dell Inspirion

lollb · 05-09-2009 1:58pm #1

just wondering if anyone has looked at the spec for the dell inspirion €429, not great with understanding the spec but wondering is it a good buy??? thanks in advance

Rebel021 · 07-09-2009 12:05pm

I just had a look and this is my opinion.

1.Colour choice is optional and an unnecessary cost.

2.The processor included will run the Laptop fine for office,internet and most applications but if you plan to play games you will need to upgrade.

3.OS is Vista Home Basic but you will get a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it is released next month which is a far superior OS,the only thing is I would upgrade from Basic to Home premium.

4.Office Software has MS Works included but you can use openoffice http://www.openoffice.org/ for all your office needs and its free.

5.Warranty is 1 year and again its up to you if you wish to extend it at cost.

6.LCD has no option to upgrade.

7.Ram is 2gb included in price but you will need at least 3gb for running a 32bit OS and 4gb for a 64bit OS.

8.The hhd included in price is 160gb and its again up to you if you want to upgrade to a higher capacity.

9.Graphics card is integrated but I would go for the 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330.

10.Optical Drive has no optional upgrade.

11.Battery is 6 cell and I would recommend a 9 cell and I would also get it from dell as the price is reasonable.

12.The wireless card included in price is fine and again its up to you if you wish to upgrade.More information about it here http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Wireless_WiFi/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=430-3126

13.Bluetooth upgrade for €35 not worth it as a dongle will only set you back a third of the price.

14.Webcam has no upgrade option.

15.Security Software,there is none included in price but there are many free security software's available, you can buy the dell options
Antivirus already selected in your Protection Plan add € 0.00
No Security/Anti-Virus Protection - English [Included in Price]
McAfee® Security Centre - 15 Month Protection - English [add € 35.00 or €2/month1]
McAfee® Security Centre - 24 Month Protection - English [add € 43.00 or €2/month1]
McAfee® Security Centre - 36 Month Protection - English [add € 56.00 or €3/month1]
Dell Recommended Essential Security Protection – Buy Now and Save over 50% compared to McAfee’s Suggested Retail Price!

16. No printer included in price but many options available once your preference.

17.Routers are optional but not included in price
Belkin 802.11g Wireless USB 2.0 Network Adapter F5D7050 [€ 21.99 or €1/month1]
D-LINK DIR-635 Wireless N Router - UK [€ 95.99 or €4/month1] D-Link DSL-2740B Wireless N ADSL Modem Router - UK & Ireland [€ 110.99 or €5/month1]
D-Link DWA-140 Wireless N USB Mini Adapter [€ 57.99 or €3/month1]

18.Monitors are again optional

17in S1709W UK&I Black Widescreen Value (1440x900) Product details [€ 122.51 or €5/month1]

18.5in S1909WN UK&I Black Widescreen (1366 x 768) Product details [€ 122.51 or €5/month1]
20in IN2010N UK&I Black Widescreen Value (1600 x 900) VGA Product details [€ 152.88 or €6/month1]
20in S2009W UK&I Black Widescreen Value (1600 x 900) DVI-D Product details [€ 163.02 or €6/month1]
21.5in S2209W UK&I Black Widescreen Value (1920 x 1080) DVI-D Product details [€ 203.51 or €8/month1]
23in S2309W UK&I Black Widescreen Value (1920x1080) DVI-D Product details [€ 213.63 or €8/month1]
23in SP2309W UK&I Black Widescreen Performance (2048 x 1152) DVI-D Product details [€ 294.64 or €11/month1]
24in S2409W UK&I Black Widescreen Value Product details [€ 264.26 or €10/month1]

19.Adobe is again optional.
Not included
Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 7 - English [add € 50.00 or €2/month1]
Adobe® Premiere® Elements 7 - English [add € 50.00 or €2/month1]
Adobe® Photoshop® Elements + Premiere® Elements Bundle - English [add € 80.00 or €3/month1]

20.Additional battery is 6 cell for €129

21.Carry case,none in price but once again Dell has many options available to you.
No Carry Case [Included in Price]
Dicota Executive Leather Case for laptops up to 17" - Black [add € 114.98 or €5/month1]
Targus City Gear 17in Nylon Messenger Carrycase - compatible with up to 17in Laptops only [add € 37.98 or €2/month1]
Targus Campus XL Backpack for laptops up to 17" - Black [add € 56.99 or €3/month1].

22. Accidental Damage
Accidental Damage already selected in your Protection Plan add € 0.00
No Accidental Damage Support [Included in Price]
1Yr Accidental Damage Support [add € 46.33 or €2/month1]

Personally
I would source any upgrades form different places rather than dell as I find them quite expensive cheaper alternatives Komplett or Adverts.

You would need to upgrade the ram for this laptop to run comfortably to 3gb and the 9cell battery is a must imo.
That alone would bring the price up to 537 and there are better laptops available on adverts for that price with warranty and with better processors than the 1 included in price.

Example would be my laptop which I paid €650 for
http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=131129&cat=fav

Dell Studio 1737:

17" 1440x900 screen with WLED backlight
Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 @ 2.26GHz
4GB DDR2-667 RAM, upgradeable to 8GB DDR2-800
2x 250GB SATA hard disks
ATI Radeon HD 3650 graphics
BD-ROM/DVD RW combo drive
Backlit keyboard
Intel 5300 wireless
Dell 5530 HSDPA card (for midband services)
Internal Bluetooth
Internal webcam
9-cell battery
Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
All discs included
4 year onsite warranty, valid until 18/3/2013
Logitech wireless mouse included
Excellent condition, only 4 months old

lollb · 08-09-2009 7:03pm

thanks so much for replying!!! i thought it was 4g ram!!! am looking for a good laptop, cheap enough as i suppose is everyone, just for downloading a few movies, music surfing the web etc with a small amount of excel / word work. as i said im not too good at understanding the spec details!! thanks again for replying

Rebel021 · 08-09-2009 10:14pm

dell Inspirion

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