- Average user rating:
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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15 out of 17 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Excellent notebook"
Pros: Battery life, processor, screen
Cons: WEIGHT! - that's it, nothing else. If the weight would have been in the 5lb range (instead of almost 7 lbs), I would have given it a 10.
Summary: I?m getting tired of these abysmal reviews from people wanting to rant about service and how they were shafted by someone in India. This is lengthy, but hopefully will help some decide on what to buy.
I?ve had my Inspiron 6000 for about a week now and love it. Long story short it?s a wonderful machine. Only drawback is the weight. Aside from that, I?ve had no issues with it. For more details of my opinion (average notebook user) read below.
Here are the things that drew me to this notebook. You get the most advanced mobile processor out there (Sonoma ? i.e. more battery life and a faster Centrino processor ? 2 bonuses in one), and the new case design is well suited for multimedia and overall the notebook is very good for business and average home use.
It is NOT really a desktop replacement (contrary to various editor coments) ? it is not good for advanced 3D gaming or video editing ? it?s design is not suited for that ? if you want a notebook to do that, look towards the Dell XPS or XPS Gen 2, or even the Inspiron 9200 (which are really more like desktop replacements)
The good ?
1) LONG BATTERY LIFE ? you?re talking about 4 hours of solid usage (wireless on, bright screen) on one 9 CELL battery (standard 6 cell battery is around 2-3). Splurge for the 9 cell battery ? it will make the computer weigh more, but it?s worth it (about 0.3 lbs more)
2) Excellent screen ? don?t get the standard WXGA screen (1280X800) get the 1680 by 1050 Ultrasharp WXGA+ screen or better. The viewing angles are better, the brightness is better and obviously the picture is crisper.
3) Fast processor
4) Ability to get a the ATI X300 PCI express video card ? great card for what it is used for ? not for advanced 3D games (Half-life 2 and the like) ? but good for standard 3D games and video/DVD. If you plan to do any DVD watching or gaming this is what you would need to opt for. The integrated graphics has the benefit of saving battery life (but not that much), but uses you CPU for processing power (no dedicated video processor).
5) Integrated wireless ? different options are available ? but I?ve stuck with the Intel 2200 option and it has excellent range for what I need. It?s great for the standard ?b? or ?g? 802.11 wireless protocols.
6) 4 USB ports (2 on the right, 2 in the back)
7) Secure Digital slot
The bad ?there is NOT much to complain about. Since I?m taking my Inspiron with me everywhere, the main complaint is weight, weight, weight. Don?t get me wrong this is fairly good for a notebook with all of what you get (15.4 inch screen), but if Apple can make something similar in the 5.5 pound range, someone else should be able to do this as well. Instead you?ve got a fairly heafty 6.7 pound notebook in the inspiron 6000. Weigh is a big issue when you?re carrying this computer around most of the day. If you want something really mobile, get something else ? the Latitude D610 at 4.6 pounds is good.
Here are the specs of my Inspiron 6000 - all of this for $1280 (post $750 discount).
Inspiron 6000D, Intel Pentium M Processor 750 (1.86GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
15.4 inch WSXGA+ LCD Panel forInspiron 6000
512MB, DDR2,400MHz 1 Dimm, Inspiron 6000
64MB ATI Mobility Radeon X300 Video Card, for Inspiron 6000
60GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive for Inspiron 6000
Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 2, English, for Inspiron
Integrated 10/100 Network Cardand Modem, for Inspiron
24X Combo DVD/CD-RW for Inspiron 6000
CyberLink PowerDVD v5.3.1012, Decoding Sofware for DVD Drives, for Inspiron Systems
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 (802.11b/g) Internal Wireless Inspiron 6000
80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery for Inspiron 6000
80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery for Inspiron 6000
- 5 replies to this review
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I like mine too, but before I'd had it for a week, the hard drive died and getting technical support to understand the problem and getting them to agree to replace it made me seriously consider returning the whole machine. I took the replacement hard drive and other than no longer being able to print wirelessly with the dell3300 adapter, the laptop works fine. I'm still waiting for someone who speaks English to help me fix the printing issue. In the meantime, I won't be praising dell to anyone.
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I have had my Inspiron for about two weeks now and absolutely love it. The notebook get's excellent battery life (splurge for the 9 cell battery) and can perform virtually all computing tasks with a breeze. By all means do not hesitate to purchase an Inspiron 6000 series. I will be using this notebook for college. There is nothing bad about the laptop. I only wish that it would have a TruBrite display like most laptops within the price range I bought it for. If you want the best of the best, listed below is the configuration of my Inspiron.
- Intel Centrino M 2.0 GHZ
- Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
- Single USB TV Tuner with Remote Control
- 80 GB Hard Drive
- 1 GB DDR Memory
- DVD+/-RW Drive
- Intel ProSet Wireless (802.lla/b/g)
- Internal Bluetooth Wireless
- WUXGA Ultrasharp Display (1920x1200)
The total configuration should cost roughly around $2300, an excellent deal on a superb notebook computer. -
everyone seems to cite about the graphics not being good enough. yet people are using intel or 64 mb versions of graphics cards. I ordered one with a 128mb ati x300 and haven't noticed any problems, yet i haven't tried games like halflife. Is my graphics card good enough for heavy duty games like that?
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what is the actual rpm ???
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I order the inspiron 6000 a couple of weeks ago and am due to recieve it tomorrow. I ordered teh 128mb ATI X300 card with it. Do you think this card will be good enough for games like Madden 2005, Rise of Nations...games that are not FPS's? Do you think that with the 128mb ATI X300, even games like half life might be decent?
