Yesterday (1/19/04) I received my shiny new Inspiron 8600 from Dell. After what seemed to be an intolerable wait to let the poor machine recover from its frozen trip through Minnesota, I powered it on and got it set up.
I thought with this I’d cover some of the problems/complaints that others have expressed on these and other forums. If you have any other questions for me, do ask here and I’ll answer as best as I can.
Screen:
The biggest issue plaging the 8600 model currently seems to be the WSXGA screen problems with ghosting, bleeding light, etc. Well, I opted to take the easy (yet more expensive) way out and went for the WUXGA screen. I can’t say that I regret a dime spent on it. The screen is small (especially when I set the fonts back to 96dpi), but in just a day I’ve gotten totally used to it. Of course, my still-young eyes may complain when I’m 40 that I stared at tiny text in graduate school, but that’s an issue to deal with later
The wide screen format is just great. As I type this in Word (to alleviate spelling issues), I can be browsing the forums right next to it. Word set to 150% zoom makes it more than readable. I also set IM fonts to be a bit bigger, since I seem to have more issues with small things that I am typing and reading, but that’s just my personal preference. The screen has none of the issues of 1/5th being dimmed or anything goofy like that. There’s not a dead pixel on the thing. It is, simply put, the most amazing computer screen I’ve ever seen. Also, the screen doesn’t bounce at all when I type.
Keyboard:
Some people have complained about the keyboard on the 8600, flexing to too clicky (or, ironically enough, not clicky enough). I think it’s just about right. I don’t notice any of the flexing I’ve heard talked about and I can type just about as fast on it as I can on a normal desktop keyboard (only slower as I’m still getting used to it a bit). The only thing is perhaps I’d like to see the depth of the keys increased just a very small amount. Sometimes, with my sloppy typing I catch my finger on the bottom of a key next to the one I’m pressing. Other than that, it’s very nice.
Pointing Devices:
I’ve used an IBM Thinkpad quite a bit in the past so the TrackPoint-style pointer device is something I’ve grown used to. I have very little experience with the TouchPad, but I’m getting used to it. It’s nice to have the scroll features setup in the edges of the TouchPad. The buttons for the TrackPoint are mushy and generally not nice to use as others have reported. I usually use a two-handed method—right on the stick left on the buttons under the touchpad. All-in-all, they’re both adequate pointing devices, thought nothing beats my wireless Logitech mouse sitting next to me on my desk.
Graphics:
I did get the 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo and I really, really like it. I haven’t thrown much at it yet in terms of games, but it played UT2003 at max settings at the 1280xsomething resolution flawlessly. Just to entertain myself, I did set it at 1920x1200 in UT2003. It looked beautiful and probably would’ve been more than playable, but it was a little chunky for me. It’s nice to see game makers using these wide-screen resolutions. I have yet to play around with different drivers and such, but that will come when I have time. I haven’t had any heat issues, though, as I said, I’ve not done much gaming (at the time of writing I’ve only had the machine for about 16 hours) yet. I’ll be messing with that in the days and weeks to come.
In the end, thus far, I’m very happy with my purchase. If you’re considering getting this machine, don’t let horror stories in the forums convince you otherwise. It’s a great machine and, for the price, a great value. Do get an extended warranty and the Complete Care. The laptop will fall, and you will not want to replace the screen if/when it breaks.
Like I said, let me know if you have any questions for me about the machine!
Tim
I thought with this I’d cover some of the problems/complaints that others have expressed on these and other forums. If you have any other questions for me, do ask here and I’ll answer as best as I can.
Screen:
The biggest issue plaging the 8600 model currently seems to be the WSXGA screen problems with ghosting, bleeding light, etc. Well, I opted to take the easy (yet more expensive) way out and went for the WUXGA screen. I can’t say that I regret a dime spent on it. The screen is small (especially when I set the fonts back to 96dpi), but in just a day I’ve gotten totally used to it. Of course, my still-young eyes may complain when I’m 40 that I stared at tiny text in graduate school, but that’s an issue to deal with later
The wide screen format is just great. As I type this in Word (to alleviate spelling issues), I can be browsing the forums right next to it. Word set to 150% zoom makes it more than readable. I also set IM fonts to be a bit bigger, since I seem to have more issues with small things that I am typing and reading, but that’s just my personal preference. The screen has none of the issues of 1/5th being dimmed or anything goofy like that. There’s not a dead pixel on the thing. It is, simply put, the most amazing computer screen I’ve ever seen. Also, the screen doesn’t bounce at all when I type.Keyboard:
Some people have complained about the keyboard on the 8600, flexing to too clicky (or, ironically enough, not clicky enough). I think it’s just about right. I don’t notice any of the flexing I’ve heard talked about and I can type just about as fast on it as I can on a normal desktop keyboard (only slower as I’m still getting used to it a bit). The only thing is perhaps I’d like to see the depth of the keys increased just a very small amount. Sometimes, with my sloppy typing I catch my finger on the bottom of a key next to the one I’m pressing. Other than that, it’s very nice.
Pointing Devices:
I’ve used an IBM Thinkpad quite a bit in the past so the TrackPoint-style pointer device is something I’ve grown used to. I have very little experience with the TouchPad, but I’m getting used to it. It’s nice to have the scroll features setup in the edges of the TouchPad. The buttons for the TrackPoint are mushy and generally not nice to use as others have reported. I usually use a two-handed method—right on the stick left on the buttons under the touchpad. All-in-all, they’re both adequate pointing devices, thought nothing beats my wireless Logitech mouse sitting next to me on my desk.
Graphics:
I did get the 128 MB Radeon 9600 Pro Turbo and I really, really like it. I haven’t thrown much at it yet in terms of games, but it played UT2003 at max settings at the 1280xsomething resolution flawlessly. Just to entertain myself, I did set it at 1920x1200 in UT2003. It looked beautiful and probably would’ve been more than playable, but it was a little chunky for me. It’s nice to see game makers using these wide-screen resolutions. I have yet to play around with different drivers and such, but that will come when I have time. I haven’t had any heat issues, though, as I said, I’ve not done much gaming (at the time of writing I’ve only had the machine for about 16 hours) yet. I’ll be messing with that in the days and weeks to come.
In the end, thus far, I’m very happy with my purchase. If you’re considering getting this machine, don’t let horror stories in the forums convince you otherwise. It’s a great machine and, for the price, a great value. Do get an extended warranty and the Complete Care. The laptop will fall, and you will not want to replace the screen if/when it breaks.
Like I said, let me know if you have any questions for me about the machine!
Tim
