Dell Quality Questions

I've been reading the forums for about a month now. Been making posts too, but I've basically pinned down that I need a 17in screen. The inspiron e1705 is probably the best value I can find. The only other alternative is the sagar 5750. I have a few questions about the dell notebooks.

Are they really built to last, with the road ready thing, or is that all hype? Please give examples. Its a hard decision right now.

How long should I expect the 1705 to last?

What is the build quality? (cheap or sturdy)

Is the warantee really with the price (its more expensive than most)?

Is the increase in graphics (7900gs 256ded vs x1600 128ded) and screen (wuxga vs wxga+) worth getting a dell?

 

Depends what your going to be using the notebook for.


Are you going to be gaming?

 

Road ready is just a marketing ploy. Inspirons don't have shock mounted HDs or spill proof keyboards, nor is there build quality truly road ready. That's not to say Dell build is terrible. Dell Inspirons have good screen protection, you won't see ripples on one. The black base is also pretty tough. Where Dell Inspiron's lack is in keyboard quality, the layout size of the keyboard is good. But the keyboad feel and quality isn't the best (Although a touch typer would probably dig it). Keys break off easier than with other notebook keyboards and are harder to put back on. The white bumpers and the silver plastic are scratch prone. You can probably get close to 3 yrs out of it. I know people with Dells that have run much longer then that.

The Sager NP 5750, is the Core Duo version of the NP5720 with a weaker GPU. Sager rebrands clevo's. They have excellent build quality. My friend has a NP5720 and loves it. The keyboard on the Sager has a numberpad and it has a built in camera for some extra things to set it appart from the E1705.

As for graphics... What game you want to play and what your going to do with it?

WUXGA is a higher resolution than WSXGA+ meaning more room to work with on the screen but smaller text. Again depends on your eyes and your preferences. If you a big multi tasker and like to have alot of windows open at once, you'll probably appreciate the higher res. WUXGA looks great on a 17 inch to my eyes.

 

Something i would like to note. The newer Dells with core duo's have the HD shock absorbors, magnesium alloy case, and metal hinges. I also think there is more.


The E1705 comes with all this.

Its a touch decision, really

 

another good thing about inspirons is its plastic
i learned in class that heat goes away from plastic, whereas aluminum [i think] absorbs it

 

My keyboard feels pretty solid. The casing seems pretty solid as well. If you want the GPU to last, the 7900 would be your best bet. However, the x1600 is capable to run the latest games at mid-high settings. The WUXGA truelife is beautiful and perfect for the 17' screen. Sagers are known for the quality and performance. I personally think that if you were to get a Sager, get one with the 7900GTX, not the x1600. That does bump the price up though. I'm sure within 2 weeks you can get a nicely configured E1705 for around 1600$ like I did. Just make sure to purchase the memory elsewhere and install it yourself. If you have the money, get the Sager 5760 (7900GTX). Then again if you aren't a heavy gamer, or like eye candy much the x1600 should be fine. I got 4 year w/ complete care. Good peace of mind to know if I drop it that I can get another one and don't have to pay 1600 again.

 

I'm sorry, but plastic is actually a pretty decent insulator. Aluminum is the best conductor of heat. First of all, it does not pick up heat. Anodized aluminum has a specific heat of about 800-850j/kg, meaning that it takes 800-850j of energy (heat) to raise the aluminum 1 degree. This also means that it does not store much heat. However, the magnesuim/plastic alloy case has a specific heat of greater than 1100, probably around 1300-1400 in most cases. This means that while it takes longer for the magnesium to warm up, it also stores heat very well. There is another component called the heat conductivity, this would be the speed of heat transfer from a surface. The anodized aluminum transfers heat at a very fast speed, I've never measured this personally, so I can't say for sure, but it is about twice that of the plastic.

Sorry about that. Now that I've got that done. I work at the campus tech store and have taken dells apart, mostly after the warantees, and have never found a shock bracket for the optical drive or the hd. It does feel flimsy. What I'm worried about is the Dell breaking. I do like the 7900gs video card. However, it turns out that HP just lowered their prices and I can get a similar system, with the difference of a 7600 instead. I realize that its a deep drop, but I'm not so sure that it will be huge.

The biggest game I play is oblivion.

When did Dell start shipping better e1705s?

My decision just gets tougher e1705 vs sager 5750 vs hp dv8000t. I also think that there may be a price war this summer. As someone who like to keep up to date in economics, notebook compeition is getting up. sales have dropped in number, but they're worried it may affect profit. Suffice to say, I think that most companies are going to be working to get you. But that's just my take and I'm no economist.

The Sager 5750 is only wxga+. Anyone know about HP's build? Probably should ask that in the hp forum.

 

Oblivion can be played at medium high settings on the 7600 and x1600. HP has pretty good build quality. My HP lasted a while and it went through some abuse.

 

I have two aging dells at the moment both 4 years old and so far they've held up very well. One keyboard replacement, one Hard drive failure (IBM deathstar) and the cases both have a crack on the lid where the latch is. Heat and fan noise is a bit much but these things use P4 processors so...

For the money they're great but if you can afford and want a high quality machine other brands can do this. As for this aluminum debate it can be excellent but in some cases it still doesn't fully solve heat issues-apple macbook is a case in point

 

Apple dug their own hole with the misapplied thermal paste. I'm sorry, but apple really dropped the intels. They had no concept of heat conduction. My father owns a brand new macbook. I've modified the cooling to give better ventilation. They concentrated all of the hot components together on the same pipe. This causes back currents. Dumb.

 

inspirons do have spillproof keyboards.

mine does.

 

is that all the new dells with duo core? or just the e1705?

 

Hello,

I've recently bought an E1505 (which seems to be equivalent to E1705 in build quality) as a replacement for my *old* ThinkPad T21.

The Inspiron build quality is cheap if compared with my old T21 or even the new Latitudes we have at work... But it is doesn't mean it is not acceptable. Personally I think it is not bad, and for the price you pay, it is a decent deal, specially if your computer will be on your desk most of the time.

As for the heat, it does get pretty hot so keeping it in your lap will be uncomfortable, but it's heavy anyway so not suited for literally 'laptop' use.

So, I was also concerned about the build quality and I decided to give it a try. I know it will probably not last as long as my T21, but sincerely a 6+ years old computer is a collector's item already.

I hope you find what's best for you!
edabe.

 

I think it is just luck of the draw. My 5000e still has no problems aside from a new battery and a bigger HD. My brother's Compaq and my friend's Thinkpad are both in the trash heap. We all puchased at the same time, so go figure. Strangely enough, I actually travel more with my 5000e:
4 countries
daily commute to work
CES shows in Las Vegas, MacWorld, etc.

It has been quite reliable.

 

So are the new dells different? Is there really a road ready version?

 

Supposedly the new E-series is road ready, but this is my opinion on it. While dell says that the Inpsirons are now "Road Ready", they've only upgraded some parts to fit that description. You still have flemsy case that does crack easily it is not the most durable. That is why the Inspiron are so inexpensive - the material used isn't the best quality in comparision to the XPS or Latitude as well as other manufacturers.

The case is pretty important part and it is what protects the systems, and Dell uses the cheap stuff. Not that this really pertains to it, but the white bumpers - are just paint

Personally, I can tell you that Inspiron will last long depending on your uses. If you are a primarily home user and don't travel much, and the laptop will be stationary, it is going to last a lot longer. If you plan on taking your laptop with you everyday, you seriously might want to reconsider. I took mine everyday to school, and for the most part it did okay. I accidently dropped it and it was in a protective sleeve and only dropped a foot - i had hinge break off, and my right corner of the laptop doesn't fit perfect. There hasn't been anything major problems inside until recently - but the case does crack easily.

The E1705 is a good value, but up to a certain point. I wouldn't pay more than 1500 for it, maybe 2000 depending on the specs. You can buy the RAM alot chepear, so you can some money there.

 

Unfortuneately, I'm going to be a college student. While I want the 17in wuxga screen for my multitasking, it will probably be rather mobile. I think that HP might be the best bet here. Unfortuneatly the 7600 vs 7900gs battle is not even fair.

 

Dv8000t has a bad keyboard.
Check Hp forum...