Recommend a Notebook for about $500

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l33t

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Hi guys, Heres the deal :

I'll be joining college this july, and I'll be needing a laptop, My uncle up in the US is returning this May so I'd be asking him to get me a notebook, He's works at dell so I guess EPP might kick in, Here's what I need

  • The Laptop Should be about $500-650 (Strict Budget)
  • It needs to be good enough for gaming (I might connect a monitor of suitable resolution to it)- So I guess this is were a dedicated GPU comes in.
  • It HAS to be Dell
  • About 15" is the size I'm looking at
  • I'll be happy if it looks good , not too hard on the eye type of things on the laptop.

Here's what I'm confused about,

  • WARRANTY ! Dell = International Warranty ?
  • Shipping , does it attract duties from customs ?
  • I saw some AMD Based notebooks from dell , which is the best deal out of the lot ? (With a dedicated GPU)

Thanks in Advance Guys :)
 
Hades. said:
For 550$ u wud hardly get a gaming laptop...
Click to expand...

Not looking for a hard-core gaming laptop , I'm looking for something between a Normal one and a gaming type , So even an Integrated (but good) GPU would do.

Is there any in dell that fits the bill ?
 
l33t said:
Not looking for a hard-core gaming laptop , I'm looking for something between a Normal one and a gaming type , So even an Integrated (but good) GPU would do.

Is there any in dell that fits the bill ?
Click to expand...

Nope buddy... And i wud advice u to buy a laptop from here coz AFAIK Dell laptops dont carry international warranty like Macbook...

If u can spend 35k (700$) then i wud advice u to buy Dell Inspiron 14R wid this config

*Intel Core i3 380M

*2Gb DDR3 RAM

*ATI HD5650 (Pretty Decent GPU For Gaming)
 
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Hades. said:
Nope buddy... And i wud advice u to buy a laptop from here coz AFAIK Dell laptops dont carry international warranty like Macbook...

If u can spend 35k (700$) then i wud advice u to buy Dell Inspiron 14R wid this config

*Intel Core i3 380M

*2Gb DDR3 RAM

*ATI HD5650 (Pretty Decent GPU For Gaming)
Click to expand...
dell do carry international warranty....one of my friends is coming back from U.S he got a laptop and confirmed whether the lappy has international warranty and the answer is yes...:)
 
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You should wait for a month(may be less) before making any decision as the entire dell lineup will be refreshed with sandybridge processors(Dell XPS is already shipping with sandybridge cpu), roughly you can expect the following config for a dell inspiron 15R at 650$ :i3+4gb ram+500GB hdd+1gb ati 5650

And yeah, dell has international warranty, so dont worry about this thing,just dont opt for any extended warranty etc as only the standard 1 yr warranty is valid for international warranty/warranty transfer.
 
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Well, Oke a month seems to be a good wait for me , well I did talk to him ,

A dell XPS 15 retails roughly for $750 at the dell store in Austin TX , and with an EPP he'd have something like $80 off , so the whole thing comes down to about $680 (give or take a few dollars) - How good is this deal ?

i5-480|4 GB DDR3| 720p Screen| 500GB HDD| nVidia GT420 - ? How good is the GT420 ?

Also , the 15R which I checked out doesnt seem to come with the 5650 now , comes with an ATi HD550v (i.e highly underclocked 4650) , seems to be on par with the GT 420 ?

Thanks a ton for the replies guys.
 
GT 420 = next to pathetic.. better is Sandy Bridge's IGP...

Grab the Inspiron 14R, the HD5650 is very powerful, at 1366x768, you should be able to max out without AA
 
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comp@ddict said:
GT 420 = next to pathetic.. better is Sandy Bridge's IGP...

Grab the Inspiron 14R, the HD5650 is very powerful, at 1366x768, you should be able to max out without AA
Click to expand...

I dont think Dell has introduced SB into its laptop line up yet :(

-The 5650 doesnt seem to be listed anywhere in the Dell USA site - Instead it shows up as ATi Radeon HD550V (I'm guessing thats an underclocked 4650)
RS4 said:
^^If you are getting Dell xps for slightly above your budget then just go for it, just try to squeeze in a Full HD display as there is a lot of difference between a 720P and 1080P panel quality(not talking about the resolution) and regrading the GPU:

NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M - Notebookcheck.net Tech
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Seems like there isnt much difference between the 550V and the GT 420 / XPS Range it seems has lesser EPP Discount when compared to the Inspiron/Studio range , And when specs are compared (processor aside) there isnt much difference b/w the Inspiron 14/15R and the XPS 15 --- Also yes , the 15R seems more classier to me ?

Pretty confusing :|

Also , Does the inspiron 14R come with the 5650 in India only ? Or is it available in the US as well ?
 
^^ check Dell US website, XPS is already shipping with sandybridge processors, regarding inspiron vs xps: Bugger that Dell experience store is very close to your house, just go there and check out yourself.
 
RS4 said:
just dont opt for any extended warranty etc as only the standard 1 yr warranty is valid for international warranty/warranty transfer.
Click to expand...

What? The CC didn't mention that. Poor friend bought 4 years basic warranty...
 
RS4 said:
Bugger that Dell experience store is very close to your house, just go there and check out yourself.
Click to expand...

He doesn't stay in USA but his uncle does whoz gonna bring a laptop for him :P...

@l33t

Yes in USA u wudn't b able to configure 14r laptop wid HD5650 coz in the configuration page u wont find HD5650 so thats y i suggested u to buy from India... As comp@ddict suggested 5650 he pretty powerful and good for gaming @1366x768 resolution...
 
Hades. said:
He doesn't stay in USA but his uncle does whoz gonna bring a laptop for him :P...

@l33t

Yes in USA u wudn't b able to configure 14r laptop wid HD5650 coz in the configuration page u wont find HD5650 so thats y i suggested u to buy from India... As comp@ddict suggested 5650 he pretty powerful and good for gaming @1366x768 resolution...
Click to expand...

I know that he is asking his uncle to bring the laptop for him BUT he is confused between xps and inspiron and he can check out both the laptops in person at the Dell experience store(very few in india) which is very close to his house in bangalore (i think its around ten mins from his home).
 
RS4 said:
^^ check Dell US website, XPS is already shipping with sandybridge processors, regarding inspiron vs xps: Bugger that Dell experience store is very close to your house, just go there and check out yourself.
Click to expand...

Will do that on 22 May 2011 @ 1400 HRS , CBSE Boards my friend :dead:

Did you check the place out ? Are you back in B'lore now ?

-SB Processor + XPS = Atleast $900 (thats a big big hole)

Will the Inspiron series roll out with the SB too ? How long will it take ?

Hades. said:
He doesn't stay in USA but his uncle does whoz gonna bring a laptop for him :P...

@l33t

Yes in USA u wudn't b able to configure 14r laptop wid HD5650 coz in the configuration page u wont find HD5650 so thats y i suggested u to buy from India... As comp@ddict suggested 5650 he pretty powerful and good for gaming @1366x768 resolution...
Click to expand...

RS4 is a stalker BEWARE :P ...lol kiddin.

EDIT - Sorry Mate , My bad - Didn't really notice the (-) sign with the % :P
 
mjumrani said:
What? The CC didn't mention that. Poor friend bought 4 years basic warranty...
Click to expand...
Thats sad :(, Read the note part in the following link: Dell - International Ownership Transfer Form
l33t said:
Will do that on 22 May 2011 @ 1400 HRS , CBSE Boards my friend :dead:

Did you check the place out ? Are you back in B'lore now ?

-SB Processor + XPS = Atleast $900 (thats a big big hole)

Will the Inspiron series roll out with the SB too ? How long will it take ?
Click to expand...

oh! All the best for your exams, i am in bangalore now, didnt go to dell experience store after the xps launch,will go there this/next week.

The mobile SB dual core launch is expected in this quarter itself and there is no fixed launch date,check out this anandtech article on mobile sandybridge roadmap:

Intel's Core 2011 Mobile Roadmap Revealed: Sandy Bridge Part II - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

You have more than one month time to decide and you may get better options then, so just relax now :)
 
RS4 said:
@l33t: Sandybridge inspirons are coming to US in one week :)

Sandy Bridge Inspirons next week
Click to expand...
Thanks a ton for the info man , I hope that they give sufficient discount on the EOL 1st gen proccys now :P

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

UPDATE : Seems like nobody paid heed to my advise :( Uncle already ordered the XPS 15

XPS 15

Processor Intel® Core™ i5-480M (2.66GHz, 4Threads, turbo boost up to 2.93Ghz, 3M cache)

Memory 6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory

Keyboard Backlit Keyboard - English

Video Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 420M 1GB graphics with Optimus

Hard Drive 640GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive

Silver Anodized Aluminum 15.6" HD (720p) WLED Display with 2.0 MP webcam

Battery 92 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

Hardware Support Services 1 Year Basic Service Plan

Decent enough I reckon ? eh ?

Well, Seems like I'll have to live with this for the rest of my years :P
 
^^Thats nice config and you may have got it for a great price due to EPP+sandybridge xps effect.
 
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