Dell 6000: How is Sound, Display, Build quality ?

Hi,

Does anyone have experience with the sound, display and ruggedness of the Inspiron 6000?
I am trying to choose between this one and the HP ZV5000Z.

It will be my first laptop, and want to use it mainly for photo/video-editing
and occasionaly a game. Long battery-time & weight is also a factor,
but sound, display and build quality are the most important things for me...

(A simular post ended up in the wrong section, so thats why I am trying to ask help here)

Your advice is very welcome!

 

Of those two, I like the HP way better. The HP has the AMD processor versus the Celeron for the 6000 which will make the HP much faster. The Dell has better battery life, but the HP isn't bad at 3 1/2 hours on the larger 12 cell battery. I think the HP has the Harman Kardan speakers which are way better than the Dells. I wouldn't consider either top of the line in build quality, but would think HP is better. HP also has a dedicated video card, the Dell an integrated one. Your biggest problem with video editing will be the hard drive speed. I would recommend a faster one like a 5400RPM or 7200RPM if you can afford it. What is your budget? Maybe we could recommend somthing better. Good Luck.






I know things, things that could get me killed


Thinkpad T41:
* 1.6Ghz Pentium M * 768Mb Memory * 40Gb Hitachi 7200RPM * Panasonic UJ-845-B DVD+RW *

 

Hello Zazonz,
Thank you for you fast reply.
I can configure the models as follows:

HP 5000
AMD Athlon XP-M 2800+
15.4" (1680x1050)
1.0GB DDR
64MB NVIDIA GeForce 4 440 Go + 1394
60GB 4200 RPM Disk
DVD +/- RW/R & CD-RW
Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth
12 Cell Battery

Dell 6000
Intel® Pentium® M 730
15.4" 1680x1050)
1GB DDR2
64MB DDR ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300
60GB Disk
8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+RW/+R)
Dell Wireless 1350 802.11b/g
9-cell Battery

My budget is aprox. $1200

You are correct that the HP has Harman Kardon speakers, I tested these in the shop, and they have the best sound for a laptop I've heard sofar. Unfortenately I can't test the Dell speakers before buying. External speakers are ruled out for my purposes.

Thanks again for all advice.

 

Like I said, I like the HP better. I haven't heard the Dell, but I can't imagine it would be better than the HP. The Dell will be a little lighter and have better battery life. The HP faster and better sound. I'd rate the HP as having the better build quality as Dell has fallen recently. Some other model you may want to check into are the Acer 1681 and Averatec 6000s. I dont think they'll sound as good as the HP, but will be better built than the Dells. Good Luck.






I know things, things that could get me killed


Thinkpad T41:
* 1.6Ghz Pentium M * 768Mb Memory * 40Gb Hitachi 7200RPM * Panasonic UJ-845-B DVD+RW *

 

The 6k is rugged and has excellent battery life. It will also be lighter. Sound is average for a laptopp. This is a solid computer and there is no flex with moving the screen. How can you get that rig for under $1200?

HP sound is superior and above average. It is heavy and battery life is not great unless you get the 12 cell.



Dell Inspiron 6000
1.6 GHZ Centrino (Sonoma)
WUXGA 15.4" WS
512 MB RAM
60 GB HD
Wireless B/G
DVD/CD-RW
9 Cell Battery x 2
Mozilla Firefox Browser
---
Palmone Tungsten C/WIFI

 

Thanks for this information!
This is going to be tough decision. I do like to ruggedness, weight, battery of the Dell,
but I really like to have some quality sound as well. I think that if the Dell had the same speakers as the HP, I would choose the Dell. But, since you mention the HP sound is superior and the Dell is average... Hard choice. I will look into the Acer 1681 and Averatec 6000s, thanks for the suggestion.
BTW, the $1200 is my aproximate budget. Right now the Dell with specs as above has a $1,336.00 pricetag after coupons I applied.

 

Titaniummd,
because I read somewere you owned a HP 1000 as well, can I ask your opinion about this: Since the Dell6000 sound isn't as great as the HP5000, would it be comparable with the HP DV1000?
I've tested the HP DV1000 speakers, and although HP 5000 soundquality is better, I would be OK with DV1000 sound quality.
I know it's a very subjective question, but I hope you can help me out with this....

 

I think someone on here mentinoed that the 6000 had a celeron. That's incorrect.
Its actually a Pentium M chip, which IMHO is superior to the AMD processor on the HP.

 

I'm not really sure why you're so obsessed about the quality of audio speakers in a notebook... notebook speakers can never sound as good as a good quality pair of headphones or cheap external speakers.

Why not just get this:
http://www.tivoliaudio.com/product.php?productid=161&cat=&page=

 

i heard that zv6000 coming out soon, hold it if u dont need a notebook rite away. I ordered a zv5000, but I returned it. I love the screen and the AMD64, but I can bear the weight and the HUGE AC adapter.

Dell i6000D 1.6Ghz
512MB 1Dimm, 60G 7200RPM
X300 128MB, 8X DVD-RW
Wireless b/g, Bluetooth

 

you mean you couldn't stand it right?

 

thanks for correcting me

Dell i6000D 1.6Ghz
512MB 1Dimm, 60G 7200RPM
X300 128MB, 8X DVD-RW
Wireless b/g, Bluetooth

 

The 6000 comes in Celeron and M flavors.

 

what winian said...

who actually listens to the speakers on their laptop? it's like choosing between sucky and suckier. buy some quality earbuds for away listening and nice speakers for home listening. don't base your decision on how the speakers sound.

 

Thanks for all the replies.
The laptop will be used for short multimedia presentation/demo purposes for small groups of people [8D] (and video-editing on location) so headphones/external speakers are absolutely ruled out. That's why the sound of the laptopspeakers is important in this case...
Yes I read about the coming HP Z6000 [ ], but I haven't heard any official news about weight/battery live or if there will be a Centrino / Pentium M version [?]
If the sound of the Dell 6000 is comparable with the HP DV1000, that'll be good enough.[ ]