New Vostro Lineup (3350, 3450..)

when I'm cutting through email, I don't think my fan ever turns on. occasionally it'll spin up a bit when I'm opening an attachment like a Photoshop PSD or a large PDF or XLS. if it's just plain email and no attachments usually it's silent for me.

keep in mind that this is relative to your room's temperature. if you like to keep your room 20C and above, you'll probably get fan activity regardless. I like to keep my office temperature as far down as I can go; some people joke that it's like a meat locker here in my office.

 

How much can I expect the (8-cell) battery in the 3350 to deteriorate in 1,2,3,4 years if I take some measures to keep it healthy, e.g. not letting it get too warm, etc?

edit: And also, for how long will the vostro 3350 be in dell's lineup (new, not used)?

edit2: I guess I got a 3rd question. Is there any real problems with the 6490m now? Is battery power much worse? I've compared a couple of reviews and the difference seems to be about 0-30mins less battery life @ light usage. Is there any way to make the computer use the integrated graphics 100%?

 

Hi all,
I finally bought a 3350 and I am very pleased so far. My only concern is that the laptop came with alot of software preinstalled and it has become slow on booting so a format is imminent. What I wanted to ask is that I also got a windows 7 reinstallation disk. Is this disk a plain windows 7 image or it has also the dell software included?
My intention was to install a clean windows 7 image and then add whichever dell software I need.
So this brings me to the second question: which dell software are not needed and which are essential? For example I use the trend micro security suite but I am not sure if its any better than microsoft essentials.
Any opinions and suggestions are welcome!

 

Hi spagi,

Great that you are happy with your vostro 3350. You can use the disk which is deliverd by dell. Its a clean windows 7 installation with only your windows key built in. Everything else like drivers and software must be installed by yourself. I always use that disk when i have to make a dell laptop ready for working at my work. A tip: launch the dvd from boot, choose custom setup, then you can delete the partitions created by dell, which you don't need. You can select a bigger partition size for your own data and stuff.
What about the software, i don't use any of the by dell delivered software. I only install the drivers. Microsoft security essentials is a good program, used it withouth any problem so far. And those trail software programs mostly screw your register after your license is expired. Because when your remove that software some parts will stay. Good luck with your new install.


Greetz.

 

looking to get a Vostro 3750, anybody seen any discounts or coupons for use? I can't find anything anywhere. Even signed up for Dell's newsletter and subscription email stuff and got a 20% off ACCESSORIES....blah

 

I'm planning to get a Vostro 3450 to do the DIY eGPU stuff. I asked for a i5-2430M and they also put me in the AMD HD6630M that i don't need. Do you think will be possible to get the notebook without that card (Only HD3000)?

I've also read about poor screen and sound quality, do you confirm those "flaws" ?

Thanks

 

Thank you very much for the reply schakel!

 

Hi All,

I haven't manged to read the entire thread so forgive me if this has already been answered -

I have a 3550. Are there any issues with just adding a single 4GB SoDimm from Crucial rather than a pair of 'matched' dimms? Has anyone had any problems? (A single 4GB is dirt cheap)

TIA

cheers

neil

 

I did it. No problems.

 

Generally speaking, get one with the same specs (latency, and so on), and you will be fine most of the time. Always do a full memtest right after turning on your computer!