Dell is Delicious
Written: Apr 22 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Speedy, great Dell reputation, overall great notebook performance and value.
Cons: Not rugged, bad sound, limited graphics capabilities.
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| erimentha's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 5000 R500LO |
When my last computer died on me, I did a little dance of joy. It was a 1997 Monorail with a 150 PI, 48 megs of RAM, and a dual-scan screen (it wasn't a notebook- it was a small scale desktop like the Gateway Astro). I've been looking forward to an excuse to upgrade.
I can be obsessive when scoping out new equipment, and I spared no effort when looking for a new computer. I decided I wanted a notebook that could function as my main computer for the next 2-3 years, and then (once it becomes outdated)a mobile wordprocessor to compliment a more powerful desktop system. This is what I ended up with:
Dell Inspiron 5000
14 inch XGA screen
Touchpad pointing device (standard)
6 gig hard drive
500 PIII
128 RAM
100 mh bus
256 L2 cache
2x 8 mgb video card
floppy
DVD
Total price: just over $2500, including shipping.
The famous slanted E...
I spent many hours online looking up reviews on dozens of notebooks. I trust the actual user reviews from Epinions and computerreview.com more then the ones from zdnet or cnet. You'll notice that EVERY manufacturer has several reviewers who call their products a lemon. That said, Dell seemed to have the highest satisfaction levels by far. Gateway wasn't even close. Quality and support mean a lot to me, so I was prepared to pay extra for the slanted E. Imagine my surprise when I priced out similar systems from Gateway, HP, Sony, and Toshiba and discovered that I could get lots more for lots less from Dell. The only manufacturer that offered something cheaper was Quantex (under their student discount section- I'm in grad school). It was tempting, but Quantex has so-so reviews from actual users and the unit looked like one ugly mother.
Design:
The Inspiron 5000 is sleek and minimalist, which I rather like. It's about as thick and as wide as a 1/2 binder, but an inch and a half longer. I haven't stepped on a scale with it, but it weighs in at a little over 7 pounds. Keyboard is very comfortable to use- only problem I've had is that it's somehow flatter then normal keyboards, and my little fingers tend to turn under if I don't remember to keep them straight. Most people probably don't have claw hands, and so won't have a problem. The only major problem with the design is it's ruggedness- When I walk from my desk to my living room, I can feel something jiggling inside. The casing is made of plastic, which feels pretty sturdy. However, the back casing on the screen is way too thin- when I open up the screen, it tends to flex a little. This could cause a serious problem overtime, so I'm thinking of adding some crossbar reinforcements on the back. In addition, the cover to the DVD unit popped off once as I was sliding the unit into my messenger bag. If you are rough on equipment (and unfortunately I am), you may want to think about another computer. I picked up a cheap targus clamshell notebook case from staples, and it fits beautifully into my everyday backpack. This provides it with a good amount of padding, makes it easy to carry, and is a lot more discreet then most notebook bags (which might as well have 'please steal me' embroidered on the side). Again, it ain't rugged, but if you're willing to baby it a little more the Dell is the overall better choice in terms of speed and price. I wouldn't recommend having it on your lap for long periods of time: your legs reflect more heat then they get, which could fry the components over long term use.
Performance:
If you want an incredibly fast computer, GET A DESKTOP. You can get a 700 dell dimension desktop with 128 RAM for $1800. I knew I would have to make compromises in getting a notebook, and I was more then happy to trade a little speed for the mobility (even if most of the time I sit in my comfy armchair to use it). The PIII with 128 RAM is plenty fast for most applications even if it doesn't exactly scream- word still takes a couple of seconds to open (I had hoped for instant). I've compared the speed with the comparabley speced desktop systems at my school, and my laptop was just a smidge slower. A word about RAM- any computer expert will tell you that more ram is better. You won't notice the difference between a PIII with 128 RAM and a PIII 600 with 96 RAM. Get as much RAM as you can- I will be upgrading to 256 in the near future. Another reviewer on epinions suggested buying RAM from crucial technologies (crucial.com). I wish I had checked this out before buying because I could have gotten twice the RAM for just a little more. With 128 megabytes, I can have 6-7 programs open at once, not including background ones like Norton anti-virus. Internet experience is great, which is critical for me since I'm on it 4 hours a day collecting news. One more suggestion- I wish I had gotten the 12 gig hard drive- I've had my notebook for about a month and I've already filled more then one third of the 6 gig drive. I'm glad I got an external cd burner from Iomega. The unit does heat up- sometimes the keys get a little toasty. Overall, very good performance for the price.
Multimedia:
Again, if you want an incredible gaming experience, GET A DESKTOP. I'm really into good graphics, so I'm devoting a lot of space to this. The Dell Dimension desktop comes with several choices of 32 meg graphics cards: on the inspiron, you get to choose between the 4 meg or 8 meg card. The 14 XGA screen is, in my opinion, quite big enough (I've heard the 15 inch screens overhang the rest of the unit, which sets them up for more damage when traveling). Amazingly enough, my unit came with NO dead pixels. Color and brightness are uniform- only problem is the top half seems to have a slightly different vertical viewing angle then the bottom half. Text is very crisp, but the edges on some fonts (especially Times New Roman)tend to be more jagged then on a CRT monitor, which I find a little annoying. At the same time, some of the 'smoother' text that appears on web banners looks a little out of focus unless I view it from a slight horizontal angle. When I first got the unit, the screen was so bright I had to turn it down a couple of notches. Now I'm more used to it, and I catch my self trying to turn it up higher then it will actually go. Colors look great- lots of contrast. Most graphics and pictures range from fair to very good. I compared screen shots of Riven and pictures of the Forbidden City on my notebook and the schools desktop systems, and pictures always looked a little better on the desktops. However, sitting with a 17 pound CRT monitor in your lap is very painful. For me, laptop gaming is worth slightly less quality. I've tried out Riven and Buried in Time: the Legacy. Riven looked great, especially when I set it at the native resolution (which did result in a smaller screen size). Playback was perfect. BIT was not so good- graphics were chunkier and video segments looked somewhat 'pixally'. Overall, however, the graphics compared pretty favorably to the similar desktop systems at school. I have not installed half life or quake, but I hear they're adequate on the system. I haven't tried the DVD yet- I got it because I expect that future software will be released on it, not because I want to watch movies. The built in speakers suck- when I first used them, they were crackly. They've somehow improved themselves, and I'm not too picky, but if you're into good sound then invest in some external ones. Overall, the trade off between graphics and mobility is totally worth it for me- I'll get a really smoking gaming machine in 3 years when I get a desktop.
Overall:
Despite the multimedia shortcomings and the questionable toughness, I'm very pleased with my purchase. I haven't had to use support yet, which is the way I like it... however, I'm confident that I'll get the help I need if and when I need it. I've thought about upgrading to a 12 gig hard drive, the 15 SXGA screen(probably unnecessary for most users) or a slightly faster chip, but I haven't thought twice about the Dell brand or the inspiron 5000. If I could give this machine 4 and 1/2 stars I would (points off for durability, graphics, sound, and slightly less then expected speed). As it as, I'll go with 4 stars and a solid recommendation.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
erimentha
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Reviews written: 1
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