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- Average user rating:
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Very happy so far"
Pros: Color choice, speed, configuration
Cons: Bulky with a capital B
Summary: About Us: We bought this computer mainly for my wife. She wanted to configure it in her color (pink) and only a couple manufacturers offer the option. Dell was the only one that had the color options along with the configuration options she wanted. (Looking at your poor configuration options Sony)
Our Configuration: We configured it with a 2.0 ghz Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2 gig ram, 250 gig hard drive, and geforce 8600 running on Vista. We also chose the larger 9 cell battery. The reviews I had read about this machine all mentioned the high price but our configuration only came in at $1200 thanks to an online coupon code. We think this was very reasonable since we upgraded most of the options from the ?base? configuration.
First Impressions: The computer shipped quickly and, other than poor DHL tracking, arrived without problems. The paint job on the laptop is of very high quality and has a rubberized texture to it. Documentation was very good and the laptop powered on without problems. After the basic setup we were up and running.
Performance: Speed is fantastic for a laptop and rivals my mid ranged dell xps 410 desktop. Boot and shut down times are quite low. I have loaded Half Life 2 and HL2 Episode 1 onto it and they run flawlessly at max detail with hdr and AA at 1280 resolution. I know it?s not an ultra high stress game anymore but it is a common benchmark.
Misc Features: Sound is good but not great but it has easy access volume controls on the front of the laptop. Battery life so far has been really impressive even with power saving turned off (I have it off all the time). On a 2+ hour flight from Miami to Memphis I watched DVD?s non stop and still had 30% battery left upon arrival. DVD drive works fine but placement and opening it seems awkward to me. I love the full sized keyboard with number pad.
The Bad: It?s a big machine. Most reviews mention this but it really is a large laptop. Don?t buy this to haul to class every day. But it does have a 1440 x 900 17? display and the full sized keyboard I mentioned above. I didn?t find it that heavy though, just awkward. For instance it doesn?t fit well in a coach class airline seat but fits fine in business class. The display is quite dim with power saving measures turned on. The screen is also very reflective. It?s untra crisp when you are out of the sun but in the sun and with power saving on it is almost unreadable. If battery life is important to you and you are outdoors a lot, go with the non glare screen they offer as an option.
