Dell Inspiron 1525 a good replacement for an Inspiron 1300?

Is the Inspiron 1525 sold through Dell's Home Division a good replacement for a 2 year old Inspiron 1300 purchased from Dell's Small Business Division? I dropped the Inspiron 1300 in January 2008, crashed it's monitor. I used the computer for email and web surfing only.

Since the Inspiron 1300 was a unit from Dell's Small Business Division should I take a look at Vostro laptops currently being sold through Dell's Small Business Division or would the Inspiron 1525 offered through Dell's Home Division be a better laptop to consider?

My old Inspiron 1300 had a Celeron M processor and Windows Home XP, the new units out now have Windows Vista. Dell's entry level processor in the 1525 is a Celeron 550 ( 2.0GHz, 533Mhz, 1M L2 Cache ), would that be enough of a processor to go with if all I'll be doing on a new 1525 or a new Vostro is surfing the web and email or should I consider upgrading to a better processor?

Does Windows Vista require a better processor to operate smoothly or would it run fine with a Celeron processor? One thing I already know is to make sure the 1525 or whatever model I select has at least 2GB of memory so I have been told because Windows Vista is a memory hog.

 

Had a quick look at the old specs for the 1300, it looks like your selection of an Inspiron 1525 is spot on for web surfing/emailing.

For these purposes you'll be fine with the Celeron 550. Just make sure you grab 2GB of ram, Vista will drag with just 1GB.

 

Either that model or a Vostro 1000 would be a good choice for what you are looking for.

 

Thanks for the posts. I will say this, Dell makes it hard to try to get the best deal. If you configure one model through the website you come up with one price, if you click on Dell's latest deals you'll come up with the same model for another price.

I noticed earlier tonight on Dell's website they were offering a special configuration on the Inspiron 1525 starting out at $499.00, the lid color I wanted, "Midnight Blue" was free, the unit also came with a webcam which I really don't need but if you configured the same unit through Dell.com the "Midnight Blue" lid color cost an extra $25.00 but you could choose not to order the webcam.

My brother who lives in another state has offered to buy me a new laptop for Christmas, any brand I want. He mentioned Dell, Toshiba, HP, Apple, I've only had experience using Dell's. Apple's are kind of high end, too much for what I need. Are Toshiba laptops any good in comparison to Dell laptops? HP makes very good printers but I've read not too good comments about the quality of their laptops.

One thing about that Inspiron 1300, in the 2 years that I had it I never had to call Dell's tech support, not once. It was a very good entry level machine for my basic computing needs. I just hate that I dropped it but I wasn't about to give Dell $368.00 plus tax to fix it and warranty their work for only 90 days.

 

Here are the best deals on the Inspiron 1525 at the moment-

For $519- http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?cs=19&kc=6F967&oc=DNPCPY1&x=12&y=8
DELL Inspiron 1525
Midnight Blue
Windows Vista Home Basic (upgrade to Vista Home Premium for $30)
2.0GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core T3200
15.4" WXGA (1280x800) display
2GB DDR2-667 RAM
120GB Hard Drive
Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics
DVD RW
Dell 1395-g wireless card
No Webcam ($25 upgrade)
6-cell Battery

For $599- http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?cs=19&kc=6F967&oc=DNPCPY2&x=10&y=12
3GB DDR2-667 RAM (vs. 2GB)
250GB Hard Drive (vs. 120GB)
Intel 4965AGN wireless card (vs. Dell 1395-g)

The Studio 15 is a better value, if it's within your budget-

For $659- http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?cs=19&kc=6F967&oc=dnpcuy1&x=9&y=8
DELL Studio 15
Midnight Blue
2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5800
Windows Vista Home Premium
15.4" WXGA (1280x800) display
2GB DDR2-667 RAM
250GB Hard Drive
256mb ATI Radeon Mobility HD 3450 (discrete graphics card)
8x Slot-Load CD/DVD Burner
Dell 1397-G Wireless Card
Integrated 2.0mp Webcam
6-cell Battery

 

I've owned Dell, Toshiba and HP laptops- Dell and Toshiba are the only ones I'd buy again! Dell usually offers the best deal on what I want, so I've bought my last two laptops from them. Before that, I had a Toshiba Satellite that I handed down to my sister. It's now five years old and still going strong.

Newegg.com has an AWESOME deal on the Toshiba Satellite L305-S5902 for $499 (regularly $599)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114529
In addition to the features listed above for the $519 Inspiron 1525, it includes Windows Vista Home Premium ($30 upgrade on the 1525). The Toshiba is also built on Intel's newest platform which includes the Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics. The 1525 still uses the previous-generation Intel GMA X3100 graphics.

I'd pick the DELL Studio 15 above the Toshiba or the Inspiron 1525. But I'd pick the $499 Toshiba L305 over the 1525...for $499, it's the best deal out there!

 

If you're going to be just surfing the net and getting email, I recommend the Vostro 1000. It aint' a power house, but you can get it for less than $400 from dell outlet.

Otherwise, yeah, the 1525 is a good replacement.

 

How does the Toshiba laptop your recommending compare to another Toshiba model, the Satellite A305-S6872? Best Buy had this model on sale a few months ago for $599.99.

Is productivity software important to have? My Inspiron 1300 came configured with MS Works, not Word. If there's a good deal on a laptop but it doesn't come with anykind of productivity software already installed for example a simple word processing program, that's all I might need, is anything available online for free that could be downloaded and installed?

Something that would let you compose and print out a simple letter? That Dell Inspiron 1525 configuration, the cheaper one did not include anykind of productivity software, not even MS Works 9.0 which is the entry level productivity software offered on some of Dell's models. Thanks for your post.

 

I should also stay with a 32 bit system rather than a 64 bit system for my basic computing needs? How often does Dell post coupons for their Outlet store? I received an email about 2 months ago from Dell's Outlet Store offering me 20% off of anything in Dell's Outlet. Are the "previously ordered new" units sold through Dell's Outlet store as good as purchasing a brand new unit from Dell.com? For example an Inspiron 1525?

 

i hate microsoft works. it has no purpose at alll.....

download open office, its free and basically provides the same functionality as office 2003. its far superior to the stripped down unstable mess that is works.

i have an inspiron 1525 at home. its a nice unit. looks and feels much more expensive than it really is. But if you dont mind spending a bit extra the studio is lovely.

my suggestion is in this order

1) studio
2) toshiba
3) inspiron

you could go with a 64 bit system. some really really old 16 bit apps wont work, but i doubt you have any. certain things will be slightly faster.

if you want to know more, there is a thread discussing this in the windows forum.

 

Which Toshiba were you referring to? The one listed in the link earlier sold at New Egg or the one I mentioned being on sale not too long ago at Best Buy which seemed to be a nicer machine? So I could configure an Inspiron 1525 and unless it came with MS Works 9.0 for free your advice would be to select no productivity software and instead download the other software which is free? Thanks for your comments.

 

Previously Ordered New systems from DELL Outlet are NEW. They've never been used (the End User License Agreement (EULA) shown on the first boot has NEVER been agreed to). If the EULA has been agreed to, even if it was shut down the second after, it becomes a Certified Refurbished. I've purchased quite a few laptops and a couple of desktops from the Outlet in the last few years (for myself, gifts and for my company) and have been VERY pleased!

The Outlet Coupons are sporadic and there's no way to really know when or if they'll be issued. If the inventory showing in the Outlet starts rising significantly with Previously Owned New systems, a coupon probably won't be far behind. But there's no guarantee. All Outlet systems have the full warranty, tech support, etc. as new ones- there is no differentiation.

 

MS Works has always been a very "lite" version of Office, at best. A new version called "Ms Works 2008 Plus" was recently introduced and it has Word 2003 (fully-functional version) included. I wouldn't pay for extra for it, but Dell includes it on some configurations. And it beats having to use Word 2007!!!

Toshiba- the A305-S6872 isn't a bad deal at its regular price of $749. It has a different chassis and flashier design than the L305 and more features, too. Compared to the L305 I referenced earlier, it has a slightly superior processor (T5800 vs. T3200- both 2.0GHz, but T5800 has 133MHz faster FSB and 2mb L2 cache instead of just 1mb), more RAM, larger hard drive, webcam, harmon/kardon stereo speakers and wireless-N capability. Here's a recent review of this model (and if you find it again for $599, GRAB IT!)- http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/toshiba-a305-s6872/4505-3121_7-33309976.html

 

If the Toshiba A305-S6872 doesn't go on sale again before Christmas the other Toshiba sold on New Egg.com is good or would I be more pleased with a Dell Inspiron 1525? I've played with the Dell Outlet inventory selector but when I come to the pull down menu listing all of the available processors I'm lost.

I know that a Celeron processor is at the bottom of the list, then there's dual core and yet others have said if I can afford it to go with a Core Duo 2 processor but for email and web surfing I should be able to get by with just a dual core processor wouldn't you think rather than having to upgrade to a Core Duo 2? Dell's Outlet lists many Core Duo 2 processors.

I really don't know which one to select but I do know to make sure that any system I do select has at least 2GB of memory. With the economy in the tank do you think many of the computer companies will offer drastic price cuts on their units before Christmas? Thanks for your comments.

 

I noticed a reference in your last post to wireless N, if I did select an Inspiron 1525 from Dell's Outlet Store which came equipped with a wireless N card would I have to pitch my Linksys wireless G router and purchase a new wireless N router or would wireless N work off of wireless G? What's the difference? Is wireless N noticably faster than wireless G or not? I've priced some of Linksys wireless N routers and they aren't cheap in comparison to wireless G which is what I have right now.