Note that our config included an Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 processor, but Dell's current closest option is the T6500--nearly the same processor performance wise. This budget version of the Core 2 Duo is a good all-around mainstream laptop processor and will handle most multimedia and office tasks perfectly well. In our benchmark tests, however, our Inspiron 1545 config didn't fare as well as other similar laptops, including the $150-cheaper Gateway NV5807u. In real-world usage, you'd be unlikely to notice the difference while Web surfing, e-mailing, working on office docs. or watching multimedia files.
A 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 is a $100 upgrade option on Dell's Web site, and adds some basic gaming capabilities to the Inspiron 1545. Unreal Tournament 3 ran at 33.4 fps at 1,280x768, which is not ideal, but is passable. We tried launching Street Fighter 4, however, and got barely playable results even with settings turned down. Using this type of config for serious gaming will only end up in disappointment; you're probably better off saving for a real gaming laptop or a beefier one, or cutting out this upgrade option altogether.
 Juice box |
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| Dell Inspiron 1545 | Average watts per hour | ||
| Off (60 percent) | 0.5 | ||
| Sleep (10 percent) | 0.92 | ||
| Idle (25 percent) | 13.6 | ||
| Load (5 percent) | 38 | ||
| Raw kWh | 49.86 | ||
| Annual energy cost | $5.66 | ||
The configured six-cell battery ran for 2 hours and 34 minutes on our video-playback battery drain test, which is less than we'd like for a midsize mainstream laptop. The Sony Vaio NW160J had more than 40 minutes of additional battery life. Also note, the Inspiron 15's basic configuration on the Dell Web site starts at only a four-cell. While upgrading to a nine-cell battery should solve that problem (an extra $75 from the four-cell starting point versus $35 for a six-cell), that's also a much larger battery and will make the system less portable.
Dell includes an industry-standard, one-year, parts-and-labor warranty (called "classic protection") with the system, and the Dell Web site has a robust collection of support tools, including online chat, a Flash-based question widget, and 24-7, toll-free telephone support. Upgrading to three years of basic warranty service will cost an extra $90.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Dell Inspiron 1545
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400;
3072MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330; 250GB Western Digital 5400rpm
Gateway NV5807u
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6500;
4096MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 128MB (Shared) Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD; 320GB Hitachi 5400rpm
Sony Vaio NW160 J
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400;
4096MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570; 400GB Fujitsu 5400rpm
Dell Studio 1440-022B
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6500;
4096MB DDR2 SDRAM 1066MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 9400M G; 320GB Toshiba 5400rpm
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