My Inspiron 8600 Review

[jswriter]

YUMMY!
YUMMY!
YUMMY!
:bouncy: :bouncy: :bouncy:

A far more in-depth review to follow, but I'm having too much fun with my happy lappy, right now.
:banana: :headbang: :banana: :headbang: :banana: :headbang:

[Yoob@NBF]

:banana:

[jswriter]

Okay, I'm back for more...

To begin, here are my 8600's specs:

1.7 GHz Pentium M
15.4" WUXGA (it's a Toshiba LCD; anyone familiar with their screen quality?)
1 GB RAM (from newegg.com; upgraded from original 512 MB)
60 GB 7200 RPM HD
128 MB ATI 9600 Pro (I installed the latest Omega driver)
Dell Truemobile 1300 B/G
4X DVD-R/RW

This 8600 is a terrific machine. The screen is bigger than you might think. No dead pixels and none of that odd shading/discoloration that's been reported by some who have Sharp screens in their 8600s. I've looked closely for any ghosting and haven't noticed any of it. I'll have a better idea of possible ghosting after playing some games and DVDs on it. But, I'm a total convert to widescreen computing after one night with my 8600.

I began by uninstalling several of the unneeded apps that Dell bundles with their systems. This caused some odd graphics, window sizing, and audio behavior so I just proceeded to do a full reformat and installation of WinXP Pro. Once done, everything performed smoothly. I strongly recommend anyone who gets any Dell machine to do the same. It really makes a big difference.

So far, it's running Office 2002 XP Pro like a champ. Internet surfing is quick and responsive. The wireless capability is truly slick! I live in a house, south of Atlanta, and even out in the burbs, my 8600 detected two networks. I had never tried wireless before, so it was really cool to see it in action. I'm most interested to see how it picks up wireless networks once I move back into the city, in a few weeks.

My only hangup is that I've not been able to get my USB TV tuner to work fully. I get clear video, but no audio, yet. I've tweaked as much as I know, but still no sound. I'll keep trying, 'cuz I really like being able to watch TV while working on my notebook.

Tonight will be benchmark and game time. I'll post more comments after I throw some hi-end games and 3D Mark tests at my 8600. As of right now, I'm totally impressed with it.
:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

[bigshloss]

Thanks for the review... I want to see how the video card does on your machine.

[cyke]

Congrats!!! I had no time to review benchmark scores yet and have only tried demo version of War of the Rings... no problems. So I would be interested in seeing your scores. :cheers:

[jswriter]

First benchmark with 3DMark2001 SE: 10303 with no overclocking. That looks about right in line with other scores I've seen reported by 8600 owners. They seem to range from the low 9000s to high 10000s, and I've seen one score over 11000. None of this means all that much to me. I just want my games to run well. I just downloaded the Far Cry Demo and will try it tonight, along with a few others.

[jswriter]

Just one more thing...this widescreen rocks!!!! I can't get enough of how cool it is and it'll take a lot to get me to go back to the old 4:3 screens.
:headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

[jswriter]

More game tests...

The Doom 3 pre-demo (the version that was displayed at last year's E-3 show) looks and runs FANTASTIC on my 8600!! Admittedly, this was alpha and beta code, but I was very pleased and surprised at how smoothly it performed. The fan kicked in several times, but there was no degradation. I think it's a good sign that the final release of D3 will do well on the 8600.

The Half-Life 2 files were extremely buggy and unstable, so I couldn't really tell how it'll run on the 8600. HL2 does have an option to run in 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA) so chalk up one more for widescreen gaming!
:cheers:

[natedog81]

Nice, I just got my 8600 on monday and I am haveing a lot of fun with it, and yes the screen does look pretty sweet! One thing I am dissapointed with so far is the keyboard, the left side seems to dip in a little and when I type there is a little more clicking nose on the left than on the right, anyone else notice this same thing or did I get a bad keypad?

[jswriter]

Nice, I just got my 8600 on monday and I am haveing a lot of fun with it, and yes the screen does look pretty sweet! One thing I am dissapointed with so far is the keyboard, the left side seems to dip in a little and when I type there is a little more clicking nose on the left than on the right, anyone else notice this same thing or did I get a bad keypad?
I'm gonna start a new thread on the keyboard. Maybe we'll get more response that way.

[natedog81]

Good idea, its not a big issue for me right now and hopefully it wont get worse.

[Yoob@NBF]

Thats odd since the gap exists only on the right side..

[sydneyseppo]

Jswriter -- thanks for your great posts on the 8600 -- please could I ask you to explain to me how you did the following:
*******
I began by uninstalling several of the unneeded apps that Dell bundles with their systems. This caused some odd graphics, window sizing, and audio behavior so I just proceeded to do a full reformat and installation of WinXP Pro. Once done, everything performed smoothly. I strongly recommend anyone who gets any Dell machine to do the same. It really makes a big difference.
*******

Which apps did you uninstall? Did Dell give you the disk to re-install WinXP Pro?

Sorry for the dumb question, but I am a novice at this and do not want to make a mistake when I buy my 8600 next week.

Many thanks in advance. If you want to post to me 1:1, let me know.

Thanks

[jswriter]

Jswriter -- thanks for your great posts on the 8600 -- please could I ask you to explain to me how you did the following:
*******
I began by uninstalling several of the unneeded apps that Dell bundles with their systems. This caused some odd graphics, window sizing, and audio behavior so I just proceeded to do a full reformat and installation of WinXP Pro. Once done, everything performed smoothly. I strongly recommend anyone who gets any Dell machine to do the same. It really makes a big difference.
*******

Which apps did you uninstall? Did Dell give you the disk to re-install WinXP Pro?

Sorry for the dumb question, but I am a novice at this and do not want to make a mistake when I buy my 8600 next week.

Many thanks in advance. If you want to post to me 1:1, let me know.

Thanks
I uninstalled programs like Dell Media Experience, Microsoft Works and Money, the Eartlink and AOL stuff, pretty much everything I never use. The trouble began when I removed something called "Display..." I don't remember the full name, but it was some kind of font management tool. Again, I ended up reformatting and installing WinXP and the drivers. Everything is great, now.

Yes, Dell includes the WinXP and drivers CDs, among several others. Good luck with your purchase!
:cheers:

[jswriter]

I spent all weekend burning DVDs while downloading huge (300 MB+) game demos, watching TV on my USB tuner (finally got the audio to work), cruising the web, installing apps like Office 2003, FrameMaker and RoboDemo, and playing COD, Max Payne 2 (as much as I could stand it...I don't like the 3rd person perspective...too difficult to control the character), and the Far Cry demo, among others. My next game to try is gonna be Deus Ex 2. I really wanted to play XIII, but it just will not install. Lots of people have had problems with it. My 8600 is running as smooth as glass...no freezes, no lost downloads, no conflicts, no nuthin'! It continues to impress me with its performance, and I'm firmly addicted to widescreen computing after a week with this gorgeous WUXGA screen!! No mere 15" or 16" screen is gonna pry my eyes from this 15.4" beauty anytime soon. And, that Doom 3 demo (from E-3) continues to look and perform nothing short of awesome on my 8600!!

I contacted Dell about the white illumination along the bottom of my screen. I'm not sure if it's a defect, but I'm not taking any chances with a brand new machine. I requested a replacement and just received confirmation that I'll get a Samsung WUXGA LCD installed by a technician on Friday. If you want to be sure you've got a Samsung, you can check the part number, which is H1119.
:cheers:

[natedog81]

I have the same strange whiteness at the bottom of my screen too but I can only see mine when the screen is black or a dark color, I still need to find out what screen I have.

[Craig]

JS,

I'm glad to see you got the dream machine you've been looking for. I bought my wife a Dell for Christmas and it has been 100% rock solid ever since we opened it.

Enjoy that monster!

-Craig

[Yoob@NBF]

One can only hope for dare i say the Aurora-M ;)

[alittlefly]

I had a Sharp WUXGA with that same problem and have a tech coming out on Monday to replace it.

will Try to take some pic of the job.

[jswriter]

JS,

I'm glad to see you got the dream machine you've been looking for. I bought my wife a Dell for Christmas and it has been 100% rock solid ever since we opened it.

Enjoy that monster!

-Craig
Thanks, Craig! Hope your Area-51m is treating you well!!! :cheers:

[FlyPaper]

Hey JS,
I think I remember you buying an Alienware 51m. YeS/No???

[jswriter]

Hey JS,
I think I remember you buying an Alienware 51m. YeS/No???
Yeah, I bought an Area 51m, back in October 2003. I ended up returning it because of several problems. After trying several other notebooks, I found the 8600 to be the best for me.
:cheers:

[FlyPaper]

Way to GO. I was so fed up with their lack of...all of the above, that I cancelled my order. I actually had a Survey grp. call my house asking questions about Alienware. Woo! He got an ear full, more than he needed to know. I even logged on to the forums and gave him links to the complaints. I believ one of them was your post. Werent u the first one to discover it was not all aluminum when u first received it. well ne wayz, did they charge u a restocking fee?

[jswriter]

Way to GO. I was so fed up with their lack of...all of the above, that I cancelled my order. I actually had a Survey grp. call my house asking questions about Alienware. Woo! He got an ear full, more than he needed to know. I even logged on to the forums and gave him links to the complaints. I believ one of them was your post. Werent u the first one to discover it was not all aluminum when u first received it. well ne wayz, did they charge u a restocking fee?
A survey group, huh? What a joke! I'll bet you enjoyed THAT conversation. I'm sure it felt pretty good to unload on them. Your memory serves you well, young Jedi. It was indeed, I, who first raised the alloy chassis/case issue with AW. I'll never forget opening that black box only to discover that, aside from the top half of the LCD lid, the rest of the Area-51m was nothing but plastic. My outraged posts sent them scrambling to cover their misleading advertising. It was quite a time. I ended up paying a smaller than normal restocking fee because my return was over 60 days past the standard time. But, all that's in the past, now. :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

[LiunxRevolt]

JSWriter I'm in the market for a laptop right now. Are you ready to part with the 8600 yet for the Sager??? Email me. In fact anyone with info on a 8600 thats in excellent condition let me know. :dude:

[deepak_ramkumar]

Which are the best WUXGA LCD displays for the I8600? I was told that Sharp was the best, but would like to get a second opinion.

[Yoob@NBF]

Sharp then Samsung Then Toshiba Then Epson in that order for quality (brightness + response time)

Reliablility

Samsung, Sharp, Epson, Toshiba (dead pixel rate + illumination + other problems)

[ProdigalSon]

i just received my 8600 and i am _in love_ with it. are there any updated drivers for the 9600 video card?

[Tigerotor77W]

Visit the software sticky in the Dell General forum.

jswriter has since shed his 8600 for the Sager 3790.

[ProdigalSon]

Visit the software sticky in the Dell General forum.

jswriter has since shed his 8600 for the Sager 3790.

wow, just about all of the links have been dead for a few months. was able to find the ati update though. thanks for the heads up-

edit: omega installed and working

[neutRinos]

I just got my i8600 last week and it runs perfectly. Obv, after formating the HDD and reinstalling XP, just to get rid of the extra utilities and other useless stuff!!
But I have this one pixel in the upper half of the screen which behaves erratically. Sometimes, it has the same color as the background, but other times it keeps flickering and becomes bright red against a black background.
Any comments? Could someone please help me with this? Thanx in advance.