Dell Inspiron 9100 First Take Review

The Dell Inspiron 9100 is the latest and greatest notebook release from Dell. Following are several of my first thoughts and many pictures of the Dell Inspiron 9100 desktop replacement style notebook.

First Thoughts

It took exactly a month of waiting for my Inspiron 9100 to arrive from order day (March 7, 2004) to arrival at my door (April 7, 2004). Usually Dell ships notebooks faster, butthey apparently had problems with initial shipments of the Inspiron 9100. Rumor has it that screen and graphics card problems plagued the first notebooks off the line, but Dell won't confirm that and they assure us that the shipping delays incurred went to ensuring a quality product was delivered to all.

It's been a long time since I have used a true desktop replacement style of notebook, and after using the Sony VAIO V505EX last week I was taken aback by the size of the Dell Inspiron 9100 upon opening it. In an interesting line up shot, you'll see the three notebooks I have all lined up for a size comparison, the Inspiron 9100 is on the far right:

From left to right: Sony VAIO V505EX, IBM ThinkPad T40, Dell Inspiron 9100

The Inspiron 9100 ss not staggeringly large, such as the case is with the new Acer Aspire 7100 series that's 16lbs, butthe 9100 istwice the size of the Sony VAIO V505. Weighing in at 8.92lbs and with dimensions of14.1" x 10.8" x 2.0" (Width x Depth x Height) the Inspiron 9100 is twice the weight of the VAIO V505 and over 3lbs heavier than the IBM T40 notebook. But with that size weof course get a notebook that acts and performs more like a desktop computer, carries a bigger 15.4" WXGA screen, and is great for viewing DVDs and using a couple of application windows at a time.

When buying the Inspiron 9100 you get a brown box with your order detail attached and inside that box are the following items

• Inspiron 9100 notebook


• Power Cord/AC Adapter


• Quick Start Guide


• Warranty information


• Nicely written Owner's Manual


• Recovery CDs and other backup or installablesoftware


• Video adapter

A view of the Inspiron 9100 immediately out of its shipping box

Following are the basic specs for the Inspiron 9100 I configured:

• Intel Pentium 4, 2.8GHzProcessor


• 15.4-in. WXGA screen


• 512MB,400MHz 2DIMM RAM


• 64MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 Graphics card


• 40GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive


• 4X CD/DVD burner (DVD+RW/+R)


• 96 WHr 12 Cell Battery


• Dell Truemobile 1300 802.11 b/g Wireless card


• Microsoft Windows Home Edition (English)


• 1 yr. Warranty

The total price for this was $1348.00, you can't beat Dell for value. That's an amazing price for what I got, I did not configure a really high-end machine because I wanted to test a mid-range configuration that the largest number of people tend to buy through Dell. You might want to up the processor speed and hard drive size when configuring this yourself.

Here's a look at the various ports and input connectors on the Inspiron 9100

1. S-video connector


2. AC adapter connector


3. D/Bay connector


4. Video Connector


5. USB connector (3 ports)


6. Network connector


7. Modem connector


8. DVI-I connector


9. Audio connections (2)


10. FireWire Port


11. PC Card Slot


12. Module Bay


13. Track Stick


14. Touch Pad Buttons


15. Touch Pad


16. Track stick buttons


17. Media Control Buttons


18. Power Button

Screen

The WXGA 15.4" screen is pretty. Dell does screens right. Watching "Lost In Translation" for a few minutes on the included Dell Media Experience DVD playing software (you can use Real One or Windows Media also if you choose) provided a nice viewing experience.

The Inspiron 9100 does a nice job for the playing and viewing of DVD movies

Sound

The Dell Inspiron 9100 includes a sub-Woofer for extra bass in the sound system. I am very impressed by the quality of sound so far. Usually with a notebook you assume you'll have to buy speakers to have a prayer of getting decent sound output, but in the case of the Inspiron 9100 the quality of the speakers is good enough to skip the speakers.

Multi-Angle Views of the Inspiron 9100

Following are pictures of various angles of the 9100 so you can see what this notebook looks like on each of its sides.

Dell Inspiron 9100 front-side view

Dell Inspiron 9100 left-side view

The back of the Inspiron 9100 (bottom) with an IBM T40 piggy backing for size comparison purposes.

Dell Inspiron 9100 right-side view

Keyboard and Input Devices

The Inspiron 9100 keyboard is nice and comfortable to use. I found that the thickness of the base, as you'll notice in the pictures is quite significant, made it somewhat uncomfortable to place my hands on for long periods of time due to the fact I had to elevate my wrists. With thinner notebooks the wrists are left more comfortable. However, the keyboardis full size so no cramping of the fingers and the touchpad reacts well to movements. The pointing stick is great, I'm so used to using a pointing stick with my full-time computer (IBM ThinkPad T40) that I'm lost when no such input device is included.

The Dell Inspiron 9100 has a nice touchpad, pointing stick and dual mouse input locations

More to Come

In 2-3 weeks time after I'm able to play with and use the Inspiron 9110 moreI'll have a full review of this machine. My initial thoughts are that this seems to be a good desktop replacement style notebook for a very good price. The build is typical hard-plastic style casing that you get with any Inspiron notebook, so it's not the type of notebook you can lug around and abuse,otherwise eitherthe case will crack or your back and should will break due to the size of this thing. Right now I can recommend it for those that want a desktop replacement that stays on your office or home desk. Students and Business travelers please don't buy this notebook and think it will be okay to carry around and take to a coffee shop or on a plane, that's not what this notebook is designed for. But rather, if your looking for a notebook that can be easily moved around in an apartment or home, sit on a desk full time or maybe your lap for an hour or less then you may be happy with the 9100.

Pricing and Availability

The Inspiron 9100 is Available in various configurations from Dell. Use our pricing engine to view current configurations and pricing, and keep checking back to NotebookReview.com for latest coupon codes and deals from Dell!

 

Holy moly that thing's big. Not really fair putting it nex to the V505 and T40, but still...

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Mine's on order, due to be shipped the 27th. Now for thw $64 question: what is battery life like?

 

The battery life? Not very good! This isn't designed to be the type of notebook that has marathon battery life, it's got a Pentium 4 chip and not a mobile chip and weighs 9lbs so it makes no excuses for trying to be a highly mobile power efficient pc. It's designed to sit on your desk and be plugged in. Battery life is somewhere in the range of 2 hours, I'll do more rigged tests to nail down different numbers depending on how the notebook is used though.

 

is the insp 9100's fan loud? or does it get hot? would you prefer a higher res screen than the WXGA for writing/coding/browsing?

 

Mine's on order too! The ship date on the website still says "April 28th," however it's been in the "boxing" stage since yesterday. my guess is it will ship sometime today. Woohoo!

I am quite thrilled to be getting this computer.
I am currently using an old, former-server Athlon 851 MHz with a 10 GB HDD--I have had nothing but crappy, hand-me-down computers for years, so I finally treated myself to something nice. Built-in WiFi, bluetooth, spare battery, 80Gb HDD, you name it!

I can barely contain myself. [ ]


P.S. - Happy Tax Day! Sucks to be one of those folks running to the P.O. by midnight!
---------------
Everett "Stu" White,
editor, http://www.Right-The-Left.com

 

I just got my I9100 and boy am I happy!! It is a little big but being in the IT industry it looks real high tech! It has awesome performance and no you can't hear the fan. I am truly happy! Dude I got a DELL!

 

Hey guys, how about some updates? [ ] How are you liking the 9100??

 

i stuck with the original screen it comes with, and it suits me fine. i dont think i could handle any higher res without getting angry! 1280 x 1024 or whatever it is works fine.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by mal

 

Has anyone tried using the dvi to do dual screens? Can you hook up 2 monitors or just the notebook display + one monitor?

Also:

If you get the XUGA screen, does everything HAVE to be small? What I mean is if you lower the resolution to 600x800 does it not take oup the full screen?

 

In regards to the request for updates, I'll be posting a full review by Monday. Still liking it for sure, not perfect (i do find the fan too loud) but overall thumbs up.

 

I haven't found the fam to be too loud. Once in a while it will spin up a bit to keep things cool, and even then mine is barely audible, but the rest of the time I find mine to be completely silent.

---------------
Everett "Stu" White,
editor, http://www.Right-The-Left.com

 

well there are what.. 3, mabe even 4 fans. maybe hes not quite use to that so he feels that it is loud. but, yes, i agree wtih you, they rarely come on for me full blast unless im playing a game.. then they start blowing a little harder.. i shoudlnt say full blast, i can still really not feel it, but they do get a little louder.

I'd say its pretty normal!

 

Agreed! Compared to my desktop computer, this thing's silent!

I do still have some thoughts and photos to post when I get a chance....It might still be a few days )

---------------
Everett "Stu" White,
editor, http://www.Right-The-Left.com

 

.. im downloading it now.. but wow.. 9 hours.. lol :S

 

Has anyone run the Specview Perf 7.0 on there 9100 yet. I am an architecture Graduate student starting classes in the fall and am considering this machine only because of its power. I need something portable that can do serious 3d modeling/rendering quickly. I know it will not be as fast as my desktop, however I would like to know what this machine posts on this test vs. the dell mobile workstation. If anyone who has this machine would be so kind as to check out www.spec.org and run the specviewperf test and post some numbers I would be greatly interested. It is a real world performance test using programs such as Lightscape, Medcad, Proengineer, 3dmax, etc. Thanks to anyone who would like to check it out.

 

Your in luck... I'm an architect that does heavy 3d work just purchased a 9100 I'd be glad to give you some results on specviewperf v7.0....

My desktop system (for contrast):
Dual 2.4 xeon (400fsb),1GB ram,NVIDIA QUADRO 7?? (128mb??)

3dsmax= 11.38
DRV= 24.72
DX= 66.68
Light= 14.18
PROE= 5.59
UGS= 9.08

The new 9100:
3.2 w/HT (800fsb), 512mb ram, ATI mobility 9700 (128mb)

3dsmax= 2.34
DRV= 9.578
DX= 13.31
Light= 2.213
PROE= 3.103
UGS= 10.48

So... not so bad IMHO. For a laptop.

 

Guess I should also mention that Dell is sending me another machine since this one boots up only 1 out of 5+ times... Could be motherboard issues that may affect performance. I'll retest with the new machine...

This is my first and quite possibly my last Dell. We shall see.

 

yea i don't know though. even your desktop compared with the test systems on Spec.orgs website is really slow. I think maybe there is an issue with the screen size the tests are being run at. Your desktop should be very fast in those tests with the twin xeons and a quadro 700. For instance the dell mobile workstation laptop posts faster numbers. You are right though on the 9100, that is really really slow, infact slower than my old inspiron 8000 with a 32 meg geforce 2 go that i hacked into a partial quadro card. but that thing is only a pIII 1g with 512 of ram. good luck with the new 9100. i have had a few dell's, laptops and desktops and have nothing but the best of luck with them. like everythign i guess there are always screw ups.

 

Indeed - I am a resolution junkie. I'm running 1920x1440(75hz) on the desktop and 1600x1024 on the 9100. That could take a bite out of the performance.

 

lol yea, that might do it. the standard res for spec. is 1024x768.

 

Hey. I've had mine for 2 weeks now and I'm a happy camper. Love the sound, the screen, the dell Media Experience and remote. Built in Firewire? GREAT. 4 USB ports also GREAT. DVI port? I can't get my wife to part with her DVI monitor to test it. Don't think I need to though. This screen is big enough even for my old tired eyes. I've lived with a touchy, crashy Latitude PII 266 as my mobile for 4 years now. Compared, this unit is SWEET. I use interactive voice response navigation software on it. This thing answers my questions almost before I can finish asking them. The old machine "pondered awhile". 3D rendering of topgraphical maps is smooth and fast. I still marvel at the fact it cost less than my 1st 486 Pack Bell 25 Mhz 8 meg machine many years ago. And, who knows, if it gives out down the road, I'll use it as a handy boat anchor.

Steve

 

okay lets try this again.. The first system I was shipped must have been really blown... here are my new results of specviewperf 7.0.... They are mindblowing (when you consider the results of my 2.4 dual xeon above):

3dsmax= 11.15
DRV= 36.15
DX= 63.59
Light= 13.65
PROE= 13.53
UGS= 21.50

Now thats what I'm talking about!

 

I just got my XPS (Loaded Version of the 9100) last week.

3.4 - WUXGA - 1gig RAM

So far it is awsome...

-I have not pushed it yet.. still setting it up. I do PDMCAD installation & custom programming so i will soon on my first bulk load of data. (my old laptop.. at 2.4 I could peg 100% utilization over night!)
-0 fan noise so far
-HUGE power supply[V]
-a bit heavy but I need the workout anyway and a smallscarifice for the power
-No docking stations.... still looking(actually that is how I found this site!)

1 sort of issue... I multiboot so I can have multiple testing environments, and I tried to install 2000 Server and it sort blew up.. it never actually finished the install, got SUPER slow... XP goes on no problem.


I am downloading the benchmark utility now...

 

I'm gonna buy the 9100, if i buy the highest res.(uxga) can't i then turn down the resolution...? Like configurate it myself?
Isn't just 1920x1440 the maximum res.??

Thanks

 

i just returned my 9100 to Dell for full refund b/c like another person mentioned it only started up properly once in a while. I have had display problems with the machine since we received it (only about a month ago) and I already sent it back to dell for repair once. I was frustrated by dell's customer service/technical service and was just plain angry that they returned the notebook to me without fixing the problem. For the amount of money and the extra charges on upgrades, I'll try something else. I will not purchase another dell. (I already Have 2 others)

 

Does anyone know how to open up the Inspiron 9100? I need get inside of it, as in under the keyboard. So if anyone can give me a clue or something, that would be appreciated!

E-machines M6805
AMD Athlon 64 3000+
2 gig PC2700 DDR
Ati Radeon Mobility 9600

 

They put the Intel and Xp stickers on your 9100 straight, mine are crooked as hell! It's not very loud, when the CPU gets to a certain temp. the fans kick on high and then it gets a little loud.

Inspiron 9100- 3.2ghz P4 HT - 1gb RAM - 100GB HD - 4x dvd/cd burner -128mb ATI 9700. Too Much Computer for Such a n00b!

 

I'm thinking about getting a 9100 with the new MR9800. Do you think it isn't too much of a negative to just get the PIV 2.8 ghz instead of the 3 or 3.2? Will it make that much of a difference? Will the 2.8 have a negative effect on the performance of the MR9800 with a gig of memory and a 7200 rpm hd? Thanks for the help anyone out there...

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by icspeedracer