Dell Laptops

[agg123456789]

1) are they good quality?
2) do they send you a full version of windows? (i hate crappy restore cds...)



thanks


agg123456789

 

[Kraft Single]

1. Good
2. Full version but they only work for Dell computers.

 

[bdcrisp]

A couple of months ago I bought my first laptop, a Dell Inspiron 4000. I love it. Its fast and stable,good sound, ATI mobility 8mb vid card,fast HD,has well designed ports for ethernet, dial modem, s-video out, etc. and comes with full OS CD, as well as dell reinstall CDs (one for other preinstalled programs, one for system files)and comes with full CDs for office XP, winDVD, etc. I ended up installing Win98 SE because i hate winME.. but that was just a personal choice. However, if u decide to buy one, and plan to ever network it, pitch in the extra bucks to get the dell supported ethernet card / modem combo as they will not be able to help much with non-dell NIC support. Good luck!

 

[Stark]

I'm typing on an inpspiron 7500 with a port replicator right now. Works ok for me, but I still prefer my full tower athlon system at home.

 

[andalas]

I have Inspiron 8000 and Inspiron 5000. I am very satisfied with it.
I also like their service since They haven't let me down "yet".

I haven't had any problem with my Inspiron 5000 from the beginning, but for my new Inspiron 8000, I had to replace the LCD because of a scalloping brightness and IBM 48GB HD because it's making very loud clicking sound for every 4-5 minute. My replacement HD doesn't have those clicking sound anymore.

The replacement LCD still have uneven scalloping brightness but not too much and I hardly notice it and I am going to keep it since it doesn't have any dead pixel on it.

Both my laptop LCD have 0 dead pixel.

 

[agg123456789]

that sounds great. i am really excited. i just got an inspirion 2500 for $650 with :
CPU: Celeron 700MHz
Memory: 64MB SDRAM (1 DIMM)
Floppy Drive: 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive (Modular)
Hard Disk Drive: 10 GB EIDE Hard Drive (4200 RPM)
NoteBook Screen: 12.1 SVGA TFT Notebook Screen
Modem: Internal 56K Capable V.90 Mini-PCI Fax Modem
DVD Drive: 8X DVD-ROM
Battery: 4 Cell Lithium-Ion Battery
Software
Resource CD
Microsoft® Windows® Millennium (Windows Me)
DVD Software
Norton Antivirus 2001
Microsoft® Works Suite 2001

think that i got a good deal? i thought so.

hopefully it wont give me any trouble...

thanks

agg123456789

 

[CrackRabbit]

I love My Inspiron 5000e, and Dell's Tech support and replacement plan are quite nice,
i have had to replace 2 items, 1 DVD drive, and a HDD that failed, but dell sent replacements quickly and kept me happy.

IMHO, they are great.
As for windows, they only send a crappy restore disk with 98/me, i think with win2k you get a full version though.

CrackRabbit

 

[agg123456789]

what do you all know about usb NICs. i have a pcmcia nic, but one of my family members is overseas with it now. would a usb nic be enough to hold me over untill i can get mine back. basically i am going to need it for internet... because i can do file transfer when i get my card....


thanks

agg123456789

 

[agg123456789]

heh...sorry last question. is the dock nice? i have a desktop...so i dont know if i should get it....



thanks


agg123456789

 

[abovewood]

Docking is usless IMO. I have two Dell Latitude laptops and one docking. While I love the laptops, the docking has been in the box since day one.

 

[alanwj]

I think this is just an isolated horror story, but I and about 20 other people I know got Inspiron 7000s. Theirs all worked flawlessly. I've had to send my back for repair over 20 times in a year and a half. They even replaced it with a new one (a 7500) and it still didn't work correctly. The main problems have had to deal with the battery life being around 20 mins, the floppy/CD combo not working, and PCMCIA cards selectively working.

Alan

P.S. Yes, it came with a full version of Windows 98 SE.

 

[agg123456789]

ouch... i hope that i dont have that problem..... i got a 2500 series though....


but still... no comments on a usb nic???


thanks

agg123456789

 

[Aiya]

Eewwww... USB NIC???

If you're just browsing web, I think it's ok, but not for file transfer. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't USB rate is 128Kbps (which I don't consider it broadband). If you're networking with other computers, at the very least IMHO, use a 10baseT NIC.

 

[agg123456789]

ya... all i need it for is the web untill i can get my nic back from overseas.


ok..thanks for the info..



agg123456789

 

[DuffmanOhYeah]

I have had a Dell Latitude CPia366 for near on 2 years now. It has yet to disappoint. I love it, and when I get a new one, I will get another dell.
That is an awesome deal for a laptop. I would certainly think you will be happy.

 

[DuffmanOhYeah]

About, the usb nic, I picked up a d-link a year or so ago until I got a port replicator with nic built in, and I have also been very happy with it when I had to use it. Only downside was plugging in and packing done into laptop case everytime I left the lab. Other than that, just great. I got mine from Circuit City for 24.99 with 20 rebate. They still have the same one with rebate deal now and then, so if you want to pick one up, I would try there.

 

[DuffmanOhYeah]

ps. usb transfer rates, and I might be mistaken on this one, but I believe are 8 Mb/s.

 

[pulpp]

i have an inspiron as well, good build quality and great performance.

 

[Whitedog]

We have around 65 Dell laptops here at my company, only had problems with Batteries... (had a whole string of them die... weird)

Other than that, Great computers.

BTW, I love their Optiplex's as well (for work/business computers) Rock Solid.

 

[Aiya]

http://www.usb.org/faq/ans2.html#q1

We're both wrong, it's much faster, 12Mb/s (Full Speed). However, I still don't recommend using it for data transfer since you may need to share that bandwidth with other devices.

USB 2.0 on the other hand, is much much faster. (EDIT: 40x faster)

(EDIT2: Sorry for Straying from the Dell Laptop thread)



<< ps. usb transfer rates, and I might be mistaken on this one, but I believe are 8 Mb/s. >>

 

[Keego]

how heavy is the inspiron 8000? I was thinking about bring it w/ me when I went to classes but if it's too heavy then I'm not going to... I'd throw it in my backpack probally.

 

[agg123456789]

ya.. i was wondering that too... i am getting a latitude 2500... anyone know how much they weigh???

thanks


agg123456789

 

[rmblam]

Well, I just ordered a Dell Inspirion 8000.

I am tired of waiting for the Radeon Mobility and I have given up on my old Presario.

I ordered it last night and I hope I am happy with it. I am dissappointed that I settled for a non-athlon4 laptop though. Oh well. Maybe I'll give this one to my wife and upgrade later! Woohoo!

Specs:

Dell Inspiron 8000 Notebooks: Intel® Pentium®III Processor, 900MHz, 15.0&quot; UltraXGA TFT Display
Memory: 256MB,SDRAM,2DIMMs
Video Card: 32MB DDR 4X AGP NVIDIA GeForce2 Go?Vid
Primary Hard Drive: 20GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive 20GB
Operating System Software: Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition with WinXP Home Upgrade Coupon
Modem: Internal 56K Capable V.90 Mini-PCI Fax Modem
8X Max Variable DVD-ROM Drive

Not bad for $1901 overnight shipped.

I like the dual battery option. The graphics should smoke too, for a laptop.... It will be nice to lug over to my friends rather than my main system for a little gaming action.

Win2k will be rapidly replacing that Winme crap.

 

[Kill_Phil]

ive heard of problems with the usb port &quot;going to sleep&quot; when using a usb external nic. cant say for sure if its just windows95 osr2, or if its exibited with other versions of windows. perhaps its the same as hibernation mode, sometimes hibernation will stop internet connectivity until you reboot.

 

[andalas]

kguy, how big are u
Inspiron 8000 is quite heavy, although not for me

For most people I8000 is quite heavy maybe not too heavy on a backpack.
Anyway it's still lighter than my textbook that I bring to class
when I was in College.