In my research this is the fastest laptop you can buy today.

With a 1.2 GHZ Mobile P-III processor, 5400 RPM 60 GB IBM drive, 512 megs RAM, 15 inch UVGA screen with 1600x1200 resolution, 8x DVD, 16X CDRW (separate), Firewire, 2xUSB, 56K modem / 10/100 Ethernet and a 64 meg ATI Radeon 7500 Series graphics card this is a extremely fast machine and the only one on the market equipped with all of the above at the time of this posting.

So if money is no object (mine was about $3700.00 with warranty) and you want the fastest and most upgradeable laptop you can get your hands on, this is it.....today anyway!

Do not add any memory to your baseline system. Dell wanted $500 to go from 128 to 512 and they keep the 128! So that is 500 bucks for 384 meg of memory. I actually purchased official Dell memory I found on their Web site for $51.00 per 256 meg stick and it is EXACTLY the same thing and works great. It takes maybe 1 minute to put the memory in the computer.


Also note they sell a 3 yr in home extended warranty that covers damage caused by the consumer. So if you break it, Dell fixes it at your home. NO shipping!

HOWEVER: BE WARNED! Do not expect or believe anything you are told the time required to build your PC at DELL. If they are out of stock on a particular part, they will NOT tell you or provide you with the option to pick another option. DELL will not contact you in any way to notify you of this problem. The online "order status" thing is a joke and only occasionally gives you useful information.

Dell also sells software and other hardware not made by Dell. Don't buy anything from them you can get somewhere else. When their system says "in stock" it doesn’t mean anything even close to that. They take 4 or 5 days minimum to ship anything! They will screw up most orders for one reason or another. How did they ever win any awards for this I'll never know?

I put together a small dictionary of terms that will help those who are about to undertake the long process of purchasing from Dell.

IN STOCK = the manufacture might have some left if they have even produced any yet. Expect up to 90 days to ship products that show to be "in stock".

OUT OF STOCK = If a product shows to be in stock and can't ship in over 20 days then "out of stock" must be the 7th level of hell or some other ungodly place.

EXPEDITE = to rush an order so that the customer might get it before he or she can get a Pentium 50 500 GHZ wrist watch with integrated HDTV, phone, fax and live streaming 2 way videoconferencing.

ESTIMATED SHIP DATE = a very optimistic and mostly fictitious date when a customer is led to believe Dell might think about sending out an ordered computer. Most likely this day is picked at random by a computer or a dartboard in the sales office.

EASY AS DELL = Impossible, unlikely or extremely hard to obtain. See "not likely" or "don't count your chickens"

DUDE, YOU'RE GETTING A DELL = see "ulcer" or "when hell freezes over"

LOGIC = Sorry this word has no meaning in the Dell dictionary.

IN PRODUCTION = Dell is sitting on your $5,000 order because the $27.00 surge protector which shows to be "In Stock" isn't anywhere to be found.

ORDER PROCESSING = A period of time estimated to be 3 business days where Dell employees notice that the sales person has sold the customer a part/upgrade/configuration not available.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 3700.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50