So you've finally decided to buy an external hard drive as a backup option for your computer. This is a great choice for you because you're making backing up your data faster and easier than you could ever have imagined. You're also making your data far more portable in larger quantities than before.
You'll no longer be limited to storing a few hundred megabytes or even several gigabytes. Nope. Now you can look forward to portable and reliable storage capacities ranging into terabytes. That frustrating desktop computer or network file server backup job just got a whole lot easier.
If you've never bought an external hard disk before then there's a few pointers here that may help to have on your shopping list before you go and make that final purchase.
1. Buy A Brand
Do yourself a huge favor and buy a brand name that you easily recognize. Sure these may cost a little more than brand x but with computer accessories like this you really do get what you pay for. If a Western Digital 100GB external drive costs $200 and another brand x 100GB drive costs $80 why do you think that is? Because the company likes you? Because they like making smaller profits? No it's because it's a cheaper drive made with inferior parts that's going to break a lot sooner than you might expect.
The other aspect of sticking with a brand is your warranty. For example Maxtor, Western Digital and Iomega are all reliable companies and well known for their external hard disks. If something goes wrong with your drive you can have it fixed. With brand x you'll probably not even be able to find an email address that you can contact the parent company on. Is saving a few dollars worth that risk?
2. Google It
Whatever brand or model you decide on make sure you do some research before purchasing. Always, always Google the exact brand and model of the drive you're considering buying. Look for reviews and especially any feedback on how reliable a drive is. You'll be very surprised to find that some companies have particularly bad reputations in terms of equipment reliability and what's known as the "click of death" in the external hard drive industry.
Spend time in Google checking out your prospective purchase. You'll be glad that you did.
3. Connectivity
When it comes to external hard drives you'll need to choose carefully when selecting your connection types. Your external hard drive will support either USB or Firewire. Firewire is the fastest option available at the moment but your computer may not support this. The vast majority of modern computers will, however, feature a USB port.
The next question now is what type of USB port do you have - USB 1.0 or 2.0? If your computer only has a USB 1.0 port then your external hard drive is going to transfer data VERY slowly. USB 2.0 is the minimum you should consider as connection options for both your computer and your external hard drive. If you don't have a USB 2.0 port (also called HiSpeed USB) on your computer you may need to get a USB 2.0 card fitted.
4. Speed
Now of course we need to talk about speed. The faster your hard drive operates the faster data will get transferred to your computer and vice versa. Without boggling you with comptuer jargon there's a couple of technical things you need to include on your shopping list.
Seek time - this needs to be 10ms (milliseconds) or less
Buffer size - more is better. Get a drive with at least a 4MB buffer.
RPM - higher is better. 5400rpm as a minimum. 7200rpm being preferred.
Stick to the above basic pointers and you'll do just fine.
5. Size
This is the simple part of the whole "buying an external hard drive" equation. Buy as much as you can afford. If you can afford 100GB then get it. However if you can afford 200GB then get it. Then again if you scraped together a few dollars more you could afford 300GB then do it.
This isn't a sales pitch. Far from it. There is simply no such thing as having too much data storage space. The 160GB drive that I have here was filled up in a little under a month. Currently a terabye option sounds good for my future needs.
Always add 50% to your data storage requirements. Honestly. You'll thanks yourself within the first 90 days of buying your external drive.
Hopefully now you'll be better prepared for purchasing your new external hard drive. It's one of the best purchases you'll ever make.
Looking for the best external hard drive? Visit BackupAdvice.com for more information on your options.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Niall_Roche
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
How To Choose The Best Gaming Laptop
The gaming laptop is coming of age! It is steadily increasing in popularity as performance quality goes up. Gamers now regularly consider laptops or notebooks when searching for that perfect gaming machine.
With each new generation of notebooks we are seeing some novel breakthroughs: dual core notebooks, PCI Express, Sonoma chipset, increased storage, increased RAM, faster CPUs, better battery life and better wireless connections including a Cellular Modem. All welcome news for gamers and notebook lovers alike.
Generally, gamers are a very demanding group, they know their computers and they know what they want in their computers. Most gamers like to order their gaming laptop with their own specs and configurations. In that light, if you closely examine the main points gamers consider when configuring or building their Dream Machine -- you will have a good blueprint for the best gaming machine.
Since notebook technology changes every two years or so, it's probably wise to purchase a laptop that can be easily upgraded as new products come on line. So consider the upgradable factor in any notebook that you plan to buy.
Now, lets look at some of these key gaming factors:
GRAPHICS
You must have the best/latest/fastest Graphics on the market. DUH!
Serious gamers are concerned with graphics, obsessed would probably be a better word. And rightly so! Graphics or the quality of the graphic chipset in your notebook computer will be your first area of consideration and it will greatly determine the gaming performance of your PC.
Go with the latest Graphic Chipset and also check to see if you can upgrade your Graphics Card on the particular machine you're thinking about buying. Many machines allow this.
Here are some Graphic Chipsets that are highly rated: ATi Mobility Radeon 9700, ATI's Mobility FireGL V3200 or Intel's Graphics Media Accelerator 900.
ATi Mobility Radeon 9700 is a high quality Graphics Card or visual processing unit (VPU) present in many next generation notebooks. It will give you higher performance at a lower power level, saving battery power.
It makes your notebook computer capable of many functions: 3D games, wide-screen HDTV, dynamic presentations, mobile video editing studio and graphic processor.
Many notebooks now come with integrated graphics, where components interact and are sometimes shared, especially memory. If you want a notebook computer for 3D games -- check the amount of video RAM -- this is memory that's dedicated to graphic or video applications.
Other common graphic chipsets are: STMicro, NVIDIA, 3D Labs, Matrox, Trident S3 and SIS.
RAM
Get the largest amount of RAM possible. DUDE!
RAM or random-access memory will determine how much graphics your notebook computer will be able to handle. It's best to get the largest amount possible on your machine or what you can afford.
It's generally agreed that you need at least 256MB for Windows XP and Mac OS X. You will only need 128MB for other operating systems in Windows or Mac.
RAM or the amount of RAM on your notebook computer is extremely important if you want to handle heavy graphic files or want to play games on your notebook. The more RAM you have, the more applications you will be able to handle. Some notebook now come with up to 2GB of DDR2 533MHz RAM!
DDR2 SDRAM - is a new standard that can boost conventional SDRAM memory up to speeds well over 200MHz and beyond. For example, the IBM ThinkPad T43, thanks to the Sonoma Chipset or platform has 533MHz DDR 2 SDRAM.
This is much better than standard SDRAM which tops out around 150- 166MHz and DDR SDRAM which starts at 200MHz and goes up to around 400MHz.
Video RAM or VRAM is special memory that's used by video adapters on your notebook. This is RAM that is dedicated to handling the visuals and graphics on your notebook computer. This is helpful if you want to play a lot of the latest 3D video games on your notebook.
It is somewhat different from ordinary RAM because it can be accessed by two different devices at once -- enabling screen updates while the video processor processes new data. VRAM provides better graphics but is more expensive than ordinary RAM.
SPEED
You need the fastest computer money can buy. Period!
In order to get the maximum performance from your ultimate gaming computer you must have the fastest speed you can get or afford. Your ultimate PC must be able to process and handle the latest 3D video games with ease. There is nothing as annoying as your PC freezing up in the middle of some major gaming action!
Therefore, your Processor's speed is very important.
CPU or Central Processing Unit, you probably know it as the processor! It's the heart or rather the brain of your notebook or computer. It does all your computer's data processing and applications. Since it does most of the work, it's usually the most expensive part of your notebook computer.
Go with SATA!
SATA is a type of hard drive and stands for Serial Advanced Technology Architecture. It was developed by a whole group of companies including Seagate, Intel, Maxtor, Dell and others. SATA transmit data in a serially (in a single stream) as opposed to PATA or Parallel ATA which is commonly referred to as an IDE hard drive.
Serial ATA hard drives uses less power and are ideal for notebook computers, they are also more advanced than PATA hard drives which uses multipe streams of data -- go figure! But Serial Technology carries data in a single stream and unlike PATA is not limited to a particular clock speed, Serial transfers data packets almost 30 times faster than parallel.
If top performance in your notebook is one of your goals, go with a SATA hard drive.
Intel Pentium M processors are commonly found in a lot of notebooks and laptops. When in doubt also go with a Pentium!
The speed of microprocessors is measured in MHz.
MHz is short for megahertz. One MHz equals one million cycles per second. The speed of processors, usually known as clock speed, is measured in megahertz (MHz) or these days in gigahertz (GHz).
The higher the clock speed, the faster the computer will process applications and data. It determines how powerful your notebook computer will be. Processor speeds for notebooks or laptops are steadily increasing, not quite the same as a desktop but the gap is narrowing quickly. Speeds of 3.4GHz or more.
Don't forget to ask or check the hard drive speed! A 7,200rpm hard drive is faster than a 4,200rpm or 5,400rpm and usually gives better performance.
DISPLAY
You need the sharpest, brightest display screen or all the above points are moot!
Display quality is also extremely important to your gaming experience. Make sure the resolution and display quality of your notebook computer can handle the graphics for 3D Gaming.
What to keep in mind...
SVGA Resolution. Put simply, computer images are made up of dots, the more dots you have -- the better the image. SVGA Resolution is made up of 800 x 600 dots.
Many notebook computer have XGA (1024 by 768 dots) or SXGA (1280 x 1024 dots), these resolutions will give a higher quality image. WXGA stands for widescreen XGA.
TFT Active Matrix Display. TFT stands for thin-film transistors and many high-end notebook computers use (TFT) active matrix liquid crystal displays.
If display quality is your main reason for buying a notebook, it's best to give it the 'old eye test' and check out the image quality first-hand and decide for yourself. Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, and others are known for their high quality monitors -- this quality is also present in their notebook display screens.
So when buying your perfect Gaming Notebook Remember This:
Graphics + Ram + Speed + Display = Perfect Gaming Notebook
Consider all of the above factors before you buy or config your perfect gaming machine. Chances are high that you will get a top-notch quality Gaming Notebook that will give you hours and hours of pure gaming bliss!
For a list of the top rated Gaming Notebooks and Laptops Click Here:
Best Gaming Laptops & Notebooks.
Copyright © 2005 Titus Hoskins.
This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Titus_Hoskins
With each new generation of notebooks we are seeing some novel breakthroughs: dual core notebooks, PCI Express, Sonoma chipset, increased storage, increased RAM, faster CPUs, better battery life and better wireless connections including a Cellular Modem. All welcome news for gamers and notebook lovers alike.
Generally, gamers are a very demanding group, they know their computers and they know what they want in their computers. Most gamers like to order their gaming laptop with their own specs and configurations. In that light, if you closely examine the main points gamers consider when configuring or building their Dream Machine -- you will have a good blueprint for the best gaming machine.
Since notebook technology changes every two years or so, it's probably wise to purchase a laptop that can be easily upgraded as new products come on line. So consider the upgradable factor in any notebook that you plan to buy.
Now, lets look at some of these key gaming factors:
GRAPHICS
You must have the best/latest/fastest Graphics on the market. DUH!
Serious gamers are concerned with graphics, obsessed would probably be a better word. And rightly so! Graphics or the quality of the graphic chipset in your notebook computer will be your first area of consideration and it will greatly determine the gaming performance of your PC.
Go with the latest Graphic Chipset and also check to see if you can upgrade your Graphics Card on the particular machine you're thinking about buying. Many machines allow this.
Here are some Graphic Chipsets that are highly rated: ATi Mobility Radeon 9700, ATI's Mobility FireGL V3200 or Intel's Graphics Media Accelerator 900.
ATi Mobility Radeon 9700 is a high quality Graphics Card or visual processing unit (VPU) present in many next generation notebooks. It will give you higher performance at a lower power level, saving battery power.
It makes your notebook computer capable of many functions: 3D games, wide-screen HDTV, dynamic presentations, mobile video editing studio and graphic processor.
Many notebooks now come with integrated graphics, where components interact and are sometimes shared, especially memory. If you want a notebook computer for 3D games -- check the amount of video RAM -- this is memory that's dedicated to graphic or video applications.
Other common graphic chipsets are: STMicro, NVIDIA, 3D Labs, Matrox, Trident S3 and SIS.
RAM
Get the largest amount of RAM possible. DUDE!
RAM or random-access memory will determine how much graphics your notebook computer will be able to handle. It's best to get the largest amount possible on your machine or what you can afford.
It's generally agreed that you need at least 256MB for Windows XP and Mac OS X. You will only need 128MB for other operating systems in Windows or Mac.
RAM or the amount of RAM on your notebook computer is extremely important if you want to handle heavy graphic files or want to play games on your notebook. The more RAM you have, the more applications you will be able to handle. Some notebook now come with up to 2GB of DDR2 533MHz RAM!
DDR2 SDRAM - is a new standard that can boost conventional SDRAM memory up to speeds well over 200MHz and beyond. For example, the IBM ThinkPad T43, thanks to the Sonoma Chipset or platform has 533MHz DDR 2 SDRAM.
This is much better than standard SDRAM which tops out around 150- 166MHz and DDR SDRAM which starts at 200MHz and goes up to around 400MHz.
Video RAM or VRAM is special memory that's used by video adapters on your notebook. This is RAM that is dedicated to handling the visuals and graphics on your notebook computer. This is helpful if you want to play a lot of the latest 3D video games on your notebook.
It is somewhat different from ordinary RAM because it can be accessed by two different devices at once -- enabling screen updates while the video processor processes new data. VRAM provides better graphics but is more expensive than ordinary RAM.
SPEED
You need the fastest computer money can buy. Period!
In order to get the maximum performance from your ultimate gaming computer you must have the fastest speed you can get or afford. Your ultimate PC must be able to process and handle the latest 3D video games with ease. There is nothing as annoying as your PC freezing up in the middle of some major gaming action!
Therefore, your Processor's speed is very important.
CPU or Central Processing Unit, you probably know it as the processor! It's the heart or rather the brain of your notebook or computer. It does all your computer's data processing and applications. Since it does most of the work, it's usually the most expensive part of your notebook computer.
Go with SATA!
SATA is a type of hard drive and stands for Serial Advanced Technology Architecture. It was developed by a whole group of companies including Seagate, Intel, Maxtor, Dell and others. SATA transmit data in a serially (in a single stream) as opposed to PATA or Parallel ATA which is commonly referred to as an IDE hard drive.
Serial ATA hard drives uses less power and are ideal for notebook computers, they are also more advanced than PATA hard drives which uses multipe streams of data -- go figure! But Serial Technology carries data in a single stream and unlike PATA is not limited to a particular clock speed, Serial transfers data packets almost 30 times faster than parallel.
If top performance in your notebook is one of your goals, go with a SATA hard drive.
Intel Pentium M processors are commonly found in a lot of notebooks and laptops. When in doubt also go with a Pentium!
The speed of microprocessors is measured in MHz.
MHz is short for megahertz. One MHz equals one million cycles per second. The speed of processors, usually known as clock speed, is measured in megahertz (MHz) or these days in gigahertz (GHz).
The higher the clock speed, the faster the computer will process applications and data. It determines how powerful your notebook computer will be. Processor speeds for notebooks or laptops are steadily increasing, not quite the same as a desktop but the gap is narrowing quickly. Speeds of 3.4GHz or more.
Don't forget to ask or check the hard drive speed! A 7,200rpm hard drive is faster than a 4,200rpm or 5,400rpm and usually gives better performance.
DISPLAY
You need the sharpest, brightest display screen or all the above points are moot!
Display quality is also extremely important to your gaming experience. Make sure the resolution and display quality of your notebook computer can handle the graphics for 3D Gaming.
What to keep in mind...
SVGA Resolution. Put simply, computer images are made up of dots, the more dots you have -- the better the image. SVGA Resolution is made up of 800 x 600 dots.
Many notebook computer have XGA (1024 by 768 dots) or SXGA (1280 x 1024 dots), these resolutions will give a higher quality image. WXGA stands for widescreen XGA.
TFT Active Matrix Display. TFT stands for thin-film transistors and many high-end notebook computers use (TFT) active matrix liquid crystal displays.
If display quality is your main reason for buying a notebook, it's best to give it the 'old eye test' and check out the image quality first-hand and decide for yourself. Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, and others are known for their high quality monitors -- this quality is also present in their notebook display screens.
So when buying your perfect Gaming Notebook Remember This:
Graphics + Ram + Speed + Display = Perfect Gaming Notebook
Consider all of the above factors before you buy or config your perfect gaming machine. Chances are high that you will get a top-notch quality Gaming Notebook that will give you hours and hours of pure gaming bliss!
For a list of the top rated Gaming Notebooks and Laptops Click Here:
Best Gaming Laptops & Notebooks.
Copyright © 2005 Titus Hoskins.
This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Titus_Hoskins
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Sony VAIO C150P/B
Sony's VAIO laptops have always elevated form to the same level as function. With the thin-and-light C series, Sony is again heavily promoting the aesthetic qualities of its industrial design, calling the system a "functional fashion statement merging portability, power and style." The main selling point of this thin-and-light laptop may be aesthetics, but under the eye-catching paint job, the $ 1,550 Sony VAIO C150P/B offers a speedy Intel Core 2 Duo CPU in a in a sophisticated package that isn't much more expensive than the less photogenic competition.
It sounds like you're browsing the paint aisle at your local big-box home-improvement retailer, as laptops in the Sony VAIO C series are available in seashell white, blush pink, spring green, espresso black, and urban gray. Our review system is the fixed-configuration C150P/B, disappointingly available only in espresso black (we thought spring green would bring out the color of our eyes). It still looks very slick, with tapered edges and copper accents around the touch pad, and a subtle patterned texture on the wrist rests. The keyboard has totally flat keys, instead of the slightly concave ones you may be used to, but it was still comfortable and easy to use.
Measuring 13 inches wide, 9.3 inches deep, and 1.5 inches high, the VAIO C150 sits firmly in the thin-and-light category of laptops: small enough to carry around without much hassle but big enough to work on comfortably for long stretches. The C150 weighs 5 pounds (5.8 pounds with the A/C adapter), which is at the upper end of what we'd want to have in our shoulder bag for a daily commute or extensive traveling.
The 13.3-inch wide-screen LCD offers a nice 1,280x800 native resolution, giving you plenty of detail, but not so high the Web page text disappears. Sony uses its Xbrite technology in the screen, which the company claims gives you deeper blacks and richer colors. More important perhaps is the antireflective coating on the screen surface, which kept the display very readable--even in our brightly lit Labs.
The Sony VAIO C150P/B is a fixed-configuration system, offering a set list of components. Those components include a 1.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 CPU, a healthy 2GB of RAM, Intel 950 graphics, a DVD burner, and a 120GB 5,400rpm hard drive. If you're looking for different specs, Sony offers a customizable version of the system, the C190, where you can take the CPU up to a 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo T7600 or opt for less RAM or a smaller hard drive.
We found a standard array of connections on the VAIO C150, including two USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 400 port, modem and Ethernet jacks, headphone and mic jacks, an ExpressCard slot, and VGA and S-Video outputs for hooking up an external monitor. There's built-in wireless 802.11a/b/g for networking but no Bluetooth.
Compared to other similarly configured systems, the Sony VAIO C150 performed well on CNET Labs' Multitasking test, beating the Fujitsu LifeBook A6010 and the Gateway M255-E, even though the Gateway steps up the CPU to a 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo T5600. In our Photoshop CS2 test, the VAIO finished in a dead heat with even a high-end system, the Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV660, which has a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7200. Photoshop shows the importance of the memory subsystem: the Gateway had only 1GB of RAM, compared to 2GB in other systems, and it ended up in last place by a wide margin.
The VAIO C150 ran for 3 hours, 36 minutes on our MobileMark battery life test, using the included six-cell battery, which is toward the low end of acceptable for a system in its class. You can order an extended nine-cell battery for $299, but it will stick out slightly from the back of the system. Sony's batteries can be expensive (the standard six-cells are $199 on their own), but they are compatible across a large swath of the VAIO laptop line.
Sony backs the system with an industry-standard warranty: one year of free service, including free shipping both ways, and 24/7, toll-free telephone tech support. Sony offers several warranty extensions; a two-year plan with onsite service costs $150. The company's Web site provides a knowledge base, as well as driver downloads and e-mail support, and the Web site makes it fairly painless to drill down to the drivers for a specific model.
It sounds like you're browsing the paint aisle at your local big-box home-improvement retailer, as laptops in the Sony VAIO C series are available in seashell white, blush pink, spring green, espresso black, and urban gray. Our review system is the fixed-configuration C150P/B, disappointingly available only in espresso black (we thought spring green would bring out the color of our eyes). It still looks very slick, with tapered edges and copper accents around the touch pad, and a subtle patterned texture on the wrist rests. The keyboard has totally flat keys, instead of the slightly concave ones you may be used to, but it was still comfortable and easy to use.
Measuring 13 inches wide, 9.3 inches deep, and 1.5 inches high, the VAIO C150 sits firmly in the thin-and-light category of laptops: small enough to carry around without much hassle but big enough to work on comfortably for long stretches. The C150 weighs 5 pounds (5.8 pounds with the A/C adapter), which is at the upper end of what we'd want to have in our shoulder bag for a daily commute or extensive traveling.
The 13.3-inch wide-screen LCD offers a nice 1,280x800 native resolution, giving you plenty of detail, but not so high the Web page text disappears. Sony uses its Xbrite technology in the screen, which the company claims gives you deeper blacks and richer colors. More important perhaps is the antireflective coating on the screen surface, which kept the display very readable--even in our brightly lit Labs.
The Sony VAIO C150P/B is a fixed-configuration system, offering a set list of components. Those components include a 1.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 CPU, a healthy 2GB of RAM, Intel 950 graphics, a DVD burner, and a 120GB 5,400rpm hard drive. If you're looking for different specs, Sony offers a customizable version of the system, the C190, where you can take the CPU up to a 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo T7600 or opt for less RAM or a smaller hard drive.
We found a standard array of connections on the VAIO C150, including two USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 400 port, modem and Ethernet jacks, headphone and mic jacks, an ExpressCard slot, and VGA and S-Video outputs for hooking up an external monitor. There's built-in wireless 802.11a/b/g for networking but no Bluetooth.
Compared to other similarly configured systems, the Sony VAIO C150 performed well on CNET Labs' Multitasking test, beating the Fujitsu LifeBook A6010 and the Gateway M255-E, even though the Gateway steps up the CPU to a 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo T5600. In our Photoshop CS2 test, the VAIO finished in a dead heat with even a high-end system, the Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV660, which has a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7200. Photoshop shows the importance of the memory subsystem: the Gateway had only 1GB of RAM, compared to 2GB in other systems, and it ended up in last place by a wide margin.
The VAIO C150 ran for 3 hours, 36 minutes on our MobileMark battery life test, using the included six-cell battery, which is toward the low end of acceptable for a system in its class. You can order an extended nine-cell battery for $299, but it will stick out slightly from the back of the system. Sony's batteries can be expensive (the standard six-cells are $199 on their own), but they are compatible across a large swath of the VAIO laptop line.
Sony backs the system with an industry-standard warranty: one year of free service, including free shipping both ways, and 24/7, toll-free telephone tech support. Sony offers several warranty extensions; a two-year plan with onsite service costs $150. The company's Web site provides a knowledge base, as well as driver downloads and e-mail support, and the Web site makes it fairly painless to drill down to the drivers for a specific model.
Compaq Presario V2410US PC Notebook
I bought this Compaq Presario notebook because I was looking for a machine that would be very compatible with Windows Vista when it arrived. This machine was basically my choice over a iBook because of avaliability.
I was pleasently surprised with the performance of this little powerpack - The Turion 64Bit processor harnesses amazing power that is really unleashed during times of power use such as games and graphic detailing programs. The 512mb of RAM is quite enough for this machine however when Vista is released I think I will add another 512Mb - The graphics processer is one of few that is capable of making the new graphics part of Vista perform properly.
The 80Gb HDD is easily capable of anything you can throw at it and will hold more than enough data for all but the most demanding of users (that would probly use a desktop anyway). The machine itself is very well constructed and in a very smart move they have made it with a dark outer casing - this makes it much more scratch resistant than my Acer Aspire - Silver lids on a notebook is not a good idea. It seems as if it is very well put together - everything fits well, the ports are well positioned and everything is labeled VERY clearly.
The sound from the Altec Lansing speakers are the BEST I have ever experienced on any notebook - not tinny sounding but loud, clear and the perfect amount of non-destorting bass.
The screen - with the 'now standard' coating is a pleasure to view. Bright, Vivid colors almost jump out at you, it is very fast with a good refresh rate. The only thing I notice will ALL of these coated screens is that they seem to attract dust very easily and you really need to carry a cloth in your case.
As for the asthetics of the notebook - it is one beautiful article. It has nice bright orange lights as indicators and a striking blue wireless enabled light. one handy feature for movies is the touchpad 'on/off' button which allows you to interupt the use of the touchpad. The touchpad also has scrolling lanes (edges of the touchpad used for scrolling).
My only annoyance with the unit is the lip that is present when using a PCMCIA card - it is too close to where your arms sit on the left side of the notebook - on the Acer Aspire the PCMCIA card slot sits much lower and therefore doesn't get in the way.
The Notebook also has a memory card reader - which will read 6 types of memory card including the elusive xD card used by Olympus and Fuji.
The battery life isn't anything to write home about but it does last a good 3 hours under general use inc. maybe burning 2 dvds...
In conclusion this unit is a great notebook that could be used for a multitude of purposes but probly best as a business or study machine for a gamer (UNI STUDENTS TAKE NOTE).
I was pleasently surprised with the performance of this little powerpack - The Turion 64Bit processor harnesses amazing power that is really unleashed during times of power use such as games and graphic detailing programs. The 512mb of RAM is quite enough for this machine however when Vista is released I think I will add another 512Mb - The graphics processer is one of few that is capable of making the new graphics part of Vista perform properly.
The 80Gb HDD is easily capable of anything you can throw at it and will hold more than enough data for all but the most demanding of users (that would probly use a desktop anyway). The machine itself is very well constructed and in a very smart move they have made it with a dark outer casing - this makes it much more scratch resistant than my Acer Aspire - Silver lids on a notebook is not a good idea. It seems as if it is very well put together - everything fits well, the ports are well positioned and everything is labeled VERY clearly.
The sound from the Altec Lansing speakers are the BEST I have ever experienced on any notebook - not tinny sounding but loud, clear and the perfect amount of non-destorting bass.
The screen - with the 'now standard' coating is a pleasure to view. Bright, Vivid colors almost jump out at you, it is very fast with a good refresh rate. The only thing I notice will ALL of these coated screens is that they seem to attract dust very easily and you really need to carry a cloth in your case.
As for the asthetics of the notebook - it is one beautiful article. It has nice bright orange lights as indicators and a striking blue wireless enabled light. one handy feature for movies is the touchpad 'on/off' button which allows you to interupt the use of the touchpad. The touchpad also has scrolling lanes (edges of the touchpad used for scrolling).
My only annoyance with the unit is the lip that is present when using a PCMCIA card - it is too close to where your arms sit on the left side of the notebook - on the Acer Aspire the PCMCIA card slot sits much lower and therefore doesn't get in the way.
The Notebook also has a memory card reader - which will read 6 types of memory card including the elusive xD card used by Olympus and Fuji.
The battery life isn't anything to write home about but it does last a good 3 hours under general use inc. maybe burning 2 dvds...
In conclusion this unit is a great notebook that could be used for a multitude of purposes but probly best as a business or study machine for a gamer (UNI STUDENTS TAKE NOTE).
Hewlett Packard Pavilion dv8140us PC Notebook
Pros: Excellent screen, high size HDD and RAM, great quick play system, fast processor, excellent Wi-Fi
Cons: None
This is an excellent and very powerful machine. High quality 17" screen in wide format provides user with good clear picture. I checked it playing DVD movies and it gives picture far better than I saw on other machines of the same class. It has very good full size keyboard with numeric pad. Hard disc size (200Gb) is more than user can find in other machines on the market. The same goes for the RAM (2Gb). Processor is fast 2,2 GHz 64-bit Turion which is providing speed and efficiency. Quick play system provides you with 17”-size portable DVD player. Bluetooth connection works perfectly connecting Pavilion and my Nokia 6600, as well as other types of cells, with no problems. I am very pleased with this laptop!
Cons: None
This is an excellent and very powerful machine. High quality 17" screen in wide format provides user with good clear picture. I checked it playing DVD movies and it gives picture far better than I saw on other machines of the same class. It has very good full size keyboard with numeric pad. Hard disc size (200Gb) is more than user can find in other machines on the market. The same goes for the RAM (2Gb). Processor is fast 2,2 GHz 64-bit Turion which is providing speed and efficiency. Quick play system provides you with 17”-size portable DVD player. Bluetooth connection works perfectly connecting Pavilion and my Nokia 6600, as well as other types of cells, with no problems. I am very pleased with this laptop!
Fujitsu LifeBook N6420 Notebook
Next-generation optical drives are slowly making their way into more and more households, and the somewhat surprising Trojan horse behind this move is the multimedia laptop. Sony's PlayStation 3, with its built-in Blu-ray drive, will be in short supply for some time to come, and we've seen only a handful of desktop PCs with next-gen optical drives. More and more big-screen laptops, however, are offering these drives as an option. Most of these systems come from Toshiba, one of the creators of the HD-DVD format, but we've also seen HD-DVD drives in recent laptops from HP and Acer. The $2,499 Fujitsu LifeBook N6420 joins the next-gen party with an HD-DVD drive and high-end specs that make for a powerful desktop replacement. It's cheaper than other HD-DVD laptops, such as the Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV660 and offers some proprietary features not found on a similarly priced HP Pavilion dv9000t. The trade-off is slightly slower performance and weak battery life that won't get you through an average movie.
Compared to a flashier system such as the Toshiba Qosmio, the LifeBook N6420 feels somewhat underdesigned. The exterior and interior are basic gray with black accents. The N6420's physical measurements are imposing at 16.3 inches wide by 12.0 inches deep by 1.9 inches thick. It's not the absolute heaviest 17-inch laptop we've ever seen, but it's a close contender. At 9.7 pounds (11.6 with the massive A/C adapter), it's awkward to even carry across the room, but it's still about a pound less than the Qosmio. The 17-inch Gateway NX860XL, at a mere 8.5 pounds, seems positively svelte by comparison.
The system has a standard set of connections, including four USB 2.0 jacks, a mini FireWire jack, PC Card and ExpressCard slots, a media card reader, and a VGA output. For a high-end system such as this, we would have liked to see at least a DVI output for outputting HD-DVD signals to your home theater setup. Networking connections include a 56Kbps modem, 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, and integrated 802.11a/b/g wireless.
The included 200GB hard drive is sufficiently roomy, but it's a shame it's only a 4,200rpm drive. Even budget laptops usually have 5,400rpm drives and about half of the desktop replacements we've looked at recently have had desktop-speed 7,200rpm drives. The 1GB of RAM is upgradable to 2GB for a fairly reasonable $180 extra.
Like other HD-DVD desktop replacements, such as the Acer Aspire 9800 and the HP Pavilion dv9000t, the table-hogging footprint allows for a full-size keyboard and a separate number pad. The touch pad is offset to the left side of the chassis, with a fingerprint reader nestled between the two mouse buttons. A set of media control buttons sit above the keyboard, including a volume rocker switch, an on-off switch for the wireless card, and a four-way circular switch--similar to an iPod wheel--that can launch four programs of your choice, such as a Web browser or an e-mail client.
Another button above the keyboard is labeled Visual Optimizer. That's a pretty intriguing name for a button, and it almost makes you wonder why you'd want a switch to turn it on and off: optimized visuals sound like the kind of thing you'd want on all the time. Fujitsu describes the Visual Optimizer as a "special image processing subsystem [that] enhances images from any source so that they are optimized for the LCD." Rather than just bumping up the brightness and the contrast of an image, the visual optimizer adds edge enhancement and attempts to expand the luminance range of the image. In practice, it adds a pleasing color saturation and brightness to many images, along with richer blacks. It can be a matter of taste, as some images appear blown out when the Visual Optimizer is engaged, and attempting to use it while watching an HD-DVD movie, we found that we lost too much detail in the darker parts of the frame to make it worthwhile.
Even without the Visual Optimizer, the 17-inch wide-screen display looks good, although it has a native resolution of 1,440x900--many high-end 17-inch laptops have a resolution of 1,920x1,200. The included Windows Media Center remote and receiver add even more flexibility, as you can set up the laptop across the room and kick back for a small-scale cinematic experience.
Running Intel's Core 2 Duo T7200 CPU, the Fujitsu LifeBook N6420 has more than enough computing power for robust multimedia apps, but saddled with only 1GB of RAM and a slower hard drive, it fell behind the T7200-powered Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV660 in CNET Labs' Multitasking and Photoshop CS2 tests, and it was significantly slower than desktop replacement models with faster processors, such as the Gateway NX860XL. With an ATI Mobility Radeon x1600 GPU, the N6420 can handle mid-level gaming chores, turning in an acceptable if not impressive 37.8 frames per second in Quake 4 at 1,024x768.
The Achilles' heel of many desktop replacement systems is battery life, and the N6420 is no exception. Scraping the very bottom of our battery ratings, the system couldn't even complete our standard MobileMark battery life test, but we were able to anecdotally clock an average of 81 minutes of battery life--not even enough for a full-length feature film. This is definitely a laptop that you'll want to run on AC power.
Fujitsu covers the system with a one-year warranty. Support is available through a 24/7 toll-free phone line, and technicians can connect to your computer over the Internet to diagnose problems. Standard FAQs and driver downloads are also available. Adding an extra year of service costs $99, and upgrading to next-business-day onsite service is an additional $50 per year
Compared to a flashier system such as the Toshiba Qosmio, the LifeBook N6420 feels somewhat underdesigned. The exterior and interior are basic gray with black accents. The N6420's physical measurements are imposing at 16.3 inches wide by 12.0 inches deep by 1.9 inches thick. It's not the absolute heaviest 17-inch laptop we've ever seen, but it's a close contender. At 9.7 pounds (11.6 with the massive A/C adapter), it's awkward to even carry across the room, but it's still about a pound less than the Qosmio. The 17-inch Gateway NX860XL, at a mere 8.5 pounds, seems positively svelte by comparison.
The system has a standard set of connections, including four USB 2.0 jacks, a mini FireWire jack, PC Card and ExpressCard slots, a media card reader, and a VGA output. For a high-end system such as this, we would have liked to see at least a DVI output for outputting HD-DVD signals to your home theater setup. Networking connections include a 56Kbps modem, 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, and integrated 802.11a/b/g wireless.
The included 200GB hard drive is sufficiently roomy, but it's a shame it's only a 4,200rpm drive. Even budget laptops usually have 5,400rpm drives and about half of the desktop replacements we've looked at recently have had desktop-speed 7,200rpm drives. The 1GB of RAM is upgradable to 2GB for a fairly reasonable $180 extra.
Like other HD-DVD desktop replacements, such as the Acer Aspire 9800 and the HP Pavilion dv9000t, the table-hogging footprint allows for a full-size keyboard and a separate number pad. The touch pad is offset to the left side of the chassis, with a fingerprint reader nestled between the two mouse buttons. A set of media control buttons sit above the keyboard, including a volume rocker switch, an on-off switch for the wireless card, and a four-way circular switch--similar to an iPod wheel--that can launch four programs of your choice, such as a Web browser or an e-mail client.
Another button above the keyboard is labeled Visual Optimizer. That's a pretty intriguing name for a button, and it almost makes you wonder why you'd want a switch to turn it on and off: optimized visuals sound like the kind of thing you'd want on all the time. Fujitsu describes the Visual Optimizer as a "special image processing subsystem [that] enhances images from any source so that they are optimized for the LCD." Rather than just bumping up the brightness and the contrast of an image, the visual optimizer adds edge enhancement and attempts to expand the luminance range of the image. In practice, it adds a pleasing color saturation and brightness to many images, along with richer blacks. It can be a matter of taste, as some images appear blown out when the Visual Optimizer is engaged, and attempting to use it while watching an HD-DVD movie, we found that we lost too much detail in the darker parts of the frame to make it worthwhile.
Even without the Visual Optimizer, the 17-inch wide-screen display looks good, although it has a native resolution of 1,440x900--many high-end 17-inch laptops have a resolution of 1,920x1,200. The included Windows Media Center remote and receiver add even more flexibility, as you can set up the laptop across the room and kick back for a small-scale cinematic experience.
Running Intel's Core 2 Duo T7200 CPU, the Fujitsu LifeBook N6420 has more than enough computing power for robust multimedia apps, but saddled with only 1GB of RAM and a slower hard drive, it fell behind the T7200-powered Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV660 in CNET Labs' Multitasking and Photoshop CS2 tests, and it was significantly slower than desktop replacement models with faster processors, such as the Gateway NX860XL. With an ATI Mobility Radeon x1600 GPU, the N6420 can handle mid-level gaming chores, turning in an acceptable if not impressive 37.8 frames per second in Quake 4 at 1,024x768.
The Achilles' heel of many desktop replacement systems is battery life, and the N6420 is no exception. Scraping the very bottom of our battery ratings, the system couldn't even complete our standard MobileMark battery life test, but we were able to anecdotally clock an average of 81 minutes of battery life--not even enough for a full-length feature film. This is definitely a laptop that you'll want to run on AC power.
Fujitsu covers the system with a one-year warranty. Support is available through a 24/7 toll-free phone line, and technicians can connect to your computer over the Internet to diagnose problems. Standard FAQs and driver downloads are also available. Adding an extra year of service costs $99, and upgrading to next-business-day onsite service is an additional $50 per year
Dell Inspiron™ E1705 PC Notebook
DELL Inspiron E1705:
Inspiron Series:
The Inspiron series was designed for the hip, new generation users as well as for the high-end power users. It showcases stylish design and a great price, unlike the Latitudes which are usually dull/uninspiring to look at but very robust business laptops. The Inspirons are priced less than comparable Latitudes.
Out of the Box:
The drabby brown box is typical DELL, all the bells & whistles are inside, not on the box. The box contains:
1. The E1705 Laptop,
2. Driver CD & OS re-install CD (option), and software CDs (DVD player, DVD burner, dell media center etc.)
3. Power adapter & cables
4. S-video cable (to connect the laptop to the TV)
5. DVI cable for connecting to a digital monitor
6. User manual & quick setup guide
Design:
Laptop body:
True to the E-series laptops, the E1705 looks very similar to the Inspiron 6000 ( http://www.epinions.com/content_223346134660 ), in terms of color combination, multimedia buttons & keyboard layout. The laptop is predorminantly silver with white edges. The silver is finger print resistant, thats good, it does not catch any visible dirt off sweaty hands. The white edges on my 1 1/2 old inspiron 6000 did develope one minute crack on each corner of the laptop and I think this could be the problem with the E1705 too. But the cracks are very very minute.
I/O ports:
This Laptop is loaded with I/O ports, it has more USB ports than any other E-Series laptops and new to the E1705 is the DVI video out to connect to an external digital monitor. There is also a analog video out and S-video out
1 x mini Firewire
6 x USB 2.0 (4 pin connectors)
Digital Video Interface (DVI)
RJ45 (Ethernet) and RJ11 (modem port)
Video – 15 pin and S-video – 7 pin connectors
5-in-1 removable memory card reader
Audio jacks for speakers and microphone mini-connectors.
Keyboard & Touchpad:
New to this model is the flex-keyboard, it is supposed to enhance the ease of the keyboard usage. The Keyboard is well laid out, the key placement is in the right places and are easy to reach. The keys are very responsive and make soft clicks. The touch pad is neat and is silver in color. It has the up-down & left-right scroll built into it. The touchpad too is very responsive and better than the one on the Latitude. Apart from the touchpad, there is also a mouse button between the "G,H,B" keys and the corresponding left & right clicks for those not used to touch pads.
Multimedia controls:
The multimedia controls are placed in the front of the laptop and can be accessed while the laptop cover is closed. New to the Inspiron series is the fact that you can watch pictures from the inbuilt memory card or listen to music and watch DVDs while the laptp is powered off. This is a convenient feature, since the laptop need not be ON to listen to the music & also it saves on the valuable battery charge.
Graphics card and LCD:
There are 2 options for the graphics cards, (1) Integrated Intel graphics media accelerator 950 and (2) 256MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON x1400 HyperMemory. The ATI card is way better and supports higher screen resolutions. The LCD screen is a beauty. At 17 inches, it is widescreen, making the laptop look very cool. There are 3 choices while choosing the LCD screen, Active Matrix WXGA (1280 x 800 max screen resolution, 1 mega pixel rating) and the Active Matrix WXGA with TrueLife (1280 x 800 max screen resolution and 1 mega pixel rating) and WSXGA+ with TrueLife (1680 x 1050 max screen resolution and 1.76 mega pixels) The third option, WXGA+ with TrueLife combined with the ATI graphics card is brilliant, this is a must have for a techie. It offers acres of desktop space.
Battery:
The 9 cell battery is supposed to give 4 hours of power to the laptop. The 4 hour battery life for a 17in screen is good, especially the screen is so brilliant and bright. But the battery life is far from stellar.
Sound card/speakers:
Here again there are 2 options, the integrated stereo sound and the Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy Advanced HD audio. The HD audio is much better and sounds more crisper. For just $30 more it is a good upgrade. The built-in speakers are louder than most laptops I used. But if you use your laptop for listening to music, I would suggest getting external laptop speakers. The built-in speakers are good, but they sound flat and their frequency response is limited. Though laptop speakers are prone to this problem, Sony has one laptop that has a built-in subwoofer... thats cool.
Hard disk & DVD/CD driver:
Dell offers tons of options for laptop hard disks. I did not see so much choice on anyother brand. You can choose from 40, 60, 80 and 100 GB hard disks in 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm. The hard drive is the slowest part in a computer and choosing the fastest hard drive (7200 rpm) is always good. The DVD/CD ROM drive is fixed and cannot be removed unlike the Latitudes. There is an option of a CD RW/DVD ROM drive and DVD RW/CD RW drive. Both drives offer 24x/10x/24x for CD and 8x for DVD read & write.
Performance and Usage:
The E1705 is very very big and heavy, especially if you are used to smaller laptops. Even though it is only 1.44 inches thick and starting weight is 8 lbs, it can very quickly increase when adding the options like 9 cell battery, DVD drive etc. My laptop weighs 10.8 lbs and carrying it on a daily basis can be a real pain. The Wide-screen is a beauty, looks very good and it is very bright. The E1705 performance is based on the processor, there are 5 choices of processors, 1.66 MHz Solo, 1.66 Mhz/1.86 Mhz/2.0 Mhz/2.16 MHz Dual core processors. Needless to say the higher processor speed the better the performance. The RAM memory too makes a lot of difference. It supports max 2GB of Dual Channel 667MHz DDR2 memory, and I find the 1 GB to be sufficient for now. The laptop is very fast, especially with the dual core processor. In performance tests I have found the Pentium M DualCore 1.66 MHz is 130% better than the Pentium M 1.66 MHz Solo processor. Though it may not seem to be much, but consider this, the performance difference on an average new processor to the previous model is just 110%. The laptop came with a lot of junk software installed (might be useful to some), I uninstalled most of them and the memory utilization has dropped from 620MB to 430MB. And the performance has only been better. The installed DELL’s multimedia software is good, it is feature rich and comprehensive.
The many ports are very convenient. Connecting the E1705 to the TV via the S-video or DVI is very simple. The mini-Firewire is very useful too, especially when dumping the video from a camcorder to the laptop. The 6 USB ports are more than adequate. I connect external speakers when using the laptop as a media player, there is a world of a difference. The built in speakers are loud enough but produce flat tones. The multimedia buttons are accessible when the laptop cover is closed, that’s a nice touch and the fact that you can play DVDs,CDs and memory card media while the laptop is OFF, is really cool.
Customer Support:
Customer Support has been Dell’s selling point. Since there are hardly any stores to check out the products before buying them, the customer service is available 24x7x365. The customer service personnel seem to bend over backwards to help the customers. I received a $100 coupon for complaining about some issue that dell messed up. That sure shut me up with a smile. Most hardware failures are replaced free of charge. (within the warranty) and repairing is out of question. The wait time on the phone is minimal. Having said that, the skill level of the average customer service personnel seems to be not up to standards. But if an issue is not resolved, it is promptly forwarded to a more knowledgeable person.
Intend market:
Thi laptop is so heavy that it seems to be a bridge between a desktop and a laptop. It is not meant for carrying it around on a daily basis. This model is targetted as a desktop replacement in homes. It has a big screen like a typical home desktop would have. and probably more powerful than the desktop it replaced. With options to connect to externat analog & digital monitors, there is a scope to have a bigger monitor. With tons of I/O ports, it is ideal for connecting devices like camcorder, digital camera, webcam, MP3 player, USB flash cards, SD card etc.
Some Issues:
1. Laptop is loaded with junk software that hogs up the memory and bringing down the laptop’s performance.
2. Hard disk is rated at 100 GB, but the effective space is only 86 GB, because DELL has some space hidden for the OS restore. But loosing 14 GB for that is way too much. Also this is not mentioned anywhere on the Dell website.
3. Not as modular as the latitude – the Inspiron has a fixed CD/DVD bay, meaning it cannot be easily replaced with a Floppy drive or external hard disk like in a Latitude.
Some things to note:
1. When buying any DELL search for dell coupons online before buying it. There are coupons upto $750 off.
2. Find a dell store around you, usually they are in malls. Look at the product and use it before you buy it online. Never buy in the store, they offer no discounts. Buying online can save you tons of money
3. Laptop being a fairly long term investment, always buy the best configuration you can afford. With technology changing so fast, your laptop could get out-dated in as little as 8 months. So get the highest configuration you can afford.
4. Always choose the laptop size based on what you use it for, if you need to carry it around, you might want to choose a smaller/lighter one like the Inspiron 1405 . If you use it primarily at home to watch movies, it is ok to get a large screen maybe a 15.4 inch (Inspiron E1505)or a 17 inch (inspiron E1705.)
5. when choosing the RAM memory, always choose the highest you can afford and also choose the RAM in a single module. Laptops have only 2 slots for memory modules, if you choose 1 GB in 2 x 512 MB modules, any upgrade would render one module useless, if not both.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1549
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: Greater than 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
Inspiron Series:
The Inspiron series was designed for the hip, new generation users as well as for the high-end power users. It showcases stylish design and a great price, unlike the Latitudes which are usually dull/uninspiring to look at but very robust business laptops. The Inspirons are priced less than comparable Latitudes.
Out of the Box:
The drabby brown box is typical DELL, all the bells & whistles are inside, not on the box. The box contains:
1. The E1705 Laptop,
2. Driver CD & OS re-install CD (option), and software CDs (DVD player, DVD burner, dell media center etc.)
3. Power adapter & cables
4. S-video cable (to connect the laptop to the TV)
5. DVI cable for connecting to a digital monitor
6. User manual & quick setup guide
Design:
Laptop body:
True to the E-series laptops, the E1705 looks very similar to the Inspiron 6000 ( http://www.epinions.com/content_223346134660 ), in terms of color combination, multimedia buttons & keyboard layout. The laptop is predorminantly silver with white edges. The silver is finger print resistant, thats good, it does not catch any visible dirt off sweaty hands. The white edges on my 1 1/2 old inspiron 6000 did develope one minute crack on each corner of the laptop and I think this could be the problem with the E1705 too. But the cracks are very very minute.
I/O ports:
This Laptop is loaded with I/O ports, it has more USB ports than any other E-Series laptops and new to the E1705 is the DVI video out to connect to an external digital monitor. There is also a analog video out and S-video out
1 x mini Firewire
6 x USB 2.0 (4 pin connectors)
Digital Video Interface (DVI)
RJ45 (Ethernet) and RJ11 (modem port)
Video – 15 pin and S-video – 7 pin connectors
5-in-1 removable memory card reader
Audio jacks for speakers and microphone mini-connectors.
Keyboard & Touchpad:
New to this model is the flex-keyboard, it is supposed to enhance the ease of the keyboard usage. The Keyboard is well laid out, the key placement is in the right places and are easy to reach. The keys are very responsive and make soft clicks. The touch pad is neat and is silver in color. It has the up-down & left-right scroll built into it. The touchpad too is very responsive and better than the one on the Latitude. Apart from the touchpad, there is also a mouse button between the "G,H,B" keys and the corresponding left & right clicks for those not used to touch pads.
Multimedia controls:
The multimedia controls are placed in the front of the laptop and can be accessed while the laptop cover is closed. New to the Inspiron series is the fact that you can watch pictures from the inbuilt memory card or listen to music and watch DVDs while the laptp is powered off. This is a convenient feature, since the laptop need not be ON to listen to the music & also it saves on the valuable battery charge.
Graphics card and LCD:
There are 2 options for the graphics cards, (1) Integrated Intel graphics media accelerator 950 and (2) 256MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON x1400 HyperMemory. The ATI card is way better and supports higher screen resolutions. The LCD screen is a beauty. At 17 inches, it is widescreen, making the laptop look very cool. There are 3 choices while choosing the LCD screen, Active Matrix WXGA (1280 x 800 max screen resolution, 1 mega pixel rating) and the Active Matrix WXGA with TrueLife (1280 x 800 max screen resolution and 1 mega pixel rating) and WSXGA+ with TrueLife (1680 x 1050 max screen resolution and 1.76 mega pixels) The third option, WXGA+ with TrueLife combined with the ATI graphics card is brilliant, this is a must have for a techie. It offers acres of desktop space.
Battery:
The 9 cell battery is supposed to give 4 hours of power to the laptop. The 4 hour battery life for a 17in screen is good, especially the screen is so brilliant and bright. But the battery life is far from stellar.
Sound card/speakers:
Here again there are 2 options, the integrated stereo sound and the Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy Advanced HD audio. The HD audio is much better and sounds more crisper. For just $30 more it is a good upgrade. The built-in speakers are louder than most laptops I used. But if you use your laptop for listening to music, I would suggest getting external laptop speakers. The built-in speakers are good, but they sound flat and their frequency response is limited. Though laptop speakers are prone to this problem, Sony has one laptop that has a built-in subwoofer... thats cool.
Hard disk & DVD/CD driver:
Dell offers tons of options for laptop hard disks. I did not see so much choice on anyother brand. You can choose from 40, 60, 80 and 100 GB hard disks in 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm. The hard drive is the slowest part in a computer and choosing the fastest hard drive (7200 rpm) is always good. The DVD/CD ROM drive is fixed and cannot be removed unlike the Latitudes. There is an option of a CD RW/DVD ROM drive and DVD RW/CD RW drive. Both drives offer 24x/10x/24x for CD and 8x for DVD read & write.
Performance and Usage:
The E1705 is very very big and heavy, especially if you are used to smaller laptops. Even though it is only 1.44 inches thick and starting weight is 8 lbs, it can very quickly increase when adding the options like 9 cell battery, DVD drive etc. My laptop weighs 10.8 lbs and carrying it on a daily basis can be a real pain. The Wide-screen is a beauty, looks very good and it is very bright. The E1705 performance is based on the processor, there are 5 choices of processors, 1.66 MHz Solo, 1.66 Mhz/1.86 Mhz/2.0 Mhz/2.16 MHz Dual core processors. Needless to say the higher processor speed the better the performance. The RAM memory too makes a lot of difference. It supports max 2GB of Dual Channel 667MHz DDR2 memory, and I find the 1 GB to be sufficient for now. The laptop is very fast, especially with the dual core processor. In performance tests I have found the Pentium M DualCore 1.66 MHz is 130% better than the Pentium M 1.66 MHz Solo processor. Though it may not seem to be much, but consider this, the performance difference on an average new processor to the previous model is just 110%. The laptop came with a lot of junk software installed (might be useful to some), I uninstalled most of them and the memory utilization has dropped from 620MB to 430MB. And the performance has only been better. The installed DELL’s multimedia software is good, it is feature rich and comprehensive.
The many ports are very convenient. Connecting the E1705 to the TV via the S-video or DVI is very simple. The mini-Firewire is very useful too, especially when dumping the video from a camcorder to the laptop. The 6 USB ports are more than adequate. I connect external speakers when using the laptop as a media player, there is a world of a difference. The built in speakers are loud enough but produce flat tones. The multimedia buttons are accessible when the laptop cover is closed, that’s a nice touch and the fact that you can play DVDs,CDs and memory card media while the laptop is OFF, is really cool.
Customer Support:
Customer Support has been Dell’s selling point. Since there are hardly any stores to check out the products before buying them, the customer service is available 24x7x365. The customer service personnel seem to bend over backwards to help the customers. I received a $100 coupon for complaining about some issue that dell messed up. That sure shut me up with a smile. Most hardware failures are replaced free of charge. (within the warranty) and repairing is out of question. The wait time on the phone is minimal. Having said that, the skill level of the average customer service personnel seems to be not up to standards. But if an issue is not resolved, it is promptly forwarded to a more knowledgeable person.
Intend market:
Thi laptop is so heavy that it seems to be a bridge between a desktop and a laptop. It is not meant for carrying it around on a daily basis. This model is targetted as a desktop replacement in homes. It has a big screen like a typical home desktop would have. and probably more powerful than the desktop it replaced. With options to connect to externat analog & digital monitors, there is a scope to have a bigger monitor. With tons of I/O ports, it is ideal for connecting devices like camcorder, digital camera, webcam, MP3 player, USB flash cards, SD card etc.
Some Issues:
1. Laptop is loaded with junk software that hogs up the memory and bringing down the laptop’s performance.
2. Hard disk is rated at 100 GB, but the effective space is only 86 GB, because DELL has some space hidden for the OS restore. But loosing 14 GB for that is way too much. Also this is not mentioned anywhere on the Dell website.
3. Not as modular as the latitude – the Inspiron has a fixed CD/DVD bay, meaning it cannot be easily replaced with a Floppy drive or external hard disk like in a Latitude.
Some things to note:
1. When buying any DELL search for dell coupons online before buying it. There are coupons upto $750 off.
2. Find a dell store around you, usually they are in malls. Look at the product and use it before you buy it online. Never buy in the store, they offer no discounts. Buying online can save you tons of money
3. Laptop being a fairly long term investment, always buy the best configuration you can afford. With technology changing so fast, your laptop could get out-dated in as little as 8 months. So get the highest configuration you can afford.
4. Always choose the laptop size based on what you use it for, if you need to carry it around, you might want to choose a smaller/lighter one like the Inspiron 1405 . If you use it primarily at home to watch movies, it is ok to get a large screen maybe a 15.4 inch (Inspiron E1505)or a 17 inch (inspiron E1705.)
5. when choosing the RAM memory, always choose the highest you can afford and also choose the RAM in a single module. Laptops have only 2 slots for memory modules, if you choose 1 GB in 2 x 512 MB modules, any upgrade would render one module useless, if not both.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1549
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: Greater than 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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