Why DELL 9300 is above all...

I think sagers are famous because they're very similar to alienware with a lower price tag (without the alienware name).
I pretty much found the 9300 and didn't really look around too much. I looked around after I had ordered mine but nothing came close as far as best bang for your buck and the warranty offered is one of a kind.
If I were to do it all over again, I would do exactly the same thing. Guess I just love Dell.

I picked the Dell 9300 because it's:

1. cheaper by at least $A1000 than anything remotely comparable.
2. lots of trinkets to add for the $A1000 off price (external floppy, backpack, ext mouse, 256M memory key, DVD burner, auto air adaptor)
3. a bottom-kicker in games (leaves me staring at my A64 3800+ GF6800Ultra wondering what to do with it )
4. did I mention cheaper per feature by a long shot

Noody

For the money, you can't beat the 9300 or XPS2.

The pros are:

Low price relative to specifications
Build quality; IMO its better than HP, Toshiba and Sony (keyboard, buttons, etc.
Specs: Faster chips, more RAM, bigger faster HD, has a subwoofer
Weight relative to performance
Battery life is decent

The cons are:

Poor quality display - spotty QC, there are good and bad ones floating around, but most of them are compromises. (Sony, HP and Toshiba all have better displays on their machines.)

Piss poor customer service - expect to log 2-30 hours on hold over a period of 30 days.

If you can wait, Dell might solve these problems in the coming months, but then the deals and coupons may or may not be available.

Why the 9300......good question! For me, the i9300 was a perfect balance between power, useability, portability, and price. I've been using a desktop for 14 years...I love their power and versatility. I didn't like laptops because the top of the line ones were never cloes to my desktop's specs. Sure, I've drooled over laptops, but they were waay too expensive and bulky for me. Then, out comes Dell with high spec laptops that are well within my price range. Here are some reasons why I chose the I9300.

Power: Pentium-M chips are renown to be highly efficient chips. The Centrino technology allows it to deliver processing power without sucking the battery dry quickly. That's what turned me away from many other brands such as HP and .

Useability: I wanted a laptop on which I can watch movies, play games, type documents, etc. with ease. A large screen with a decently good video card does the trick. I can do everything without squinting or constantly scrolling.

Portability: For a 17" widescreen laptop, it's surprisingly light. Compared to the HP's Z8000 (~12lbs), the i9300 is only ~8lbs. The battery also lasts quite long for a 17", thanks to Centrino tech. I turned away from the XPS2 due to the short battery life.

Cost: After coupons and discounts, I think Dell wins hands down in this category. I have yet to find a cheaper price with the same setup in any other company (Acer, Gateway, Falcon, Alienware, etc.). Sure, it's not top of the line, but it's also a lot cheaper.

I've visited a few (but not many) laptop websites in search for the ideal one. What I usually find is that it doesn't meet one or more of the categories. It's either waay too expensive, or too heavy, or doesn't have sufficient processing power. Everyone has different expectations and requirements; however, I've found balance in my 9300.

I love the look of my 9300. it's cool to have a mini (700m) sitting next to it too!

I returned the d810, great laptop but WSXGA+ resolution on 15.4 screen too small for me

I also was dissapointed in the graphics, 128MB X600 Just sort of good enough, already making compromises in game settings, and support wouldnt say if or when or how much better card would be. Decided to spend the little more for the 9300, $200cdn for me

I looked a sony and toshiba but bothe have crap graphics for similar price points

Dells warranty and general support is supposed to be good. Complete care gives peace of mind

Dell customer service is abbasolutely SHITE
Could not organise piss up in brewery

I researched a lot of laptops before choosing the 9300. I was very interested in the Asus Z71V and was waiting to see the Sager 3880, but then the 35% coupon came out and I jumped on a 9300. I was able to get it for a little less than a Z71V would have cost.

For the price, there's no other laptop that can compare to the 9300. I'm very happy with my choice.

Cost is a big factor, but where else can you find a Go6800 in a Sonoma (ie, non-P4) based notebook? Sound on the 9300 is very good for a notebook as well.

1 thing,,,,Go6800,,,,THATS IT

GAMING!

I was looking for gaming performance (read top-of-the-line-GFX) in a semi-portable package. I was just about to drop the hammer on a Sager 9860, but then Dell came out with the 9300 which has an awesome GeForce 6800 paired with a Pentium-M.

That's what sold me, plus the 35%-off coupon, and it won't burn my legs.

One word answers this thread........ Price

And there are so many ways of getting small incentives/refunds after the sale too.

It really is amazing the top of the line video card you can get on a portable laptop. I mean this thing is basically a top of the line desktop. If you think about it, most people out there don't have GeForce 6800s on their dektops even!

9300 is definetly better than almost all toshibas

Wow... your 9300 with the pentium m beats the amd???

This would be great and sway my decision on buying the 9300/xps2.

Thanks.

-jcll2002

VCLRVP1?N54H1Z $750 off select Inspiron Notebook purchases of $1999 or more. Coupon expires 5/12/05 at 5:59 am CT or after 3000 uses, whichever comes first.

H71N36VX36Z8DG $500 off select Inspiron Notebook purchases of $1599 or more. Coupon expires 5/12/05 at 5:59 am CT or after 3000 uses, whichever comes first.

B9PKG4DSBCB$CL $400 off select Inspiron Notebook purchases of $1399 or more. Coupon expires 5/12/05 at 5:59 am CT or after 3000 uses, whichever comes first.

On 5/13/05 Dell Should come out with new coupons, however they are not guaranteed to be better than the current offer. I got the 35% off, which knocked off a little over $1100, however that $750 coupone is also a great option if you wont configure it as high as I did ($3300)

The comparison between processors can be found at www.tomshardware.com or www.anandtech.com

PM 2.0 P4 3.4 AMD64 3200+
etc.................................................
Thats pretty close, but might be off by one processor. This is why Dell is discontinuing making P4 laptops and only making centrino's now!

Did you hear that Dell is putting out a 19" laptop Q2 2006 (Unecessary and Scary)