Finally recieved my sweeet heart, Dell XPS, but still :(


I was waiting for the same very egarly and you all could understand the same very well. Got call from Security of my office that Sir! your consignment has arrived. I almost ran to the same. Checked the packet from all the sides to make sure that its in perfect shape and then signed the delivery reciept. Got the import paper, Tax Invoice and BlueDart receipt. Taken the laptop inside the office and then it was the time to open it.

Everything seems to be fine and I was already aware, it was not very pleasant to look at its screen under daylight. But my aim was to check out all the configurations, so I went for that only. All the items seem to be inside the box except the dusting cloth, which I was expecting to be there as I recieved the same with last LattitudeVostro consignment for office, but the same was not there. Don’t know whether they ship it with XPS or not. They should, I guess. In next part, I went for checking the index as my home PC gives a ranking of 4.8 and I was expecting it to produce. I got 5.1, in which lowest score was from memory. I think one somehow should arrange a memory at 800 MHz at least.

Anyway, later the nightmare came in. Don’t know it was from start or just start. I felt the display is too dull, so I taken the laptop inside the room and found that its redish and somewhere look like one might be using 16 bit colours. I double checked but it was not the same case. I called up Service Center obviously. I never thought that I would be doing by very first day, but it was … after diagnosis of one and half hour, me and the executive on other side reached over the conclusion that my LCD panel must be culprit as external display was working just as fine as it should be. So, the conclusion was: one executive will visit my office tommorow with new LCD and connecting cables to diagnose and change accordingly.

I am not happy. I am really really not happy. Being an experiennced user, no complaints from Dell or their service, but they were supposed to double check the build before shipping, at least they themselves claim so, but I found the claim false in my case. Although I am happy over one thing that their promise of delivering the piece in time was right in place. I booked at after noon of 9th December 2008 and got it delivered by 15th December 2008.

Although funny part is that Dell Order Stats is still showing me “In Transit”. Although I will consider it delivered completely, when it will start working perfectly means after the visit of executive tommorow. I hope that there will be no repeated visits as I was to leave the city after next week, so I really pray to god to get this mess over before that

Dell XPS: Today is the big final day

Just dialed to Bluedart myself to know the status of the shipment and got to know that its out to be delivered and must be delivered before 5 PM in any case. I am really going impatient. Let’s see, when it will reach to my own hands

Dell XPS: Just one more day remained

It’s waiting of one more day, if everything goes fine. The Bluedart website showing the status as “In Transit, Await for Delivery Information”. I really have no idea that what does it means, but can’t do anything than waiting for tomorrow. Let’s wait for tomorrow …

Dell XPS: Wait continues

No Luck yet. No updates. Wait continues… This was the status till tomorrow.

After waiting till today, an impatient me went further to check the status on Bluedart itself, if it has started showing there as well as per instructions on Dell’s site. I am happy to see that my order status is showing there and its “In Transit” means must be on Airport. It is written to be booked on 12th December 2008 from Chennai and expected to reach here by 15th December 2008 as I reported earlier.

Dell XPS: The wait continues

Poor me!! My wait for my Laptop still continued. I guess, I am being impatient as the big date is expected to be 15th December 2008 and today is 12th, but… the status on site is still “Ship from Factory”. I guess tomorrow, it must be changed to “With Local Carrier”, if it’s not then I will be worried as 14th is Sunday and I don’t know that BlueDart works on Sunday or not.

Am I going to get it on Monday as expected?

Lots of questions running in my mind like what to check into it for the first time before signing the delivery? Then which software will do benchmark testing and in which manner have to verify all the configurations… and all and all… etc… Lets see… will update

Buying a Dell XPS M1530

Buying something is always been tough for someone like me, who wants to be optimistic and keeping the requirements sometimes even hyper. It was even long ride than my buying Nokia N82. I mean even with that I was sure that it will serve me properly, but even then confirming from reviews and reading specifications and capabilities etc.

Anyway, let me to come to the point. Buying a Laptop, when it was decided to be one of Dell, then choices were Inspiration, Lattitude, Studio, Vostro and XPS. People knowing me were too sure that only configuration of Dell XPS M1530 or M1730 could interest me. Somewhere I decided to keep my budget restricted by Rs. 60,000/- INR as I already have a Desktop with configuration given below:

Processor: 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo
RAM: 2 GB DDR2
HDD: 1000 GB
Graphics Card: 512 MB nVIDIA 8600 GTS
Display: 22′ LCD Screen

But that was a price XPS starts with. Now, the another thing to trouble me was that I had lost my credit card in a theft one month back and I didn’t really went to apply again. My bank account has the Internet Banking enabled and I thought to get a Go Ahead with the same. I was to get my salary by first week of the month and I made the customized configuration online on 3rd November 2008, I guess. It wasn’t the first time, I might have did that (it was a joke for my colleagues), but for the first time, I completed all the things and posted it.

Then I was supposed to get a call by the day next or the same day and I guess I got the call at the same day. I really don’t remember what happened then, but I guess, I went ahead with the base configuration and asked for the discounts, which might be possible and I got a discount of 4% VAT only as I already was guessing. I was even then reluctant as I was not getting what I wished for. Like 7200 RPM drive, Sound Blaster or Carry Case, while for me at least the first two were a must. The base configuration for Dell XPS M1530 then, was:

Processor: 2.1 GHz Core 2 Duo
RAM: 3 GB DDR2 (2×1)
HDD: 320 GB
Graphics Card: 256 MB nVIDIA 8600 GT
Display: 15′ Screen

and other usual accessories.

The price quoted was Rs. 58,378/- INR. It was sure a big thought to me being a medium class buyer as this purchase was behind the back of my parents & room partner and they were sure going to be angry over me for this ‘useless purchase’. I was always thinking like any usual Indian Medium class buyer and I asked the Dell Executive Mr. Girish that could I make the payment with NEFT through my internet banking enabled IDBI account. He said sure I could go for that and provided me B’glore CitiBank Account details as well, in which I was supposed to transfer the money, if I buy and as per the proceedings as the amount will take one day to get transferred, so order will be supposed to be received by the day next. Honestly speaking, for me it was a bad idea to drop in around 60,000/- into an unknown account, just on basis of few telephonic conversations and just because it’s in name of a big Company. I was sure reluctant big time.

In many reviews, I read about the bargaining on Dell’s prices, Dell Coupons and big time Thursday Deals. I got my offer by Thursday as well. The offer was that if I pay by the same day by credit card, then I will get a well customized configuration including 7200 RPM drive, Carry Case, Sound Blaster etc and still in budget means 59,397/-. I was sure going to happy, if there was not a catch, Internet Banking was not supported for this offer. L

Meanwhile another thing was going on at my side. My company made a purchase from Dell for more than a dozen Lattitude and Vostro Laptops. My Infrastructure Head (My Boss) said that a good deal might be arranged, if I follow the company links. I thought to give it a try and it was worth it. But the same also come to delay everything. I replied to Girish that I will go through my business links and the conversation broken later on.

But you know office side things, it went rather complicated as due to work, sometimes I was not getting time to talk over it and sometimes … so it didn’t went ahead and when it went ahead by end of November, then probably the Dell person dealing the business with us was changed and I got a general deal. Although it was profitable as there was an option of paying by Cash\ Cheque and the Dell office was in Gurgaon* (I am in Delhi). But the lady dealing with me was not ready to give any special offer or extra discount than standard 4%. I really said to her that whatever you are offering me, anyone anonymous could get by just filling order on your site. Why should I choose Dell, when even BDM’s of HP are almost regularly following me, if I go ahead for a deal with them? She was only replying that if any offer came then she could provide me, but right now she doesn’t have.

Honestly speaking, I was irritated. Irritated that why our company went ahead to have a business relationship with Dell, when they have nothing special to offer? But later I thought that I might be being little selfish, it was just an individual deal. In the moments of confusion, I called ABN Amro for my credit card, if it could be delivered back to me and for my surprised; it was delivered in just two days. Probably, it was the breakthrough that made me deciding to go ahead with Mr. Girish, the first Dell executive, I talked with. If I was to go with the same price, then why not with the person, who was sure nice to me and given attractive offers in place of being reluctant to give any.

I wrote an email to him mentioning the configurations I required. And he replied very soon with lesser prices than were being quoted to me right then. I made up my mind then and then it was time to say yes to the deal. But as my other friends bought Dell and a few online buddies suggesting me, it was the time to ask for discounts as one of online buddy got a 10% deal depending on his configuration. I talked with Girish over this matter and he said he can’t give this much offer, but will sure provide me the best deal at the moment, when I would be buying.

Finally the day came, 9th December 2008, when I was to buy and I was working in my office ready with two credit cards to pay with them. I got a call from his side asking me for my opinion. I said I am ready to buy, have to payments ready, but want to be assured of the best deal. He asked me for some time, he could arrange a good deal for me. I said ok and went for Lunch. While Lunch, I got a call from his side telling me about the offer. He asked me to be in front of computer. I was at Lunch and signals over my cell weren’t strong enough to get it online right then, so I said him to go ahead with telling me as I have worked out much over customization of Dell Configurations.

He given me the offer of a configuration in Rs. 69,000/- INR, which was including almost everything means 2.5 GHz Processor with 6 MB L2 Cache, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB 7200 RPM drive, Carry Case etc. I said Buddy!!! It’s really out of my budget as I really don’t need to spend this much over a Laptop. What he could do more to keep it under 63,000/- limit at least. Later after a few exercises, I was offered with a configuration (offer valid for sometime only), which finally became my final configuration as given below:

Processor: 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo 3MB L2 Cache
RAM: 4 GB DDR2 (2×2)
HDD: 320 GB 7200 RPM
Graphics Card: 256 MB nVIDIA 8600 GT
Display: 15′ Screen (1280×1024)
Sound: Blaster
Extra: Bluetooth Optical Mouse and rest is common in all XPS accessories* (check online).
Carry Case: No. As it was exceeding my cash limits.

Price was Rs. 63,125/- INR… Thanks to Girish.

He guided me to IVR and I made the payment, although later I was left with the thinking that should I disclose my credit card numbers and code to anyone online? Yes! I really went ahead to change the codes later on. Cautious you know.

In minutes, he replied by mail while keeping me on call and I confirmed over mail. I also made a double check on Dell’s site and my order was being shown there. I was relaxed a bit. Finally the payment was made. I was promised that my consignment will arrive in five working days and I really needed that as by the last week of December, I was to fly outside the city.

At the same night, it started showing Order Received, Released to Manufacturing and I was happy that the things are proceeding in right manners. At the day next, whole day there was no change in status while I keep on checking. I tried to keep patience and it was fruitful as in the morning of the day next means at 11th December 2008, I got an expected delivery date, which was 15th December 2008 in my case and the status shown was Ship from Factory. So, everything seems to be good enough till now and moving in time. I am waiting to get my hands on the same machine and then I will update you all guys about the same. Till then keep checking out my articles.

Buying a Laptop: things to look for – A Layman perspective

Wait, confusions, going through reviews and conversations … finally all these leaded to the decision of buying one: Dell XPS 1530. Yes, finally the day came, when I really went for the deal 9th December 2008. I am here to discuss things around it for you all, might still be in earlier stages of making a big purchase. J

Before buying a Laptop, what you keep in your mind, keeping the fixed configurations (something you can’t change later on) as higher as possible and even then tight in budget as you can.

Processor & Motherboard: One was sure to choose a decent Core 2 Duo Processor (2.0 GHz, 2.1 GHz, 2.2 GHz, 2.4 GHz, 2.5 GHz or 2.6 GHz) at least and also to watch out that how much L2 Cache (1 MB, 2MB, 3MB, 6 MB, 12MB) it has or how much FSB it offeres (800 or 1066 or 1366). The processor chosen also alter the specification of motherboard significantly, which is a thing most of the vendor don’t disclose to customer that which one they are using for which configuration.

RAM: The next thing what come in someone’s mind is RAM. Various technologies like DDR2, SDRAM etc and then frequencies over which they operate. The obvious line is “Go for as much higher RAM as possible”, but for me, now days its not of that worth thought because of much cheaper prices and high RAM requirement of Vista and most of the leading softwares. For me, I find 3 GB DDR2 RAM as sufficient nice choice as no 32 Bit OS is making full use of 4 GB RAM. Frequencies available are 667 MHz, 800 MHz, 1066 MHz and 1366 MHz and so are the prices in same order.

Hard Disk & Partition size: Again as I say, prices are as much cheaper now days that you wont mind spending a few bucks more for doubling the Hard Disk space. Choices available range from 120 GB-500 GB and for a Laptop, I find 250 GB or 320 GB a better catch. The next thing to think about in the same reference is the speed of the drive. Yeah now days all the drives are SATA, but RPM speed still matters and this is one of the reason of performance differences between desktop and Laptop. Unfortunately, if you want a performance 7200 RPM drive, then you might be spending 3k more and that too not available with all the brands. Fortunately Dell and IBM ThinkPad are one of the few offering the same with consumer range.

As about partition size, then most of the time, you get Laptop with one partition only or two partitions, out of which, the second one is only for recovery purposes. Everyone wishes to get a partition only for OS and the rest of the space for the other usages. I wish if the vendors make it a practice to make OS partition separate of 40-60 GBs and rest space unaltered.

Graphics Card: There was a time, if you were talking about a graphics card then people were just reverting back that no no.. that’s useless expense as I don’t play games. One of the reasons was higher prices of Graphics card and exclusion of PCI Express Slots from all the older Motherboards. Thanks to Vista in this way that it made people realize that Graphics Cards are going to be necessity very soon. Choosing which graphics card is not a big question as nVidia sure leads from the front, but the question is to choose which one and of how much capacity?

As DirectX 10 has been released and lots of games and softwares are not really going to support any card of lesser capability, but still it might go optional for people, who want to use Laptop for Office purposes only. But for the people, who want to invest for a higher and durable configuration and interested in gaming, I should say that any 128 MB Graphics card or anything lesser than nVidia 8600 GT is a big No No. You need at least 256 MB Graphics Card with DDR3 RAM or if your budget allows, then go for higher. Many games are recommending 512 MB dedicated Graphics card only now days (e.g. Far Cry 2).

Sound: This is now days most neglected side of the Laptop from most of the vendors. Keeping a full fledged and rocking speaker along with other high configuration components and then keeping the size, weight and form factor limited to as low as possible is really a tough task. I really never seen a good laptop with a sound like 2000 Watt, so neither I expect much from a laptop in this regard, nor should anyone else. What we could do is to see whether a decent headphone is shipped with the package or not and where is the placing of Headphone jack and how many jacks are here.

Additional accessories to look for: When one think about a Laptop means a mobile solution then connectivity becomes a big thing all of sudden. You need wireless connectivity at its full, you need Bluetooth, you need In-built Multi Card reader, you might need a Finger Print Scanner keeping further security in mind and most importantly the Inbuilt Web-cam at least you should ask for 2 MP Webcam, although in medium range most of the laptops are offering 1.3 MP Webcam.

With all these you should think about Firewire ports for adding high capacity storage, HDMI ports and as many connectivity options as much possible. USB port also seems to be mandatorily as many as possible.

Optional components: Optional components might be Bluetooth or USB Mouse, TV Tuner, Modem, Data Cards etc. Obviously, it depends on individual’s choice and pocket. For me TV Tuner seems to be a burden.

Other things, which often get unnoticed: This is a part related to service, warranty and in the same reference, choice of the vendor. Many Brands I discussed over net, with colleagues, with mates, with strangers, under forums and I found these brands as major player in Market:

Dell, HP\ Compaq Presario, Sony Vio, IBM, Lenovo and Toshiba

*Dell (My final Choice): I will discuss my chosen configuration later on, but Dell was always the leading one to provide the best technology at first. The only catch is the payment option as paying the cash before getting hands over the real thing going to be crucial with most of the customers in India. Even then they are decent enough, if one is desperate for good deals. They cater a pretty good range starting from just 35k to 85k or higher to meet most of the needs of variety of customers. I find the marketing and sales side also the same level aggressive in pricing and support.

HP: They have their high end Laptops and I guess are targeting Business range most of the time, for the consumer range they have taken over Compaq, which is sure a winner over prices and easy availability. Marketing and sales is this much aggressive that not only local dealers go for recommending their products, but if they know that the buyer has the potential to give them business further then they could follow it in person or via calls continuously and could give you a series of deals. I am not sure that was it better, if I have given a decent thought to this option as well, because one of my colleagues in Dubai bought a similar configuration as mine along with 512 MB nVidea 9600 Card and processor\RAM at 1066 MHz frequency. It was any from HP Pavilion series and the price was only Rs. 53,000/- INR as per rates there.
Now, I will be wondering that whether I made a mistake, although most of the reviews and benchmarks supporting my decision to go with Dell XPS. A good choice, if you don’t want to stress yourself much and not of very much techie to make full use of some higher configuration.

HP Compaq Presario: I should say a cheaper option for consumers in deed. You could get a decent 2GB RAM and 2GHz Core 2 Duo configuration just in Rs. 35,000/- INR and if you just want a good working one with Dual Core then one of my friend just bought it in Rs. 32,000/- INR. I really don’t give weight to Acer, so I could say that its most popular, easiest and cheapest option. Offers are like Music player and Data Cards and the local dealers also make it attractive through offering 4Gb Pen Drives, Mouse, Headphones etc. A good choice for people, who just want a Laptop.

IBM\Lenovo: It’s another brand after HP covering all the ranges in decent manner. You could get a Core 2 Duo configuration just in Rs. 36,000/- and it still work better than any Compaq one. If you leave Leanovo series, then in next ThinkPad\ IdeaPads are here, which comprises of decent high frequency processors, which even Dell is not offering. Prices might be there, but they worth it. Although I didn’t stressed myself much otherwise, I was able to give more insight over this brand, which is another attractive option, I guess.

Sony Vio: I could say earlier what I heard about this brand was only this much that it’s too costly for someone’s budget. I really never given a thought to it, neither tried to know how much rates are there for which configuration, but recently I visited a few Benchmark scores and got to know it performs good enough. But even then will admit that it was never an option to me, so I don’t know much about it right now.

Rest in next review that after these many thoughts how I went through Dell, what were proceedings and how everything went.