Dell Laptop - Expert advice requested.

Hi Forum Friends,
Pls offer your expert advice on following.
I have to buy a laptop and need your kind assistance in figuring out following:
# I want to buy a Dell Laptop only (no other brands)
Reason: It offers seamless international 3 years warranty
# I would ideally love to buy i7 core which I believe is the most powerful processor now
(Can downgrade to 5i if budget is exceeded)
# I am fine with 14 inches. Even 13 inches would be fine.
# RAM I need is 4GB but love if it's 8 GB
# I would love to have a soft touch pad (example like Latitude E4310) and not a metal one because its very uncomfortable to click
# My budget is USD 700 - USD 800 but can stretch if needed
# I need laptop soon so would like to order soon
Based on above which model would you recommend from Dell and pls let me know how to get good deals / coupons etc so that I can balance cost.
Thanks in advance for your time and advice.
I really await ur replies.
Sunando

Reply 1 : Dell Laptop - Expert advice requested.

All of the i7 models are going to be quite a bit more than $800. You can get an i5, Win 7-64 and plenty of RAM in a Latitude E5410 for about $800. This is a 14" machine.

Part # for a CF-30 Keyboard?

Could someone please confirm if:



MP-03103USD8145

or

N2ABZY000152



is a CF-30 Keyboard?

Reply 1 : Part # for a CF-30 Keyboard?

Last week I removed what appeared to be the factory original standard keyboard from my CF-30 Mk1 and replaced it with an emissive. The part number on the back of the standard keyboard was N2ABZJ000033 -- so one of your numbers is at least in the right ballpark.

Reply 2 : Part # for a CF-30 Keyboard?

I have about 4 standard keyboards in stock. and they ALL work with the CF-30's... I'll report back when I get to work tomorrow morning.



Thanks

Reply 3 : Part # for a CF-30 Keyboard?

Turns out, I only have 1 of these and the P/N is below:



Model: MP-03103USD8141

P/N: N2ABZJ000033

Rev: 0

Vendor: Chicony

Language: USA



Thanks

Reply 4 : Part # for a CF-30 Keyboard?

Well I hope it is for a CF-30. Also, does the CF-30 Keyboard also fit on a CF-29?

Reply 5 : Part # for a CF-30 Keyboard?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comptronic Well I hope it is for a CF-30. Also, does the CF-30 Keyboard also fit on a CF-29?

Can you post photos of the front and rear of the keyboard?

Reply 6 : Part # for a CF-30 Keyboard?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comptronic Well I hope it is for a CF-30. Also, does the CF-30 Keyboard also fit on a CF-29?

Of course!!!!!!!!

Reply 7 : Part # for a CF-30 Keyboard?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Of course!!!!!!!!

Sweet! Thanks! I'll post pictures later.

Reply 8 : Part # for a CF-30 Keyboard?

Sorry, I'm having issues posting the pictures. I will try again shortly.

Reply 9 : Part # for a CF-30 Keyboard?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comptronic Sorry, I'm having issues posting the pictures. I will try again shortly.

You can use a host like imageshack too. Be sure that the photo's are NOT larger than 800x600.



Thanks

Dell XPS 17 Bloatware. What to Remove?

Here are all the things listed as what's inside my XPS 17. I removed the specs and tried to just leave stuff that people may think should be immediately removed. So what should go right away? What should only go for some people?





Camera Software 2.X, Factory Install

Skype VOIP Application

DataSafe Local BackUp

Windows 7 Label

PC-Restore, Dim/Insp

DELL WELCOME,Software Dimension/Inspiron

DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG

Cozi-Calendar

eBay Webslice

Windows Live Wave 4

WHITEPAGES.COM,Webslice

Dell Support Center Software 3.0

Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 Multi-Language

Roxio Creator Starter, FI

McAfee Platinum, 30 Day, MUI

Microsoft Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word and Excel with ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook

To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online

DataSafe Online 2.0 2GB

Software, DataSafe Online 2.0 2GB

S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks

Reply 1 : Dell XPS 17 Bloatware. What to Remove?

1 410-9452 McAfee Platinum, 30 Day, MUI



^^that for sure...be rid of it..and use MSE & Win 7 built in Firewall

Reply 2 : Dell XPS 17 Bloatware. What to Remove?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cin' 1 410-9452 McAfee Platinum, 30 Day, MUI ^^that for sure...be rid of it..and use MSE & Win 7 built in Firewall

Set the regular MSE scan to Full Scan instead of Quick Scan though.

Reply 3 : Dell XPS 17 Bloatware. What to Remove?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DakkonA Set the regular MSE scan to Full Scan instead of Quick Scan though.

thanks. does MSE do just as well as norton 2011 or similar products? i know norton used to be hated, but the 2011 version got very good reviews. i want 'great' security, and if microsoft can do it, that'd be awesome, but want to make sure they can.



have a link for it?





what about the other stuff? what else would you dump the day you get it?

Reply 4 : Dell XPS 17 Bloatware. What to Remove?

MSE is free & is light and does a very good job. I prefer it over Avira AV...I haven't had any problems with it. And, better yet..its free.

Reply 5 : Dell XPS 17 Bloatware. What to Remove?

There was another thread here talking about this cleanup process. Although they were using the aggressive approach which I prefer as well - reformatting then starting with a fresh install of Windows 7. Someone mentioned you could use the Dell Recovery DVD for Windows 7. So I made sure to pay the $10 when I ordered my system. There is supposedly a way to get just the necessary drivers (bare bones) install and skip all the bloatware. I think there is an option to not take the original Dell default setup. That's what I plan to do to have a cleaner, leaner system and remove as much cr@p as possible.



As far as AV I have been very happy with Avast. It is very lightweight and free as well.



Derek

Reply 6 : Dell XPS 17 Bloatware. What to Remove?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cin' MSE is free & is light and does a very good job. I prefer it over Avira AV...I haven't had any problems with it. And, better yet..its free.

I couldn't agree more. I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials to everyone.

Reply 7 : Dell XPS 17 Bloatware. What to Remove?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dereksurfs There was another thread here talking about this cleanup process. Although they were using the aggressive approach which I prefer as well - reformatting then starting with a fresh install of Windows 7. Someone mentioned you could use the Dell Recovery DVD for Windows 7. So I made sure to pay the $10 when I ordered my system. There is supposedly a way to get just the necessary drivers (bare bones) install and skip all the bloatware. I think there is an option to not take the original Dell default setup. That's what I plan to do to have a cleaner, leaner system and remove as much cr@p as possible. As far as AV I have been very happy with Avast. It is very lightweight and free as well. Derek

You can also order the backup discs..by going here ~ and they will mail it to you. (usually next day)

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott5626 I couldn't agree more. I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials to everyone.

^^Me also.

Reply 8 : Dell XPS 17 Bloatware. What to Remove?

i am a little confused. i have reformatted many times and it is a little bit of a hassle, and one i would rather not do with a computer i don't have any experience with. i don't really get why it is so important? is there more bloatware than what i have listed in the OP? if not, why can't you just easily delete/uninstall that cr@p without wasting time and energy with a clean install? is it just a mental thing for you guys?

Reply 9 : Dell XPS 17 Bloatware. What to Remove?

^^You asked for suggestions from the forum members, and they are giving you their opinions....



And, mental thing? I think not...everyone has different ways of doing things.....



Oh yeah, and here is the MSE link.

XPS 15 returned, what about Streak 5?

I jumped Dell's deal in last month for XPS 15 ($881)+ unlocked Streak 5' ($99). But then I found my new XPS 15 was overheated and always gave a blue screen. So I returned XPS 15 back to Dell and the rep agreed to get me fully refunded.



Now I received the unlocked Streak, and this was a promotional sale bundled with any computer above $699. So its price is only for $99 rather than $569 (the common price). I doubt if I can get fully refunded since I have returned XPS 15. Streak for me is not a necessary device and I need to decide if I should also return it within 21 days. Dell's refund process (for XPS 15) is long and I can't wait for 30 days until the Streak return window is closed.



My XPS 15 and Streak have two different order numbers but one Dell purchase ID.



I really need your help!!

Reply 1 : XPS 15 returned, what about Streak 5?

Wait for the credit from Dell. If you're only obligated to pay $99 for the Streak, you could sell it an carve out a nice profit.



If you really want to send it back to Dell, call them.

Reply 2 : XPS 15 returned, what about Streak 5?

If Dell partially credit me (re-charge me the discounted $450 for Streak) after 21 days, actually I will get a streak over $500 that can not be returned....

How to deal with that?

Reply 3 : XPS 15 returned, what about Streak 5?

If Dell is refunding your purchase, they will probably not (re)invoice you again for the Streak.



They may, but you can simply ask for an RMA at that point, and the re-invoiced date will be new.



Or, if your worried, you can simply get a hold of dell and send back your Streak.

Reply 4 : XPS 15 returned, what about Streak 5?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreamliner330 If Dell is refunding your purchase, they will probably not (re)invoice you again for the Streak. They may, but you can simply ask for an RMA at that point, and the re-invoiced date will be new. Or, if your worried, you can simply get a hold of dell and send back your Streak.

Thanks a lot for your info. But what is RMA? How does it work?

Reply 5 : XPS 15 returned, what about Streak 5?

^Return Merchandise Authorization. You probably wrote the RMA number for your laptop return on the outside of the box, if not, it was on the shipping label.



Call Dell.

Reply 6 : XPS 15 returned, what about Streak 5?

there are many problems

Reply 7 : XPS 15 returned, what about Streak 5?

I would call Dell...if it was part of the "purchase price/promo"...Then, they would want that back. As, you are returning something & the phone was part of that promo.



They, could invoice you for the difference of the $99 promo, and the Dell's selling price of $569. I wouldn't like that to happen to me.



Plus, for me it would be the right thing to do..return it. But, just call Dell & get all your "i's dotted and t's crossed" per se.

Ipod touch LCD

Anyone know if the LCD for an Ipod touch 2nd gen 8g will work with the new Ipod touch 3rd gen 8g.I know the mid frame and digitizer are the same just not sure about the LCD's.

Reply 1 : Ipod touch LCD

If you look at the parts catalogue for the ipod 3rd gen and the 2nd gen they show the same part numbers. That leads me to believe that they are the same part. The only difference between the 8GB models is the operating system. You can check this on amazon.com

Picked up a Toshiba R835-P50 today from bestbuy.

I picked up the latest toshiba r835. So far so good. I'm liking it overall, it runs league of legends at native res on medium settings around 40-60 fps depending on how much combat is going on... which was gonna be the make or break deal for me as to whether or not i needed a dedicated card... surprisingly i don't.



A couple issues I have so far, the power cord falls out really easily just from movement.



The laptop is emitting that awful new eletronics smell. I ran a few burn in programs all night while it sat under a case fan... CPUID HW monitor says the temps hit 90c+ with both the gpu+cpu at 100%... running furmark and prime 95 to hopefully get this smell out as quickly as possible. It gives me a headache... so far its not so bad... im gonna leave it running all day today while at work.



The screen is really nice. It's definitely a stand out when your at bestbuy looking at it compared to other models.



I messed around with what programs turn on at startup because it was taking well over a minute to fully boot with the 9 different toshiba apps that wanted to run on boot up... Now i've lost all the functionality of the FN keys and I can't figure out which of those programs had the functionality to turn it back on.



Last but not least, my Crucial c300 128gb drive will be in tomorrow. Hopefully I can get this thing to boot in 15-20 seconds.



These are just my initial impressions with it after about an hour and a half of time. I'll be back home to play with it more in about 12 hours. Hopefully some more burn in will get rid of the feint smell thats left.



If you guys want me to test out anything for you just let me know and i'll try to get around to it.



Also, I haven't actually looked into it yet but does anyone know if the hard drive sits on a sata 6gb port? I'll look tonight once i figure out how to boot the UEFI, so far it flies past it in about 1 second so i'm assuming you have to hold the button down on boot up.

Reply 1 : Picked up a Toshiba R835-P50 today from bestbuy.

Congrats!



It would be great if you could do a battery life test.

Just under normal usage, wi-fi on, web surfing, word processing and some music maybe.

Reply 2 : Picked up a Toshiba R835-P50 today from bestbuy.

Pics Plz! Have a family member who might get this.

Reply 3 : Picked up a Toshiba R835-P50 today from bestbuy.

Can you confirm if the Wi-Fi card/miniPCIe is accessible for upgrading?

Reply 4 : Picked up a Toshiba R835-P50 today from bestbuy.

Is the keyboard any better at all compared to the R700's? Or is it still exactly the same? And what about the heat output, does it get hot at the bottom?

Reply 5 : Picked up a Toshiba R835-P50 today from bestbuy.

how is the fan noise ? I had a r700 and sold it only for that reason. Screen viewing angles were not good as well.

Reply 6 : Picked up a Toshiba R835-P50 today from bestbuy.

I had heard about the fan noise on the R705 as well as bezel cracking?, hope both are addressed on the new R835.

Is This a New Wireless Keyboard & Mouse?

See part 0A34032. Is this new? I haven't seen it before on Lenovo.com, but maybe I've missed it. Whether it's new or not, does anyone know if it's good or not?

Reply 1 : Is This a New Wireless Keyboard & Mouse?

this is new, it follows the chiclet keyboard design of the Thinkpad edge series laptop.

Reply 2 : Is This a New Wireless Keyboard & Mouse?

Quote:

Originally Posted by lead_org this is new, it follows the chiclet keyboard design of the Thinkpad edge series laptop.

I read a few reviews of chiclet vs traditional keyboards. Some love 'em, some hate 'em, some are ambivalent. What do you think? I'm thinking about ordering this combo and trying it out. The price isn't bad, and I can return it if I don't like it.

Reply 3 : Is This a New Wireless Keyboard & Mouse?

Quote:

Originally Posted by munchcolo I read a few reviews of chiclet vs traditional keyboards. Some love 'em, some hate 'em, some are ambivalent. What do you think? I'm thinking about ordering this combo and trying it out. The price isn't bad, and I can return it if I don't like it.

I usually hate them because the keys are typically very flat. The chiclets of the low end Thinkpads have a very nice contour, and I rather like them. I still prefer the traditional Thinkpad keyboard, but it beats the hell out of a Macbook or Elitebook for me.

Reply 4 : Is This a New Wireless Keyboard & Mouse?

They leave out one major feature, the trackpoint. Even if they leave that out, I might still buy this or enduropoint.

Reply 5 : Is This a New Wireless Keyboard & Mouse?

Quote:

Originally Posted by munchcolo I read a few reviews of chiclet vs traditional keyboards. Some love 'em, some hate 'em, some are ambivalent. What do you think? I'm thinking about ordering this combo and trying it out. The price isn't bad, and I can return it if I don't like it.

i personally dont like the chiclet style, it seems to me that its more about looks than functionality. i use a logitech wave when docked, and i wouldnt trade it for anything. in fact, i have another one new in the box here just in case anything were to happen with this one.

Reply 6 : Is This a New Wireless Keyboard & Mouse?

well the best keyboard is the one based on the IBM Model M keyboard. But if the user likes the keyboard style of the Thinkpad Edge then they could easily like this keyboard, since they are based on the same design.



Also, some people uses the Apple desktop keyboard, so Lenovo by having this style of keyboard will ensure that people have an alternative brand to use on their windows based PC that isn't silver or white in colour.