Hi folks! Once again we return to the question of "Is this right for you?". Bottom line here is Road Warriors (you know who you are) high-end media users and IT pros will love this machine; the Web Surfers, occasional Gamers and students can save money by going with a scaled-down model. Let's go through the exact specs of the PC I ordered from Dell...

THE FULL SPECS
1 Ghz Mobile Intel Pentium III CPU
512 MB SDRAM (special order)
30 GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive (special order)
16x CDRW/DVD combo drive with loads of software (special order)
3.5" floppy drive
15" Super XFT display
2 USB ports
32 MB NVIDIA GeForce2Go Video Card (special order)
16-bit Soundblaster-compatible sound card
56K modem/10-100 Ethernet card combo
PCI slots
All standard ports (including an Infra-Red port), jacks, cables, etc.
TV-OUT port and cable (use your television as a monitor!)
Windows XP Professional OS (special order)
Est. Battery Life: 3.0 hours
Extended 3-yr. Warranty with Mail-In service and 24x7 phone support
Weight: 10 lbs.(!)
TOTAL COST:
$2,295.00

MY PRE-ORDERING RESEARCH:
I spent two months doing the research before buying. I almost went with the Toshiba Satellite S504. The major difference is that the Toshiba uses a desktop PIII chip whereas the Dell uses the Mobile PIII. What this means is that desktop CPUs usually run much hotter than the mobile chips designed for laptops. When these desktop CPUs get too hot your pc will crash hard! The minor differences were that the Toshiba had a slower CDRW/DVD drive; a 16 MB NVIDIA video card and Windows XP Home version. The price difference was $300.00 with both pcs having $100.00 rebates. After calculating how much it would cost me to upgrade the Toshiba with XP Pro, better video card, better CDRW/DVD drive plus the extended warrany it would have cost me more for the Toshiba, plus I would not have gotten a PC with such a rugged design! After doing the workup on the Dell online, I placed the call to order.

THE ORDERING EXPERIENCE:
I configured the system online, got the electronic invoice, then called the 800 number and did the order over the phone. The reason for this is so I could avoid having the order lost in the e-orders (a common problem there) plus to be able to confirm everything with a live rep as well as get a few questions answered that the web site did not address. I would highly recommend this process for the easiest ordering experience.

I was able to track my order online and it even shipped several days early, much to my delight. It arrived in perfect condition on the second business day after shipping as promised. **PLEASE NOTE: I was not charged sales tax (I'm in New Jersey) nor was I charged for shipping!**

THE SETUP EXPERIENCE:
The PC was securely packed with all software (with their proper authenticity certificates) in a seperate box in the carton. Many manuals, easy reference charts, support info, etc. There was a power supply, the TV-OUT cable, and a phone cord! The PC was perfectly intact and it booted up immediately without a problem. The Dell-integrated software assisted me through the initial Windows XP setup and product activation process which was very easy.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
The first thing I noticed was the sleek futuristic design with the metal plate bearing the word "Inspiron" on the top cover. This plate also acts as a grounding device (ingenious!). The weight is rather prominent at 10 pounds however, there's a lot of PC in here! The case is obviously rugged, there are multiple cooling fans, the ports and drives are all conveniently located.

The touch pad is way too sensitive for my tastes. At first I was accidentally choosing menus I did not want all because I touched the pad with about the same amount of force you would use to insert a contact lens. A nice Logitech cordless keyboard and mouse will change that!

DVDs play well, although the WinDVD program is not as nice as Media Player, plus WinDVD crashes if it's put into full-screen mode. All-in-all, performace, design, appearance, etc. is fantastic.

SO, IS THIS FOR YOU?
If I just wanted to surf the web, use e-mail, play some games, do homework, household finances, run Microsoft Office, etc. then a scaled-down model would be much better. Dell has some wonderful desktop systems with more powerful processors for a lot less than what this system costs. You can also save money by going with XP Home edition since XP Pro is more for IT/Network purposes.

If you want a laptop just for the convenience of being able to transport your system from room-to-room (Heaven must certainly have computers in the bathrooms too, right?) then by all means, go with something less loaded as all this PC has is not necessary.

If you spend a lot of time doing serious travelling; are an IT pro or multimedia pro, then this is the ultimate mobile PC.

Whatever you decide, remember that some things are just not negotiable...you should avoid laptops that use desktop chips; never get less than 128 MB of RAM and no less than 256 MB of RAM if you are going to be running Windows XP; always make sure the hardware can be upgraded and always use caution with retail warranties...Comp USA wants $500.00 per laptop for a 3-year warranty and it has more holes than a ton of swiss cheese. Good luck in your ventures and always feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 2,295.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 15
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30