New to Dell, have a few questions (notebook related)

Sorry if this is slightly noob (and if already answered somewhere else)

I've always custom built my PCs and never have actually ordered one from a manufacturer like dell before. Im looking at buying a laptop soon and have been waiting for the release of the Core 2 Duo (mobile version). I have been reading over threads the last couple of weeks and saw one posting a link to http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1995757,00.asp and noticed they said

"Notebooks using the nw "Merom" mobile Core 2 Duo chips will ship in late August, Dell said."

Now would that mean that dell would actually update their site with new products before the shipping date. So i would be able to order it and just wait till its shipped out? or does shipping date usually mean when they make them available for ordering?

Lastly, no one would know what the chances of them including higher range 3d cards in their 15.4 inch models would be, iv noticed the Insiron e1505 offering x1300, x1400 or a geforce 7300? Also i live in Australia and they only had the inspiron 6400 which only has an integrated 3d card with it and yeah...i dont want that. Is it possible for me to still order an e1505...or are they only available in the US?

Sorry for such a long winded explanation, never bought a notebook before. Thanks

thats earlier than i thought, hmmm no extra room for the card eh, i was hoping to get a x1600 or 7600 minimum. Guess i might have to up my notebook size to a 17inch, though i wanted portability as well as the 3dcard, no biggy

another question...whats their build quality like? my gf has an acer 4064WLMi and the quality seemed "ok" though im not to experienced when it comes to laptops i could have swarn some other brands seemed nicer. Anyone know how the Compal Hel80 are in comparison to the dell notebooks?

Thanks, Yeah im not really set on dell, i just started looking at them more. Im looking to keep the laptop for a long time so i wanted a good quality build with some good customer service (thought they did have that right?) I heard alienware have terrible support so i started to lean away from them, though i have never actually seen the hypersonic or ABS laptops before. Any info on quality and support?


I do have a limit of about $1800-2400 Australian