Dell - Too many options, my head is spinning.

I want a new laptop, and I'm looking at Dell. I'm just SUNK on what to get, however. $800 is the upper limit of what I can spend, but I really can't AFFORD that much (who can these days, really?).

I'm starting school, all my classes are online. I need something reliable. However, my main desktop is in the basement, and I'd love a laptop that was able to keep up with my desktop so that I didn't have to "hide out" everytime I wanted to play a game. Not talking Oblivion here, but something like Hitman, or whatever else suits my fancy...

I've been looking at the E1505 Single Core model. The dual core isn't much more, but the processor that comes for the price isn't as fast as the single core one.

I'm contemplating the 15.4 inch UltraSharp Wide Screen SXGA+ Display with TrueLife, it adds $100 to the price. Is this worth it?

I think I'll leave it with 512 megs of ram, I can get my own ram from Newegg for alot cheaper than Dell would charge.

Same with the HD. I want a 7200 rpm drive, but think I'll start with the 60GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive. Later, I can Newegg one.

The video card is what kills me. I can not upgrade this later, obviously. So, here are my options:

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 [Included in Price]

128MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1300 HyperMemory™ [add $49]

256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™ [add $99]

256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™Go 7300 TurboCache [add $129]

What to pick!?!?!!? The GeForce would be nice, but $129 is high. The $49 ATI wouldn't be bad, but the $99 one is close enough to the GeForce I'd be tempted to buy it too.

I can get integrated audio, or for $25 more, I can get the "Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition. SOFTWARE EDITION??? What the heck is THAT all about? Doesn't sound worth $25...is it?

Other options tempt me, like the 9 cell battery that goes longer ($100 more!), internal wifi (I assume that's got better signal, because it costs more), etc etc...

If anyone has any ideas, I'd be glad to hear them! Suggestions on the Dell, or something outside the box.

Thanks!

try this setup. just configure it to a 1000.00 then use the 20%off.

http://www.xpbargains.com/index.php/send_deal/58060 or this one for a little less http://www.xpbargains.com/index.php/send_deal/58079

here is my setup.

E1505 Single Core
Intel® Core™ Solo Proc T1350 (1.86GHz/533MHz/1 X 2MB L2 Cache), Genuine Windows® XP Home $1,001.00 1 $1,001.00
Inspiron E1505 Intel® Core™ Solo Proc T1350 (1.86GHz/533MHz/1 X 2MB L2 Cache)
[222-3777]

LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™
[320-4651]

Memory 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm
[311-5776]

Video Card 256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™
[320-4655]

Hard Drive 60GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
[341-3110]
[420-5449]

Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Home
[412-0689]
[412-0706]
[420-4766]
[420-4830]
[420-4928]
[420-5460]
[420-5476]
[420-5769]
[420-5924]
[463-2282]

Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
[430-0493]

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
[430-1048]

Combo/DVD+RW Drives 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
[313-3959]
[420-5775]
[420-5901]

Sound Options Integrated Audio
[313-4217]

Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card (54Mbps)
[430-1630]

Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) No productivity suite- Corel WordPerfect word processor only
[412-0803]

Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) No Security Subscription
[412-0850]

Primary Battery 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
[312-0404]

Hardware Warranty 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr Mail-In Service, and 1Yr HW Warranty Support
[950-3337]
[950-9057]
[950-9410]
[960-6910]
[983-7607]

Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months America Online Internet Access Included
[412-0687]
[412-0787]
[420-3224]

Miscellaneous Award Winning Service, Support
[465-1180]

Free SKIN Promotion 15 - Free Promotion for 15 inch Skin
[465-5400]

Future Operating Systems Windows Vista™ Capable
[465-4663]

Dell Digital Entertainment Starter Entertainment Pack - Basic digital Music, Photo and Game experience
[412-0865]


20% off Inspiron $999 or more (before tax, restocking fees, shipping and handling)! - $200.20
Subtotal: $800.80
Shipping and Handling: $19.99

Shipping Discount: -$19.99

Sales Tax: $56.06
Total: $856.86

If you can wait, the Dell coupons do get much better (at least 30%)

For a 17" the WSXGA+ is a better resolution. WXGA is too large, don't worry about not being anle to see it.

The nVidia card is the best. They are pretty much priced from lowest to highest in order of desirability. Always best to get the best GPU you can for games, but since you don't need that, you should be able to get away with any of them.

The T2400 is much better, after the Screen, GPU, then 7,200 rpm hard drive, I would go with the T2400 upgrade (as money permits)

The 533 / 667 RAM isn't going to make a huge amount of difference compared to the hard drive, and I don't even know if a 7,200 rpm is an option.

Hope this helps.

Isn't that cool of DELL? I mean, they buy like a million hard drives a month. They have huge economies of scale, but like you said, "To upgrade the drive" cost what a retail drive costs you or me.

It's crazy.

Check out the Dell Design Studio.

I think it may have what you want.