buying laptop, need your advice!

[Finrir]

alright here's the deal. in my career field i deploy alot. this whole deployment i've been kicking my self for not having a laptop. so when i get home i'm gonna buy one so the next time i deploy i wont be so bored all the time.
first i was going to go with alienware, but i have head both really good, and really bad from them. so i think i'm gonna go with a dell XPS.
what i really need to know is if it's worth it to buy the warrenties? i figure with all the traveling i do i should get like a 2 year service parts, and labor, with the added 2 year accidental damage and LoJack Theft proctection. BTW what IS LoJack theft proctection??

the specs are going to look like this:

Dell XPS M1710
OS: Vista home premium
Processor:intel core 2 duo T7200 2Ghz 4mb L2cache 667 Mhz FSB
Memory:2 Ghz DDR2 SDRAM at 667 Mhz
Optical Drive:24x cd burner/dvd combo
GPU:512 mb NVIDIA geforece 7950 GTX
Wireless card:intel PRO/wireless 3945a/g
Battery Options:80 Whr 9 cell
Sound Options:integrated

Software:
norton internet sercurity 2007 15 month (it's included in price)
no productivity software

warrenties:
2 year service parts, and labor, with the added 2 year accidental damage and LoJack Theft proctection.

Misc:
17" Ultrasharp wide screen UGXA display with trulife
adobe acrobat reader 7
integraded 10/100/1000 network card and modem

Ending price: $3,167

so what do you all think of that?

[simple_inhibition]

you have pretty much the same laptop i do. only differences being your looking at a dell and i have a 7900GS Go. i say go for the 2 year warranty because being deployed like i am is hard on laptops. also make sure you get a good case/travel bag for it and either keep the silk cloth pouch or go to Skinit.com and get a scotchprint graphics cover otherwise your system will get scratched to hell. i brought over a 1 year old HP that was black and silver, its now varying levels of gray. personally i would get a hard carrying case just because of all the bumps and whatnot of being over here.

only thing i would personally change if your a serious gamer, is ditch vista and go with xp pro. my 7900GS Go has about the same power as a desktop 7800GT, yet it stutters really badly sometimes in company of hero's due to pisspoor vista driver support.

other than that, it looks like one sweet system

[Finrir]

yea you know i had the same idea about just using XP. i really don't think vista is ready for games yet. but my plan was just to get vista anyway and tough it out... because i know sooner or later vista is gonna replace XP and i don't wanna find myself buying vista later on. but then again. vista really sucks right now and maybe i should get xp. i could buy vista later on, after all it's only money.

[Jokerswild]

The accidental damage is worth it.

As far as vista not being good for gaming I have only found 2 old games I have that won't run and I'm using vista ultimate 64 bit.

[Stormcrow]

Its not Vista thats the problem, but the parties making the software. Vista itself is a damn good OS, but because Microsoft changed so much with it, drivers are still being optimized and still buggy in some cases. When I load up Guild Wars, I get no Sound Effects due to horrid Creative drivers, and STALKER plays like crap with constant stuttering and rare but annoying crashes. Oblivion I have no problems with now that I updated Vista with the Performance pack. Frankly for a new computer I recommend Vista, Service Pack 1 is due out around October-November, and the third party support is coming along nicely.

[Reloadron]

I can tell you I got the following a few months ago:

1. Dell Precision M90, Intel Core2 Duo Processor T7400 (2.16GHz/667MHz/4MB)

2. 4 GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMM for Dell Precision M90

3. NVIDIA Quadro FX 2500M 512MB OpenGL, Dell Precision M90

4. 100GB Hard Drive 9.5MM 7200RPM for Dell Precision M90, Factory install
5. USB Floppy Drive for Dell Mobile Precision M90

6. Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Module for Vista, Dell Precision M90

7. 8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio Sonic Creator Dell Edition Digital Media for Vista Ultimate, DellM90

8. Dell Wireless 1490 (802.11a/g,54Mbps) Dual-band Mini-Card, Dell Precision M90

9. Docking station with 19" FP display and wireless keyboard and mouse.

Now it's very unlikely you would want a docking station.

However, overall I am extremely pleased. Not a problem one and I use the hell out of it. When I am not using it, it runs 24/7 folding.

The Lo Jack is an anti-theft system and a great one for cars. I would guess it would work well for a laptop. Therefore if you are in a situation where theft is likely or possible I would go for it. I believe it only works in N. America but not sure.

Again, since the machine was built around Vista there are no issues yet.

Ron

[Finrir]

well then main thing that i'm worried about with vista is if it causes problems with some old games i like to play. like starcraft, diablo 2, C&C tiberian dawn, C&C renegade. old games like that.

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by Finrir

well then main thing that i'm worried about with vista is if it causes problems with some old games i like to play. like starcraft, diablo 2, C&C tiberian dawn, C&C renegade. old games like that.

Might want to run Vista and XP in dual boot then. I don't know, maybe that's too expensive?

[Jokerswild]

If you decide to dual boot install XP first and then Vista. < This is easier than trying to install Vista first.

[Reloadron]

Originally Posted by Finrir

well then main thing that i'm worried about with vista is if it causes problems with some old games i like to play. like starcraft, diablo 2, C&C tiberian dawn, C&C renegade. old games like that.

When I bought the laptop I mention Dell offered it with XP or Vista. I only opted for Vista because I had no problem running the BETA and RC1 versions of Vista. Also after pretty extensive Google Homework I had every reason to believe the software and apps I had would run fine on Vista. However, if you have doubts concerning the games, go with XP assuming Dell still has it in the offering.

Then later down the road if you want Vista buy it and add it. Just make sure you plan for it and get the biggest hard drive you can on the thing.

Ron