Want to hear how I spent my weekend? Shopping for a new laptop computer. Let me say right off the bat I HATE shopping for electronics, doing the research, going to stores etc! Lucky for me my husband doesn’t mind, were it not for him I would have procrastinated a while longer.
How do you decide what brand? Like most we poured over the reviews and researched online and offline. Jim, over at The Bis Key Chronicles was also laptop shopping and posted about his purchase, a Lenovo from the ThinkPad X series. So we looked into that one which did have good reviews and it was added to the list. We went to stores to see as many on our list as possible. Then comes the time to narrow down your list and make your decision, that has to be the most difficult since there are so many great computers to choose from.
Eventually decided on a DELL XPS M1530 . We’ve had good luck with DELL’s in the past and the new XPS M1530 that came out last fall has great reviews. Here’s what it has:
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800MHzFSB, 3M L2 Cache)
4GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440×900) & 2MP Camera
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Comes with a biometrics finger print reader, 3 year LoJack recovery service which is kinda neat since laptops are one of the most stolen items. Won’t bore you with the rest of the stuff but that’s the gist of it. My new toy should be shipped by the 18th.
Well I’m jealous! LOL! You’re gonna have so much fun with that new toy.
Yaay! I’ve always loved Dell’s in the past, too. We did have a thinkpad, once, and I LOVED how the mouse works on the thinkpads. We did end up getting some Gateway laptops recently, though, and we’re liking them for the most part.
Did you end up getting XP or Vista on your new one? So far, I like Vista okay, but there are a few little glitches that I hope are fixed soon.
There are also a few features that XP didn’t have that I am LOVING, so I guess it all balances out…
Congrats on the new puter! I look forward to hearing about it when you get it.
Jennifer – I’m excited! I think it will be a good little laptop for what I want and need.
Julie – yes it will have Windows Vista which I don’t have on my current desktop so I’m anxious to finally try it out. Now I know who to ask when I have questions lol. Count on it. Love your new blog! Your girls are just adorable.
I don’t know how much I’ll be able to answer questions about Vista… I still feel DUMB when it comes to Vista… In fact, I changed everything to look like the older Windows versions as much as possible…
It is exciting trying out a newer version, though. I’m anxious to hear your views on it… 
Thanks for visiting my blog, btw. It is fairly new, so I’m still trying to figure WordPress out! I may need to ask you for WordPress advice!!
Good luck with the new puter! I’m sure you’re excited if you’re going from a desktop to a laptop (Which is what I recently did). It took a while to get used to, but now I am LOVING it. I love being able to take my puter to whichever room I need it in (Which comes in handy when you have a baby running around).
How I wish I could buy one for my self too! Well, nice to know you’re having a new laptop. I’m sure you’ll enjoy using coz it’s new.
I love new computer shopping! If I weren’t working for wages around the poverty line and using a spiffy work laptop, I’d be on the hunt as well. I’m glad to hear that you got a laptop that can actually run Vista. My friend just got a new barebones laptop that lags when I play Solitaire. Speaking of which, the new Vista solitaire is pretty spiffy
So what’s the battery life on this high-power, state of the art ‘puter? My top criteria was long battery life, lightness, assuming that it’d be mostly a portal on the world and not the work horse that you require.
With the hard drive upgrade I probably won’t get over nine hours but rather over seven hours of battery life. That almost three times what I get with my work-provided laptop. Now comes the fun, setting it up. A labor of love, eh?
)
Hearing about new laptops is *never* boring.
I’m a big fan of Dell as well.
Well, you are helping the economy out – doing your part.
It’s a sign of the times we live in when a new laptop is comparable to the feelings we used to get when we got a new car or a new house or apartment. (We are invested in the idea of technology…at what it says about us.)
Enjoy the feeling!!!
Elaine,
Congratulations! Sounds like a great choice. We have had a regular Dell computer in the past… and it worked well.
Since options and choices are limited here in Canada, and since we have to wait at least a year, for some of your newest products coming across the border, we haven’t upgraded much.
We don’t use Vista yet…but we did purchase a “WD Passport” so I could have plenty of back up and storage for my laptop without slowing it down farther or using up all the space.
When they were on sale a while back, we purchased finger-print readers, but haven’t installed them yet, and will probably wait till we go on a vacation before we do.
Happily jealous of your purchase. Always nice to have the latest gadgets.
I’m with you – I love shopping for clothes, but electronics, oh no! Fortunately, my older son is a tech wiz and takes care of exactly what to buy. He researches, then makes the purchase for us. Thank goodness!
I think is a good buy, I have been using a Dell Laptop, in fact we got two of those in the house, so far it has been great and Dell support is good if you ever needed them..
have fun..
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good post, thank you for sharing thin info.