1520 My First Notebook, Turbo Cache, Battery, and Pre-Installed Software Questions

I ordered the Inspiron 1520 two days ago, and it will be my first notebook. Naturally, I have some questions.

I got the 8600M GT 256mb. Will Turbo Cache dynamically up that?

How do I take care of the battery? I've read you're supposed to charge notebooks all the way before using it the first time, then draining it all the way on your first use, then do things like that every month or so. The online manual for the 1520 doesn't say anything about that though. Does it apply to this notebook?

And finally, I've always built my own desktops, so I've never dealt with pre-installed software. Are there things I should uninstall? Can I reinstall Vista, but then not install a bunch of software? Other general software things I don't even know enough about to ask?

Thanks.

 

dells come bundled with lots of crap that you will need to uninstall, and when you format the comp, most of that crap comes back i believe


as for the battery, its pretty much the same with cellular phones, you want to drain it as much as possible then charge instead of just charging it when you get to 80% or so, this will extend the life of the battery...atleast it does in cell phones

 

^I thought it was drain the batt as low as possible once every 30 charge/discharge cycles or so to ensure the accuracy of the "battery meter".

This is true for all cellphone/laptop batteries, anything with Lithium: LiPoly (Lithium Polymer, the best) or LiOn (Lithium Ion, the most common).

Also be sure to keep the battery at about 40% if you are going to store it for long periods of time. Lithium batteries do not like HIGH charge levels at HIGH temperatures either, and you should always charge to about 75%.

 

Yes I believe it will dynamically add to the total memory as needed

This site has a battery guide, worth a read. Tip the point about fully charging then discharging is all about making the notebook's power meter accurate, and also why you do it every 30 cycles (month). Your battery will wear out, how fast depends. If you always use A/C you should pull out battery at 40% charge and store at 32F. Heat hurts Lithium Lion battery's more than anything.

Uninstall the software as you figure out it is junk. If they gave you restore disks all the junk will be on them. So just kill it as you see it.

 

For Li-ion batteries, as it does not have 'memory' like the old Ni-cads, you're actually not supposed to drain it right down to 0 before recharging. That cuts down on the life of the battery.

 

lol baddog your post is like a duplicate of mine.

And chuck you shouldn't discharge all the way every time, only about once out of ever THIRTY cycles to ensure the power meter is accurate.

 

Store at 32F? What the heck? So I triple-bag it and then put it into the fridge or something?

 

I'm thinking the same..

 

Charge is the biggest factor, not heat. A frozen 40% battery will lose 1% per year, at room temp it will lose 2%. So freezing is not really worth the hassle, you have to thaw it before use plus there are condensation risks (ie short circuit).

 

I've kept my Li-Ion battery at room temp for 4 years, 40% when not using. I can still get the maximum rated battery life (5 hours) I got upon purchasing, so the above advice is pretty good.

 

I have a Vista OEM DVD. Can I use the license provided by Dell, but that DVD?