Dell Vostro 1400 Review

Dell doesn't give out OS disc's anymore... You have to request them. I'm not sure if the disc will work on your desktop, but it is only licensed for one computer.

 

Really? I just got my Vostro 1400 about 3 months ago and I got a DVD of Vista Basic with my order. Was this recently that they stopped giving out OS discs?

Also, I don't know if this still applies, but I had an old copy of XP Home (SP1) that came with an old dell desktop of mine. I used that disk to install XP on my Vostro to dual boot and it worked just fine... well I had to slipstream in the SATA drivers, but other than that, it worked just fine.

 

i did the same too..i jus dowload the drivers frm the dell website.

 

Dell sent me a Vista Premium OS cd with my vostro 1400. Maybe you got unlucky mate

 

I just got my VOSTRO 1400. It is heavy and the 9cell battery juts out. I also think the display is some what dark. My note book says made in Malaysia. Is this normal? What is the experience with return as I am contemplating returning it.

 

Sorry you are not happy with it!

Heavy - between this being a fairly heavy-duty computer and the huge battery, it is not a lightweight.

Battery - yes, the 9 cell is bigger and heavier, but I ca get SIX HOURS of life on the intArweb or other such tasks.

Dark display - Press and hold 'Fn' and press the 'up' arrow key at the same time. The display on mine is painfully bright all the way up. When plugged in, I am 4 notches down from full-brightness, and when on battery, I can use it all the way down without bothering me.

Malaysia - Santa really doesn't build toys at his North Pole workshop

Real question is - what do you want out of a laptop? Mine (see sig) is fast, powerful, has a awesome screen, has a huge battery, and it just a workhorse - yet is in a small form factor and was CHEAP. Its more like a heavy bomber than a fighter. This is what I wanted.

If I had this computer with the low-res screen, a Celeron eek , Intel X3100, 1GB, etc., I would be disappointed. But with all the goodies, its amazing it all fits in this package.

 

Jason, thanks for the great review. Collectively, This review and all of the posts convinced me to buy the 1400. I can't wait to get it. I wanted a computer that was affordable but should last me for at least 3 yrs. I wanted one that is fast while running internet, microsoft office, and, say, itunes all at the same time. I'll be using this computer daily for school and for home. I'm definitely a novice computer guy, so I shouldn't be too picky.

I bought a preconfigured system from Dell for $619 and got a 2-yr warranty for $78 (with the warranty comes a $25 gift card)!!!!

Here are the specs:

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5270 (1.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache), Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic, 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, 14.1 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display, 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM, 160G Hard Drive, CD/DVD+RW Read and Burn CD and DVD, Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card

I'll let ya'll know what I think once I get it.

 

I got my new Vostro 1400. I have great first impressions and I'm thrilled about the price-$619 for 2 GB ram, Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5270 1.4GHz, 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, 160G Hard Drive. Wireless works just fine. But, in my house I don't have wireless, just cable Ethernet. I CAN'T SET UP A CONNECTION! The internet works just fine when the desktop is plugged in, so the connection problem must be due to the laptop. Should I reinstall the driver? Any ideas? I'm not a tech savvy guy at all. I need help!

 

Did you disable the ethernet? I have no problems connecting my laptop to a lan.
If you plug it in does it even show up on the bottom right hand corner? Make sure that your router does not have mac address filtering. However, id also like to add that if your house doesnt have wireless, then does that mean you dont have a router and that it is directly connected to the modem? If that is so and you have comcast, comcast only allows the mac address of the computer that set up the 1st ever connection to make connection and grab an ip. So your laptop will not have the same mac and as such wont be able to connect to the internet.

 

Matasuzuka....The ethernet is enabled. Yeah, I don't have a router, the computer is directly connected to the modem. I'm pretty sure I've used two computers on this internet service in the past. But I'll call the cable company (Brighthouse).

Network connections says that I have a local area connection established, but that that connection is not connected to the internet.

 

Broadband works! All I had to do was unplug the modem and reboot the computer so that the modem could reset to the laptop. I feel dumb, but I'm glad it works. So easy!

So, initial impressions--i love the vostro.

 

Glad you got it to work! Internet can be so fickle sometimes...

 

Hi Everyone,
I've got my laptop on 19th. I'm quite happy with it's performance and the LCD is bright enough. But yesterday inoticed a clicking noise from its HDD (occures every 10-20 sec.). Does anyone have idea what's that. Should I turn the laptop back because of it, though I hesitate as another one may come with another problem. What would you advice?
Thanks for your help in advance -

 

I have that same clicking noise- I don't think it's anything hardware related. Vista does alot of things in the background requiring constant access to the hard disk. Probably just windows being annoying.

 

All Windows systems I've used have had a slight clicking in the background. It's probably not serious.

 

Ok guys, thank for sharing, that 's quite helpful. hope I won't have problems in future.

 

How did the original poster get a 1.5% off from Fatwallet? Are you guys aware of any other coupons or discounts? (they need to be able to stack with the one Dell automatically inserts for you) I'm looking at either the 1400 or 1500.

 

Hi

I'd like to known how loud are the touchpad boutons ?
Is it like the Ms Wheelmouse ?

Thakns

 

they are light than other laptops i had in the past. but the left and right buttons dont feel different enough

 

People seem to have had mixed results in recieving OS disks with their purchase, so I called Dell to confirm that I would recieve the disks before I mde my purchase. However, the sales person wouldn't even answer my question until I opened a business account with them. I noted that several people online purchased the Vostro individually but was told that their orders would hve been canceled in the process. Obviously this isn't true as it seems here that everyone would ordered their systems have recieved them. In addition, it seems odd to me that they would only sell to businesses a system that comes preconfigured with Vista and XP "Home" operating systems and a media center function.

Those of you who recieved OS re-install disks, can you say where you made your purchases from?

 

I puchased mine online from the Dell SB store. I didn't have to call in to ask for it, I got the OS disc. I had mine configured wit Vista Home Basic.

 

Dell doesn't give two blanks if you are a 'business' owner or not. Its not like you are ordering a full-auto M16 and trying to pass yourself off as a police department, its a freaking laptop!

I just ordered mine from the Dell Small Business site (as in, the only place you can order it online) and I got the OS.

 

I ordered mine off the small business website. I received my vista premium OS CD. Also got a bunch of other drivers and stuff. Im ticked i selected no roxio software when i ordered the dvd drive. I was totally not paying attention. O well.

 

Caution: The symbols below the lights may wear off as that is where the hand usually rests!

They did on mine.

 

Has anyone else had problems burning DVD using Windows explorer and the Live File System? Everytime I try to do it the computer hangs. Firmware on my drive has been updated so I don't think it's to do with that. Also I can burn DVDs using a great program called DeepBurner- apparently it can do what Vista can't. Vista gives a stupid time for burning files to DVD (like 34316 day) and it probably would take that long but DeepBurner does it in 10 mins. Just curious to see if anyone else had the same problem.

 

Just ordered my Dell Vostro 1400 tonight ! Strictly for business, no gaming

I will report back when it arrives with full details, maybe some pics, and a personal review.

Detailed Specs:
Vostro 1400 - Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB)
LCD Panel - 14.1 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display
Memory - 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
Video Cards - Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Hard Drive - 160GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
Operating System - Genuine Windows® XP Professional SP2
Integrated NIC and Modem - Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Optical Drive - 8X DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, No Roxio Creator
Sound Card - Integrated High Definition Audio
Wireless Networking Cards - Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Internal-card
Camera - Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera
Productivity Software - No Pre-installed Productivity Software
MediaDirect - Dell Exclusive MediaDirect™ Instant Play Software Application
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-Install) - No Pre-installed Anti-Virus/Security
Primary Battery - 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Additional Battery - 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery
Limited Warranty, Services and Support - 1 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 1 Year NBD On-Site Service
Automated PC Tuneup - No Dell Automated PC Tune Up Installed
Media - No Media Software
Bluetooth Options - Dell Bluetooth Travel mouse
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate), WinXP


BASE PRICE: $ 1336
LESS 30% Dell Coupon Code: - $400.80
FINAL AMOUNT PAID: $ 935.20 + tax

I got this 30% coupon via Dell newsletter I signed up for on their site. I have found that Dell seems to track these newsletters and your click thru actions.

Recently I have been clicking thru on every laptop offer in their newsletters for the past 2 weeks. Configuring, building, even adding to my cart, but never completing the purchase.

Then today ... JACKPOT... an email newsletter with a 30% discount coupon code toward any Vostro laptop valued over $699.

Now I can't be certain if this was strictly a result of them tracking my laptop interest or not. Has anyone else received this 30% coupon code in a recent newsletter ??

Full review will follow upon receipt of unit ......

- Dan

 

i cant seem to figure out which screen you bought, is this it?
14.1 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife™ and not the xga+

 

In Italy is again available at a price of 650 euro for the configuration with T8100 and 2 gb of ram.
I'm very interested into know how it is if compared to Lenovo R61 and Hp 6510B in terms of build and keyboard quality.


P.S.: for an office usage is it better the matte 1280*800 screen or the glossy 1440*900 screen ?

 

bulky for a 14" lappy

 

Sigh... I know... but what about the quality... for that price ?

The display adn keyboard quality (Very important for me) are really better than the new vostro 1310 adn 1510 ?

 

i agree dell is hard to get a hang off XP

i have been trying to call them for the past week to get a price quotation on my dell vostro 1400 power supply as i misplaced mine and i still havn't got a price either by phone or email.

 

Stay away! I bought the vostro and it has been a nightmare. I have spent more time with Dell working on it than I have been able to do my work. It is non-stop problems from the keyboard not keeping up with they typing, the screen getting replaced, not being able to connect to wi-fi, outlook not connecting.

Dell keeps telling me it is not the computer that it is the software or the router, my internet provider, my web site host, you name it they have blamed it on them. I have two other computers that are working fine on the same router using the same host......

Dell just gives me the runaround. spend your money elsewhere.

 

my friend commented that the vostro 1400 is very thick and looks bulky...omg..

but i like my vostro nonetheless

 

Good review...thanks