I've been looking at getting a laptop for a while now, for school, and various trips. I will be doing some schoolwork on it, but I expect to be doing plenty of gaming on it as well.
As a result, I think I've pretty much narrowed my choice down to the XPS Gen 2. I know I'll be paying a premium for it (although money isn't an issue), but It'll probably be the best performing laptop for the time being.
However, I've been waiting a bit, hoping that Dell would pick up the Pentium M 780. I figure, if I don't get the 780, the prices of the 760 and 770 would be less as a result of the 780 being available. However, since I've read the announcements (about a month ago) about how the P-M 780 has hit shelves in some places, I have yet to hear anything from Dell about it.
So, this leaves me with a few questions regarding the XPS Gen 2:
1) Any idea on when the XPS will have the P-M 780 available for it? (based on when Dell picked up on past processor releases, I don't expect an exact answer)
2) I read around in older threads that about a week ago there was a 40% off coupon for the XPS. Is this still available? How often does such a deal occur?
3) Are there any major things I should be aware of when I buy this? (options I should avoid becuase of high failure rates, etc.) Keep in mind that I will be taking this PC with me to classes, among other places (including local and not-so-local LAN events, where I will be competing).
4) If there are any good Laptop cases I could get that would have PLENTY of room for my books, that would be appreciated as well.
Thanks in advance.
.:Ttocs
As a result, I think I've pretty much narrowed my choice down to the XPS Gen 2. I know I'll be paying a premium for it (although money isn't an issue), but It'll probably be the best performing laptop for the time being.
However, I've been waiting a bit, hoping that Dell would pick up the Pentium M 780. I figure, if I don't get the 780, the prices of the 760 and 770 would be less as a result of the 780 being available. However, since I've read the announcements (about a month ago) about how the P-M 780 has hit shelves in some places, I have yet to hear anything from Dell about it.
So, this leaves me with a few questions regarding the XPS Gen 2:
1) Any idea on when the XPS will have the P-M 780 available for it? (based on when Dell picked up on past processor releases, I don't expect an exact answer)
2) I read around in older threads that about a week ago there was a 40% off coupon for the XPS. Is this still available? How often does such a deal occur?
3) Are there any major things I should be aware of when I buy this? (options I should avoid becuase of high failure rates, etc.) Keep in mind that I will be taking this PC with me to classes, among other places (including local and not-so-local LAN events, where I will be competing).
4) If there are any good Laptop cases I could get that would have PLENTY of room for my books, that would be appreciated as well.
Thanks in advance.
.:Ttocs