Is the Insprion 1300 really a heap of junk?

Jonny Arson

Howya, thinking about buying a laptop for college and generally arsing around on the net so owning a laptop isn't 100% essential for me so if I was to buy one I'd be looking for something decent but basic. So after constantly seeing Dell's ad's in the papers I may be influenced enough to buy one.

I'm looking at the Inspiron 1300 mainly because... it's cheap. I'm only willing to spend no more than 750 on a laptop so that's why I'm looking at this one. However, I heard from alot of people about the inspiron 1300 being a heap of junk or Dell laptops in general so I'm a bit sketchy about them. In the paper the other day I saw an ad for the Inspiron 1300 and it included.....

- Intel® CentrinoT Mobile Technology with Intel® Pentium® M Processor 735A (1.70GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 400MHz FSB),Intel® Pro/Wireless 2200 (802.11b/g)
- Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
- 1024MB 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2 x 512MB)
- 80GB Hard Drive (5,400rpm)
- 15.4" Widescreen WXGA (1280x800)
- Integrated Direct AGP Graphics
- Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Drive#
- 56K Data Fax Modem
- 90 Day Collect and Return Service

for E599

I think that's a pretty reasonable deal considering it includes 80 gigs, 1024MB and a 15.4 screen, I'd probably add a 2 or 3 year service package on top of the cost. Despite some of the comments about Dell's would you still recommend it in terms of the price?

Also about the Inspiron 1300, with regards to the RAM would it be advisable to upgrade from 2 x 512MB to a 1 x 1024MB single channel? (or what is generally the difference between a dual and single channel? )Also there's no battery upgrade option on the 1300 so does anyone know if the 6 Cell, 56Whr Lithium Ion Primary Battery has much longevity in terms of how many hours one could get out of it?

Thanks

TerrorFirmer

Go for a 9 cell if possible.

Only go for the single stick of 1024 if you plan upgrading - but to be honest, you most likely will never need more then a gig of ram in that machine, so I wouldn't consider it important and if its cheaper stick with the 2x512 sticks.

I think the 1300 is a reliable and fairly sturdy laptop, certainly wouldn't have any faults with it myself.

Good luck

KdjaCL

Last xmas i was recomending this to a few mates who got the same spec but one went with 1gb other with 256 another with 768.

1gb guy got another 1gb so has 2gb with x300 plays all games fine, most new ones at 800x600 but still plays em fine.

768 guy plays bf2 800x600 needs to buy more ram as it sorta kills his pc when edning games.

256 guy stuggles to do anything when he got it took all of 9 minutes before he cvould click start. Wiped it stuck on my nlite XP and now its grand still slowish but better than before.

if your getting one stick loads of ram in it and its fine


kdjac

majiktripp

1300 is a nice laptop,certainly a good looker for the bottom of dells bargain basement, but I cannot stress enough to people do NOT get the 90 day warranty...get 1 or 2 years,sure it ups the price but it'll save a lot of tears if any hardware fails and it is worth it in the long run.I have seen plenty of these laptops and indeed I am still enveyous (spellcheck?!) whenever I see one comming in new.,so I cant recommend them enough!,Also get the 15.4" screen!

TerrorFirmer

KdjaCL wrote:

Last xmas i was recomending this to a few mates who got the same spec but one went with 1gb other with 256 another with 768.

1gb guy got another 1gb so has 2gb with x300 plays all games fine, most new ones at 800x600 but still plays em fine.

768 guy plays bf2 800x600 needs to buy more ram as it sorta kills his pc when edning games.

256 guy stuggles to do anything when he got it took all of 9 minutes before he cvould click start. Wiped it stuck on my nlite XP and now its grand still slowish but better than before.

if your getting one stick loads of ram in it and its fine


kdjac

The 1300 doesn't come with the X300 anymore, nor does it have an option to upgrade the gfx to anything other then the integrated GMA 900 unfortunately, so new games are totally out of the question, but you can still have fun playing older titles like BF1942 and Call of Duty etc...

Zane, where did you see that?

Myth

Myth wrote:

Zane, where did you see that?

Here you go! Just change the Support Services to 90 days and it's the same offer.

Ruu_Old

You get what you pay for I guess. As mentioned all you will really need is about a 1gb of memory and as you said get a better warranty. I think this (not customized) is the one Zane is talking about, Myth.

edit: too schlow.

DirkVoodoo

I think the only badpoint of the 1300 is that there are some nice upgrades available but they are limited by a cheapo motherboard with a 400 MHz FSB. I think as a cheap word processor, internet browser its a good buy, unless you are willing to go second hand?

Get the bare minimum RAM and upgrade later (i foolishly spent over the odds on my laptop)

Cheers both of you - had a search around the Dell site, didn't find it on the first attempt. Am a cheap bastard, so might look into this.

kaisersose77

got the 1300 myself from dell outlet a few months ago for 375 euros , does everything i need it for, browsing, downloading, converting to xvid etc. No point in pay over the odds for a laptop if thats all your gonna do in my opinion. As you'll be raging 6 months down the line when your laptop is worth a lot less than you payed. And never had a problem yet with mine.

Bateman

kaisersose77 wrote:

6 months down the line when your laptop is worth a lot less than you payed. And never had a problem yet with mine.

A common feature of investing in any kind of hardware surely.

eskimo

I'm gonna buy a laptop over the next few weeks and originally I was gonna buy the cheapeast of the cheap - a 256MB RAM Inspiron 1300 for 449E. But I've decided that since I have two years if not 3 left in college I'm gonna get a 2 or 3-year loan from AIB and buy a much more decent laptop that will last me the three years, or at least two. Better option in the long run i'd say.

Jonny Arson

Myth wrote:

Zane, where did you see that?

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/inspn_1300?c=ie&cs=iedhs1&l=en&s=dhs

Type in the e-value code for whichever version you're looking for, if you don't the price will be E635

cianclarke

kaisersose77 wrote:

got the 1300 myself from dell outlet a few months ago for 375 euros , does everything i need it for, browsing, downloading, converting to xvid etc. No point in pay over the odds for a laptop if thats all your gonna do in my opinion. As you'll be raging 6 months down the line when your laptop is worth a lot less than you payed. And never had a problem yet with mine.

Same here, got the bargain version. 512 ram, 1.3ghz. Would like a 1.6ghz processor so it'd run photoshop / dreamweaver a bit better, but didn't think much of it at the time. Still, it's a great laptop. The signal from the wireless card is incredible, and it runs GTA SA, PSCS2 and Dreamweaver fine.

irlrobins

How sturdy is the laptop. Thinking of buying on of these for my dad who is on the road a bit. Not too plasticy or anything is it?

I'll be able to let you know on the 11th

irlrobins

Cheers Myth

TerrorFirmer

irlrobins wrote:

How sturdy is the laptop. Thinking of buying on of these for my dad who is on the road a bit. Not too plasticy or anything is it?

It is a bit plasticy yes to be honest - not as shiny or stylish looking as some of the laptops out there. But sturdy, it is.

Make sure you go for the 15.4 screen upgrade - leaving it at 14.1 is annoying as you end up with a screen with a thick casing all around it otherwise....

TempestSabre

I bought one for someone else and I though it was decent. study enough and pleasant to type on. I bought it off the outlet store, celeron 1.6ghz, 1GB ram, DVDRW, 120GB, XP Pro, 14.1" wifi for 560 incl vat. Theres a 1yrs warranty on the outlet store by default, as with all electronic goods.

If you budget was higher around the 1k mark I'd buy something else. But for the price the Insprion 1300 is a good value. IMO. I wouldn't go mad upgrading it. Don't buy it too expensive. Buy it cheap. Thats where it makes sense.

irlrobins

Just received mine today (problem with courier but after an angry phonecall I was put through to the manager and 'twas all sorted).

It's a small bit bulky, but I'm quite impressed with it especially at the cost. I went for the special deal that Zane and others posted up, and upgraded the warranty to 3 years as well as getting the 1 x 1024MB single channel (because if I upgrade and get another gig, I can now just pop in a new stick instead of having to take out one 512MB), and one or two other bits and pieces.

So yes, I'm a happy camper.

irlrobins wrote:

How sturdy is the laptop. Thinking of buying on of these for my dad who is on the road a bit. Not too plasticy or anything is it?

Yeah, it definitely feels tough. I'll be cycling into college with this from time to time next year, and I think it'll be up to it.

irlrobins

Cheers Myth! Sounds good.

One strange twist I've just discovered is that the disk is already partitioned (and isn't two drives, as I first thought) - 60GB 'Local Disk' c:\, 20GB 'backup' d:\. Was going mad there wondering whether I had received the upgrade or not!