Dell Inspiron 1501 with AMD Processor Now Available

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The Dell Inspiron 1501 is an AMD processor based notebook that we've been expecting for sometime now. The Inspiron 1501 is actually an alternate version of the popular e1505 Intel powered notebook. The 1501 is now available at Dell.com and can be configured with the Turion 64, Turion 64 X2 or Sempron processor. Unfortunately no dedicated high-end graphics options are available with these AMD based notebooks and the media buttons on the e1505 have been stripped off of the e1501.

The base model Inspiron 1501 starts at $549 with a Sempron 3500+ processor, 60GB hard drive, CD Burner / DVD and ATI Express 1150 graphics, 802.11 b/g wireless and 512MB of RAM. That's a very competitive price for a 15.4&quot; widescreen notebook, but the processor is quite low-end. All the same, it makes the Inspiron 1501 cheaper than you can get the Inspiron e1505 for and if all you care about is a notebook that can do productivity tasks then a low-end processor might suit you just fine, especially given the price.

Dell Inspiron 1501 as seen on Dell.com website

A model of the Inspiron 1501 with the dual core AMD Turion X2 processor is available starting at $859 with an 80GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, CD/DVD burner, 802.11 b/g, 2-year warranty (generous) and ATI Express 1150 graphics. This is the cheapest you'll find a dual core 64-bit processor based widescreen notebook for on the streets these days.

And so it is, AMD is now featured and available across all Dell PC products. This will help Dell to sell more to the budget minded folks and also please those that like AMD as a company over Intel. The Intel Core 2 Duo is no doubt the king in terms of performance for mobile products, but competition and choice is always good for business and in the end the consumer.

See Dell.com for pricing and availability

 

Nice cheap offering from Dell here...starts at about $150 lower than the Intel version.

However, if you look on Dell's website the picture shows that the Media Buttons up in the front are not there! Considering this was one of the things I liked about that series (and one of the things I miss on my nc8430), that would be a MAJOR drawback to me. But then again some people won't mind or care.

 

Nice observation there, very astute. That sucks.

 

What gets me is that it is already being offered with discounts!!!! This is a brand new model...why don't they just price it lower from the begining!!!! Marketing I tell ya....

 

I noticed the media buttons are gone to. I agree, that sucks. The media buttons are one of the few things I find cool about my Dell. I also can't find the media direct button found on the E1505 and I don't see the arrows on the right and bottom edges of the touchpad announcing the scroll areas.

 

Why would they remove those buttons? Its not saving them that much money, it must be to spite AMD in a way don't you think? Its not a big deal but still to remove them on the AMD versions seems fishy.

Same with Celeron versions of notebooks where they remove the media buttons and such, hey, Celeron owners need some love too!!

 

You still have external volume controls don't you? If they removed all the media buttons up front then there are no external volume controls. Just function keys and external volume buttons are the least they could of left there. Just three buttons on the front would look pretty dumb though.

 

not having the media direct button is no big deal. as long as holding the play button will boot the laptop. if that functionality is intact, then u can enable media direct yourself.

sg

 

Wow, I can't believe they took off the media buttons. That's like a staple of modern Dell laptops, the one thing that actually makes them look cool in a way. That's just wrong. I would think it would be cheaper for them to just use an E1505 chassis rather than redesign the notebook.

 

what with no decent dedicated graphic options, no media buttons and an AMD processor, is there ANY reason to buy the 1501??

 

This is a bad sign for AMD. Perhaps their removal of graphic options and media buttons was purposefully meant to hurt AMD sales? And then when sales really do suck, the Dell bigwhigs can say 'see, we where right all along to not use AMD.'

 

Looks like HP, how they "discriminate" against all the AMD notebooks (better graphics on Intel, not too much cheaper with AMD). People need AMD love these days.

 

But those media buttons on the front aren't there. I don't understand why Dell would do that! No Media Direct, no media buttons, no X1400...

 

Congratulations to AMD for finally making it on Dell notebook menu

I think it is a good idea that they dont have a good graphic options, that way they can keep the prices down.

It would be brilliant if Dell came up with cheap 12.1 AMDs for us customers.

I dont remember where i read it but they had a comprehensive test on the sempron 3500+ and it was as good as the Pentium M 1.73. So its not so bad for a budget processor.

I agree that the lack of media buttons is just plain silly. Lets see if AMD comes up with a great platform in future now that they have ATI.

 

Guys, if you look closer even, Dell removed a lot more little features in the 1501 compared with the E1505/6400:

MediaDirect Buttons: Gone
IEEE1394 FireWire: Gone
S-Video Output: Gone
Internal BlueTooth Module Option: Gone

Also, Dell said that the flash media card reader in the 1501 is the "3-in-1" type, and not the "5-in-1" in the other Inspiron/XPS models. The 5 types are SD, MMC, MemoryStick, MemoryStick PRO, and xD. Now everyone knows SD/MMC is essentially "the same", same as MS/MS PRO so in effect that's 3 types. However, Dell (and any other computer companies) love to boost as much types as possible when it comes to flash card readers (for marketing purposes, hence why we have the 18-in-1 and 21-in-1 readers out there), so there must be a very valid reson why Dell quotes it as "3-in-1" and not 5. I wonder which 2 types the 1501 couldn't read, my bet is on the MS/MS PRO...

Oh, and you can't choose a higher resolution 1680x1050 WSXGA+ screen anymore, not that it matters since it doesn't come with a decent dedicated graphics card option anyway.

 

Its about time! I really would like one to bad you cant get a x1400 with them.

 

I think it's because it's not part of the "E" series or multimedia series so they are not going to market it as well but want to save $$ by keeping the similar design.

It'll be interesting to see what dell-amd has going for future products that we'll see both cpus offered on the higher end machines

 

@cavedog - I am totally for your idea - cheaper 12" dells would be a great offering from dell. I doubt they would do it because people who want 12" notebooks can be forced to pay more for the convenience...

 

if dell offered a 1401 with ATi Xpress 1150 graphics, i would get one in a heart beat over the E1405. no GMA950 for me!

 

I think they would sell more than a few of those...

 

Really, they should redeisgn the unit, its been like this for years now.

 

If it aint broke, don't fix it.

 

You know that Circuit City/CompUSA/Bestbuy carries Acer's x2 15.4 widescreen laptops with same memory and biggerd hard drive for $750 bux. Isnt that cheaper?

 

Sounds like a pretty darn tootin (sorry, the "swear" filter here sucks) perfect notebook for someone who doesn't game, doesn't care about media buttons, and certainly doesn't mind "only" having a 3500+ sempron.

Sounds like a great machine for the price. Not everyone has intense demands.

 

I think the reason someone would buy such a laptop is obvious. The price is about $150 cheaper than an otherwise comparably equipped E1505. For someone whose needs are basic and just want an inexpensive laptop then this is perfect as far as I am concerned. Just for example, I have an HP ZV6000 that is a little over a year old. It is very similar in terms of performance and such except that my ZV6000 only has a single core AMD processor. I spec'd one of the 1501's out at Dell to something that is very similar to my ZV6000 except that it has the dual core x2. I paid over a year ago about $1400 for my ZV6000. The Dell, similarly equipped except for the better X2, came to $813.00. If you ask me that is a pretty good deal.

 

Major problem with the Turion/Turion X2: HEAT. My HP Pavilion dv6040ca, with its Turion X2 TL-56 CPU and GeForce Go 7200 set to "maximum power savings" using nVIDIA's PowerMizer (to a lower clock I imagine since my notebook runs noticeably cooler... not to mention 3D performance being seriously compromised being as slow as an Intel GMA 950), runs as warm as a high-end Core 2 Duo laptop with GeForce Go 7600 graphics. What if I set everything back to default you ask? It gets hot, and might I say, real so. The whole system would run so incredibly hot after 2 hours of operation that the keyboard+touchpad would be uncomfortable to touch. Feels like a 5 min pre-heated frying pan (medium fire lol) if you get what I mean.

..and what has this to do with this post? Well, for one thing, I've heard many people complaining about how hot the Turions gets. I'm not sure whether or not it's as extreme as my case, but it indeed sounds serious. A salesperson even warned me about getting a Turion-based laptop because of how many returns there were as of late. Man, do I regret my decision. Anyway, let's hope Dell does a better job with the 1501's cooling system. The Turion/Turion X2 certainly needs it.

 

Anyone have experience with Sempron laptops? That's all I want and need, really.

 

Don't worry, I'm pretty sure Dell would come up with something as soon as Santa Rosa arrives. Wait, that's an Intel isn't it?

 

the heat issue on turions isnt a turion problem it seems more to do with the design of your notebook. for instance the s96j and hel80 run very cool even with high performance parts due to effective cooler, on the other hand certain core duo aspires have melted themselves under their own heat. as far as the decision to only offer integrated graphics it seems like a good one. core duos are competitively priced and offer not only better performance, but better performance for the price then turion x2s, the only advantage amd still has in its notebooks is that they come with far better integrated graphics then the horrible gma. if a notebook is going to have integrated graphics, then the person may as well benefit from the superior intel chip. but on the lower end with no dedicated graphics, there is a VERY serious argument to buy the slightly less powerful amd processor, for 2+ times the graphics power as an equivelant intel machine

 

Its nice. I like

 

It might be a issue with your particular notebook. But I dont find the Turion X2 to run hot. I had a dv2000t(T2500+Go7200) and the heat outputs was the same. The processor at idle was around 40C on both systems and the max temp was also very similar.

 

Not worth the 150$ saved . Buy a used/ref E1505/6400 and add warranty , you'll get better value . I bet you can get a loaded one at Ebay close to 600$ .

Big mistake by Dell .

 

It really just depends on what you want it for... I want to get my dad a computer for Christmas - he's never used a PC before (has always been dead set against them, or too scared to use one). Now that I've moved to the US, and keep bleating on about email and msn - he's opening to the idea that he can speak to me via email and send/receive pictures.
That's all he wants it for.
And to be honest, this machine is absolutely ideal for that (and cheap too).
(Oh, and I figured a laptop would be handier for him, so that he can just fold it up and put it away when my mum starts moaning at him to get it all off the dining room table )