Question:
Dell Inspiron 1520 vs Toshiba A200/H01
Hey guys, new to posting but have been reading up a lot from here lately, here's my dilemma, any comments welcome:
Dell Inspiron 1520 ~AUD$1900
1.8GHz T7100
2Gb DDR2
15.4" WXGA+ (1440x900)
geForce 8600M GT
160Gb 7200rpm HD
9-cell
Wireless a/g
1 week delivery
Toshiba A200/H01 ~AUD$1788
1.8GHz T7100
2x1Gb DDR2
15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800)
Radeon HD 2600 (not XT)
160Gb 5400rpm
6-cell
Wireless a/g/n
Harman/Kardon speakers
Pick up
I'm very keen on the 8600M GT, but I find the Harman/Kardon speakers hard to resist, what would you do??
ps. I was originally planning to get the XPS M1330, but since I don't travel much there's really no need for the portability, I prefer a larger screen and much more powerful video card!
Answer:
Re: Dell Inspiron 1520 vs Toshiba A200/H01
personally i would go with the dell, but toshiba is always a good option. the video card dilema, well the ATI isn't really out yet so its hard to say which will be better. If you're worried about customer service then dell might be a problem with their bad reputation... In the end its your notebook and just make sure those are all the components you need as its hard/impossible to upgrade after you buy the notebook.
Answer:
Re: Dell Inspiron 1520 vs Toshiba A200/H01
I concur with Zoltang. I ordered a dell and have had horrendous customer service for even their business class laptop.
this is my experience: order was smooth, charged to my cc account quick, build was quick, ship out door was quick, delivery was faster than expected... altho dell's customer service from india kept calling me and saying something about needing to verify info before shipping. the woman left voicemail's at the end of day and I could never reach her from the number she gave. She also never returned voicemails of mine. carrier was dhl and they stated they attempted delivery (this part is hazy on both parts... my doorbell is busted but usually if they just knock on my door i can hear it... i was home). I tried calling carrier next biz day to see why my package wasn't scheduled for delivery even tho a person from dell called me 8am that day to prepare to receive my laptop. dhl rep said dell cancelled delivery and return back to them. i called dell and all their reps were giving me the runaround. finally i'm out $2k and dell says they will not refund my money because they need to receive their laptop first!!! I was not even allowed to take possession! how can i be held accountable??? this is business class customer service???
Answer:
Re: Dell Inspiron 1520 vs Toshiba A200/H01
Razor, everywhere i see you post you are bashing dell and giving the same "horrible service... never touched my laptop" story. either keep it simple and add some new content, or take it elsewhere.
@Jas0n:
the GPU is more important than the speakers, imho, so I'd go with the dell, if that is your deciding point. the 8600 GT will allow you to play current games on high settings, and new games on medium to high settings.
also, can you use dell coupons in australia? if you can, there is currently one that would allow you to save 300 USD on that notebook.
Answer:
Re: Dell Inspiron 1520 vs Toshiba A200/H01
i found a place that sells the toshiba for $1788 and i was REALLY tempted to buy 1 last friday (buy now pay later) but i ran out of time
went back today (sunday) and the speakers were REALLY great and i was tempted again, but the sales rep told me a newer version is coming, based on the P200 (without keypad?) anyone heard about that?
i'll probably go for the dell, since i'll be using the better screen (1440x900) and video card everyday, where as i can plugin external speakers when i'm home, the A200 is based on an older chassis where as the 1520 is 1 month old...
sigh, i'm really torn
Answer:
Re: Dell Inspiron 1520 vs Toshiba A200/H01
Well this may help. I bought the Dell 1520 from Dell Australia, It took 3 weeks to arrive, When it turned up it was missing all the free extras including bluetooth, It also had the wrong wifi card as I payed almost $50 extra for the 4965 AGN intel card. When I called to ask about it I was told my only option was to fully refund the whole system and reorder, This took several calls to even get this far and I was transfered a number of times to the wrong department. I asked if I could order the parts seperately and they told me that wasnt possable and they had never sold parts seperately and I was a liar for insinuating otherwise, I called their spare parts line and found the parts, All of which were heavily back ordered and I got the impression the reason my model hadnt come with them wasnt a config error, but rather they hoped I wouldnt notice. I called my customer service rep and they agreed to send me the parts I had already paid for, Only it would take 4 to 6 weeks and no, they couldnt offer me a warranty upgrade or anything for the amount of time spent wasted. I started using the notebook a bit and noticed that alot of the colours didnt look right and that the screen was dirty, I had a look online and found out dell is using _very_ cheap LCD's in their machines, especially in the 1440x900 screens. I rang up dell and asked for a refund. I spent over 4 hours on hold and called more than 15 times. I would strongly recommend you go with the toshiba or something else all together.
Answer:
Re: Dell Inspiron 1520 vs Toshiba A200/H01
If you don't mind the long delivery and crap customer service, go for the dell because in my mind its better (you can always get some speakers and connect it to the computer since you said you wouldn't be moving it around.) But if you do mind about the long delivery and customer service, just go for the toshiba,.