So we all know about the wonders of the Inspiron 9300, a machine that balances minimal price input with maximum gaming output. In simpler words, you get the best bang for your buck, at the cost of it being a Dell. I'm going to snatch a brief history of why I purchased a 17" gaming laptop.
1) I purchase a new computer every 5 years. My first computer back in 99' was a:
Hewlett Packard Desktop
17" NEC monitor
500mhz Intel Celeron
320MB RAM (upgraded)
32MB TNT2 nVidia PCI Video Card (upgraded)
10GB HD
- Primitive, I souped it up as much as I could for Half-Life, and I finally was fed up in 2005. After much debating and searching around on these trusty forums, it appeared the Dell Inspiron 9300 was the laptop to get for awesome gaming capabilities, without wasting too much money. Here's what I got courtesy of Dell:
1.6ghz Intel M Centrino
1GB Dell RAM
40GB 5400RPM HD
256MB GeForce Go 6800 PCI-E Video Card
Base Wireless Card/Ethernet Adapter
CD-RW/DVD Burner 8x
17" WXGA (not the WUXGA) LCD 1440 x 900 res
1 year warranty
Windows XP, no MS office, nothing fancy, defaults
Purchase Date: 9/9/05
Arrival Date: 9/16/05
Graphics:
- The GeForce Go 6800 256MB is a god's gift from heaven. To be honest, it's as powerful as you can get right now, excluding the 7800, and it's in a friggin' laptop. How great is that. On a side note, be weary of what drivers you do try to upgrade it to. This is the mobility version of the 6800, and is NOT compatible with some of the default "6800-compatible" drivers they so claim.
None of my games have had a slowdown FPS-wise; but rather, a slowdown from HD loading or lack of RAM.
Gaming:
BF2 -> 1440 x 900 custom res, All settings high (textures on low, no shadows). Maintain a constant 60-80 FPS. There is a huge problem though that EVERY Inspiron user will face - stutter lag. It comes from your hard-drive loading. I figured out that by minimizing the textures setting, the stutter lag will only last about 2-4 minutes on the first multiplayer game you join, and will never occur again (until you restart BF2). Obviously, this is due to having 1GB of ram or less. It can be fixed by upgrading to 2GB.
Other games (FEAR, CoD2, RTS's) -> Highest res possible (or 1440 x 900, whatever comes first). Settings are usually close to max with AA on.
LCD Display: The one I purchased was the 17" default, not the enhanced version. From what I hear, you basically get enhanced resolution on the super-duper one, but so what. I didn't want to be squinting at my laptop, and 1440 x 900 is just about perfect. It's like a notch between 1024 x 768 & 800 x 600 in terms of display, text size, and so forth. Ensure to adjust the DPI on the graphics setting back to normal. Dell ships them by default on 125%, and you'll get distortion issues. Screen has to be viewed directly on to get maximum brightness. I like this though, it prevents glaring, and you can always adjust the screen angle. The screen automatically shuts off when you close the lid - this is great for long downloads or time away from the laptop.
I have one dead pixel on my LCD. Hardly noticeable, a red dot near the bottom center. Blends in with the XP toolbar and/or games. No complaints here though.
Processor: Pentium M is all positive in my book. It runs at a faster clock speed than the P4's, 1.6 compared to 1.0. Thus, a 1.6 ghz runs at the speed of 1.6*1.6 which is about 2.5 ghz in terms of Pentium 4. That's awfully good. Not the best. The Pentium M saves battery life and cooling times by simply locking the processor at 800mhz during non-critical use, and maximizing to full processor speed at maximum use. It usually takes a certain % of memory useage before it locks up to the next level. This is both good and bad. For one thing, the laptop rarely gets warm during basic windows applications. I can download for hours without worrying about overheating.
Sadly though, it does have its bad points. The computer will act like a 800 mhz during slower games, and this can actually lag in those games. The only way to fix this is to alter your power settings, and then in the BIOS, pick to always play at maximal speed. This of course acts like a Pentium 4 which reduces battery life, and causes a HUGE increase in heating. I honestly never play BF2 for more than 2 hours because the back area starts to feel hot. Nonetheless, this is the ideal processor for a notebook. I also think the 1.6 ghz was just as efficient as opposed to paying an extra $200 for a mere 0.4ghz.
RAM: 1GB is Dell's default. Didn't check the bus, but it acts just about right. 2GB would have improved operations on the computer, but Dell overprices their extra gig of RAM. Buy your own stick after ordering the comp, and stick it in. Better yet, order from Dell with the base 256MB, then upgrade with (2) 1 GB sticks. The RAM caused slight problems with BF2, but they're resolved quickly. RAM caused noticeable slowdown on AutoCAD loading processes, but nothing else otherwise.
Sound: The sound card is very good for a notebook, Sigmatech or something. The speakers have great audio output, even if they're somewhat fuzzy on the higher ranges. Obviously, putting in a Audigy ZS external card will outgun the Sigma no matter what, but this is a high quality sound card for a value-power laptop. There are typical headphones/microphone ports on the side which I use quite a lot.
Functionability: How does it all stack together? Great. This laptop is used at my home and when I commute to my local college. The bulkiness should not be understimated, this is a wide laptop. However, I've managed to go into computer labs, and flop it up in front of the default college computers. Not ideal to fit on a desk, but ideal to work with on your own table, or during out-of-class time. I watch DivX videos while downloading with no slowdowns. I've yet to try a DVD though (I'm a VHS guy, an 80s man).
Internet: No problems with the internal ethernet card. I simply plug my ethernet cord at home for a connection and it doesn't even ask for any configuration settings. Wireless is iffy. The base card isn't too great based on numerous reviews, and I've yet to find a wireless network at college or at home. Then again, there are no wireless networks being hosted at home or at college. I usually leave it disabled by default.
CD-RW/DVD Drive: Noisier than the fans, but only during loading times. First time I had a drive where it just pops out, and you have to freely push/pull it to open/close it. The lens reader is exposed, hence why everything is crunched inside the laptop. As for burning quality, the times are alright. I usually burn files at college to the CD, and then transfer to the laptop with ease.
Keyboard: Mediocre quality. My Enter key popped off after a month. This was mainly due to playing BF2 quite a bit, and pressing ENTER for different spawn points. Took me a good hour to figure out how to get it to stick back on (there are hinges at the larger keys, and snaps on the smaller keys). The fluidity of the keyboard is nice. I'm a 70+ WPM typer myself, so this felt quite good. The only adjustment was getting used to using W,S,A,D as opposed to the arrow keys. Hard to crossover on a laptop with the mouse.
Touchpad: Very good. I love how you just tap the touchpad lightly to act as a click, as opposed to having to press the click button each time. It has a vertical & horizontal scroll bar that are awesome for webpage browsing. Takes some time to get use to highlighting things and that sort.
Extra ports: (6) USB 2.0 Ports, an external display input, headphones, microphone, S-Video, couple of other ones not mentioned. You know their functions, although the S-Video one is appealling. I'm not sure if it acts like a TV-Out function or what.
Structural Build: Overall build is of moderate quality. I didn't include pics in this review because all I9300's look the same. They look kind of whimpish, except for the silver finish. The white outlining is not preferred, but it's different. I wish they came in a black or alternate finish though, the exterior doesn't wow people until you actually look at the screen or what's going on with it. Those color snap kits are neat, but I didn't buy one. The laptop is close to 8 pounds from what I've heard. They feel heavier inside a carrying bad though, MUCH heavier.
On a negative note, there is a light residue wear mark through the silver finish below the W,S,A,D configuration to the left of the touchpad. If you're a heavy gamer, be prepared to clean the surface frequently after using the laptop. You can clearly see the bludge mark on mine from an angle with light shining on it.
Integrated Software: Came with some PSP studio, few Dell apps, no MS Office. I wanted to cut some costs, and took out Office. This was a bad move as all of our assignments are done in Office at the College. Using StarOffice or OpenOffice is an alternative, but I often had format conversion problems. Dell places a lot of unnecessary items during startup. I recommend MSconfiging it to your liking. I did not format the HD and start from scratch mainly because I had no noticeable problems with the default Dell build.
Documentation: No OS CDs. You have to request them, but I'm a mellow guy and frankly don't care. I got the recovery disk option, which was all I worried about. I use to use recovery often on my HP in case it got heavily infected, or I wanted to start from scratch.
Packaging: Came with 2-3 internal boxes inside the base box. You have to sign for delivery, otherwise, they will not deliver. I've heard of customers who have left paper slips telling the shipping service what to do, but honestly, I'd be afraid of someone stealing it. UPS sent mine, 7 days total via component building and so forth. Quick. Dell overestimates their completion dates by about 1.5-2 weeks to back themselves up in case anything goes wrong.
Recommended Accessories:
- Wireless Mouse
> I bought a Logitech default black wireless optical mouse. You need one for gaming, and there is no PS/2 port, so it has to be USB. Be prepared to spend a minimum of $30.
- Carrying Case
> I bought a case since I would be using it at college, and didn't want to look like Fred Robbins carrying a backpack. Ended up buying a Kensington Contour Pro 17" Case for $70. Quality was not what I expected, even though it was armored well. Lots of compartments, and the laptop had its own internal sleeve, and I had every accessory placed in there, plus pencils, books, papers, calculator, etc. Make sure the case you buy fits your body type. If you're not strong, don't buy a carrying case - get a backpack. These 17s don't go easily unless you stay in shape. In my case, I usually had excess of 25lbs, so it wasn't your typical load.
- Headset/MIC
> Headphones are necessary unless you want to mute everything. I usually use headphones in public areas. MIC is used for VOIP during gaming sessions. Really adds to the whole interface. I had cheap ones though, not any fancy USB combined one.
- External HD
> I did not buy one yet, but by the looks of it, I probably should have. My 40GB only came as a 33.3 GB. Why you ask? Dell installed their base recovery files on the HD, and that ate up a good chunk of GBs. Either get one for the 2.5" extension bay on the i9300, or a USB one that is self-powered. You can only install a few modern games, and download a few movies before it starts to get filled up.
Conclusion: I can game, write reports, do AutoCAD, and be set for the next 3 years computer-wise. By the looks of it, I'm planning on this to last the next 5 years. It probably won't due to a shorter lifetime on laptops, but what the hell, it's a Dell. If there's anything I learned, get at least a 60GB default HD on this model. Get at least 1GB of RAM (unless you plan to self-up it with a gig stick off of newegg or something). Get the GeForce Go 6800 while it's available. This card will last you the next 2-3 years gaming wise, even if it means playing medium settings on newer games. The media center upgrade is not worth it. I do not recommend upgrading the ghz on the processor; it's overpriced right now on mobiles. Expect to add $200 to your budget on the final price for accessories to maximize performance.
Overall rating:
/5
Pricing: $1266 (w/ tax, free shipping) total
1) I purchase a new computer every 5 years. My first computer back in 99' was a:
Hewlett Packard Desktop
17" NEC monitor
500mhz Intel Celeron
320MB RAM (upgraded)
32MB TNT2 nVidia PCI Video Card (upgraded)
10GB HD
- Primitive, I souped it up as much as I could for Half-Life, and I finally was fed up in 2005. After much debating and searching around on these trusty forums, it appeared the Dell Inspiron 9300 was the laptop to get for awesome gaming capabilities, without wasting too much money. Here's what I got courtesy of Dell:
1.6ghz Intel M Centrino
1GB Dell RAM
40GB 5400RPM HD
256MB GeForce Go 6800 PCI-E Video Card
Base Wireless Card/Ethernet Adapter
CD-RW/DVD Burner 8x
17" WXGA (not the WUXGA) LCD 1440 x 900 res
1 year warranty
Windows XP, no MS office, nothing fancy, defaults
Purchase Date: 9/9/05
Arrival Date: 9/16/05
Graphics:
- The GeForce Go 6800 256MB is a god's gift from heaven. To be honest, it's as powerful as you can get right now, excluding the 7800, and it's in a friggin' laptop. How great is that. On a side note, be weary of what drivers you do try to upgrade it to. This is the mobility version of the 6800, and is NOT compatible with some of the default "6800-compatible" drivers they so claim.
None of my games have had a slowdown FPS-wise; but rather, a slowdown from HD loading or lack of RAM.
Gaming:
BF2 -> 1440 x 900 custom res, All settings high (textures on low, no shadows). Maintain a constant 60-80 FPS. There is a huge problem though that EVERY Inspiron user will face - stutter lag. It comes from your hard-drive loading. I figured out that by minimizing the textures setting, the stutter lag will only last about 2-4 minutes on the first multiplayer game you join, and will never occur again (until you restart BF2). Obviously, this is due to having 1GB of ram or less. It can be fixed by upgrading to 2GB.
Other games (FEAR, CoD2, RTS's) -> Highest res possible (or 1440 x 900, whatever comes first). Settings are usually close to max with AA on.
LCD Display: The one I purchased was the 17" default, not the enhanced version. From what I hear, you basically get enhanced resolution on the super-duper one, but so what. I didn't want to be squinting at my laptop, and 1440 x 900 is just about perfect. It's like a notch between 1024 x 768 & 800 x 600 in terms of display, text size, and so forth. Ensure to adjust the DPI on the graphics setting back to normal. Dell ships them by default on 125%, and you'll get distortion issues. Screen has to be viewed directly on to get maximum brightness. I like this though, it prevents glaring, and you can always adjust the screen angle. The screen automatically shuts off when you close the lid - this is great for long downloads or time away from the laptop.
I have one dead pixel on my LCD. Hardly noticeable, a red dot near the bottom center. Blends in with the XP toolbar and/or games. No complaints here though.
Processor: Pentium M is all positive in my book. It runs at a faster clock speed than the P4's, 1.6 compared to 1.0. Thus, a 1.6 ghz runs at the speed of 1.6*1.6 which is about 2.5 ghz in terms of Pentium 4. That's awfully good. Not the best. The Pentium M saves battery life and cooling times by simply locking the processor at 800mhz during non-critical use, and maximizing to full processor speed at maximum use. It usually takes a certain % of memory useage before it locks up to the next level. This is both good and bad. For one thing, the laptop rarely gets warm during basic windows applications. I can download for hours without worrying about overheating.
Sadly though, it does have its bad points. The computer will act like a 800 mhz during slower games, and this can actually lag in those games. The only way to fix this is to alter your power settings, and then in the BIOS, pick to always play at maximal speed. This of course acts like a Pentium 4 which reduces battery life, and causes a HUGE increase in heating. I honestly never play BF2 for more than 2 hours because the back area starts to feel hot. Nonetheless, this is the ideal processor for a notebook. I also think the 1.6 ghz was just as efficient as opposed to paying an extra $200 for a mere 0.4ghz.
RAM: 1GB is Dell's default. Didn't check the bus, but it acts just about right. 2GB would have improved operations on the computer, but Dell overprices their extra gig of RAM. Buy your own stick after ordering the comp, and stick it in. Better yet, order from Dell with the base 256MB, then upgrade with (2) 1 GB sticks. The RAM caused slight problems with BF2, but they're resolved quickly. RAM caused noticeable slowdown on AutoCAD loading processes, but nothing else otherwise.
Sound: The sound card is very good for a notebook, Sigmatech or something. The speakers have great audio output, even if they're somewhat fuzzy on the higher ranges. Obviously, putting in a Audigy ZS external card will outgun the Sigma no matter what, but this is a high quality sound card for a value-power laptop. There are typical headphones/microphone ports on the side which I use quite a lot.
Functionability: How does it all stack together? Great. This laptop is used at my home and when I commute to my local college. The bulkiness should not be understimated, this is a wide laptop. However, I've managed to go into computer labs, and flop it up in front of the default college computers. Not ideal to fit on a desk, but ideal to work with on your own table, or during out-of-class time. I watch DivX videos while downloading with no slowdowns. I've yet to try a DVD though (I'm a VHS guy, an 80s man).
Internet: No problems with the internal ethernet card. I simply plug my ethernet cord at home for a connection and it doesn't even ask for any configuration settings. Wireless is iffy. The base card isn't too great based on numerous reviews, and I've yet to find a wireless network at college or at home. Then again, there are no wireless networks being hosted at home or at college. I usually leave it disabled by default.
CD-RW/DVD Drive: Noisier than the fans, but only during loading times. First time I had a drive where it just pops out, and you have to freely push/pull it to open/close it. The lens reader is exposed, hence why everything is crunched inside the laptop. As for burning quality, the times are alright. I usually burn files at college to the CD, and then transfer to the laptop with ease.
Keyboard: Mediocre quality. My Enter key popped off after a month. This was mainly due to playing BF2 quite a bit, and pressing ENTER for different spawn points. Took me a good hour to figure out how to get it to stick back on (there are hinges at the larger keys, and snaps on the smaller keys). The fluidity of the keyboard is nice. I'm a 70+ WPM typer myself, so this felt quite good. The only adjustment was getting used to using W,S,A,D as opposed to the arrow keys. Hard to crossover on a laptop with the mouse.
Touchpad: Very good. I love how you just tap the touchpad lightly to act as a click, as opposed to having to press the click button each time. It has a vertical & horizontal scroll bar that are awesome for webpage browsing. Takes some time to get use to highlighting things and that sort.
Extra ports: (6) USB 2.0 Ports, an external display input, headphones, microphone, S-Video, couple of other ones not mentioned. You know their functions, although the S-Video one is appealling. I'm not sure if it acts like a TV-Out function or what.
Structural Build: Overall build is of moderate quality. I didn't include pics in this review because all I9300's look the same. They look kind of whimpish, except for the silver finish. The white outlining is not preferred, but it's different. I wish they came in a black or alternate finish though, the exterior doesn't wow people until you actually look at the screen or what's going on with it. Those color snap kits are neat, but I didn't buy one. The laptop is close to 8 pounds from what I've heard. They feel heavier inside a carrying bad though, MUCH heavier.
On a negative note, there is a light residue wear mark through the silver finish below the W,S,A,D configuration to the left of the touchpad. If you're a heavy gamer, be prepared to clean the surface frequently after using the laptop. You can clearly see the bludge mark on mine from an angle with light shining on it.
Integrated Software: Came with some PSP studio, few Dell apps, no MS Office. I wanted to cut some costs, and took out Office. This was a bad move as all of our assignments are done in Office at the College. Using StarOffice or OpenOffice is an alternative, but I often had format conversion problems. Dell places a lot of unnecessary items during startup. I recommend MSconfiging it to your liking. I did not format the HD and start from scratch mainly because I had no noticeable problems with the default Dell build.
Documentation: No OS CDs. You have to request them, but I'm a mellow guy and frankly don't care. I got the recovery disk option, which was all I worried about. I use to use recovery often on my HP in case it got heavily infected, or I wanted to start from scratch.
Packaging: Came with 2-3 internal boxes inside the base box. You have to sign for delivery, otherwise, they will not deliver. I've heard of customers who have left paper slips telling the shipping service what to do, but honestly, I'd be afraid of someone stealing it. UPS sent mine, 7 days total via component building and so forth. Quick. Dell overestimates their completion dates by about 1.5-2 weeks to back themselves up in case anything goes wrong.
Recommended Accessories:
- Wireless Mouse
> I bought a Logitech default black wireless optical mouse. You need one for gaming, and there is no PS/2 port, so it has to be USB. Be prepared to spend a minimum of $30.
- Carrying Case
> I bought a case since I would be using it at college, and didn't want to look like Fred Robbins carrying a backpack. Ended up buying a Kensington Contour Pro 17" Case for $70. Quality was not what I expected, even though it was armored well. Lots of compartments, and the laptop had its own internal sleeve, and I had every accessory placed in there, plus pencils, books, papers, calculator, etc. Make sure the case you buy fits your body type. If you're not strong, don't buy a carrying case - get a backpack. These 17s don't go easily unless you stay in shape. In my case, I usually had excess of 25lbs, so it wasn't your typical load.
- Headset/MIC
> Headphones are necessary unless you want to mute everything. I usually use headphones in public areas. MIC is used for VOIP during gaming sessions. Really adds to the whole interface. I had cheap ones though, not any fancy USB combined one.
- External HD
> I did not buy one yet, but by the looks of it, I probably should have. My 40GB only came as a 33.3 GB. Why you ask? Dell installed their base recovery files on the HD, and that ate up a good chunk of GBs. Either get one for the 2.5" extension bay on the i9300, or a USB one that is self-powered. You can only install a few modern games, and download a few movies before it starts to get filled up.
Conclusion: I can game, write reports, do AutoCAD, and be set for the next 3 years computer-wise. By the looks of it, I'm planning on this to last the next 5 years. It probably won't due to a shorter lifetime on laptops, but what the hell, it's a Dell. If there's anything I learned, get at least a 60GB default HD on this model. Get at least 1GB of RAM (unless you plan to self-up it with a gig stick off of newegg or something). Get the GeForce Go 6800 while it's available. This card will last you the next 2-3 years gaming wise, even if it means playing medium settings on newer games. The media center upgrade is not worth it. I do not recommend upgrading the ghz on the processor; it's overpriced right now on mobiles. Expect to add $200 to your budget on the final price for accessories to maximize performance.
Overall rating:
/5Pricing: $1266 (w/ tax, free shipping) total
