Teh Blarg » laptop http://raybdbomb.com Incessant babble and otherwise blarg Thu, 09 Sep 2010 04:49:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0-alpha en hourly 1 Sold Dell Vostro 1500, Bought Asus G51VX http://raybdbomb.com/p/sold-dell-vostro-1500-bought-asus-g51vx.html http://raybdbomb.com/p/sold-dell-vostro-1500-bought-asus-g51vx.html#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:46:38 +0000 Raybdbomb http://raybdbomb.com/?p=2174 I hinted at it earlier, I just last week purchased a new laptop. I bought an Asus G51VX-RX05 from BestBuy. Liking it so far, and the price was right. Review to follow in a month or so.

]]> http://raybdbomb.com/p/sold-dell-vostro-1500-bought-asus-g51vx.html/feed 1 Getting the Best Deal from Best Buy http://raybdbomb.com/p/getting-the-best-deal-from-best-buy.html http://raybdbomb.com/p/getting-the-best-deal-from-best-buy.html#comments Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:27:59 +0000 Raybdbomb http://raybdbomb.com/?p=1184 I’m looking at buying a new laptop soon, an Asus G71Gx gaming grade laptop. It turns out Best Buy has the best price on this laptop. As someone who would rather pay less when possible, I began to seek out cheaper alternatives than paying $1300 +tax for this notebook.

First off, see if there are any better prices out there. Traditionally, Best Buy is not the best source for cheap systems.

Next, I live in Vancouver, Washington. We have a 7.7% sales tax. Right across the border is Portland, Oregon — 0% sales tax. That’s instantly going to save me $100.10. In order for this to work, you have to go into the store, not online; unless of course you’re willing to just have it shipped to someone who lives in Portland.

Next, search for coupons for Best Buy. These are somewhat rare, but there are some 10%-off-anything coupons that surface from time to time. Make sure that what you are buying falls into the “acceptable categories” as explicitly noted on the coupon. Can’t find any currently.

Next, find gift cards. Ask your friends if they have any they want to sell. Look at online for sale forums. Check eBay. As long as the person selling the gift card is reputable, this is a great way to save money. For example, I just purchased a $250 Best Buy gift card for $238 buy it now -$23.80 for Bing cashback, -$4.76 for eBay’s cashback incentive plan, -$2.38 because I paid with PayPal through my credit card. That makes the final price for this $250 gift card $207.06; a 17.18% discount.

Next, as I mentioned previously, pay with credit card (assuming you pay it off, and have a cash back incentive plan). This is an easy 1-2%.

Finally, don’t accept any upselling that Best Buy will try on you. You don’t need the extended warranty, you don’t need the new peripherals. Don’t be a sucker for their highest margin area of the business.

With these principles applied, I’m going to take a $1400.10 laptop (including tax) and get it for $1084.80 (5*207.06 + 50 – 0.50).

]]> http://raybdbomb.com/p/getting-the-best-deal-from-best-buy.html/feed 2 Replacing Memory in Dell Vostro 1500 http://raybdbomb.com/p/replacing-memory-in-dell-vostro-1500.html http://raybdbomb.com/p/replacing-memory-in-dell-vostro-1500.html#comments Sat, 03 May 2008 08:15:31 +0000 Raybdbomb http://raybdbomb.com/?p=907 Garrett ordered 2×2GB PC5300 RAM for his Dell Vostro 1500, and asked me to upgrade him from the default 2×512MB. I followed a guide when I initially upgraded the memory on my Vostro 1500, and the same guide helped me out this time.

I gave him one of my 1GB sticks and took one of his 2GB sticks, so we have 3GB each. Ran a memtest on it, and all was well.

See all the pics on this replacement.

]]> http://raybdbomb.com/p/replacing-memory-in-dell-vostro-1500.html/feed 2 Dell Vostro 1500 Hard Drive Replacement http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-vostro-1500-hard-drive-replacement.html http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-vostro-1500-hard-drive-replacement.html#comments Fri, 18 Apr 2008 06:25:35 +0000 Raybdbomb http://raybdbomb.com/?p=904 My buddy Garrett ordered a 250GB after-market hard drive for his Dell Vostro 1500, and he asked me to replace it. Most hard drive replacements for notebooks are straightforward, and the replacement for the Vostro 1500 is no exception. Here’s what I did. (See the album for photos.)

  1. Backed up data
  2. Turn off power, remove battery.
  3. Flip it over and look to the bottom right. Remove the 4 screws with a small Phillips screw driver.
  4. Pull out hard drive slot. Remove the screws attaching the slot, fix new hard drive in old hard drive’s place.
  5. Put screws back in, plug back in battery.
  6. Install OS and restore data from backup.

It really doesn’t get any easier than this, kudos to Dell for making it easily serviceable.

]]> http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-vostro-1500-hard-drive-replacement.html/feed 35 Garrett Ordered a Vostro 1500 http://raybdbomb.com/p/garrett-ordered-a-vostro-1500.html http://raybdbomb.com/p/garrett-ordered-a-vostro-1500.html#comments Fri, 22 Feb 2008 08:48:53 +0000 Raybdbomb http://raybdbomb.com/p/garrett-ordered-a-vostro-1500.html My buddy Garrett was shopping around for laptops… turns out the best deal we could find on a gaming laptop was a Dell Vostro 1500. Cool!

Edit: And of course less than 12 hours after we purchased it, there was a $500 coupon. We canceled the original order and replaced it with better specs, $300 cheaper. Amazing.

]]> http://raybdbomb.com/p/garrett-ordered-a-vostro-1500.html/feed 2 Tom’s Inspiron 6000 Power Adapter http://raybdbomb.com/p/toms-inspiron-6000-power-adapter.html http://raybdbomb.com/p/toms-inspiron-6000-power-adapter.html#comments Sun, 14 Oct 2007 07:00:53 +0000 Raybdbomb http://raybdbomb.com/p/toms-inspiron-6000-power-adapter.html Tom came over today with his laptop, hoping to get some help in fixing a busted power adapter connection. He said that when he had the adapter plugged into the laptop, it would sometimes charge the battery and sometimes not. He narrowed down the issue to the connector on the laptop’s motherboard, so he bought a replacement and needed to have it soldered on.

I asked Pat (my father in law) to help me diagnose and fix the issue. Tom and I opened up the laptop, and removed the motherboard from the case via the Dell Inspiron 6000 Service Manual. We flipped the motherboard over, then examined the leads on the motherboard, and noticed that a few of them were burnt out… not even connected.

So Pat redid the solder points, then we put the laptop back together, and wha-la, it worked. It’s nice when things work out first try…

Check out the pics:

]]> http://raybdbomb.com/p/toms-inspiron-6000-power-adapter.html/feed 3 Dell Inspiron 700m For Sale http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-inspiron-700m-for-sale.html http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-inspiron-700m-for-sale.html#comments Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:57:58 +0000 Raybdbomb http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-inspiron-700m-for-sale.html It’s been a good couple years with my Dell Inspiron 700m laptop. But since my Vostro came (and I think it’s a keeper), I have to get rid of the 700m.

eBay Link, don’t harp the template.

]]> http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-inspiron-700m-for-sale.html/feed 6 Dell Vostro 1500 Received http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-vostro-1500-received.html http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-vostro-1500-received.html#comments Tue, 28 Aug 2007 06:22:35 +0000 Raybdbomb http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-vostro-1500-received.html I received my Dell Vostro 1500 today. I’m very pleased/impressed so far. Stay tuned for a review in a few days :)

]]> http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-vostro-1500-received.html/feed 1 Dell Vostro 1500 laptop purchased http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-vostro-1500-laptop-purchased.html http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-vostro-1500-laptop-purchased.html#comments Sat, 18 Aug 2007 20:18:58 +0000 Raybdbomb http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-vostro-1500-laptop-purchased.html I’ve been looking for reviews on the Dell Vostro 1500, and I finally found a few. It seems as though all around the board, it’s a decent system that is fairly bulky, has average battery life, and has the potential for great specs.

I’ve been saving for awhile, so, I committed to buying it today. I found the deal I needed on SlickDeals. It wasn’t any $750 off $1500, but it made the price good enough to take.

I bought the system at its base, with an upgraded LCD, graphics card, and warranty. Specs:

  • *Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5470 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
  • Genuine Windows® XP Home
  • 15.4 in Wide Screen SXGA+LCD Display w/TrueLife™
  • *1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
  • 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GT
  • 120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
  • Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
  • 8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability
  • High Definition Audio 2.0
  • Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card
  • 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
  • Get $70 Dell Dollars w/3Yr Ltd Warranty and Next Business Day On-Site Svc

For $968.00 with free shipping. The items prepended with * are those which I plan to upgrade as time and money allows.

Now to sell my Dell Inspiron 700m. Most likely on eBay. It’s school season, eBay prices on laptops are inflated at least $100 :) .

]]> http://raybdbomb.com/p/dell-vostro-1500-laptop-purchased.html/feed 7 New Laptop — Dell Vostro 1500? http://raybdbomb.com/p/new-laptop-dell-vostro-1500.html http://raybdbomb.com/p/new-laptop-dell-vostro-1500.html#comments Thu, 26 Jul 2007 23:30:18 +0000 Raybdbomb http://raybdbomb.com/p/new-laptop-dell-vostro-1500.html I’m looking at getting a new laptop that doesn’t suck at gaming (like my 700m).

I’ve been looking at the Apple Macbook Pros, Dell Inspirons and most recently the Dell Vostro. The Vostro 1700 has a keypad on its keyboard, which I find a really bad decision. So, I’m looking at the Vostro 1500 right now. Decked out to specs that I’d be happy to use, it’s ~$1175 shipped including tax.

Now, to get the wife’s approval :) .

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