declaration Day]

My main problem  is weight.

Oh ok, well that changes everything.  Good luck with your purchase. 

[myrockfight]

Good lord! It pays to talk to them on the phone. Holy crap. So my girlfriend got this $50 coupon last week to use on the Dells. It has to be purchased through their EPP program though. There apparantly isn't any verification of any sort to use the program because they just asked me what company "I" work for (she works for Progressive). I'm putting in the coupon code and I notice the damn thing is only good for two days this month (15th and 16th)!

So, for good measure, I call the EPP program dept. and let them know what the scenario is and if they could authorize the code anyway. "Jenny" checks with the marketing dept. "No. They won't honor it because it was more than three days ago." But then she says, "Maybe, my supervisor will authorize the same computer for the same price, but with our (the EPP dept.) base 11z instead of the one you were going to purchase." I told her I'd be happy to wait, but I figured she would come back with the same price, but a neutered version of what I configured (no pentium upgrade, no extended battery, no integrated webcam, etc.).

A few minutes go by. She gets back on the line and says that the supervisor agreed and then starts reviewing all the options. She upgraded my hard drive to 320GB, added on 1 year of in home service (vs. 1 year mail-in), Lo-Jack for laptops for 1 year, and 15
months of McAfee security. I don't really care for McAfee but the rest of it was great.

Then I asked if I could get it shipped out a little faster and how much it would cost. She puts me on hold for a minute and then comes back and asks if I would like free overnight shipping, and they will take that money and put it towards the computer for upgrades on the warranty and Lo-Jack. I said, "Of course! That would be great!"

She puts me on hold again for about ten minutes, then gets back on and tells me that she maxed out the in-home service and Lo-Jack for three years for each. I went back into Dell and configured an 11z with the same options and the notebook was $891! I got $347 worth of service upgrades for $50 (the increased shipping cost)! All because I was calling to hopefully be able to talk them into using a $50 coupon.

I have to say that 1)I'm very impressed with the capability/authority they give customer service agents (or at least their superiors) to approve of such upgrades and 2) the willingness in which she was trying to go for these "extras" to compensate for something that wasn't even valid anymore.

Now I know that these upgrades don't cost them that much money to add, but it really adds a lot of value to the end user. Especially if virtually anything breaks on the laptop and they need to fix it. On my last Dell, the only thing that failed was the DVD drive. They replaced that with nary a question after bringing up the point that a lot of other people with the same model DVD drive had the same failures.

Soooo....needless to say - I'll be purchasing this Dell. Hard not to at this point. Upgraded everything except the RAM (which I will upgrade later and a discounted price). And I couldn't find anything that could compete at this price point anywhere else. I hope this helps you guys a little bit, if you are in the market for a notebook.

Moral of the story....It never hurts to ask!!

[Iain]

Friend had a similar experience with Dell recently - got hard drive and ram upgrades.

Let me know how you like the thing, I'm tempted by something similar. Good luck with the surgeries too.

[myrockfight]

Friend had a similar experience with Dell recently - got hard drive and ram upgrades.

Let me know how you like the thing, I'm tempted by something similar. Good luck with the surgeries too.

Dang. Shoulda held out for the RAM! Ugh. Oh well. I ain't crying about it. I'll be happy to let you know how it goes.