Vostro 3350 Owner's Cafe

If it keeps on dropping with fresh OS install, I would say a bad WLAN card. Did you try checking the physical connections of the antennae?

 

Thought I would post a short review on the 3350. My favorite part is i can easily get 8+ hours browsing the web with lcd dimmed at 35% - very much readable though (I've i3/integrated graphics). however for everyday use i suggest 4-cell battery and a spare 8-cell if you need longer run times when travelling. right now, there are a bunch of 3350s in the dell outlet that you can get for less than $500 shipped w/tax (but then a brand new base model starts at $550 which is not too bad). unfortunately, if you need the backlit keyboard, you might have to call or chat with the outlet rep's to select one with the backlit keyboard since it doesn't specifically list that part on the outlet. the part number is HK8XD if you want to confirm with them or buy it separately after you receive the laptop for $50+tax/shipping.

Pro's:
1) Build quality is excellent and feels solid
2) Battery life is excellent
3) Backlit keyboard
4) Doesn't get hot underneath and can actually be used as a 'lap'top atleast with the i3 cpu
5) not much bloatware loaded like on the consumer laptops
6) cheapest backlit keyboard laptop in the market i think lol
7) webcam & fingerprint reader are standard i think (just confirm this statement elsewhere)
8) eSATA, HDMI & 2x USB 3.0 ports on a business model are welcome addition

Con's:
1) Heavy because most of the body is metal construction (get the 4-cell battery if you need it light)
2) feels like this is a 13.3" screen in a 14" laptop body (probably the biggest 13.3" laptop out there)
3) the 8-cell battery is not comfortable on the lap since it bulges out and 'weight' is on your legs
4) screen quality is below average (out of the box) though i haven't calibrated it yet
5) single speaker on the left side underneath the laptop but surprisingly loud


IMO, this is a solid laptop for the price if you don't need 'thin & light' 13.3" notebook. if thin & light with backlit keyboard are important to you, the sony vaio VPCSA190X & VPCSB290X are good choices, if you can afford them then go for it. if you don't care about backlit keyboard then toshiba R835-P55x or P56x are good choices too and are the lightest 13.3" laptops in the market with a built in dvd drive. if you don't care about the built in drive, then the lenovo X220 is a solid choice too. let me know if you need more information.

also, read this review. i almost completely agree with the reviewer
Dell Vostro 3350 Laptop Computer Review | PCWorld

sorry for the long post, i'm just too happy with this laptop despite the shortfalls. i almost purchased a sony vaio SA or Z from the outlet but i couldn't justify spending so much money.

 

I do not know performance of i3 but I am not agree with the review.

I just purchased a Vostro 3350, i7-2620M, 6 GB RAM, 750 GB 7200 rpm HDD, 6470 + HD3000 video cards, 8-cell battery.

Yes its heavy,
Yes its big for a 13.3" notebook but its one of the best business notebooks.

I have read some reviews which have more detailed performance benchmarks and I can say that 3350 was one of the best performer among the other 13.3 notebooks. Not the reviewer but numbers says this.

Beside all of these, a Sony Vaio Z is the BEST Ultra-Portable Notebook I have ever seen, I plan buy one, when I can handle.

 

I'm with hakkan. My specs are almost identical to his and my performance is fantastic. 10 hours battery life with wireless while taking notes at uni, boot time from the start of the windows logo to desktop is under 10 seconds. Certainly more power than i need from it. Also, the 8 cell battery is not as bad as some make it out to be. After three hours of note taking on my lap i wasn't uncomfortable with it.

It's heavy, it's solid, but it fell off the top of my car without a scratch. (accidental test ) Maybe there are lighter laptops out there but for me the fact it's so solid is a source of reassurance, because unlike some laptops it actually FEELS like it won't break.

 

I'm glad to see you guys getting similar battery hours with the i7 too. regarding performance, both myself & the reviewer have the base model i3, that's why i said that i "almost" agree with the reviewer since I've no way to measure the performance for my needs. all i do is simply browse the web & watch videos lol.

 

Just had to post this.

I went in to uni today and one of the lecturers walked into class in an absolutely foul mood (reason unknown) and decided to have a go at me for "only" having a 13" laptop, saying it wasn't powerful enough for the work we'd be doing.

I proceeded to prove that not only was it more than powerful enough for Microsoft Access (lol!) but that it was substantially more powerful than the teachers desktop with 2.8Ghz Core 2 Duos and 2GB ram. I finished by questioning whether she was even qualified to teach a computing course when she was so ignorant of the machines we're using.

... In hindsight i'm not sure that lesson turned out the way the lecturer expected.

 

I have read the entire thread, no one mentions fan noise - is this 3350 quiet?

A model with the i3-2310 at lowest freq - does the fan ever stop spinning? Do you have any software or hardware control over the fan?

I am trying to find a 100% quiet laptop (yes i will install a SSD) to replace my old quiet Acer

 

I'm not sure if there's any manual control over the fan because i've never had to look, but if mine does make any noise while doing office work i can't hear it even when i'm listening for it.

 

Its quiet most of the time with my i3 except during cpu load but its not at all distracting.

 

I can say that my 3350 with i7-2620 is quiet. If you play game or video conversion there may be some fan noise in a silent room but for web or office use its quite.