Dell New Mini Review!

Dell Inspiron New Mini 10.
This netbook was received as a contest award (Canada Dell Mini Contest)


System specs:

CPU: Atom N450 (1.6GHz, 512K L2 Cache)

Display: 10.1" Widescreen Display (1024x600) Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam

OS: Windows7 Starter for Small Notebook PCs,32Bit

Memory: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM

HDD: 250GB, 5400RPM SATA

Graphics: Intel NM10 Express

Wireless: Dell 1397 Wireless-G

Battery: 56WHr Lithium-Ion Battery (6-cell)

Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.1 module via USB I/F with EDR

Sound: High Definition Audio 2.0




Build Quality and Design




The netbook feels and looks quite sturdy, no flex on the keyboard, touchpad or lid. There's a slight movement of the battery pack that is noticeable when flipping the system over. In addition, the system is slightly heavier than most netbooks - 1.38kg.


Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard is very convenient, it doesn't yield anywhere and the layout is wide for a netbook. The typing is pleasant and fairly quiet with clearly distinct pressure point.





The netbook looks stylish (it came custom painted as can be seen from the photos) and very appealing due to the black-white and brown-purple contrast.



The touchpad is quite big for a netbook due the position of the pad keys and their size - two tiny buttons in the lower corners of the pad. With this approach the entire surface of the touchpad can be used making it even bigger. The pad is very responsive unlike its keys which small size and short stroke length make it harder to register clicks.



Screen

The screen is very bright but as most nebooks is of a glare type which makes it difficult to use outdoors, especially under direct sunlight.
The 10.1" (1024X600 native resolution) is pleasantly sufficient for mild office use on the go and even long hours of typing.



Ports and Features

Our system offers standard netbook connectivity features - 3 USB 2.0 ports, a VGA port, headphone and microphone sockets and a card-reader for MS/SD/MMC memory cards.




Performance

I recommend against running benchmark and stress tests on this system due to a very important fact - passive cooling. There's no fan to blow the heat out of the system. Due to a significant CPU temperature increase (up to 100C) at the beginning of our stress tests, the decision was made to stop the tests.

Normal office work and web-browsing is handled perfectly smooth. No stuttering/skips or errors during a 720p video playback making the system powerful enough to handle music and video clips.



Heat and Noise

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gallery/showfull.php?photo=2559

Due to the passive cooling the system stays remarkably quiet at all times.

The temperatures on the other hand stay pleasantly low only during mild office work and light browsing. At that time the CPU temps hover around 45-50C (ambient - 27c) and the unusual cooling method is quite enough to keep the system in the safe range.
Watching HD movies while keeping the system under your blanket might be a bad idea - with blocked vents the CPU can get very hot.


Battery Life


The battery life is nothing short of amazing. When idle with a reduced brightness the netbook can hit 10hrs, but even at load and maximum brightness it still scores respectable 6 hrs. With this system you're guaranteed a full-day-on-the-go-computing on a single charge.


Conclusion

Pros:

1. Very impressive battery life.
2. Very quiet.
3. Attractive design.
4. Very good keyboard




Cons:

*** 1. Can get very hot when under HEAVY load.
2. Poor touchpad (keys) response.







*** Have a correction to make: Maximum CPU temperatures after hours of watching 720p movies while keeping the netbook on a lap/carpet/bed were ~60C and quickly returned to 45C (ambient 27C) upon switching to regular browsing and office work. Only while running stress tests (Prime95+HD movies playback) the CPU could reach critical temperatures.
Passive cooling appears to be quite sufficient for normal operation (surfing, watching movies, etc), there's no risk of burning your house when keeping the system on a carpet or any other non-flat surface.

 

I'm not a huge fan of this model, I don't know why, but something just doesn't tickle my fancy. Anyway, thanks for the review! +rep.

 

Thank You. I'm not a huge fan of netbooks as well, but this is something that was given to me by force, not like I had much choice Also tried myself in MBP contest,...alas.
Anyway, still testing the temps here. Trying to determine the maximum type of load this little fella can withstand without turning into a grill-house.

 

Nice review you did on your Mini 10, there!

And, some great photos! (Photos are always a plus around here)!

Appears you have some good life batt' life on it, and that's a good thing for the Mini 10.


(I have the First Version Mini 9 (in Cherry Red), and am about ready to make it a "usable one time only Frisbee...toss it in the backyard, and then into the dumpster")... That's how tired of it I am. It's slower than molasses....crawl..crawl..crawl, and just a PIA to use now...meh.

I'm sure testing out those temps' will be fine! : )

Cin...

 

Thank You, Cin'.
I know what you mean, still have a Toshiba NB100 (8.9"), somewhere...
The only use I could possibly find for netbooks - mild office work.
Personally I prefer 17" workstations like M6500, W701 or 8740w.


BTW, could you please help the noob with linking images?
I was only able to post them as links or thumbnails but not images...

 

Wait, hmm, that doesn't work...

 

Made a correction after further testing the temperatures.

 

Nice job! I have one of these also. Do you know what needs to be purchased to give it GPS capabilities? Dr. Google told me to get a Dell Wireless 700 card and GPS software. Unfortunately Dr. Google never told me where to buy it.

 

Dunno, I guess you could also ask Dr.Dell




<<<< Update,
After months and months of watching videos while putting the system on a bed, covering it with blankets, etc... -
I'm amazed! The highest temp registered on the CPU - 81C. And that after 7.5 hrs of constant movies playback with the laptop on a bed (I was having high fever and that was my only savior) and ambient of 27C!

The only wish is to get a SSD to give it some real boost in performance.

 

I have an old mini 10 and... well, I noticed that the temperature slowly accumulates after long periods of time. Passive cooling only goes so far...

At any rate, this one sounds like it's a LOT cooler than mine.

 

The passive cooling on the new mini is adequate. The netbook is seldom placed on a flat firm surface and still, normal "movie" temps ~ 60C. Heat does slowly accumulate, as mentioned in the post above - 7.5 hours of watching movies non-stop got the CPU to 81C, the highest ever observed without running Prime95.

 

Nice review. I just wish they'd do away with that stupid 1024x600 resolution on all these 10" netbooks. Use a standard 1280x720 at least, preferably 1366x768 for 1024x768 compatability.