New Vostro Lineup (3350, 3450..)

Haven't had a chance to call Dell yet, too busy. Need to do it soon. But noticed something interesting - when my laptop is in sleep mode, you power light flashes slowly, as in many laptops. I noticed today though that with each flash, I could hear a oscillating high pitched noise. I put my ear closer - it sounds like the same high pitched noise I hear when it is running, just quieter because the lid is closed.

Any ideas what this could be then? I don't think the problem is CPU whine at all now - changing the power state etc does nothing to change the noise. And it seems to make the noise in a pulsating pattern with the flashing power light in sleep mode. Weird.

 

Hi folks. Just got my new Vostro 3450 on Friday, but really didn't get a chance to use it until today. I use it for general business needs: spreadsheet, word proc., email and lite web use.

Here is my config I got from Dell's recent sale:

Vostro 3450 Fast Track 28D $549.00 + sales tax with free shipping
2nd generation Intel Core i5-2410M processor 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz Vostro
4GB,1333MHZ,DDR3,1X4G 1 DIMM
Backlit Keyboard with Gesture Touchpad
English Documentation, Technical sheet
Intel HD Graphics 3000 with up to 1.6GB Dynamic Video Memory
320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Dell,Software DPR,Finger Print Reader,5.X,Factory Installed
14.0 inch High Definition LED Display (1366 x 768) with anti-glare
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 bit Service Pack 1,English

Overall, fit and finish is good, screen angle is rather limited as others have noted. Adding another stick of RAM is very easy from the access panel on the bottom. As others have also mentioned, the HD is not easily accessable, looks like an almost complete tear down is required to swap/replace drives. Not a concern for me, 320GB is way more than I'll ever use.

I'll try to use it more this week as time allows, but my first impression of the 3450 is that it's nice notebook for the price I paid.

 

@ Cheffy

I had the high pitch whine with my Vostro 3750 too. It sounds to my like to wiring related, maybe has to do with LEDs, hard drive, touchpad but in around that area that the high pitch noise emits from.

Also the DVD drive was just horrible on my Vostro 3650 reading StarCraft 2 disc, it sounded like the door was going burst open at anytime but surprisingly did not sound that bad while burning?

 

Because the read speed is much faster then the maximum burn speed (depending on the disc type).

 

Hi all,
I've been following this forum for a while as i wanna renew my laptop..
I'm a little picky, and i'm looking for a "real nice " notebook. I'm still using Dell XPS M1210 for more than 4 years and half now and frankly it's still running great (with 4Gb ram and Win 7 ult) but i'm just sick of it. I waited the latitude since beg 2011 and dell surprised me with an ugly laptop (looks like coming from the 90's); also waited for the ultra-slim one and i got more surprised with a horrible look of 15z. My budget can reach 2K or little more as i don't change laptops frequently.
I'm looking for a 12 to 13" notebook (windows based); for sure slimmer than my M1210, handy and light as i travel so so much.

I apologize for the long introduction, my question is: is it a good idea to buy the vostro 3350, upgrade it to 8GB ram and 256GB SSD? if yes are these upgrades enough to have a good laptop with excellent performance? if no any suggestions?

Cheers;

 

I would like to buy Dell Vostro 3350 and have some question:
currently all models available in our stores (at Ukraine) does not have WWAN module, but I would like to have it. So if I buy WWAN Dell 5540 module separately can I insert it by myself or I need support from service? And what about antenna for WWAN module? Does this Vostro 3350 already have it premounted or I need to buy it also?
As I know, for example, some Lenovo ThinkPad's already have antenna for WWAN and all that you need is just to buy WWAN module and then simply put it inside without any help from support. Very simple and friendly. Does the same thing here?

 

Does anyone know if there is a difference in the screen quality between the Intel 3000 graphics and the AMD Radeon chip on the 3450's?

 

Good you asked... Not only will it not have additional antennas, but also it will not have a SIM card slot. I had a WWAN card (5540) card laying around, but had to purchase my Vostro with it installed anyway. As far as I know, Dell's Latitude series has all the hardware in place for installing a WWAN card afterwards.

 

Question to the owners of the Vostro 3750 Core i7 with 750GB HDD.

What brand and what model is the HDD?

Thanks!

 

Had online chat with technical support this afternoon - dell will be sending a technician to replace my fan and hard drive to address the noise issue. I am suspecting it is the hard drive, because of the noise. My hard drive is a western digital WDC WD3200BEKT-75PVMT0 - seems like a well reviewed and solid drive, and the performance seems ok to me. But maybe a bearing is off or something.