Sandy Bridge Laptop from US-Ready for Discussion

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kooltools

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Hey folks i want to buy a Sandy bridge laptop

Tech Specs Required: (Minimum)

i5 Sandybridge

Excellent Build Quality

Battery life of 4 hours+

Ram 4GB

HDD :320 GB

Wifi N,Bluetooth 3.0,Widi(If possible)

Blu-Ray Reader..(BD Writer) Preferable..Also wanna know if its worth investing in blue ray i plan to use the laptop for atleast 3 years

Graphics Card: 1 GB ATI is prefferred but Nvidia would also do (I dont play games so much but just like the hardware capability to be there..Though i do watch movies at 720p..and would use it maybe for Photoshop or CAD applications)

Portable

International Warranty

Backlit Keyboard

Budget 1000$ can stretch to 1100$ with tax and shipping

Brand Preference : Dell XPS or Sony

Use:

I will be travelling a lot ...basic office editing...photoshop...movies ...browsing...though i am a power user...so i want a machine that can take anything...will hackintosh it..

Well guys i need to order it by May 10.If its to be customized..My sis is gonna get it for me and she returns on 30th May..Please genuinely need help and i am open to suggestions and discussion
 
1. Dell XPS15

Configuring it with 2GB GT-540M, 9-cell battery, Blu-ray writer & backlit keyboard would cost you $1154.99

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

2. Sony VAIO VPCCB190X

Configuring it with 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6630M, 9-cell battery & blu-ray burner costs you $1179

Also you get a Sony Bloggie touch camera worth $179.99.

The keyboard is default backlit.

15.5" Custom Laptop | VAIO C Series Configure-to-Order | VPCCB190X CTO | Sony USA

For hackintosh build, I'd recommend an AMD GPU since Apple sandy-bride Macbook ship with AMD GPUs & hence should work.

But I'm not sure about it as hackintoshing a laptop is a difficult task.
 
^^ add $100 approx as tax for the dell laptop config if not included in the mentioned price.

one qns..will the sony warranty be honored in india..
 
titana said:
^^ add $100 approx as tax for the dell laptop config if not included in the mentioned price.

one qns..will the sony warranty be honored in india..
Click to expand...
What kind of tax ? Is that a local tax, since OP's sister is bringing it from US, so no customs need to be paid.

And I could not find any info on international warranty for the Sony laptop.
 
^^sales tax . it will come to around $100 for a buy of $1100 in most of the states ..i am not talking about customs

here is a config i just mailed to my friend to buy from me:

PROCESSOR 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English edit

VIDEO CARD NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M 1GB graphics with Optimus

MEMORY 6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory

HARD DRIVE 750GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive

HD DISPLAY 15.6 FHD B+RGLED TL (1920x1080) and Skype-Certified 2.0MP HD Webcam

INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Tray Load Blu-ray Disc BD-Combo

WIRELESS + BLUETOOTH Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000

BATTERY OPTIONS 90 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

SOUND OPTIONS JBL 2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3

KEYBOARD Backlit Keyboard - English



this config will come for $1179 without taxes.

there is sales tax for $100 (rounded figure) which brings it to $1279

there are coupons for $70 and free shipping on LogicBUY - News, Reviews, Deals & Coupons for HP, Lenovo, Laptops, Videogames, Gadgets

which bring down the final price to $1200 approx.
Click to expand...

can anyone tell me what are the delivery duration for DELL usa these days. my brother is going there in june 2nd week.

and what is the difference between 2 Year Basic Service Plan( from USA DELL site ) & 1-year XPS Premier Service with 1-year CompleteCover ( from dell india site )

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

ok the lappy has been ordered and the tax were $66 for pennysylvania.

total $1184 shipped for the above config

Estimated Delivery Date: 5/17/2011
 
pauldmps said:
1. Dell XPS15

Configuring it with 2GB GT-540M, 9-cell battery, Blu-ray writer & backlit keyboard would cost you $1154.99

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

2. Sony VAIO VPCCB190X

Configuring it with 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6630M, 9-cell battery & blu-ray burner costs you $1179

Also you get a Sony Bloggie touch camera worth $179.99.

The keyboard is default backlit.

15.5" Custom Laptop | VAIO C Series Configure-to-Order | VPCCB190X CTO | Sony USA

For hackintosh build, I'd recommend an AMD GPU since Apple sandy-bride Macbook ship with AMD GPUs & hence should work.

But I'm not sure about it as hackintoshing a laptop is a difficult task.
Click to expand...
Well thanks a lot for your recommendation but i would want it to be within 1100$ with shipping and tax..this goes way beyond my budget..Any Deal?? Also which one is better?? which one would have a better battery life....

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---
titana said:
^^sales tax . it will come to around $100 for a buy of $1100 in most of the states ..i am not talking about customs

can anyone tell me what are the delivery duration for DELL usa these days. my brother is going there in june 2nd week.

and what is the difference between 2 Year Basic Service Plan( from USA DELL site ) & 1-year XPS Premier Service with 1-year CompleteCover ( from dell india site )

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

ok the lappy has been ordered and the tax were $66 for pennysylvania.

total $1184 shipped for the above config

Estimated Delivery Date: 5/17/2011
Click to expand...

Well that is a very sweet deal...yes sony warranty is honored in india...btw what about warranty issues...is dell warranty extended in india
 
Don't buy any extra warranty from US as that would not be valid in India. Instead purchase extra warranty after receiving it in India.

The prices include some optional upgrades including blu-ray burner. I'd suggest that you upgrade instead to blu-ray combo, if you watch HD movies, that too from rentals. Else blu-ray is not a viable solution in the current Indian scenario. You can always change the drive by yourself at a later stage.

And the Full HD display is a worthy upgrade.

Configuring XPS15 with 2GB GT-540M, 9-cell battery, Full HD display & backlit keyboard would cost you $1,129.99

Configuring VAIO with 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6630M, 9-cell battery & Full HD display costs you $1079.99. Plus the free camera.

The XPS15 is overall a better laptop but I guess the latter would be better at hackintoshing. So choose your pick.

A member of TE, avi is trying to hackintosh his XPS15. Try to get in touch with him before purchasing any of the laptop.
 
pauldmps said:
Don't buy any extra warranty from US as that would not be valid in India. Instead purchase extra warranty after receiving it in India.

The prices include some optional upgrades including blu-ray burner. I'd suggest that you upgrade instead to blu-ray combo, if you watch HD movies, that too from rentals. Else blu-ray is not a viable solution in the current Indian scenario. You can always change the drive by yourself at a later stage.

And the Full HD display is a worthy upgrade.

Configuring XPS15 with 2GB GT-540M, 9-cell battery, Full HD display & backlit keyboard would cost you $1,129.99

Configuring VAIO with 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6630M, 9-cell battery & Full HD display costs you $1079.99. Plus the free camera.
The XPS15 is overall a better laptop but I guess the latter would be better at hackintoshing. So choose your pick.

A member of TE, avi is trying to hackintosh his XPS15. Try to get in touch with him before purchasing any of the laptop.
Click to expand...

Well if i drop the idea of hackintosh...its just you know a fantasy....
I still havent seen any blu-ray movie till date and i do expect it to be more accessible in the coming six months
Also would the standard warranty be valid in india and can i purcahse warranty in india for an imported model.
Also in terms of portability and battery life which would be better the dell or the sony one..
 
Then drop the idea of blu-ray altogether.

And Dell's standard warranty is valid worldwide & you can purchase extra warranty after getting it in India & transferring the ownership to India by filling up a form at Dell site.

I cannot comment on the battery life, check the official sites for manufacturer rated battery life. But I guess they would be 3hrs with the 6-cell battery.

The Dell XPS15 has earned rave reviews at every site while I was not able to find any credible review of the VAIO CB.
 
The VAIO CB has a better GPU & a much better full-HD screen. I could not find the resolution of the 13" VAIO CS, but I guess it wouldn't be higher than 1366x768.
 
Well i am also trying to find out....hmm...now this is getting confusing

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---


Dell
Software & Services
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5-2410M processor 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz
Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
1 Year Basic Service Plan
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M 1GB graphics with Optimus
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
McAfee Security Center with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 30-Day Trial
15.6 FHD B+RGLED TL (1920x1080) and Skype-Certified 2.0MP HD Webcam
Tray Load Blu-ray® Triple Writer (reads and writes CDs, DVDs, BDs)
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1030 & Bluetooth 3.0
90 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
JBL 2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3
My Software & Accessories
Elemental Silver Aluminum
Backlit Keyboard - English
No Mobile Broad Band Selected
My Accessories
DataSafe 2.0 Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
Also Includes
XPS 15
Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0

For $1,235.85 including shipping and tax

now for the sony one
Norton Internet Security™ 2011 (30 Day Trial) No Engraving Blu-ray Disc™ Player / Burner Large capacity battery AMD Radeon™ HD 6630M (1GB VRAM) hybrid graphics with Intel® Wireless Display technology Microsoft® Office 2010 Starter (Click More Info for details.) No Fresh Start 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1333 Intel® Core™ i5-2410M processor (2.30GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.90GHz 500GB Hard Drive (7200rpm) Sony® Imagination Studio™ Suite Green Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit 15.5" Full HD VAIO Premium Display (1920x1080)

Cost 1400$ including shipping and tax and free bloggie touch camera....

So guys what whould u suggest should i go for the sony laptop by reducing its cst by subtracting bluray writer to bluray reader and by changing the drive back to 320 gb at 3200 rpm which brings it down to 1237$
Please help
 
^^ considering the graphic card the sony laptop has you may degrade other components to reduce the price. hard disk can be changed in india at later time and blu ray writer can be ditched especially if you considering burning movies, most of them are above 30 gb and bluray media over 25 GB are not commonly available...

now one question of my own, i bought a dell laptop from dell usa site and is yet to be delivered. i wanted to know if the warranty i bought is NBD one.
i bought 2 Year Basic Service Plan that came default with the laptop



it mentions in home service in 2-3 days business day..is this the NBD people keep talking about or i had to buy some separate warranty.
Click to expand...
 
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