My Inspiron 8600 arrived via Delaware and my dad on Tuesday. It's been running perfectly since, after some initial hiccups.
1.6 GHz P-M
15.4" WSXGA+
60 GB 5400 RPM
512 DDR RAM
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 Turbo Pro
Dell 1350 Internal Wireless
Dell Media Experience + Remote
Microsoft Plus! + DME
Microsoft Office Small Business Edition
Graphite Swirl QuickSnap Cover
Delivery: A?
I don't know how this was because my dad unpacked it and brought it over, but it was in perfect condition when it arrived here. It also arrived from Dell precisely five days from the order.
Looks: B+
The Graphite Swirl cover looks amazing in real life. No pictures does it justice. Now that I got it, i wish I had ordered Red Lava...
Despite that, it still can't compare to an Alienware, iBuyPower or Hypersonic.
Feel: A-
I was expecting worse from the reviews on this board. The plasticky feeling isn't so apparent to me, although there is a minimal amount of keyboard flex, which can be avoided by typing with the right amount of pressure.
Sound:
I'm no audiophile, but it sounds as good as my parents' desktop. A bit better, looking at the date on those speakers.
TouchPad: B+
Much easier to use than previous touchpads I've used. Sollved both problems with the TouchPad "sticking", and I found how to set the scroll function on my TouchPad. lso discovered I have the Alps pad, which is supposed to be worse then the Synaptics, but no problems so far.
Wireless: A
Picked up the connection as soon as I told it to, and I'm actually getting a faster connection than when it was just the desktop and no wireless.
Screen: A
I LOVE this screen. Not only is the desktop CRT unable to make out most shades of blue, black and green, but it had a uch smaller resolution. Having a screen of proper brighness is a good change. It's also fun to view two web pages side by side, which I couldn't do before. Added a mark because the distortion can be fixed.
Graphics: A
It ran Battlefront beautifully. I only tried that at the time because it was new. I'll try out my other games and update this. I don't plan to BenchMark it.
Performance: A
Previous experience is the key word hear. The only computers I've used before are a 7 year old PC, a 300 dollar PC and a laptop I used fr a week. This runs so much better than all of them. Startup is probably 5-15 seconds (didn't really pay attention), compared to 20-60 seconds on the desktop.
Battery Life: A+
I got four hours of power on the first try. That was alternating between about 15 min of Battlefront, 30 min of Hidalgo DVD, 2 hours of surfing the net, 30 installing City of Heroes, Battlefront, Soldat, 45 min cleaning out and transfering files.
Noise: A
This thing is virtually silent when the hard drive is still and the fans are off.
Weight: A
Compared to the other laptop I've used, this thing is a bit lighter. No more than I expected from a desktop replacement.
Overall:
It's a wonderful laptop. A good all-rounder. Don't know how I ever lived without it.
More on Graphics and Games when I install them all.
1.6 GHz P-M
15.4" WSXGA+
60 GB 5400 RPM
512 DDR RAM
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 Turbo Pro
Dell 1350 Internal Wireless
Dell Media Experience + Remote
Microsoft Plus! + DME
Microsoft Office Small Business Edition
Graphite Swirl QuickSnap Cover
Delivery: A?
I don't know how this was because my dad unpacked it and brought it over, but it was in perfect condition when it arrived here. It also arrived from Dell precisely five days from the order.
Looks: B+
The Graphite Swirl cover looks amazing in real life. No pictures does it justice. Now that I got it, i wish I had ordered Red Lava...
Despite that, it still can't compare to an Alienware, iBuyPower or Hypersonic.
Feel: A-
I was expecting worse from the reviews on this board. The plasticky feeling isn't so apparent to me, although there is a minimal amount of keyboard flex, which can be avoided by typing with the right amount of pressure.
Sound:
I'm no audiophile, but it sounds as good as my parents' desktop. A bit better, looking at the date on those speakers.
TouchPad: B+
Much easier to use than previous touchpads I've used. Sollved both problems with the TouchPad "sticking", and I found how to set the scroll function on my TouchPad. lso discovered I have the Alps pad, which is supposed to be worse then the Synaptics, but no problems so far.
Wireless: A
Picked up the connection as soon as I told it to, and I'm actually getting a faster connection than when it was just the desktop and no wireless.
Screen: A
I LOVE this screen. Not only is the desktop CRT unable to make out most shades of blue, black and green, but it had a uch smaller resolution. Having a screen of proper brighness is a good change. It's also fun to view two web pages side by side, which I couldn't do before. Added a mark because the distortion can be fixed.
Graphics: A
It ran Battlefront beautifully. I only tried that at the time because it was new. I'll try out my other games and update this. I don't plan to BenchMark it.
Performance: A
Previous experience is the key word hear. The only computers I've used before are a 7 year old PC, a 300 dollar PC and a laptop I used fr a week. This runs so much better than all of them. Startup is probably 5-15 seconds (didn't really pay attention), compared to 20-60 seconds on the desktop.
Battery Life: A+
I got four hours of power on the first try. That was alternating between about 15 min of Battlefront, 30 min of Hidalgo DVD, 2 hours of surfing the net, 30 installing City of Heroes, Battlefront, Soldat, 45 min cleaning out and transfering files.
Noise: A
This thing is virtually silent when the hard drive is still and the fans are off.
Weight: A
Compared to the other laptop I've used, this thing is a bit lighter. No more than I expected from a desktop replacement.
Overall:
It's a wonderful laptop. A good all-rounder. Don't know how I ever lived without it.
More on Graphics and Games when I install them all.
