Vostro quality question

I should have posted this in the "what should I buy..." etc, but I figured expert advice was here.


I bought a Vostro 1500 some years back and it has served me well, nothing too intensive just office stuff, online class management and my job related work.

I was thinking of a 1540 for my father in law. Nothing intensive on for him, just web surfing. Is the quality still there on these? (I know they are heavy)

Also that 1540 is fine for web surfing right? (can the 2GB memory be upgraded without too much trouble????)


thanks in advance

 

I can't speak to the quality of the 1540, but we purchased a 3450 a year ago for the small business I operate. We had previously purchased only Latitudes, but wanted to try the Vostro as a lower cost alternative, that could be used by staff in our office who travel only occasionally. Unfortunately, after only 11 months, the body of the computer started falling apart - particularly the front panel around the screen, but also other parts of the body. The power cord also frayed. I was extremely disappointed - my original thinking was that the Vostro might not have the greatest specs for the dollar, but would be durable and reliable. Adding to the disappointment, Dell has tried to make it virtually impossible to obtain warranty coverage. We only managed to get any attention from Dell when I had our lawyer contact the company regarding possible breach of contract on the warranty. All in all, not a good experience with the Vostro, or with Dell.

 

thanks for the info..

I'm just looking for an inexpensive reliable rig. I'm still looking

 

Have you looked into a refurbished Latitude to keep costs down? You can always purchase from the Dell Outlet for a better price.

If you're not looking for something that needs to withstand heavy use, I think you'll be fine with a Vostro. The 1540 looks to be based on an Inspiron and the price seems too low, so choose something a little more high-end (maybe a Vostro 3550 or refurbished Latitude E6510/E6520). Personally, I would recommend getting a Latitude.

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/vostro-3550/pd

http://www.dell.com/us/dfb/p/latitude-e6510/pd

http://www.dell.com/us/dfb/p/latitude-e6520/pd

 

You can get a NEW Latitude E5520 for $499 right now- LINK All it would need is another 2GB of RAM, which would cost about $20 and take less than 5 minutes to install!

BTW, your Vostro 1500 was based on the Inspiron 1520. The 1520 was the most durable, high-quality Inspiron ever made....and they only went downhill from there! My best friend has a 1520 that I ordered for him in Oct 2007 and it still works perfectly.

As an alternate, if you don't find a Dell that suits your father-in-law, I've had great luck with entry-level Lenovo laptops lately. Here's a lnk- Lenovo G-series

 

Yeah Vostro 1500 is probably one of the best Vostros ever made, though it was a rebranded Inspiron 1520. I've upgraded almost everything inside it, and it serves as a backup gaming laptop.

As it's been stated, the newer Vostro have slipped from that high perch, you might want to consider a newer refurbished Latitude from Outlet, mainstream E6xxx come with 3 year warranty in the base price.