Dell Vostro 1500 User Review

Urgrading the RAM elsewhere is definitely the way to go. But just so you see both sides of the pancake, I LOVE my 1500. For what it does you won't find anything priced near it that weighs considerably less. Also, I'm not too sure what all the fuss is about the truelife glossy screens. I'm converted to them. The clarity surpasses any matte screen I've used from dell (which is quite a few).

 

Q: How many noted occurances of audio problems, screen problems, heating failures, artifacting, etc, etc, etc have there been reported in regards to the Vostro 1500? Also, is it able to be easily used with games without fuss via the tilt, etc? Also, what language should I learn as a secondary if I want to get through tech support?

 

hey, anyone who owns the 1500, what laptop sleeve works well with it? I am looking for a sleeve that is relatively small because I want one that will fit into a laptop back as well for more protection. I'm paranoid with my electronic stuff when I bring em around. The laptop is a bit thicker than most so I'm concerned that this coupled with a sleeve will make it too bulky to fit into a laptop backpack. I have the 6cell battery by the way.

 

"Also, what language should I learn as a secondary if I want to get through tech support?"



Hindi is spoken in India, I do believe this is a starting point.

 

I got a 3Dmark06 score of 3269 on the Vostro1500 with 2GB RAM running a modded 163.75 driver.
Overall I am happy with the performance. But the graphics performance is erratic at best, though the latest games can and will run well on medium to high graphics, i am having a lot of issues with the driver. The nvldm driver keeps crashing every now & then.
Till now uninstalling & reinstallling the driver is the only remedy.

 

I got 3269 using 2 GB RAM on 3dMark06 with all options turned on using a modded 163.75 driver. Hope this helps

 

I'm assuming you have the 8600M GT:
Use the 169.04 driver it is excellent and very stable. It cured all of my problems.

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showforum=72

 

Hi to all, I love forums, the people on forums are usally so helpful and want to share their advice, thoughts and opinions. Hope to get some good advice here thanks in advance.

I'm planning on buying my first laptop the Dell Vostro 1500 Here are the spec and upgrads I plan on making.

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 1.6GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB ($75. upgrade from 1.4GHz), 2 meg ram, 200g 7200 hard drive($55. upgrade from 160mb 5400rpm), Web cam ($30), XP Home Edition

I'm no computer guru and I have a few questions on some things.


The video card is a Intel integrated graphics media accelerator x3100. I will be using this laptop for internet, watching down loaded video clips, pictures storage and editing, burning CD/DVD and such. No gaming at all. Would this Intel integrated graphics media accelerator x3100 be fine for what I'm doing or should I upgrade to a 128mb NVIDIA GeForce 8400m GS for $100.?

I upgraded the hard drive capacity and speed and processor speed already and I would like to keep the cost down and not get anything I wouldn't realy benifit from.

Is it possible or would is be or is it hard to add this upgraded video card later?

I have a Westel Versa link model327w from Verizon, I have read in this dissussion that there might be some problems with the wireless dell wireless card 1390 802.11g. Should I change this card?

Should I stay with the XGA LCD or upgrade to the truelife or XGA+? What is the difference?

Any thoughts or advice would be helpful.

Thanks

 

I’ve had my Vostro 1500 for a couple for month now.
This is what I’ve found.
My biggest gripe is that dell have not enabled virtualization ( hopefully they will add it to the bios soon)
I’m running Vista Ultimate and have found it is a bit more stable since I disabled Google Desktop search

 

also note it seems like they've just started offering 2GB as the base RAM, I ordered mine a few weeks ago with 1GB but now if you go to Dell.com and configure the 1500 it starts w/ 2GB standard for about $50 more than the previous price I paid.

 

Well I ended up getting a 1500, C2D 1.4 , NVIDA 128mb, 2g ram XP.
I'm really liking this computer.

I do have some question/problems.

It seems like typing text (like on this fourm) the text is lagging behind like there isn't enough memory of the system is running slow.

I'm really having problems with the D drive. I will use the drag to disc function to make a number of copies 300 meg of pictures for a x-mas gift for the family. One time it will work great and then the next time it doesn't respond and freezes up. I end task and end up have to shut the computer of with the on/off button because it lock everthing up. Sometimes it says there is no disc or some other error(I can't remember).

This is a hit or miss problem, is doesn't do it all the time.

I have found when it is working it burns 3-4 cds to 1 on my old desk top (p4 1.6, 750mb ram).

Is anyone else having problems? I might be doing something wrong?

Any thought or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks

 

Just ordered mine after much research. Basically you get a lot for your money with the Vostro 1500 which is fantastic. In my opinion; anyone who thinks any laptop is heavy is a puff - I don't know why people let weight factor over value for money...

 

Well, some people buy laptops for portability, you know... Different needs.

 

I got a 1500 with XP and 1GB of RAM in September, and while I haven't seen a problem with the D drive, the text was lagging every 15 - 20 seconds. There are some references to this in Dell's forums and other sites, but it doesn't seem to be a common enough problem for Dell to fix it. I contacted Dell by phone, and didn't get any help.

The problem can be fixed a couple different ways. If you run msconfig, you can uncheck PCMservice under the Startup tab, so that this program doesn't run automatically. I ended up renaming PCMservice.exe, which is in the folder C:\Program Files\Dell\MediaDirect, and haven't found any loss of MediaDirect's functionality.

PCMservice is actually from Cyberlink for PowerCinema, so it's hard to find out what is actually going on. I've read that PCMservice is periodically checking for a remote control, so MediaDirect might be affected if you use one. I've also heard that the lag time is proportional to the number of your Outlook contacts, since MediaDirect displays your contacts.

I definitely got rid of the keyboard lag by disabling PCMservice, so this should help other people too. I'm just disappointed that Dell is still selling computers that have a performance problem that should be fixed.

 

Good info there, some I understand and some went over my head. I had a feeling it had to do with the Media direct or the Roxio drag to disc program running in the background. I really like the Media direct and the drag to disc program, that's why I didn't disable them. I might have to if it causing the problem.

I will search the dell forums and see what I come up with. Thanks

 

H,
My friend has this laptop and she wants to backup some data on dvds. I showed her how to do it with Nero and tried other programs but 95% of the time, the dvd will fail partly through burning. We've tried different brands, + and -R.... cds work fine but DVDs hold more. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks!

 

I bought mine while dell was having a $384 instant rebate deal.

I absolutely love this laptop. And for the price I got it for: 944$ Total (They had free shipping too!)

After alot of researching(ALOT) if I had gotten the same exact specs anywhere else I would have paid between 1500-3000$...

They also accidentally gave me a better graphics card than I ordered which was awesome.. I ordered the 256mb Nvidia Geforce 8600m GT.. and they gave me the 512 MB version, which they don't even offer?

Pure and simple, This laptop rocks. my specs are:

intel core 2 duo 2.0ghz
2 gigz ram
nvidia geforce 8600mg 512mb


I can rock out all my fav games at 80-120 fps on full settings.
I can run crysis on medium settings at 1280 x 800 res... or high settings at 800x600 resolution, with no lag at all.

 

I've just ordered Vostro 1500 it is amazing Laptop for IT pro, especially those who works with Wireless networking it is amazing 10 stars from me by the way don't forget that's why i'm here to notice something about dell vostro 1500 some people are saying that Dell Vostro is twin sister with Insperion which is not true becuase they differ from the main part of the laptop which is the Motherboard the motherboard of Vostro is much much better than the insperions if you ask me why here is the answer:

The Dell Insperion 1520 has this processor that comes by default!
ntel® Centrino® Duo Processor Technology - Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5450 (1.66GHz/ 667 FSB/ 2MB Cache)

The Dell Insperion 1525 has this processor that comes by default!
Processor
Intel® Centrino® Duo Processor Technology - Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5450 (1.66GHz/ 667 FSB/ 2MB Cache)

BUT VOSTRO 1500 comes with this processor:
Processor
Intel® Centrino® Duo Processor Technology - Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5470 (1.60GHz/ 800 FSB/ 2MB Cache)

DON'T YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE THE FSB IS 800 THAT'S WHY IT IS CALLED BUSINESS LAPTOP AND THAT MEANS the 800 FSB will take less time for communication between CPU and peripheral devices such as RAM, hardrive, ports etc.... FASTER PROCESSING FASTER RESPONSE so they are not twin sisters...

 

to the OP/OR

your HDD is fast, its just the bloatware garbage dell loaded onto your drive to constantly thrash the hell out of it, do a CLEAN format using TINYXP and try again

this is what it should look like (no dipping crap)



or this

 

Hm. Okay, but tell the people in the Dell forum, not us review goers.

 

Good review by the way. As of now, the Vostro has incorporated the new Penryn Processors. Funny thing that their graphic card still remains as 8600M GT DDR2 and not GDDR3.

Right now, I'm stuck between the Inspiron 1720 and this Vostro 1500.

In Singapore, Dell offered the Vostro at these specs:

T9500 2.6GHz 800Mhz FSB Processor
3GB DDR2 RAM
Nvidia 8600M GT DDR2
320GB HDD
TFT TrueLife screen with 1680x1050 resolution
9 Cell Battery
Windows XP Pro 32 Bit

Sounds great for a 15.4 notebook. Gonna replace my old Acer Aspire 5685 WLMi. Then again, Inspiron 1720 with their 17"... Hmm...

 

Hi,

I am moving to Singapore next month, can you please tell me how much Dell Vostro 1500 costs there with the following specs:

In Singapore, Dell offered the Vostro at these specs:



T9500 2.6GHz 800Mhz FSB Processor

3GB DDR2 RAM

Nvidia 8600M GT DDR2

320GB HDD

TFT TrueLife screen with 1680x1050 resolution

9 Cell Battery

Windows XP Pro 32 Bit



Cheers!

 

Hi,
I'm Having a problem with my Dell Vostro 1500, i.e. In my Laptop the SD/MMC slot is not working, please suggest me whether I need to install any kind of drivers for the activation. If yes What kind of drivers I need to install.
Thanks in Advance.

Vijay.

 

cool laptop

 

I enjoyed your review. My husband has the Vostro 1500, maybe you can help with a problem he's been having. All of a sudden the icons for volume, battery life and connectivity in the notification area or system tray have been disappearing. If you go into Control Panel and Sounds, you can put all 3 back by telling it to put the volume icon there, but as soon as the computer is shut down they disappear again. The place we bought it wants to keep it for several days but he needs it for work, and it's no longer under warranty so Dell would charge to answer any questions, which we are not ready to do since it's more of an annoyance than a real problem at this point. Do you have any suggestions?

 

I have a Vostro 1500 and the thing has been nothing but a thorn in my side since I got it. At the time I first got it I had an old Gateway laptop and that thing was a tank. Never had an issue with it for the 4 years I owned it. I used the Vostro for about a week then I tossed it in it's carrying case and let it sit in my closet for about 6 months. I turn it back on and it doesn't work. Turns out the hard drive failed on it from doing nothing at all so Dell had to send me a new HD. So I started using a little but more but then I didn't touch again for a few months and then when i went to go use it again the NIC card failed so my ethernet port didn't work so Dell had to send someone to my house to get that replaced. Another little dandy is that from what I've been reading Dell products cannot run Flash Media player at full screen when it's running Vista because the picture gets very choppy so you can only watch it in the small window, the wireless card (mines the Dell card) is crappy at best. I'm currently staying at a hotel for a month on business and they have wifi only and short of being right on top of the router I may have a connection for 15-20 minutes until it decides I've had enough and will just disconnect. This will be my last Dell purchase