<p>I was earlier intending on buying the Dell Latitude D620 from the College Store for $1500 which included a 3-year warranty. However, I just found a computer locally (HP - Hewellet Packard 4450) over here - almost the same configuration, much much cheaper (close to 400-450$ cheaper but with only ONE year INTERNATIONAL warranty)</p>
<p>What do you guys reckon I go in for? The configuration is almost the same, and a huge price difference, how important do you reckon is the extra two years warranty?</p>
<p>400 bucks is a lot of money and if I was you I would definitely opt for the HP. My ex-roommate had an HP, and their service is pretty good. Infact, warranty isn't always even necessary because the computer department often fix up the PCs themselves. And say, hypothetically even if the laptop does crash after the warranty, it should cost less than 400 bucks.. HP 4450 - I couldn't locate that model - but just make sure the config is as good as the D620.. My advice would be to go for the HP but hey - its ur choice!</p>
<p>Seriously! If you find the right links to certain areas of the Dell website, you can find killer coupons to seriously bust the price down on any system!!!</p>
<p>examples aren't exact but include coupons and promotions such as 12% off total cost, or in one extreme case of a Dell XPS laptop, $750 off the total price (which was over 2000) so a high-specced laptop costed ~1300! Don't try this one though, the coupon has already been used up.</p>
<p>2 years extra warranty is worth a lot! Warranty is often overlooked by most people when purchasing laptops, but it's extremely important! I'd buy 2 years extra warranty for 200 bucks if I could!</p>
<p>Dell has better tech support and customer service (at least, from my experience) as well</p>
<p>Oh boy. Get the Latitude. Or at least, get some business-line notebook. If you check out the HP, most likely it is their home-user line, not business line. Like the Inspirons, the lower-end laptops are made poorly. Yes, you can get an Inspiron for $1000 that has a lot of nice features, but the build quality is terrible. Make sure whatever you get is business line, no matter what company it is from. IMO, it is worth an extra $500 for a solid laptop.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice guys.. I think I'm going to go for the Dell Latitude D620.. It has an 80 GB hard-drive, 1GB RAM, and basically everything I would need from a laptop - and most importantly a 3-year warranty..</p>
<p>Strykur, same thing. Dell educational discounts do not end up being cheaper than going through the SOHO store with a coupon.</p>
<p>At the SOHO store, you can get up to 30% off.</p>
<p>At educational, you get up to like 20% off but you have to buy $400 worth of warranty. Dell warranty sucks by the way. Their outsourced support staff doesn't know a computer from a piece of paper.</p>
<p>There's a link on the laptop page of the Dell University site where you can $800 off a laptop package. Put an additional 12% off with a 3/4 year warranty included, it's great savings, more or less better than the default 30% off coupons through Home Office. My experience with Dell tech support has been excellent, a Dell laptop I previously bought awhile back had a defective LCD, called them up, a technician came to my house a few days later, replaced my hardware right in front of me, haven't had problems since. Those $350 4-year CompleteCare warranties are worth every penny, especially for a laptop with a large LCD. It's nice to know if you ever have accidential damage to it, a call to Dell will have a technician over to replace it. </p>
<p>Of course, right now Dell has a 35% off sale going in for Home Office, so this is rather incredulous at the moment.</p>
<p>
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Warranties are never worth it statistically.
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</p>
<p>This is only true for the entire population of laptop owners!</p>
<p>If my laptop broke and you couldn't get it fixed for free because your 1 year warranty had just expired, I'd be cursing myself for not getting more warranty...</p>
<p>The second you break your laptop is when warranty for you as an individual was worth it!</p>
<p>Using your same argument, we can also state that insurances of all types are also not worth it statistically...</p>
<p>First of all does Dell really ship it free of charge without any handling costs etc.? Secondly, how long does the order take to ship - when exactly should I buy it and lastly to what address should I ship it? I would prefer to have it within the first 1-2 days that I reach Cal?</p>
<p>I believe Dell only ships free over a certain price (Laptop is over, for sure), and only to US or Canada on Ground Shipping. If you choose to ship to overseas, it's going to cost you.</p>
<p>There is always a method with Dell, though :D </p>
<p>I don't know if you can get it within the first 1-2 days that you reach Cal given that you want free shipping. But, you can order your laptop and have it delivered via ground to your dorm. THEN, find some dissatisfaction to call customer care about, and they will most likely bump your shipping to 1-2 business days after your laptop is assembled. Expect it to come within a week after ordering :D</p>
<p>I haven't even considered overseas shipping - I'm directly shipping it to Cal.. Could I ship it to the university store and pick it up from there?</p>
<p>THAT, you might need to talk to the University Store at Dell first, or inquire it yourself before ordering via phone to Dell. I'd ask the University Store because you will be transferred all day if you phone Dell.</p>