Realistic review of Dell Inspiron 13 ( 1318 ) with a perspective of Lenovo T400

A Little Background
I'm a long time computer user / programmer. I've played with a 386 and Pentium alike. I'm a tech enthusiast and current in grad school. So when I say I know about something, I very well do. So if you dont take me seriously, well you're the loser then!

Why am I writing this review?
A couple of months ago after reading the much hyped reviews around here, I placed an order for a Lenovo T400. When the laptop came in, the machine had dead pixels. So I sent it out for repairs. After it came back the replaced screen had a single dead pixel. Now I had gone all out and paid ~ $1100 ( USD ) for this machine. I had purchased the most expensive display on this machine and I got this. When I contacted lenovo, I was told that they wont do anything about it since it was against their policy to replace a screen with less than 3 dead pixels. I can't tolerate such stupid behavior from a company which is renowned to care about quality. So I returned the machine for a full refund. I begun looking at other brands and this is how I ended up with a Dell Inspiron 1318 and now I'm writing a review.

The review
Well this is a nifty little machine from Dell. It sports a 13.3" screen...etc... The specs on this machine are:

1. 13.3" CCFL display 1280x800 resolution
2. Intel T8300 C2D @ 2.4GHz 800MHz FSB
3. 4Gigs of DDR2 RAM @ 667MHz
4. 320 Gig harddrive
5. Intel 4965AGN wifi adapter
6. Intel GMA X3100
7. 9 Cell battery 85WHr

Build quality
Excellent. It can give Lenovo Thinkpads a run for their money. The laptop is solid and nothing seems to be loose or wobble. Unlike the T400 whose 9 cell battery would wobble and have a little "play". The inspiron's battery fits snugly.

Display Quality
Wonderful. The display is a CCFL and glossy. Going by the posts here, I too though that they're a piece of crap. But after seeing both displays first hand I'd like to say that CCFL displays are just as good as their LED counter parts. The only difference is that LED displays can be thinner and consume less power. LED displays claim to have more "even" lighting but the fact is that CCFL displays do just as good. There is absolutely no perceivable difference in the evenness of the lighting. Yes LED screens can be very bright BUT you dont need so much of brightness coz I DOUBT anybody sits directly under the Sun and uses his / her laptop. I've used this machine in very bright surroundings and I've not had ANY problem. This display is crisp and contrast is really good. Trust me, if I wasn't satisified with this machine's display I would return it immediately. Oh and it doesn't have a single dead pixel.

Keyboard
A lot of people complain about flex and bad keyboard quality. Well I'm happy to say this keyboard is wonderful. Its light and has very good tactile sense. People who POUND on the keyboard should learn how to use one coz keyboards aren't to be pounded on. They're meant to be typed on using your FINGERs which aren't hammers...

Sound
Well this machine has okayish speakers. They're not too flattering. But the audio out quality is very good. The same was the case with the T400.

Processing power
The difference between Intel's Montevina platform ( one used in the T400 ) and this machine is that, the power consumption of the newer chipsets is ~10W lesser. That means a cooler machine, which the T400 was, but the processing power was compromised on. The T400 I got was with a P8400 processor @ 2.26GHz while the one I have on this machine is a T8300 @ 2.4Ghz. Now the clock rate doesn't determine how fast or slow a processor might be. Also, a bigger cache doesn't necessarily mean better performance. With my experience, I would have to say that the T8300 out performed the P8400 atleast in the virtualization arena since that is what I'm most concerned about.

last but not the least
Value for money
The T400 ( $1094 ) and Inspiron ( $1023 ) cost almost the same, but I got these advantages over the T400 while saving some!

1. Faster processor
2. 2Gigs more RAM ( Totally 4Gigs )
3. Bigger harddrive ( 320Gig vs 250Gig )
4. 13.3" crisp display
5. 1 year NBD on-site warranty
6. Better webcam ( 2Mpx vs 1.3Mpx AND its faster too! )

Here are some photos!

Just the display. My camera ain't that good.


Front view


Left view. Notice the great viewing angle



Right view


Side view. The 9 cell ain't that bad! =)

 

Hey great review so far! I may get this laptop when I get some money because now that I have seen your review for it, it sounds pretty awesome! Please put up some pics for all of us to see.

 

check it out...added photographs for your viewing pleasure!

 

Hey cool thanks

 

I see that you installed Linux on it. How is the performance, portability and battery life?

 

I'm using Debian. It depends on the distro you're using but another aspect that swayed my decision towards this machine was that the 965 chipset, X3100 GMA have more mature drivers and are better supported by Linux than the current Montevina platform.

To answer your questions, portability is good. The notebook isn't that light. The battery life with a 9 cell is around 5 hours which is good. Lastly, the Linux support is great as I said the chipset drivers are much more mature.

 

Glad to hear Linux support is good. I like my Dell keyboard too, even though, having used ThinkPad keyboards, I'd say they're still superior.

Only one criticism of your review...you could do with using "coz" less, as it sounds rather less academic.

 

hehe thanks. i'm just being lazy while typing. too many reports this semester!

 

Atl...

Nice review, nice pictures Looks good :yes:


Cin

 

Thanks for the very informative review!

 

Hey great review looks great =-)

 

Thanks for the review!

I agree that CCFL displays can be every bit as good as LED. For the price of this upgrade one can get a better CPU, more memory, etc.

 

You're welcome. My emphasis is that dont have a preconceived notion about any brand / laptop. Dell is definitely a major player in this field. Don't let "fanbois" sway your opinion.

 

I've not found a retailer offering the Dell 1318 with a 9-cell battery.

Is that an accessory?

All the ones in stock at major outlets have a 6-cell standard.

 

The Best Buy models had 9 cell batteries. Where are you located? You'll have to perhaps purchase a 9 cell battery separately from dell or order a CTO machine from them.

 

very helpful, thanks!

Is the touchpad sensitive? cause i've seen others inspirons, like the 1420 and its kind of hard to make it sense your movements and follow commands , unlike the xps 1330, which has a really smooth one.

 

The touchpad on this machine is very nice. It's a good size, and is very responsive.

But, opinions vary on things like touchpads. You're opinion could be a 180 of mine. If this is important to you, I'd go to a Best Buy and try one out for yourself.

The nine cell is huge, and adds a ton of weight, on this machine. IMO, it really defeats the purpose of having a 13 inch computer.

First thing I did when I bought this computer, was track down a six cell battery. My nine cell has been sitting in the box ever since.

 

Hi, i've got exactly the same laptop as you except for the video card.
i'm running it on Lenny (idk if you are using Etch or Sid) but i'd like to know if you were able to make the microphone work ?

so, if you could private message me or something it would be nice.

 

This is a machine I am seriously thinking about buying when I pay off the current Dell offering here in the household. I would like to know if its a machine you would purchase again if you had to redo this purchase? And did you get it from Dell directly or was it from Best Buy? Also what kind of warranty did you get for the $$$ spent? AWESOME review atlguy!

Also I would ask Mick what kind of battery life you get from the six cell battery you went with. And does it come in colors?

 

I bought mine from Best Buy. At the time, Best Buy and Walmart were the only places it could be purchased. Dell wasn't even selling it yet. I had a bunch of giftcards to Best Buy, and the machine was really inexpensive to begin with, so my out-of-pocket cost was under five hundred bucks.

The warranty is a, standard, one year warranty. However, if you purchase the machine it Best Buy, you have to go there for warranty issues.

I get decent battery life out of my six cell, though nothing spectacular. Admittedly, mine spends most of it's time on a desk, plugged in. So, my best guess is that I get, roughly, three and a half hours out of the battery. Don't quote me on it, though.

The color of the battery is black. I've never seen them in any other colors, though that doesn't mean they don't exist. If you want too look, search around for XPS m1330 batteries. The I13 uses the same battery, but the m1330 has been around longer, so you'll find a lot more of them under that description.

 

hey atlguy,

i'm in the market to buy a new inspiron 1318, same specs as yours except with an Intel T6600 @ 2.2GHz processor (and the webcam w/ facial recognition). in the picture you have above, it shows that the battery doesn't protrude that badly, but how much heavier is it with the battery? i'm a college student and a commuter so need a long battery life for on-campus laptop use...in your opinion, is it a good trade-off to have a bulky/heavy battery for 2 extra hours of battery life? (the 9 cell vs. 6 cell debate) i'd also love to hear some cons you may have about the laptop. thanks so much!

 

Guys, sorry for the late reply.

The microphone is difficult to get working. I used Sid and it kinda worked. Dont mess with the volume controls. I remember you had to add dell-3stack option in alsabase. I'm on Ubuntu 8.10 now and its the same thing. I generally dont use the built in mic since its not as good as the headset's mic.

I got a 1 year warranty with inhome service. Thinking of extending it into the next year. AND YES!!! IF I HAD TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN I'D DEFINITELY SPEND $$$ ON THIS BABY!

Unfortunately, the I13 comes only in midnight blue. The battery life is typically 4-5 hours. If you can tweak the power profile ( which I didnt bother to ) you can get 6-8 hours.

Frankly, if someone has to complain, he/she will no matter what. The 9 cell doesn't make the machine look as ugly as some people claim it to. It looks nice. Its a bit heavier but if you want battery life, I'd say go for it!

 

yawn, doesnt dell 1318 weight 4.9p?
that puts 1318 in the same class as apple macbook 13.3 weight wise,
except 1318 doesnt have the looks of a pretty mac.

 

dude, the 1318 looks great and yes its heavier. But its a Dell and its not competing with Apple's MacBook. If you want to compare Apple and Dell offerings, I suggest you look at Adamo.