Inspiron 9300 Released

[savagexp]

I just got mine in. My wife is going to love it. Anybody know where the best deal is for 7200 drives? Any brand recommendations? Thanks.

 

[savagexp]

Another question: Can anybody who has received theirs try to initiate a Factory Reset? Dell tells me that to do this I must hold down CTRL and press F11 when the system boots. For me, this does nothing. I'm wondering if it's just my system or all 9300s.

 

[coolfury]

I want to thank all the helpful posts on this forum about this laptop. It really helped me in my decision to order my new rig:

Dell Inspiron 9300
Intel Pentium M 740 Processor (1.73GHz / 533 MHz FSB)
Win XP Home (will reformat immediately and put XP Pro on when I get it)
17" UltraSharp Wide Screen XGA+ Display
512MB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM @ 533MHz
256MB Nvidia GeForce Go 6800
60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
Integrated 10/100 NIC/ Modem/ Wireless g 54Mbps
24x CD Burner/DVD Rom Combo
1 yr Warranty (may extend within the year if I think it's worth it)

Price:
$2,115 - $800 coupon + tax
Free 2nd day shipping (may take longer because of 7200 HD option)

Total $1,393.90

I originally was going with the 3yr warranty, but I'll go with one for now...and I can extend it within a year if I think I need it.
I also went with the 1.73 GHz processors instead of the higher ones based on feedback in these forums.
Saved me about $300 all in all.

I got it mostly for gaming HL2/CS:S
I'll post back once I get it and let you know what I think.

 

[hg321]

Mine came in yesterday and the screen is beautiful(truelife), I almost backed out when dr150 was running it down. I'm glad I didn't listen to him

 

[Ethan2099]

Originally posted by: savagexp
Another question: Can anybody who has received theirs try to initiate a Factory Reset? Dell tells me that to do this I must hold down CTRL and press F11 when the system boots. For me, this does nothing. I'm wondering if it's just my system or all 9300s.

Okay, hopefully more then just you will read this. What you're asking about is our customer ghost image on your machine. it's called PC restore by symantec. it's great because you can do an OS reinstall in about 8 minutes with it. back to exactly the way you first got your system. what you do is that when you see the blue line on the top of the screen that says www.dell.com you have to hold ctrl + F11. that should bring it up.

the downside to it though is that it's really fragile. if you do your own format / reinstall, you destroy the pointer to the hidden partition holding the image. if you do anything that modifies the MBR, PC restore won't work anymore. also, it takes up 6 gig of space on a partition that you have no regular access to. however it should ask you to create a cd or dvd backup disc of the operating system after a few times of booting up.

it's not on all our computers yet, but if your computer was bought anytime after sept, it's more then likely on your system.

I personally think it's great because i have to walk 3 to 4 people through reinstalling windows a day. doing it in 8 minutes compared to 1.5 to 2 hours is a godsend. 🙂 if you're a more knowledgeable user though, i recommend getting rid of it and makeing bootable ghost dvd's every 6 months instead. works just as good, and you get back that extra 6 gig of space. 🙂

 

[RLW]

Thanks for the info Ethan. btw, did you know that Dell & IBM are very much in bed together? I?m a consultant to IBM and all my hardware is from Big Blue. They share tech support, repair depot (Memphis), and hardware. Since ThinkPad?s aren?t cutting edge anymore, I looked to Dell. I just ordered a 9300 to check it out. Never used a touchpad, always loved the TrackPoint, but I?ll give it a try.

Dell Inspiron 9300
Intel Pentium M 760 (2GHz/533 MHz FSB)
Win XP Pro
17" UltraSharp Wide Screen UXGA
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM @ 533MHz
256MB Nvidia GeForce Go 6800
60GB 7200rpm HDD
Intel PRO/wireless 2915
Wireless 350 Bluetooth internal
8x CD/DVD Burner
9 cell Lithium
4 yr Prem Service pkg

Price: $3,425
35% coupon: - $1,198.75
Free 2nd day shipping

Total $2,226,25

Good price for a lotta notebook I think.

I?m not a gamer but a pgmr/analyst, graphic artist & web designer. Hoping Photoshop & ImageReady will be fast w/ several really HUGE images open and being able to run Dreamweaver, Flash, Illustrator, MS Office, etc. w/ several instances of IE running CONCURENTLY too.

my concerns:
- readability of fonts (on a 15" w/ 1200 x 1600 too small & of course changing it from native resolution was an education about LCD's :-()
- no TrackPoint (OMG just the thought! 😱)
- only Firewire 400 not 800 (I have several Lacie 500GB external HDD?s)
- only 10/100 Ethernet built-in (not 1000)
- SD Memory Reader ???
- DVI interface ???

I have an IEEE 1394b (Firewire 800) PC Card but since it only has 1 PC Card slot no place for 10/100/1000 Ethernet card.

I'll prolly send it back unless I'm REALLY overwhelmed (price is sooo good)

Any comments or questions would be greatly appreciated. My thanks in advance. 🙂

oh btw, this is my first post here & only Quick Reply seems to work???

 

[Ethan2099]

Originally posted by: RLW
Thanks for the info Ethan. btw, did you know that Dell & IBM are very much in bed together?

man that's a scary thought. I would know nothing about this, seeing as how i'm just lowly tech support L1 for Dell Canada. everything of ours is HUGELY different from the american tech support. Heck, canadians still have a 30 day satisfaction period, americans just got chopped down to 21 days. Plus our main focus is customer satisfaction. I just replaced everything on the inside of a lady's laptop. mobo, ram, HD, wirelesscard. all because she whined long enough.

 

[RedWolf]

Love your sig, Ethan.

 

[savagexp]

Thanks, Ethan. I finally got a response on the Dell boards about the issue that was basically the same thing you said. If you can, it'd be great to mention to your bosses that perhaps linking that partition through the BIOS, like your Diagnostics Partition, would be fantastic. To be honest with you, I was pissed as hell that Dell provided me with a CD that, while it said "OS", I assumed meant "OS and all the other sh*t you don't need, but we're installing anyway" and then I run that disc and it makes me lose the ability to do a factory restore. Sure, I'm glad to now have those (in my case) 3GB back, but some sort of warning would have been nice. Hell, I never thought I'd say it but the VAIO's option of burning your own restore CDs is preferable to "You used software we included with your laptop? Ha ha! Sucks to be you!"

Otherwise, this laptop is great. My wife was ecstatic when I gave it to her, even more so once I had it running again. 🙂

 

[DrDreSF]

I got my WUXGA (LG) 9300 yesterday. The screen itself is OK, though not great. As Dr150 pointed out, though, the resolution is TOO HIGH for this size of screen. Pictures on the Web are tiny at the 1900x1200 resolution. Blurred out on the factory default 120 dpi (i had to switch to 96 dpi to get native dpi). Probably returning it to swap to lower res screen.

 

[walkeral]

If anyone is interested, I've written a review of sorts of the UK Dell Inspiron 9300 (with the GF6800). You can find it here:

http://www.walkeral.plus.com/9300.html

Don't expect anything in-depth though. This is my first ever review of anything, and it's missing a lot benchmarks (I've not got much software, or time!). If anyone has any suggestions or major points to make, let me know and I'll change it.

 

[Ethan2099]

Originally posted by: RedWolf
Love your sig, Ethan.

It's from having 5 people a day call in, and when you ask them if they have a laptop or a desktop computer, they reply with "I dunno, it's a Dell."

 

[uOpt]

Thanks, walkeral,

I didn't realize there is a full-blown fan opening at the bottom 🙁

Is that GPU or CPU?

 

[Ethan2099]

that one should be the CPU.

 

[walkeral]

I've updated the first page with descriptions on the photos - should make things clearer.

 

[trikster2]

Walkeral

Good job on your review! I like the pictures especially comparing to your old laptop.

I was slightly taken aback that the 14" laptop verticle size is close to the 17". Since for most work (word processing, web browsing) the wide realestate is wasted it would seem the 17" wide monster is not a lot better than your 14" normal screen laptop for non-gaming/movie applications?

 

[dr150]

To give you guys an update, I have a 9300 in front of me w/ WXGA+ to test out.

The machine operates cool, is well put together for the most part, and has a decent but not great screen.

Dell seems to be screwing up on the screens the 9300 ships with. Two flavors: LG or Samsung. Almost all shipped with LG, unless you ask for a replacement after receipt. The screens, whether WUXGA or WXGA+, have light bleed, though LG wins out here with less bleed. LG seems to have a sparkle issue, though to a lesser effect than the 9200, though still unacceptable to many 9300 users. LG also has corner shadows that can be annoying with light colors. LG colors are more intense. Samsung screens display better whites and is brighter overall. Samsung though, has more backlight bleed which is bad for watching widescreen movies.

The 60GB 7200 RPM and 80GB hard drives have clicking issues that are really annoying. Hitachi/IBM drives have always been this way and it will get to you if you have sensitive ears.

Trackpad buttons emit a strong clicking sound. Very annoying to me and others sitting in my vicinity.

In the end, nobody is completely loving this machine. Great price, but with compromises that you'll have to put up with.

 

[Ethan2099]

Okay, for HD's available as replacement parts, the 7.2k 60gig is IBM, the 5.4k and 4.2k 40, 60 and 80 gig HD's are either Fujitsu or Toshiba, and the 100 gig is 4.2k Fujitsu.

Also if you're going for the replacement screens , yes they are both samsung, and the one with the truelife coating is the exact same one you would get if you ordered an XPS 2.

 

[walkeral]

Originally posted by: trikster2

Walkeral

Good job on your review! I like the pictures especially comparing to your old laptop.

I was slightly taken aback that the 14" laptop verticle size is close to the 17". Since for most work (word processing, web browsing) the wide realestate is wasted it would seem the 17" wide monster is not a lot better than your 14" normal screen laptop for non-gaming/movie applications?

I find it can be a bit odd when editing one document as you either see a very small part of the page, or the text is rather small. However, when I'm doing maths coursework, I can write my answers on one side of the screen whilst reading my notes on the other. That is somewhat more difficult on a 4:3 screen.

 

[HiFi Music HiTech]

Hi,

I am a new member.
I joined because this was the site that helped me decide on my first laptop.

I ordered my Dell Inspiron 9300 at about 3am on March 30th. They estimated 14th April for Shipping - but it actually arrived on the 5th of April - quite fast.

I got the Hi-Res screen (True..) - yes, it's reflective, but what clarity.
I was concerned about the small print, but this large laptop actually places the screen at the perfect distance for me. Watched part of a LOTR DVD - a great experience. (Yes, I will also be using it for my job)

I'll write more later, but just wanted to thank all of you for your input on this forum - it was truly helpful.

Regards

 

[uOpt]

Originally posted by: HiFi Music HiTech
Watched part of a LOTR DVD - a great experience. (Yes, I will also be using it for my job)

I want a job where I have to use Lord Of The Rings, too 🙁

 

[Trianon]

For Fonts in the system I used Dell Quickset and set it to 16, not a problem anymore. Same can be done in Internet browser, and then you are golden. At work I have nice Sony CRT monitor, yet every day it's a party to come home to 9300 with Truelife🙂 Now all I need is another 512Mb of memory, so HL2 loads faster🙂
P.S. Got Laptrap Grande to carry Dell around, works phenomenal.

 

[dartworth]

AHhh....


I broke down and ordered a 9300 last night...

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 (1.86 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
17 inch UltraSharp? Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife?
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm
256MB NVIDA® GeForce? Go 6800
60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability
6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (53 WHr)
9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery (80 WHr)
Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal(2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915 Internal Wireless (802.11 a/b/g, 54Mbps)
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

Estimated Ship Date: Monday, April 25, 2005

🙂

 

[gtd2000]

I pulled the trigger on one of these too - whats the best option for a hot deal on a laptop case for this?

 

[HiFi Music HiTech]

Hi
I got the Dell case - looks decent, perfect fit, but am not sure if the weight's too much - 4+ lbs. Appears to have a gel type of padding in the crucial places, including the shoulder pad.So I'm carrying about 13lbs total.

See my concerns below the 9300's specs

My 9300's Specs:

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 (2.0 GHz/533MHz FSB)
17 inch UltraSharp? Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife?
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm
256MB NVIDA® GeForce? Go 6800
60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability
6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (53 WHr)
9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery (80 WHr)
Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal(2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915 Internal Wireless (802.11 a/b/g, 54Mbps)
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

Concerns:
1. I tried it in my main office (one with large windows) - the screen reflection is certainly too much. Even at home in my study, with the window in front of me, but no light source behind me, I can clearly see myself in the screen through whatever I'm working on.

2. The battery life is abysmal (could be a dud) - lasts about 1 hour. I recharged it overnight and still got only about an hour (NOT watching DVDs but 10 min using a data CD and the balance using Word and Excel. Subsequent overnight recharges have not improved battery life. I now have the 9-cell installed and charging overnight - we'll see how it goes.
What a quandry I'm in - love the clarity, but unworkable glaring screen, poor battery life.

I may have to return this reasonably priced fast machine for a slower IBM or HP notebook.
C'est la Vie.

JL