Custom Inspiron 1525 For School

Hey do you think this laptop (Dell Inspiron 1525) is good enough for schoolwork, movies, internet, music, so basically everything except gaming? I'm going to be 16 years old next month (september) and I'm a sophomore in high school now.

*SYSTEM COLOR: Midnight Blue
*PROCESSOR: Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T2390 (1.86GHz/533Mhz FSB/1MB cache)
*OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® SP1 Home Premium Edition
*HD DISPLAY Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
*VIDEO CARD Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
*MEMORY 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
*HARD DRIVE Size: 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
*INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE CD / DVD Writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
*WIRELESS NETWORK CARDS Intel Next -Gen Wireless -N Mini-card
*BLUETOOTH AND WIRELESS USB Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
*INTEGRATED WEBCAM Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
*BATTERY OPTIONS 6 cell battery
*SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0
*ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE No Security
*OFFICE SOFTWARE Special Offer:Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007
*WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr Ltd HW WRTY, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis, 24x7 Phone Support
*DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr
*DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS No ISP requested
*Network Integrated 10/100 Network Card
*Modem Integrated Modem
*Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
*Labels Windows Vista™ Premium
*Processor Branding Intel Pentium® Dual-Core Processor

P.S.: If you're wondering why I chose the pentium processor over the core 2 duo, it's because I will be getting better battery life with the pentium versus the core 2 duo, I also did it to save money, I'm trying to keep it under $700.

 

Looks decent enough, yes. I don't think that battery life will be hugely affected by choosing a Core 2 Duo CPU - and if it is, you'll still benefit from better performance. I did read that this was for school - but when you're managing spreadsheets (perhaps for Science pracs), multiple Word documents and perhaps preparing a PowerPoint, this extra performance can help!

However, if you're happy with what you've done, then it looks pretty snappy!

Good luck!

--Tom

 

what's the reasoning behind

?

was it free? because if not, i wouldn't get it. 3Gb isn't a lot, and you get it for only one year. if you want a backup solution, save the cash here and get an external hard drive. beyond that, smart config, although maybe one of the new C2D's woud actually use less battery because they've got the new 45nm manufacturing process, which i think uses less power. not sure though.

 

The only ones that are 45nm are the Penryn platform of C2D chips, aside from the montevina platform, (C2D T9xxx , T8xxx, P9500, P7350...etc) not (T5xxx, T7xxx)

i think thats how it works

 

Yeah the reasoning behind the fact that I'm getting the pentium over the core 2 duo is that it's cheaper and gets better battery life because of these two back to school reviews from CNET.com:

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/dell-inspiron-1525/4505-3121_7-33139556.html

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/dell-inspiron-1525/4505-3121_7-33088552.html

but then again I don't know how they test their battery life, so if someone that actually owns an Inspiron 1525 that has the core 2 duo processor in it tell me what they get battery life wise when in power saver mode.

 

yeah I thought that the T5xxx, and the T7xxx were part of the core 2 duo processor line, maybe not???

 

The 3GB thing is free and I actually wish that they would have an option to take it off, but annoyingly they don't. So when I get the laptop I'll have to delete the utility. And about the new C2D's they don't offer those yet on the Inspiron line from what I know of. Also my dad wouldn't be able to afford the more expensive processor that's why I'm sticking with either the pentium or the T5750 C2D processor.

 

I would still go for that T5750 Core 2 Duo. You'll like it and they are energy efficient, don't worry about the battery. If you can afford the Core 2 Duo, then absolutely go for it. All of my experience tells me that going for the Pentium is like buying an Inspiron from two years ago.

However, if you have no choice, then of course, do what you have to do.

Keep us updated!

--Tom