My Humble i9200 Review!!

Today it has been one week since delivery of my i9200. It is time to offer up my review.

First, I must say I am not technically minded when it comes to computers by comparison to most on this board. I've learned what I need so that I can accomplish what I require, but I don't like to research things until I am ready to purchase. It keeps me from constantly wanting to upgrade. My review is from the perspective of someone who has never had a notebook before and much of my joy from this machine comes simply from having my first mobile computer. With that said, let's get started!

APPEARANCE

This thing is beautiful. It is not too heavy for the size and it feels extremely solid. When I first opened it up I was surprised at how difficult it was to flip up the screen. Right off the bat I was pleased at how sturdy and comfortable the keyboard was. Unlike the i8600 I was playing on at the Dell store the i9200 is free from the rubbery cheap feel of other notebooks I have seen on the market. The silver and white color scheme of the machine is very high end and will get you many compliments from users of the typical black on black notebook.


PICTURE AND SOUND

I can't express my satisfaction enough for the 17" XGA+ screen. I didn't want to take a chance with the upgrade and I am happy for it. The image is extremely crisp with graphics but a few notches less then I would like for DVD playback. My biggest suggestion for a new user is to change the default color scheme for your display. The contrast is WAY too high. I currently have mine set to GAMMA 1.00 BRIGHTNESS -13 and CONTRAST 76. After the adjustment, the display is so good that every tube monitor I own looks fuzzy and are now useless to me.

Most people say the sound is one of the better set-ups for current notebooks on the market. I am not so very pleased with the sound. The speaker placement causes sound to muffle while you are typing. It lacks any dynamic quality or low-end despite the subwoofer Dell claims exist in this system. With some serious effort in bringing out a deeper base, this would be a fine sound system. Also, my touchpad buttons rattle when the sound is at half volume and above. It is most evident when listening to dialogue. I am considering asking for a replacement notebook because of this problem as I listen to lots of talk radio and enjoy watching DVD's at night on my notebook.

PERFORMANCE

I've been running an Athlon 800 desktop for the past few years. It isn't hard to imagine that I am pleased with the performance. However, speaking more to the new Pentium technology in general, it isn't as much of a jump as I expected. But, everything does run smoothly and quickly on the 1.80GHz processor. Photoshop, my most used program, loads up like greased lightening and thumbnail images appear without any load time, even 20+ meg images. The notebook is very quiet. My 7200 RPM hard drive is barely audible. I have yet to hear the fans kick into high gear.

I didn't upgrade my DVD drive since I have external burners and with jump drive technology these days it didn't seem like a necessary expense. This puppy has plenty of USB ports and all the necessary technology. The hardware most lacking for this system is an onboard TV Tuner. It really would have raised the overall value of this system and been fun for those of us who have multiple systems in their workspace.

The Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 seems to perform its job very well so far. Right out of the box I was connected to the internet and my connection has been fast, strong and without interruption.

OVERALL

This notebook is my new best friend. It has done it's job with authority and I look forward to having work to do on the i9200. For those who don't mind the extra size of their notebook, I couldn't recommend anything else in the Dell library. With a little tweak in the sound quality and an upgrade to built-in TV tuner, this system would be considered perfection to me.

VIVA LA 9200!!

The screen is as bright as a person could want it. I've got a Desktop Samsung LCD here and there is no comparison between it and the 9200. I work with a lot of black and white art for promotional flyers and such and I can't get over how incredible the detail is. Everything is extremely crisp after I scan it. I never realized just how good my scanner really is. I would imagine digital photography would be much the same. A high pixel camera will shine on this notebook. ... Here are the rest of the photos I took.

At the highest resolution this monitor produces incredible detail. I assume the DVD playback plays at a different resolution and it isn't as sharp. When you compare the line detail in an image in Photoshop versus, for example, animation like Ghost in the Shell, there is a big difference. Don't get me wrong - the DVD playback is great but it is simply a few notches down from the regular resolution of the notebook.

Gameboy - yes, I am using it for all of my graphic design and managing my business website. I couldn't use another computer now. This one is too much fun. I am going to get an external hard drive to store all of my graphic files. Right now I am sharing them with my desktop over a network.

In the house I have two Samsung monitors. A flatscreen 171V and a 900IFT big ass bulky tube. They were both okay for their time but they need to be retired.

I read a few posts about loose buttons which caused a rattle. But my buttons are really tight. I know the rattle is coming from them because it goes away when I put my fingers on them. And yea, I agree. I really hate to exchange the computer for such a small problem. I'm still thinking about if I should do it but ... I know I should.

No problem. I posted several backgrounds in the *** Official Wallpaper Thread***

It's like a cross between a "buzz" and a rattle, if that makes sense. My buttons are very tight. I would imagine the subwoofer is vibrating something internally right under the touchpad because the buzz stops even when I lightly place my hand on the buttons.

I seriously do expect the speakers on notebooks to produce excellent sound. The technology is there but I realize that it is a cost cutting issue and I accept that. However, having a vibration that is distracting during listening to audio is ... well ... distracting.

What is it that you use?

I played a movie on the Media Player and the full screen mode doesn't touch the ends of the screen. I think because the Dell Media expands to force a full screen view, it slightly distorts the image.