Entered CNET Catalog: 01/19/2005
SKU: i6000L1
Manufacturer: Dell, Inc.
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Manufacturer description
The Dell Inspiron 6000 is great for professionals looking for an affordable yet fully featured notebook. Available with a choice of the latest Intel Celeron M or Pentium M processors, the Inspiron 6000 features a stunning wide screen display for easier viewing, with extensive multi-media features.Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 02/17/2005
The Dell Inspiron 6000 series is a midrange desktop-replacement system with an entertainment slant, appropriate for home and small-office use. Dell sells the system with an almost identical set of options on both its home and small-business sites; the difference lies only in the base configuration that Dell recommends (and the starting price) and the warranty and support options. Check out our full review of a midrange home configuration here.
Dell sells the Inspiron 6000 series online or via phone, and you can choose from a wide range of components to customize your system. The Inspiron 6000 is available with Intel's less powerful Celeron processor, running at 1.3GHz or 1.5GHz, or a Pentium M. If you go the Pentium M route, you can choose between a first-generation Centrino processor running at 1.5GHz and a slightly faster Sonoma processor running at 1.6GHz. So far, the Sonoma platform hasn't borne out a huge boost in performance over first-generation Centrino.
You can load the Inspiron 6000 with up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, and hard drive capacities range from 30GB to 80GB. Secondary storage options include the base-level DVD-ROM, which will also play CDs; a CD-RW/DVD combo drive; and a multiformat, dual-layer DVD burner. We recommend getting at least the CD-RW/DVD combo. Where wireless is concerned, Dell offers 802.11b/g and 802.11a/b/g cards made by either Intel or Dell itself, plus a Dell-branded Bluetooth card.
Though the Inspiron 6000's 15.4-inch wide-screen display comes standard with a WXGA (1,280x768) native resolution, you can also select WSXGA+ (1,600x1,024) or WUXGA (1,920x1,200) resolutions. WUXGA will give you a ton of screen real estate, but text and numbers will be extremely small--proceed with caution. We're keeping an eye on the recent rash of customer complaints about Dell's notebook screens, but we didn't notice any significant problems with the Inspiron 6000.
Dell backs the Inspiron 6000 with an industry-standard one-year warranty on parts and labor. Toll-free, 24/7 telephone support also lasts for just a year. Dell offers a long list of warranty extension options, including onsite repair, night-and-weekend service, and accidental-damage coverage--but they're expensive. The best part of Dell's support Web site is the customer forum, where users can go to get help from other Inspiron owners, as well as from Dell reps who moderate the forum. Otherwise, the site offers the typical knowledge base and downloads sections.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
it has never disappointed me !!
Pros: very cheap when i bought it, cost me bout $1050 after all discounts through dell in 2005 i believe. and with topped up with many gizmos at that time.
Cons: heats up too much and very heavy for continuous moving around in the university.
Review: i have this machine when i was first introduced in the market, has been almost 4+ yrs it has never given me any hardware related problems. software ofcourse xp crashes all the time, but i have played most of the new games like nfs carbon and all command n conquer games also farcry & fear on decent level of graphics. but just a few months back have upgraded its hard disk from 60 to 120 and ram from 512 to 1.25. now it flies.
my next machine will be the new asus g50 v. soooon. :D
my next machine will be the new asus g50 v. soooon. :D
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
A great laptop for working, videos, music, writing, and light gaming! Read more for buyer tips
Pros: Flexable, battery life, screen quality, sound, and design
Cons: Keyboard and videocard
Review: First of all, if you are going to buy this laptop, there are necessities that you absolutely must get:
- The best screen it can offer. There are some complaints about screen darkness, so I got the best screen possible. I use it on the highest setting, and its very bright, very comfortable outdoors in the shade, and high quality graphics. The resolution that comes with the screen is a bit too small in my opinion, I use 1280x768 (it can go to 1600x1200 with excellent quality).
- (depending on your usage) Don't get another battery, and make sure the battery you do get that comes with the laptop is the best one. Seriously, laptops are MEANT to be mobile, and this one is an extremely mobile laptop. Laptops are nothing without power, so make sure you give it as much juice as you can give it. I know many review sites do not give you any idea what the life can be, but I've noticed the battery can go for:
> 7 hours on minimum brightness, no heavy tasks.
> 5 hours on maximum brightness (thats what I set it to), no heavy tasks.
> 2.5 hours of light gaming.
> 4 hours of music/video.
- Okay, what I mean by "light gaming" is that you should never expect a laptop like this to be able to play the higher end games out there today. However, I was plesantly surprised when things like Halo and Doom 3 actually played on it (minimum settings) without any lag. Games like half life 2, you'd better forget it, but chances are you aren't buying this for the games anyway. Just something to keep you entertained while on the go, this machine can certainly handle a couple of games released a couple of years ago.
- The best screen it can offer. There are some complaints about screen darkness, so I got the best screen possible. I use it on the highest setting, and its very bright, very comfortable outdoors in the shade, and high quality graphics. The resolution that comes with the screen is a bit too small in my opinion, I use 1280x768 (it can go to 1600x1200 with excellent quality).
- (depending on your usage) Don't get another battery, and make sure the battery you do get that comes with the laptop is the best one. Seriously, laptops are MEANT to be mobile, and this one is an extremely mobile laptop. Laptops are nothing without power, so make sure you give it as much juice as you can give it. I know many review sites do not give you any idea what the life can be, but I've noticed the battery can go for:
> 7 hours on minimum brightness, no heavy tasks.
> 5 hours on maximum brightness (thats what I set it to), no heavy tasks.
> 2.5 hours of light gaming.
> 4 hours of music/video.
- Okay, what I mean by "light gaming" is that you should never expect a laptop like this to be able to play the higher end games out there today. However, I was plesantly surprised when things like Halo and Doom 3 actually played on it (minimum settings) without any lag. Games like half life 2, you'd better forget it, but chances are you aren't buying this for the games anyway. Just something to keep you entertained while on the go, this machine can certainly handle a couple of games released a couple of years ago.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Display Dim, unusable
Pros: Keyboard, Solid feel
Cons: Dim display, customer support (both show stoppers)
Review: I returned my 6000 to dell. I had the WSXGA screen, and it was way too dim for me even on the highest setting. On battery power, dimming the screen makes for a very unpleasant experience. Using it on high on batteries drains them quickly. Buyer beware, do a Google search and you'll see other reviews about the dim display. I really wanted to like this laptop.
About Dell customer and technical support. I have some horror stories -- being told to go to Home, then I go to Home and they tell me to go to Small Business, then I talk to someone and after extensive discussion the phone line drops, MANY problems.
Here is what I do. Right away when experiencing problems, I give the person my phone number so they will be able to call back if the line drops. Be a squeaky wheel, say that you've spend hours on the phone and that you need to get to someone.
You may be told that you can't talk to a supervisor. Don't believe it. Yesterday I talked to customer service to return the 6000 and they said they would charge a restocking fee. I said that I would like to talk to a manager. She said I'm sorry sir but our managers don't talk on the phone (or something like that). I said that I am a good customer who has spent thousands at Dell this year and I am considering a different laptop, so I need to talk to someone. She said "Sir, I would ask you to stop being rude to me". I wasn't rude, this is a person who has control issues. FINALLY she said she would transfer me and then there was this person from India on the phone who eventually let me return the 6000.
Things I like about the 6000:
- The keyboard is excellent. My finger did catch on the adjacent keys twice. It's really annoying, but having several Dells that did that I learned that if it happens it's not going to damage the keyboard, and I type a little differently which is how I should be typing anyway (more from above). I was really impressed with the keyboard.
- Colors -- I like the new white / silver a lot. In the past I liked only black, but this changed my mind.
- Media keys up front.
- Touchpad
- Good sound from speakers -- not much bass but I wouldn't expect that.
- Very solid feel -- this is important to me, I hate a laptop that flexes a little. This one doesn't.
So, as you can see, there is a lot to like about this laptop. I just wish it had one of those glossy extra-bright screens. The dimness of the display and resulting battery life when I had to have the display on high were show-stoppers for me.
I am waiting for coupons for the XPS M140 or Inspiron 630m (same machines) to buy, but I don't know if coupons include the XPS series or Small Business. Otherwise I used velcro to attach my Palm to a keyboard so it doesn't fall off and the Palm is my laptop currently
About Dell customer and technical support. I have some horror stories -- being told to go to Home, then I go to Home and they tell me to go to Small Business, then I talk to someone and after extensive discussion the phone line drops, MANY problems.
Here is what I do. Right away when experiencing problems, I give the person my phone number so they will be able to call back if the line drops. Be a squeaky wheel, say that you've spend hours on the phone and that you need to get to someone.
You may be told that you can't talk to a supervisor. Don't believe it. Yesterday I talked to customer service to return the 6000 and they said they would charge a restocking fee. I said that I would like to talk to a manager. She said I'm sorry sir but our managers don't talk on the phone (or something like that). I said that I am a good customer who has spent thousands at Dell this year and I am considering a different laptop, so I need to talk to someone. She said "Sir, I would ask you to stop being rude to me". I wasn't rude, this is a person who has control issues. FINALLY she said she would transfer me and then there was this person from India on the phone who eventually let me return the 6000.
Things I like about the 6000:
- The keyboard is excellent. My finger did catch on the adjacent keys twice. It's really annoying, but having several Dells that did that I learned that if it happens it's not going to damage the keyboard, and I type a little differently which is how I should be typing anyway (more from above). I was really impressed with the keyboard.
- Colors -- I like the new white / silver a lot. In the past I liked only black, but this changed my mind.
- Media keys up front.
- Touchpad
- Good sound from speakers -- not much bass but I wouldn't expect that.
- Very solid feel -- this is important to me, I hate a laptop that flexes a little. This one doesn't.
So, as you can see, there is a lot to like about this laptop. I just wish it had one of those glossy extra-bright screens. The dimness of the display and resulting battery life when I had to have the display on high were show-stoppers for me.
I am waiting for coupons for the XPS M140 or Inspiron 630m (same machines) to buy, but I don't know if coupons include the XPS series or Small Business. Otherwise I used velcro to attach my Palm to a keyboard so it doesn't fall off and the Palm is my laptop currently
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Excellent but display lcd
Pros: Fast, good characteristics, very good keyborad
Cons: lcd screen not so good
Review: Very good desktop replacement. It´s fast, has 4 usb 2.0, 1 firewire, 1 sd.
The LCD could be better.
Wireless average.
The LCD could be better.
Wireless average.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Has Design problem with Display Device!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pros: Good for budjet, with wide screen
Cons: Problem with display device, Beware!!!!!!!!
Review: It is not possible to change the resolution of the external monitor and the default, individually, Which handicapped this laptop model. More over the full resolution can not be achieved, because of the problem with the designing of the default display device.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Top Of The Market
Pros: Features vs. Price-you simply can't ask for much more in a laptop in this price range. No screen problems here to report.
Cons: No glaring cons. Limited tech support/short warranty keep the 6000 from rating a 9. Yeah, it's a bit heavier than some but so what. I want something solid. Quit whining and use it for bicep curls.
Review: This is among the best laptops on the market for home/home office use. This is a feature-rich laptop at a reasonable price. If one is ordering directly from Dell I don't know where the price complaints come in.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Can't function without it!
Pros: wide screen, sleek, fast, loaded up with tons of extras, great support!
Cons: LCD broke about 8 months in, dell replaced it though
Review: I added tons of things to this basic model when I purchased it off of the dell website. It really is one amazing computer! Spend the extra money for the extra memory and the extra warranty - they are both well worth it!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Awesome; Everything I could want in a laptop
Pros: 6.5 hour battery life, very fast processor, stable system, very pretty interface and design
Cons: a little bit heavy
Review: I bought this laptop for University - there is wireless internet all over the campus, and I wanted a good, fast system, that had a long battery life, and, as an aside, in my free time (what precious little) the ability to play some newer games. First of all, my specs are as follows:
Intel Pentium M 760 2.0 GHz (800 MHz speedstep)
1 GB DDR2 400 Mhz RAM
80 GB 5400 rpm HDD
8x dvd-rw/cd-rw
128 mb ATI radeon x300 mobile
WUXGA 1900x1200 resolution LCD
WIN XP Pro
Intel 2915 A/B/G wireless card (centrino)
As far as the abillity to handle word processing, imaging, and other similar programs, this laptop is excellent. I bring it to school nearly every day, and have had good use of it for up to 8 hours. This includes time that it sleeps while I work on assignments, but then immediately wakes up when I need it to. Running without sleeping (standby) in low power mode, it lasts about 6.5 hours, which is quite excellent. It can easily watch a full DVD movie - almost 2 depending on the power settings. The brightness of the screen is fairly uniform (contrary to some other reviews) and the ability to change brightness and other options (wireless scanner, etc) is very easy - press fn FX (ie FN-F2 shuts off wireless).
Gaming abililty is quite excellent. I have two [somewhat older] desktop computers in my house - 2.8 Ghz celeron processor and a baby intel p4 willamette 1.5 ghz processor - and this laptop obviously blows both of them out of the water. Can run games such as Battlefield 2 at med-high quality, NHL 06 at highest settings, and GTA San Andreas at almost maxed out settings smoothly. Fairly impressive for a laptop with a mere x300 video card.
A lot of people complain about various issues with Dell, ie phone support. I can see this as being an issue for the average pc user - it does take a fair amount of time to get support, and to be honest the time I phoned regarding tech support (actually it wasn't tech support it was the requirement of software that was supposed to come with the computer that didn't) the person I talked to was heavily accented and I could barely understand him. I myself am a fairly experienced user, and the understanding and ability to format, install windows, other programs, troubleshoot etc allows me and would allow other experienced users advantages over those who would fall under the category of inexperienced. Thus my recommendation for Dell would likely be to the more experienced user. As for myself, I think it is excellent, and can essentially fix any problems that may arise. Otherwise you may be subjecting yourself to frustrating phone calls - the people are quite friendly but the help is a bit lacking.
Intel Pentium M 760 2.0 GHz (800 MHz speedstep)
1 GB DDR2 400 Mhz RAM
80 GB 5400 rpm HDD
8x dvd-rw/cd-rw
128 mb ATI radeon x300 mobile
WUXGA 1900x1200 resolution LCD
WIN XP Pro
Intel 2915 A/B/G wireless card (centrino)
As far as the abillity to handle word processing, imaging, and other similar programs, this laptop is excellent. I bring it to school nearly every day, and have had good use of it for up to 8 hours. This includes time that it sleeps while I work on assignments, but then immediately wakes up when I need it to. Running without sleeping (standby) in low power mode, it lasts about 6.5 hours, which is quite excellent. It can easily watch a full DVD movie - almost 2 depending on the power settings. The brightness of the screen is fairly uniform (contrary to some other reviews) and the ability to change brightness and other options (wireless scanner, etc) is very easy - press fn FX (ie FN-F2 shuts off wireless).
Gaming abililty is quite excellent. I have two [somewhat older] desktop computers in my house - 2.8 Ghz celeron processor and a baby intel p4 willamette 1.5 ghz processor - and this laptop obviously blows both of them out of the water. Can run games such as Battlefield 2 at med-high quality, NHL 06 at highest settings, and GTA San Andreas at almost maxed out settings smoothly. Fairly impressive for a laptop with a mere x300 video card.
A lot of people complain about various issues with Dell, ie phone support. I can see this as being an issue for the average pc user - it does take a fair amount of time to get support, and to be honest the time I phoned regarding tech support (actually it wasn't tech support it was the requirement of software that was supposed to come with the computer that didn't) the person I talked to was heavily accented and I could barely understand him. I myself am a fairly experienced user, and the understanding and ability to format, install windows, other programs, troubleshoot etc allows me and would allow other experienced users advantages over those who would fall under the category of inexperienced. Thus my recommendation for Dell would likely be to the more experienced user. As for myself, I think it is excellent, and can essentially fix any problems that may arise. Otherwise you may be subjecting yourself to frustrating phone calls - the people are quite friendly but the help is a bit lacking.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
compact, sleek, can be loaded to the limit!!!!
Pros: good battery life,
Cons: price is on the high end of the spectrum
Review: i'm tired of the lame complaints that insp 6000 isn't good enough. sure the price is bit high. but that won't take away the fact that it's performance is more than satisfactory
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
dont believe what you heard
Pros: great build quality, easy to use, relatively light
Cons: noisy optical drive
Review: The person a few below me is a *******, seriously, if you have a bit of common sense you will know to uninstall all the garbage programs that dell installs on your computer. It took me about 45 minutes, but after that my computer is running fast, quiet, and efficiently. Perfect for my needs at college. Definitely a computer to consider.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Awesome computer
Pros: large screen, attractive appearance
Cons: a lil heavy, but that's expected
Review: I love this computer I bought from Dell and everything is going just fine. It seems very sturdy and sound and there aren't any flimsy parts. The multimedia controls on front amplify the easyness of using this computer. I would strongly recommend!!
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Do not make the same mistake that I did!
Pros: the color silver is nice
Cons: everything else
Review: I purchased two Inspiron 6000's prior to law school. One for me and one for another person. From the third day things started going very wrong. The computer randomly started freezing, displaying icons saying that different programs had become unstable, and turning off. The "Dell Media Experience" was overtaking the screen anywhere from 1-50 times per about every five minutes. It got to the point that I was unable to use the computer. I started calling Dell from the first sign of trouble. By the way I did not ask for Dell Media Experience and in fact did not know that it existed until it started popping up.
When I was building the computer, Dell had assured me that everything was covered under warranty, including software. (I paid an extra fee for a comprehensive warranty (around $300) However, a different story emerges when they actually have to back up one of their products. They tried to charge me to fix it. NO. They disconnected me at least five times and often did not log their calls (As company policy, I was told by several managers that they are required to send confirmation emails with case numbers every time someone calls with a problem). This meant that I would be on the phone with them for hours, get disconnected, and all of a sudden my previous call did not happen. They told me time and time again that it was a software problem, I knew that it wasn't. Which, by the way, the software that comes installed on the computer is not really even very compatible. The WordPerfect program displays incorrectly and cuts off the bottom of the characters. So the computer is terrible and Dell does not back it. After about 20 hours on the phone, literally, and about the same number of calls, they finally agreed to send me a new hard drive. As I said, they insisted it was a software problem. Dell does not back any of the software they install on their own computers, and they charge you $100 per incident for any support. You actually have to speak with a software support salesman and pay before any support. I received the new hard drive and I was right, the problem did not go away (so much for the customer is always right). So, now that they knew that they would have to send me a new computer, the 21 day window to replace the defective one had conveniently lapsed, even though I started complaining after the third day. They said they would send me a refurbished computer. NO. I paid for a new piece of junk and I demanded a new piece of junk. It literally came to the point that if they did not finally relent and send me a new computer, I would have had no other option than to file a suit in small claims court. So I finally recieved the new piece of junk a few days ago. My first contact with Dell regarding the defective computer was about a month ago.
The second computer that I had purchased along with this one is now starting to display random error messages as well. A number of students at my law school also have brand new Dell notebooks and they have been nothing but trouble for at least 2 other people that I know...and I don't know too many people! This product and this company can seriously impede the progress of your life. Unless you have no job or responsibilities, this may not be the right computer or company for you. The low rating reflects product quality and customer service. Just to show that this is objective, I actually own a Dell desktop that I have been quite happy with. That was the reason I decided to stick with them. It seems as though much of their customer service and quality control has taken a turn for the worse. It's unfortunate that there is no negative reading on the scale.
When I was building the computer, Dell had assured me that everything was covered under warranty, including software. (I paid an extra fee for a comprehensive warranty (around $300) However, a different story emerges when they actually have to back up one of their products. They tried to charge me to fix it. NO. They disconnected me at least five times and often did not log their calls (As company policy, I was told by several managers that they are required to send confirmation emails with case numbers every time someone calls with a problem). This meant that I would be on the phone with them for hours, get disconnected, and all of a sudden my previous call did not happen. They told me time and time again that it was a software problem, I knew that it wasn't. Which, by the way, the software that comes installed on the computer is not really even very compatible. The WordPerfect program displays incorrectly and cuts off the bottom of the characters. So the computer is terrible and Dell does not back it. After about 20 hours on the phone, literally, and about the same number of calls, they finally agreed to send me a new hard drive. As I said, they insisted it was a software problem. Dell does not back any of the software they install on their own computers, and they charge you $100 per incident for any support. You actually have to speak with a software support salesman and pay before any support. I received the new hard drive and I was right, the problem did not go away (so much for the customer is always right). So, now that they knew that they would have to send me a new computer, the 21 day window to replace the defective one had conveniently lapsed, even though I started complaining after the third day. They said they would send me a refurbished computer. NO. I paid for a new piece of junk and I demanded a new piece of junk. It literally came to the point that if they did not finally relent and send me a new computer, I would have had no other option than to file a suit in small claims court. So I finally recieved the new piece of junk a few days ago. My first contact with Dell regarding the defective computer was about a month ago.
The second computer that I had purchased along with this one is now starting to display random error messages as well. A number of students at my law school also have brand new Dell notebooks and they have been nothing but trouble for at least 2 other people that I know...and I don't know too many people! This product and this company can seriously impede the progress of your life. Unless you have no job or responsibilities, this may not be the right computer or company for you. The low rating reflects product quality and customer service. Just to show that this is objective, I actually own a Dell desktop that I have been quite happy with. That was the reason I decided to stick with them. It seems as though much of their customer service and quality control has taken a turn for the worse. It's unfortunate that there is no negative reading on the scale.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Fantastic Laptop!!
Pros: Big Screen, Bright, multimedia buttons on front panel, stylish, battery life isn't bad
Cons: no huge cons
Review: I really love this computer. I am a student so I use it at school all the time. It's great because I can use the wireless internet around campus to check my email and chat, etc. It runs very fast. It has 512RAM and 40 GB hard drive. It's a very stylish computer. The design was the main reason I chose it over the Inspiron 1200. You can get different "faceplates" for it to customize it to your liking. The screen is great. It's nice and wide and pretty big which I really like. I only paid about $900 for it and I also got an all-in-one printer for $30. It has buttons on the front panel that control iTunes and also the Multimedia program so you can pause, stop, mute, increase/decrease volume, ffw or rewind. The DVD drive/player is cool because now I don't have to get a portable DVD player, I have one already. I would advise you to get Dell's Help-Desk service. I got a couple viruses on it right when I got it and Dell wouldn't take them off unless I paid the $239/year for non-hardware related problems. I ended up taking it to my colleges computer place and they completely fixed for only $15. So if there's a college around and you need help go there. I was displeased with Dell's service in that department, but their computers are great!!
I would advise you to get Dell's Help-Desk service. I got a couple viruses on it right when I got it and Dell wouldn't take them off unless I paid the $239/year for non-hardware related problems. I ended up taking it to my colleges computer place and they completely fixed for only $15. So if there's a college around and you need help go there. I was displeased with Dell's service in that department, but their computers are great!! User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Not What I expected - Poor Quality- Waste of $$$
Pros: Nice Key Board , Lots of connections
Cons: Runs very warm to HOT, DVD player DEAD!
Review: I have a couple of desktops from Dell and very happy with it, so I decided to buy the Inspiron 6000. What a mistake! First out of the box, it looked very cheap. All plastic construction. The top of the cover will flex if you push on it.
After running it for half hour, the unit gets VERY WARM! Actually it's warm all over. Around the keyboard and where you rest your palms. The hotspot is where the DELL logo is (just above the power on/off button. The bottom bezel around the screen is warpped and there's a gap.
I use it for less than 7 days and the DVD player refused to work. Just sound and the big "Frozen" pixels. Nothing on the screen.
Just a lot of colors pattern flashing. So, I'm returning the unit and getting a refund. BEWARE, Dell charges a 15% restocking fee and you must call them WITHIN 21 days of your invoice DATE.
After running it for half hour, the unit gets VERY WARM! Actually it's warm all over. Around the keyboard and where you rest your palms. The hotspot is where the DELL logo is (just above the power on/off button. The bottom bezel around the screen is warpped and there's a gap.
I use it for less than 7 days and the DVD player refused to work. Just sound and the big "Frozen" pixels. Nothing on the screen.
Just a lot of colors pattern flashing. So, I'm returning the unit and getting a refund. BEWARE, Dell charges a 15% restocking fee and you must call them WITHIN 21 days of your invoice DATE.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
excellent work machine
Pros: This machine has efficient battery use (about 3 hours) and a nice screen. the colors are accurate. It is very fast (1.86 ghz with 128mb x300 ati graphics) streamline, highquality keyboard...
Cons: screen must be read in direct angles, it becomes a little washed out from the side, but it doesn't have dull problems from the past...
Review: excellent computer. make sure you get the extra upgrades so you have a fast stable machine. I was able to get $800 off as a student for my university. It is by far the best bang for the buck that no other company can match. it wirless capabilities are exceptional, better than most of my classmate. I can walk into any network and it will latch on automatically (if there are multiple ones it will give the option to choose) I run at 54 mbps at school..... also it has a lot of anti-glare material for easy reading in bright rooms. I also bought a 1.33 ghz 15" powerbook and in many cases the dell runs faster than it (like in office and operating system speeds) Although the powerbook has a nicer appeal. If you want to save a lot of money, and need a good performer, this is a good bet!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
very happy
Pros: has it all
Cons: zilch, none, nada
Review: bought 2, one for my daughter for college and one for me. She is quite happy and so is Pop! Got it with a DVD burner and flys thru burning/conversion. Sound is good and she plays Sims on it (Heavy Graphics) and uses it for her Power Point presentations and every day usage. She likes being able to bring it home when she gets a break from school. The integrated wireless is the best.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Would buy again!
Pros: Form Factor, Reliable, DELL
Cons: Hard Drive 5400rpm, Expensive upgrades
Review: You need to upgrade the battery and RAM.
You can choose to upgrade the hard drive as well.
Buy the ram at a major online retailer, as Dell overprices these.
You can choose to upgrade the hard drive as well.
Buy the ram at a major online retailer, as Dell overprices these.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Power-packed laptop - great on the road or at home
Pros: Perfect Size; lots of power; touchpad w/ scrolling feature; etc; etc; etc;
Cons: No DVI; 'TrueLife' LCD not an option for 6000; not 100% solid when screen closed; needless Dell software
Review: The Dell Inspiron 6000 is not labeled as a desktop replacement, but it definitely performs as one. Even without the full P4 CPU that some higher-end models like the XPS have, this laptop gets the job done.
If you can live without a DVI connection, this is the machine to get - it's the perfect size for portability, yet has a large enough screen at 15.4" Widescreen... I would go for the UXGA widescreen option, as DVDs look thier best. You can always use a non-native lower resolution for working - there is very little degradation in the image at lower res.
I do recommend decking the system out in hardware, 2GHz Pentium M, 2GB memory, 100GB HDD, 128MB PCIE video card, 9-cell battery in order to see how this laptop really performs. If you get the slower hardware, you'll get a slower laptop... easy enough. NOTE: order with the lowest possible amount of memory, then buy compatible memory seperately via newegg.com or another online shop instead of upgrading -
you'll save a LOT as Dell charges 2x retail for thier memory upgrades.
I tend to have 5-6 apps (MS Outlook, MS Money, iTunes, ACDSee, Firefox, and various other apps) running at once - all the time, and I have yet to see a performance drop. The battery life (9-cell) is amazing! Goes for more than 4 hours on one charge while working as normal or watching a DVD...(perfect for air travel)
The only thing I do recommend is downloading all the drivers needed for the hardware and reformatting the HDD with a clean install of Windows XP Pro/Home. That way you'll get rid of all the needless utilities that Dell installs and has running in the background eating up your system resources (memory/CPU).
I couldn't be happier with this machine. Dell rocks!
If you can live without a DVI connection, this is the machine to get - it's the perfect size for portability, yet has a large enough screen at 15.4" Widescreen... I would go for the UXGA widescreen option, as DVDs look thier best. You can always use a non-native lower resolution for working - there is very little degradation in the image at lower res.
I do recommend decking the system out in hardware, 2GHz Pentium M, 2GB memory, 100GB HDD, 128MB PCIE video card, 9-cell battery in order to see how this laptop really performs. If you get the slower hardware, you'll get a slower laptop... easy enough. NOTE: order with the lowest possible amount of memory, then buy compatible memory seperately via newegg.com or another online shop instead of upgrading -
you'll save a LOT as Dell charges 2x retail for thier memory upgrades.
I tend to have 5-6 apps (MS Outlook, MS Money, iTunes, ACDSee, Firefox, and various other apps) running at once - all the time, and I have yet to see a performance drop. The battery life (9-cell) is amazing! Goes for more than 4 hours on one charge while working as normal or watching a DVD...(perfect for air travel)
The only thing I do recommend is downloading all the drivers needed for the hardware and reformatting the HDD with a clean install of Windows XP Pro/Home. That way you'll get rid of all the needless utilities that Dell installs and has running in the background eating up your system resources (memory/CPU).
I couldn't be happier with this machine. Dell rocks!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
gamers: read this before buying
Pros: fast, inexpensive, nice display, stylish, very good battery life, above average speakers
Cons: somwhat heavy, fairly weak graphics card
Review: This notebook is a fast and fun way to handle your basic at-home needs (email, word processing, photo editing, etc.). And I was very surprised to hear how good the quality of the speakers were. But what really mattered to me when it came down to it was how well it would be able to play my favorite games like half-life 2. First off, I'll start off with my system's specs:
1.86GHz 533MHzFSB
512MB RAM
128 ATI Mobility RADEON x300
Since half-life 2 is pretty much the standard used to determine how well a graphics card performs, I'll use it as an example to demonstrate how the I6000 handles stress. If you run hl2, or any game like it, do not expect to play at a high resolution. The system simply cannot handle it. Turning the res down, along with a few effects that aren't really necessary, allows you to play games smoothly, but of course with lower visual quality. I personnaly can live with the sacrifice of clarity for quality, but not everyone will. This isn't to say that all games released within the last few years or even months need to look like crap in order for you to play them. I just tried out Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher's Bay with high video settings and it ran beautifully. So the bottom line is, if you can't afford those outrageously priced gaming laptops, but want an inexpensive machine that will still be able to handle games like hl2, I can fully recommend this smaller chunk of power.
1.86GHz 533MHzFSB
512MB RAM
128 ATI Mobility RADEON x300
Since half-life 2 is pretty much the standard used to determine how well a graphics card performs, I'll use it as an example to demonstrate how the I6000 handles stress. If you run hl2, or any game like it, do not expect to play at a high resolution. The system simply cannot handle it. Turning the res down, along with a few effects that aren't really necessary, allows you to play games smoothly, but of course with lower visual quality. I personnaly can live with the sacrifice of clarity for quality, but not everyone will. This isn't to say that all games released within the last few years or even months need to look like crap in order for you to play them. I just tried out Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher's Bay with high video settings and it ran beautifully. So the bottom line is, if you can't afford those outrageously priced gaming laptops, but want an inexpensive machine that will still be able to handle games like hl2, I can fully recommend this smaller chunk of power.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
A Perfect Laptop
Pros: Fast and acceptable performance for casual gaming, intergrated wireless, 15.4 Wide Screen, not too heavy, and good battery life.
Cons: Intergrated graphics model will slow down performance, so and so screen, too many junk preinstalled on the computer
Review: I brought a I6000D model and I'm pretty impressed. The graphics performance is pretty reasonable and not too choppy or degraded. Also, the battery life is pretty good.
The downside is that Dell usally installs many software that slows down the computer after a few weeks, so it took hours to uninstall most of the software that I don't use. After all the software that I don't use is removed, performance got a bit faster. Also, don't go for the one with intergrated graphics, just upgrade to a dedicated graphics card model to increase performance.
Specs
Pentium M 1.6 GHz
1 GB DDR2 Memory
Ati Radeon Mobility x300 64MB PCI Express Card
80 GB Hard Drive
CD-RW/DVD Drive
Good Battery Life
It came out to be $1400 after discounts.
The downside is that Dell usally installs many software that slows down the computer after a few weeks, so it took hours to uninstall most of the software that I don't use. After all the software that I don't use is removed, performance got a bit faster. Also, don't go for the one with intergrated graphics, just upgrade to a dedicated graphics card model to increase performance.
Specs
Pentium M 1.6 GHz
1 GB DDR2 Memory
Ati Radeon Mobility x300 64MB PCI Express Card
80 GB Hard Drive
CD-RW/DVD Drive
Good Battery Life
It came out to be $1400 after discounts.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Solid notebook
Pros: Speedy performance, good battery life, decent display
Cons: A little heavy, Dell always has a better deal a week after you buy it.
Review: Even though I had issues with Dell in terms of ordering this product, I am very pleased with the Inspiron 6000. I was looking for a solid notebook with a widescreen and centrino technology for wireless networking. I don't want to be tied to my desktop all the time. I initially ordered the 6000 with the WSXGA+ display. This was a mistake. Even though I have decent eyesight, I found the higher resolution display difficult to read. Entire web pages would only fill a quarter of the screen area. Text was sharp but too small to comfortably read. I returned the unit and re-ordered one with the WXGA screen. This one is perfect. It may not be as bright as some notebook screens but it's sharp and easy to read. The 1.60 Pentium M processor is fast and an in many ways out performs my Pentium 4 desktop. Applications start fast and with the 1 gigabyte memory it does not slow down. The on board speakers are loud and clear. The keyboard is comfortable for typing. The Intel 2915 a/b/g network card works well and connects fast to even the weakest wifi signals. DVD quality is quite good as well.
My only criticism is that due to problems with Dell's ordering system I missed out on a better system configuration. By opting for the memory upgrade I had to sacrifice the DVD burner and a hard drive upgrade (60gig instead of 80). Also the unit did not work 100% out of the box. I had to utilize the instigated system restoration tool, as the computer would not allow me to install any software. This is a great feature as if reinstalled the operating system in less than 10 minutes.
In summation I can highly recommend the Inspiron 6000.
Specs:
Inspiron 6000 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
15.4 inch WXGA LCD Panel
FREE Upgrade from 512MB to 1GB DDR SDRAM
ntegrated Intel® Media Accelerator 900 Graphics
60GB Hard Drive
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915 Internal Wireless (802.11 a/b/g, 54Mbps)
My only criticism is that due to problems with Dell's ordering system I missed out on a better system configuration. By opting for the memory upgrade I had to sacrifice the DVD burner and a hard drive upgrade (60gig instead of 80). Also the unit did not work 100% out of the box. I had to utilize the instigated system restoration tool, as the computer would not allow me to install any software. This is a great feature as if reinstalled the operating system in less than 10 minutes.
In summation I can highly recommend the Inspiron 6000.
Specs:
Inspiron 6000 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
15.4 inch WXGA LCD Panel
FREE Upgrade from 512MB to 1GB DDR SDRAM
ntegrated Intel® Media Accelerator 900 Graphics
60GB Hard Drive
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915 Internal Wireless (802.11 a/b/g, 54Mbps)
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great laptop choice
Pros: WUXGA screen, keyboard, speed, graphics
Cons: Touchpad, color scheme
Review: I literally tried everything before deciding on the Inspirion 6000. It seemed to take everything I threw at it, including games. I am averaging 70 FPS in the Flatout demo - this is great for a laptop. 1.5 Gb ram or more is a very smart upgrade. I have however realized that the preconfigured 30 gb hard drive is a little on the small side. It doesn't get nearly as hot as some of the HP/Compaq laptops I tested. The keyboard feels great and the buttons are well placed - including the media buttons on the front of the unit. Batterly life is exceptional with the 9 cell battery - more than 5 hours on a single charge. If you are a business user this is a great choice with the wide screen and good keyboard. Otherwise, believe me when I say you can do quite a bit of mid-high end gaming and be satisfied with this machine.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great deal with dell coupon codes
Pros: Price, Stuff you get for the price
Cons: took an extra day to ship
Review: Using a coupon code at techbargins.com i got 40% of my customization of this laptop making it a great bargin for an awesome piece of hardware. the laptop works great and i can use it to play the latest games with great frame rates compared to my old laptop. the 9-cell battery allows plenty of plugless time.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Froze every couple of minutes
Pros: Looks spiffy
Cons: Having to pay return shipping cost for a defective product
Review: I've purchased two desktops through Dell and have never had a problem with either. I like Dell, but this purchase has definitely changed my opinion of the company. The 6000 freezes every couple of minutes--it even froze during Xp's setup. I called Dell's tech line and followed their directions only to have the system freeze again. I ran Dell's diagnostics, which took over an hour, and the system passed all tests but froze after booting to Xp. I did a PC Restore using the Dell utility, and the system continued to freeze. I read the Dell user forums and found this "freezing" problem to be a known issue. So, I spent my first six hours with the 6000 trying to figure out why the system kept freezing. My guess is the bundled software, most of which is junk, is giving the OS problems. But my job as a consumer is to enjoy the products I purchase not troubleshoot a product.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Perfect laptop
Pros: Widescreen LCD, light and looks great!
Cons: Speakers can sound a bit fuzzy at full volume.
Review: I have had absolutely no problems with my DELL Inspiron notebook since I bought it around 3 months ago.
It's great for watching movies with the brilliantly clear widescreen LCD, listening to music (as long as the volume isn't up at full volume, can sound a bit fuzzy at times - changing equalizer properties fix this, then sounds strange when volume is lower!) and I find the internal wireless card to be exceptionally good - I can access my own internet while outside my house, even in my neighbours house - which I couldn't do on a previous wireless notebook.
I use the notebook primarly for web design and study, and it's the perfect one for me. The LCD displays colours a lot better than other LCDs I've used, and there doesn't seem to be as much of a difference in colours between my PC monitor and the LCD that I've seen on other models.
A brilliant buy!
It's great for watching movies with the brilliantly clear widescreen LCD, listening to music (as long as the volume isn't up at full volume, can sound a bit fuzzy at times - changing equalizer properties fix this, then sounds strange when volume is lower!) and I find the internal wireless card to be exceptionally good - I can access my own internet while outside my house, even in my neighbours house - which I couldn't do on a previous wireless notebook.
I use the notebook primarly for web design and study, and it's the perfect one for me. The LCD displays colours a lot better than other LCDs I've used, and there doesn't seem to be as much of a difference in colours between my PC monitor and the LCD that I've seen on other models.
A brilliant buy!
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Very Poor Wireless Connection and Very Poor Technical and Customer Support
Pros: Nice design
Cons: Unstable wireless connection
Review: Purchased an Inspiron 6000 with an internal Dell wireless card (model 1470, made by Broadcom). The wireless connection never worked. It was always unstable (changes speed and drops connections) to the point that an external hard drive connected to my network crashed several times. After 7 interactions with Dell Tech Support a lady tried to connvince me that the wireless connection changing speed all the time was normal, which is not because the same computer works just fine with an external Netgear PC card. I tried to return the computer and a Dell lady called Cindy McDonnell asked me to call Verizon to see if they could figure out how keep the wireless connection at a constant speed. She also told me that if Verizon did not solve the problem, then she will send me the RAN. Verizon could not solve the problem, and when I contacted Cindy McDonnel to retun the computer, she has not even bothered to answer my 3 emails. Now Dell will not accept the return because it is pass the 21 days (it was not when I first contacted Dell to return it). Then another Dell rep called me that told me that the problem was software related and it was not covered under the Dell warantee (I am using the computer as Dell shipped it, and I have a 3 months warantee). She offered to solve the problem for a flat fee of $59 (I confess I wish the rep would have been close to me so that I can crash the laptop on his head.......). BOTTON LINE: If you need reliable wireless connection, purchase another computer, or be aware that you will need an external PC card to work with this one. If you already purchase it, test it completely and if the wireless is unastable (speed changes all the time, and connection drops) return it to Dell asap, and do not get fooled by Dell requests to do something else (they do it on purpose to get you forget the 21 days, after which you will not be able to return it!!!!).
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
pretty great
Pros: so many options
Cons: could do with a bit more battery life
Review: just a general all rounder, well worth the buy, especially if it's purely for personal use.
It's not excessively large, and the wide screen on it makes for good viewing for DVDs and good for gameplay if that's you cuppa-tea.
Upgrading to a stronger battery might be an idea.
It's not excessively large, and the wide screen on it makes for good viewing for DVDs and good for gameplay if that's you cuppa-tea.
Upgrading to a stronger battery might be an idea.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Power supply problem sent me packing this one back to Dell.
Pros: Bright and crisp display screen, thin size, excellent battery life
Cons: Power supply problem
Review: I ordered the Insprion 6000 (Pentium, XGA, 512 RAM, 80GB HD) and the laptop showed up on my doorstep within a week. After downloading all my files and software I decided to check how long the battery might last. The battery was well on it's way to lasting well over 4 - 5 hours but when I tried to charge the battery back up, the unit stopped charging after 30 minutes or so. After unplug and replug, the unit would only charge for approx. 7 to 11 minutes and then repeat. After speaking with Tech Support (very helpful by the way) it turns out that the problem was more than just a defective power supply and the notebook would probably have to be sent back for repair. Decided to return the notebook altogether and bought a Latitude D810 instead at the Dell Outlet Store.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
I kept reading that this is not a gaming machine, true, but it does play games!
Pros: Very good looking laptop,sxga Widescreen, crystal clear, cost, excellent performance,build
Cons: dvd drive can be loud
Review: I was ready for a new pc and decided on this laptop that my friend told me about. This is my very first laptop and I've been into computers for years.I did not care for laptops because I thought that they were always too slow and limited to upgrade especially the video card. After reseaching I did not want just a gaming machine. I would have bought a desktop for that. I just wanted something nice to surf the web on a crystal clear screen and play wide screen movies, but every once in a while I'd like to play a good game.
I found a great deal on ebay and got one with the ATIx300 64mb instead of the intel 900 integrated one.
I went ahead and threw in some older 3d games that I used to play a few years ago and it played them with no problem at all and they really look good on this awesome widesreen. I have'nt had time to tell if the screen stretches the game or not. I think it may.
I did not have any newer games to test the 6000 with so I downloaded Doom3 demo. I set it at 800 x 600 high detail and it was very playable and looked very good.It took me by surpise how it handled the game.I thought it would be boggy and choppy with this low end card, but it was not. You have to make sure that if you play any 3d games that you play them while the laptop is plugged in. There is a performance feature for the video card and knows if it's using battery or direct plug in. Battery mode makes the card slower to save battery power. there is a setting for this that some other person mentioned in these reviews about performance and powerplay settings on the video card control panel.You want to set this on performance if you are going to run this on battery mode. Direct plug in is automatically set on performance mode.
So if you are looking for an all around laptop with great performance and a great price and want to play a decent game here and there that does'nt have to have every little detail on or super high resolution this may be for you.
If you are going to play a game from time to time make sure you get this with the ati card it is the only video card upgrade they offer for this laptop.
If you are really into games then get the xps. The I6000 will probably not keep up too long for that.
I also want to mention that i have the sxga screen that is unbelievably clear and bright, but the icons and fonts are a little small but still very legible. I would not get the uxga. For that size of screen I would not recommend it. the fonts may be too small for some. you have to run these LCD screens at thier native resolution or it will not look right. The sxga or even the xga is good enough in my opinion.
I found a great deal on ebay and got one with the ATIx300 64mb instead of the intel 900 integrated one.
I went ahead and threw in some older 3d games that I used to play a few years ago and it played them with no problem at all and they really look good on this awesome widesreen. I have'nt had time to tell if the screen stretches the game or not. I think it may.
I did not have any newer games to test the 6000 with so I downloaded Doom3 demo. I set it at 800 x 600 high detail and it was very playable and looked very good.It took me by surpise how it handled the game.I thought it would be boggy and choppy with this low end card, but it was not. You have to make sure that if you play any 3d games that you play them while the laptop is plugged in. There is a performance feature for the video card and knows if it's using battery or direct plug in. Battery mode makes the card slower to save battery power. there is a setting for this that some other person mentioned in these reviews about performance and powerplay settings on the video card control panel.You want to set this on performance if you are going to run this on battery mode. Direct plug in is automatically set on performance mode.
So if you are looking for an all around laptop with great performance and a great price and want to play a decent game here and there that does'nt have to have every little detail on or super high resolution this may be for you.
If you are going to play a game from time to time make sure you get this with the ati card it is the only video card upgrade they offer for this laptop.
If you are really into games then get the xps. The I6000 will probably not keep up too long for that.
I also want to mention that i have the sxga screen that is unbelievably clear and bright, but the icons and fonts are a little small but still very legible. I would not get the uxga. For that size of screen I would not recommend it. the fonts may be too small for some. you have to run these LCD screens at thier native resolution or it will not look right. The sxga or even the xga is good enough in my opinion.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
This is a great laptop with many wonderful features. Definitely a YES for a first time laptop buyer!
Pros: Battery life is above 4 hours, centrino, widescreen
Cons: a bit on the heavy side
Review: This is an amazing laptop! THis was my first time buying a laptop and I must say I am fathmoably impressed by Dell's service and product care. THe only concern I have is that DELL does not send out the Windows XP CD that you buy with the system. So look out for that! Otherwise, its a great, great buy!
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
worst laptop ever!!!
Pros: good battery life
Cons: graphics are horrible
Review: Just bought this laptop and I am sending it right back. I cannot believe that I spent $1500+, got the best screen possible and the resolution is terrible. Graphics are very very grainy. Not the first time this has happened with a screen from Dell. I will never buy a Dell again!!! EVER!!!
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Perfect for college
Pros: Fast, great screen
Cons: Nothing bad
Review: This laptop is great for a college user. I got mine just for surfing the web, d/ling music and papers. I'm not a games, so I wouldnt really know how to rate it for that. But if you need a laptop for basic needs, this is a great buy. My specs are:
1.6 GHZ Pentium M
512 RAM
DVD/CD-R drive
60 Gig
Windows XP Pro
And with the dimmness of the screen when you use it on the battery, you can easily make it brighter if you want by simply holding down a button on the keyboard and using the up and down directional buttons to make it brighter or dimmer. Overall, its fast and a great laptop for a college student.
1.6 GHZ Pentium M
512 RAM
DVD/CD-R drive
60 Gig
Windows XP Pro
And with the dimmness of the screen when you use it on the battery, you can easily make it brighter if you want by simply holding down a button on the keyboard and using the up and down directional buttons to make it brighter or dimmer. Overall, its fast and a great laptop for a college student.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Good computer for students or anyone looking for one machine to do all typical tasks
Pros: Good clear screen (even the basic WXGA is good), attractive package, Centrino technology, totally customizable Dell ordering allows you to get only what you want, good touchpad, inexpensive warranty
Cons: Comes with way too much Dell software, should only come with CDs to load yourself if you want the software
Review: I just recently bought this computer from the online store (there was a sale, so I got free Microsoft Office 2003, a free bag and an additional $250 dollars off the regular price). I got the whole computer for $1850 Canadian, and that includes a 3-year onsite warranty. The computer has a 1.6 gHz Pentium M processor, with the Centrino wireless technology, a 60GB hard drive, 512 MB of RAM, CD burner, DVD player, 9-cell battery (I would DEFINITELY recommend shelling out the extra $40 or whatever it costs for the better battery!). So far I'm extremely happy with the computer...it is fairly large, but I'm using it as a desktop replacement with some travel, so I don't mind. My one problem with Dell is that they send the computers preloaded with about 10 useless and annoying programs...I spent a little while deleting most of them, but other than that I was happy with the DELL experience...the shipping was extremely quick, and since it's free, I had no problem with waiting about a week.
BOTTOM LINE: This is a quality laptop that really fits my needs, and I think if you're a student or just a home user with similar needs, it would be a good model for you...it has enough power to qualify as a desktop replacement and to allow me to run lots of programs at the same time (Photoshop, Several Internet Browser windows at once, MSN, Word, Limewire, etc.), it is also portable enough for me to take to class, or to the library, or on the train home, while still having a great screen so I can watch DVD's and TV episodes...the speakers are not half bad either, so I can listen to music decently.
BOTTOM LINE: This is a quality laptop that really fits my needs, and I think if you're a student or just a home user with similar needs, it would be a good model for you...it has enough power to qualify as a desktop replacement and to allow me to run lots of programs at the same time (Photoshop, Several Internet Browser windows at once, MSN, Word, Limewire, etc.), it is also portable enough for me to take to class, or to the library, or on the train home, while still having a great screen so I can watch DVD's and TV episodes...the speakers are not half bad either, so I can listen to music decently.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
A excellent laptop, many pros but still I could find some cons...
Pros: Media controls have lights which is pretty cool, Outstanding battery life, CD Burner works great, Good DVD quality
Cons: Media controls aren't very convienently located- if the laptop is on your lap you have to pick up the front of the laptop to adjust it, Went through 3 hard drives, 2 keyboards...IN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS!
Review: Mine had...
80GB 5400RPM Hard drive
512MB RAM
1.6GHZ processor (not bad)
First off all I have to say that this is a very good laptop and I really enjoyED having it. For the first two weeks, everything was fine. My 80GB hard drive with 5400 RPM worked perfectly. DVD quality was pretty good. Programs took a very short amount of time to start up.Then the second week came. "Your computer has been shut down to prevent damage. If this is the first time you've seen this restart your computer." <<<computer restarts>>> "Your computer has been shut down to prevent damage!!!!" UGH!! Being a doctor, I had extremely important business files which didn't exist any more! So then I call Customer Service." PLEASE HOLD...Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick tock.....5PM....6PM....and finally after being on hold for an hour....helllo how may I help you? Let me transfer you...6PM...630PM.... HELLO HOW MAY I HELP YOU....Let mee tranfer you....630PM...700PM...UGH!! Finally i talk to some one to send me a new hard drive which "may have been damaged in shipping" (What else is new?) I gotta admit it came very quick....only 2 days! Ok now everything is fine...then about a month later, some keys on my key board became loose and were chipped off (i don't know if that's my fault for being careless of Dell's for not screwing it in right) I quickly got it repaird. Next Week: "Your computer has been shut down to prevent damage." I hadn't even installed anything on it in the past week! I got extremely fed up, especially after finding a bill for $400 for the hard drive!! But I GOT THE BILL RESOLVED. Loosing my patients info AGAIN drove me crazy....I decided to get a new laptop, also with the editor's choice..the XPS GEN 2 Hopefully it'll work better than the 6000, which, in my opion is a poorly made piece of garbage dell made out of scrap!
80GB 5400RPM Hard drive
512MB RAM
1.6GHZ processor (not bad)
First off all I have to say that this is a very good laptop and I really enjoyED having it. For the first two weeks, everything was fine. My 80GB hard drive with 5400 RPM worked perfectly. DVD quality was pretty good. Programs took a very short amount of time to start up.Then the second week came. "Your computer has been shut down to prevent damage. If this is the first time you've seen this restart your computer." <<<computer restarts>>> "Your computer has been shut down to prevent damage!!!!" UGH!! Being a doctor, I had extremely important business files which didn't exist any more! So then I call Customer Service." PLEASE HOLD...Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick tock.....5PM....6PM....and finally after being on hold for an hour....helllo how may I help you? Let me transfer you...6PM...630PM.... HELLO HOW MAY I HELP YOU....Let mee tranfer you....630PM...700PM...UGH!! Finally i talk to some one to send me a new hard drive which "may have been damaged in shipping" (What else is new?) I gotta admit it came very quick....only 2 days! Ok now everything is fine...then about a month later, some keys on my key board became loose and were chipped off (i don't know if that's my fault for being careless of Dell's for not screwing it in right) I quickly got it repaird. Next Week: "Your computer has been shut down to prevent damage." I hadn't even installed anything on it in the past week! I got extremely fed up, especially after finding a bill for $400 for the hard drive!! But I GOT THE BILL RESOLVED. Loosing my patients info AGAIN drove me crazy....I decided to get a new laptop, also with the editor's choice..the XPS GEN 2 Hopefully it'll work better than the 6000, which, in my opion is a poorly made piece of garbage dell made out of scrap!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Best Deal with $750 Discount
Pros: Incredible value with $750 discount
Cons: Not so good without discount
Review: The only reason I got this laptop was because I got a $750 discount on it. Without this ridiculous discount, I would never have bought this computer. I loaded up my laptop to the max minus RAM, but the Sony, HP, Toshiba, and IBM arguably have better 15" laptops.
(1) Compared to the above competition, the LCD lighting for my Dell could be brighter and more evenly colored when viewed at different angles. (2) The onboard speakers are decent - they get the job done for simple, quiet sounds, but any higher noises with complex sounds and the speakers start to give off more static than music or sound effects. If you really want to enjoy sound, you gotta get headphones or your own speakers. (3) The Western Digital harddrive is incredibly quiet when running, but it parks its head waaay too much so there is a quiet clicking sound for like 5 seconds after you use the harddrive. If you visit Dell or Western Digital community forums, you'll notice quite a few people confused about these clicking noises. (4) The CD/DVD combo drive/burner is also somewhat loud. It also keeps running if you place a CD or DVD in it even though you are not even doing anything remotely requiring the CD or DVD. (5) Dell also does not send the OS, drivers, and utilities CD discs. You have to use the Dell installed utility to reinstall your OS or call in Dell to get them (they ship in for free within 3 days). (6) Dell also sells their RAM at the highest rates. If you buy from Crucial or Kingston, then the price of Dell's RAM is not so bad. However, if you buy at NewEgg, then you could get the RAM for like 50% of the cost Dell would have charged you! I strongly recommend buying your laptop from Dell, but get your RAM elsewhere. (7) Dell installs ALOT of useless trial programs my laptop, so chances are, you'll have to uninstall them, too.
Now the FANTASTIC side of Dell. Sure, without any discounts, the competition is better than Dell's I6000 in terms of "bang-per-buck," but then Dell has these $750 discounts like every two months. Once you factor in loading a computer up to the max (minus Dell's pricey RAM) and getting $750 off off the price, then Dell's Inspiron laptops are a head above the class.
For instance, say a $2000 Sony or HP or Toshiba or IBM laptop is a better value than Dell's $2000 counterpart. Then take $750 off Dell's $2000 and before you know, you are getting a Dell!
I have ZERO dead pixels or "overactive" pixels, too. Dell technical support is from India, but I find them very courteous. They may not be computer engineers who could solve your problems or speak the best English, but they are always willing to help you in some way.
Dell also makes like a ~5GB partition on your harddrive and installs it with their utility that will completely clean out your harddrive and reinstall everything program that your Dell initially came with. Some people find this partition and utility a waste. I, for one, completely disagree. It usually takes me like 8 hours to make a completely and utterly clean install of Windows, drivers, utilities, and my personal choice of programs. With Dell's good restore utility, it takes like 20 minutes to make a clean install of windows, drivers, and utilities. Then I would uninstall the useless programs Dell installs with their PCs as freeware, and then install my programs (taking about 3.5 hrs of my time). Dell's utility also has a very thorough and helpful diagnostic program.
I recommend you test out this Dell restore program yourself and realize how much time it could save you when you ever need to reinstall the perpetually unreliable Windows OS.
Bottom line? Do not get a Dell Inspiron 6000. The competition is better. However, if you have a $750 Dell discount, then without any doubt in my mind, the I6000 is the best value out there.
NOTE: I only have had this laptop for like a week, so I don't know how well Dell's laptop performs over the longterm.
(1) Compared to the above competition, the LCD lighting for my Dell could be brighter and more evenly colored when viewed at different angles. (2) The onboard speakers are decent - they get the job done for simple, quiet sounds, but any higher noises with complex sounds and the speakers start to give off more static than music or sound effects. If you really want to enjoy sound, you gotta get headphones or your own speakers. (3) The Western Digital harddrive is incredibly quiet when running, but it parks its head waaay too much so there is a quiet clicking sound for like 5 seconds after you use the harddrive. If you visit Dell or Western Digital community forums, you'll notice quite a few people confused about these clicking noises. (4) The CD/DVD combo drive/burner is also somewhat loud. It also keeps running if you place a CD or DVD in it even though you are not even doing anything remotely requiring the CD or DVD. (5) Dell also does not send the OS, drivers, and utilities CD discs. You have to use the Dell installed utility to reinstall your OS or call in Dell to get them (they ship in for free within 3 days). (6) Dell also sells their RAM at the highest rates. If you buy from Crucial or Kingston, then the price of Dell's RAM is not so bad. However, if you buy at NewEgg, then you could get the RAM for like 50% of the cost Dell would have charged you! I strongly recommend buying your laptop from Dell, but get your RAM elsewhere. (7) Dell installs ALOT of useless trial programs my laptop, so chances are, you'll have to uninstall them, too.
Now the FANTASTIC side of Dell. Sure, without any discounts, the competition is better than Dell's I6000 in terms of "bang-per-buck," but then Dell has these $750 discounts like every two months. Once you factor in loading a computer up to the max (minus Dell's pricey RAM) and getting $750 off off the price, then Dell's Inspiron laptops are a head above the class.
For instance, say a $2000 Sony or HP or Toshiba or IBM laptop is a better value than Dell's $2000 counterpart. Then take $750 off Dell's $2000 and before you know, you are getting a Dell!
I have ZERO dead pixels or "overactive" pixels, too. Dell technical support is from India, but I find them very courteous. They may not be computer engineers who could solve your problems or speak the best English, but they are always willing to help you in some way.
Dell also makes like a ~5GB partition on your harddrive and installs it with their utility that will completely clean out your harddrive and reinstall everything program that your Dell initially came with. Some people find this partition and utility a waste. I, for one, completely disagree. It usually takes me like 8 hours to make a completely and utterly clean install of Windows, drivers, utilities, and my personal choice of programs. With Dell's good restore utility, it takes like 20 minutes to make a clean install of windows, drivers, and utilities. Then I would uninstall the useless programs Dell installs with their PCs as freeware, and then install my programs (taking about 3.5 hrs of my time). Dell's utility also has a very thorough and helpful diagnostic program.
I recommend you test out this Dell restore program yourself and realize how much time it could save you when you ever need to reinstall the perpetually unreliable Windows OS.
Bottom line? Do not get a Dell Inspiron 6000. The competition is better. However, if you have a $750 Dell discount, then without any doubt in my mind, the I6000 is the best value out there.
NOTE: I only have had this laptop for like a week, so I don't know how well Dell's laptop performs over the longterm.
Updated
To install RAM, you have to put the laptop onto its screen, in other words, "flip it over." When I was done installing more RAM, I couldn't get a grip of the laptop's sides to turn it over, so I slid it a little to the edge of my desk to grip it from there, and the silver colored coating on my Dell was scratched!
So put something soft under your Dell before turning it over.
To install RAM, you have to put the laptop onto its screen, in other words, "flip it over." When I was done installing more RAM, I couldn't get a grip of the laptop's sides to turn it over, so I slid it a little to the edge of my desk to grip it from there, and the silver colored coating on my Dell was scratched!
So put something soft under your Dell before turning it over.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Incredible Value - Just Choose the Right Features
Pros: 128MB ATI X300 Graphics, Quiet, Above average build quality
Cons: A bit thicker and heavier than othe notebooks in this class.
Review: The Inspiron 6000 offers an excellent value for what you pay. At around $1,300 I customized mine (the features I wanted) with 1GB RAM, a 60GB 5400RPM hard drive, a "ultra-sharp" display, internal Bluetooth and a 128 MB PCIe ATI X300 graphics chip. Running Doom 3 at "medium quality" and an 800x600 resolution provides framerates of about 50fps - very playable. Most people don't understand how to set the ATI "Powerplay" feature to "performance" mode while on battery, therefore incorrectly assume that this machine doesn't hold its own for gaming.
The keyboard has no flex, the machine runs cool and quiet and the case has a refreshing silver and white attractive look.
If you want outstanding value for what you pay for, you can't go wrong with the Inspiron 6000. I love mine!
The keyboard has no flex, the machine runs cool and quiet and the case has a refreshing silver and white attractive look.
If you want outstanding value for what you pay for, you can't go wrong with the Inspiron 6000. I love mine!
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Buy something else - crashed - bad technical support
Pros: great low price
Cons: mouse pad, reliabilty, tech support, cust. service
Review: Purchased in March 2005. Crashed in June. The computer started to make 'clacking' noises then froze. I rebooted and received a blue screen error message. The first tech walked me through diagnostics. When the first error message popped up, she said it was the hard drive and never finished the diagnostics. It wasn't the hard drive, but I had to speak with 18 different people over a 3 week period, wait for 3 reburbished hard drives to be shipped to me, install three hard drives that didn't correct the problem. At which point they told me it was virus & told me that they could not help me any longer and that I had to speak with 'software support'. They charged me $49 for that only to find out that there wasn't a virus.
Tech support told me that I would have to ship my computer to them and wait 3 more weeks for them to fix it.
After arguing with three people for my money back, they agreed, but they would charge me a 15% depreciation allowance.
Of the 18 people I spoke with, only 2 seemed to be technically knowledgeable. Most where reading from a manual or putting me on hold to ask someone else. The shortest time I was on hold was 45 minutes. The longest 1 1/2 hours. 4 people promised to call me back. Only one did.
I use my compputer for work. If I can't depend on it or have it correctly diagnosed and fixed, it's not only not worth having, it costs me money.
Tech support told me that I would have to ship my computer to them and wait 3 more weeks for them to fix it.
After arguing with three people for my money back, they agreed, but they would charge me a 15% depreciation allowance.
Of the 18 people I spoke with, only 2 seemed to be technically knowledgeable. Most where reading from a manual or putting me on hold to ask someone else. The shortest time I was on hold was 45 minutes. The longest 1 1/2 hours. 4 people promised to call me back. Only one did.
I use my compputer for work. If I can't depend on it or have it correctly diagnosed and fixed, it's not only not worth having, it costs me money.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Just what I Needed
Pros: Compact Size, Overall Performance, Overall Quality, Features, etc.
Cons: Lots of Bloatware, Gets hot quickly,
Review: This is my first notebook and I must say, I'm very impressed. I don't think I can go back to the world of desktops! I'm taking with it to college with me so I'm very excited at the opportunities I'll have to use this.
FEATURES:
I would suggest paying extra for this guy. Load it up with all the high-end stuff. You always get what you pay for, and in my case, I loaded it up bigtime, so right now I'm sitting pretty...
-80GB HD (should have come in 100 but oh well)
-512 MB Ram
-2200 Wireless Card
-2 GHz Pentium M (760 I think)
-9 cell Lithium (<---no doubt go with that)
Those are the main things...also FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE LOOKING AT THE INSPIRON 9300, get this instead, trust me. The 17" screen may be tempting but I assure you 15.4" is waaaay bigger than I expected and suits any multimedia freaks needs accordingly. Initially I was going to get the 9300, but decided that it was too big (it really is), and this 6000 really is bigger than the picture makes you believe. Display is large and clear as day. You will NOT be disappointed.
Everything runs smoothly and I have a good amount of mp3's/movies on here with no slowdown. It's all about upgrading and paying more for more memory/HD space/features in general. It'll really pay off in the long run. Also its worth the extra bucks to go with the bigger battery so that you can get longer battery life.
All in all, like I said, load it up with the best features and pay a little more for the extra quality. You'll thank yourself down the road. Dell definitely offers the most bang for the buck.
FEATURES:
I would suggest paying extra for this guy. Load it up with all the high-end stuff. You always get what you pay for, and in my case, I loaded it up bigtime, so right now I'm sitting pretty...
-80GB HD (should have come in 100 but oh well)
-512 MB Ram
-2200 Wireless Card
-2 GHz Pentium M (760 I think)
-9 cell Lithium (<---no doubt go with that)
Those are the main things...also FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE LOOKING AT THE INSPIRON 9300, get this instead, trust me. The 17" screen may be tempting but I assure you 15.4" is waaaay bigger than I expected and suits any multimedia freaks needs accordingly. Initially I was going to get the 9300, but decided that it was too big (it really is), and this 6000 really is bigger than the picture makes you believe. Display is large and clear as day. You will NOT be disappointed.
Everything runs smoothly and I have a good amount of mp3's/movies on here with no slowdown. It's all about upgrading and paying more for more memory/HD space/features in general. It'll really pay off in the long run. Also its worth the extra bucks to go with the bigger battery so that you can get longer battery life.
All in all, like I said, load it up with the best features and pay a little more for the extra quality. You'll thank yourself down the road. Dell definitely offers the most bang for the buck.
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
PLease think b4 buy
Pros: nice on the outside
Cons: bad on the inside
Review: Had this computer for a 6 days, 6 nightmare days, Arived on Friday at first 30 minutes wait time to load, the hard drive is a mess, call tech which from india, couldn't understand what he said, then more wait time for transfer and got it fix, happy. Use it on weekend, suddenly, the screen turn dim and back on, and then i relized that it is so dim on the corner of the screen, then i know why my eyes so stress after each use, Then on Monday, call to return, idian customer service said no, i couldn't return it. GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRR!
Calm down!!!! and ask why! She said that i have agree some policy, i don't understandat all, all i know is i do not sastisfy with what i had bought and try to return it. I told that i am going to take action in court, she said she doesn't care!!! tell what service is this!!! again calm, and ask are you the manager, at first all i heard was YES! ok ask for the name then again ask are you the manager for the second time, She said uh no, no. Good, then i got to the manager with 1 hour wait time. I think now i'm on customer service at Tennesses. Calm, ask to return, Ok! 1 more hour wait for tranfer to RMA department, good got the RMA number. Bad product, bad service, dell is downfalling. That's it
Calm down!!!! and ask why! She said that i have agree some policy, i don't understandat all, all i know is i do not sastisfy with what i had bought and try to return it. I told that i am going to take action in court, she said she doesn't care!!! tell what service is this!!! again calm, and ask are you the manager, at first all i heard was YES! ok ask for the name then again ask are you the manager for the second time, She said uh no, no. Good, then i got to the manager with 1 hour wait time. I think now i'm on customer service at Tennesses. Calm, ask to return, Ok! 1 more hour wait for tranfer to RMA department, good got the RMA number. Bad product, bad service, dell is downfalling. That's it
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great computer!
Pros: Fast and reliable; great features!
Cons: A little heavy
Review: I have had this computer for about 4 months now, and I've had no problems. I love it, and I've had great performance, quick response--from any application. I love the wide screen and the overall portability. With the onboard wireless card, I can access the Internet from anywhere. I especially love the scrolling features on the touch pad, allowing for easy scrolling without a mouse.
I purposely opened many applications at the same time, including videos, database software, and multiple internet windows (50!), with no slowdown at all!
If I had to say anything even slightly negative about this laptop, I guess it would be the weight of it. It is heavy for travel, but after using a rolling bag, I have tackled that issue.
I have read a few bad/questionable reviews of this laptop, but I have to say, as far as my experience goes, it has been a great computer--in fact, the best Dell that I have used yet! I have two Dell laptops at home, and both are very good computers.
I can understand the comments. If I had problems with a new machine, I would be very unhappy also! It's important to remember that most companies offer assistance for problems. If not, take the advise of one of the other users and make your purchase using a credit card. If you experience problems that you cannot get worked out on your own, your credit card company will likely help you out.
No matter what we are purchasing, there's always the slim chance that we may receive an item with problems. It doesn't mean that the model is bad! After all, many of us have had great experience with our Inspiron 6000. Please take our reviews for what they are worth. They are based on our personal experiences.
Regards!
csb2003
I purposely opened many applications at the same time, including videos, database software, and multiple internet windows (50!), with no slowdown at all!
If I had to say anything even slightly negative about this laptop, I guess it would be the weight of it. It is heavy for travel, but after using a rolling bag, I have tackled that issue.
I have read a few bad/questionable reviews of this laptop, but I have to say, as far as my experience goes, it has been a great computer--in fact, the best Dell that I have used yet! I have two Dell laptops at home, and both are very good computers.
I can understand the comments. If I had problems with a new machine, I would be very unhappy also! It's important to remember that most companies offer assistance for problems. If not, take the advise of one of the other users and make your purchase using a credit card. If you experience problems that you cannot get worked out on your own, your credit card company will likely help you out.
No matter what we are purchasing, there's always the slim chance that we may receive an item with problems. It doesn't mean that the model is bad! After all, many of us have had great experience with our Inspiron 6000. Please take our reviews for what they are worth. They are based on our personal experiences.
Regards!
csb2003
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Good computer for the price!
Pros: helpful touchpad, comfortable keyboard, wide screen for DVDs.
Cons: bigger than regular notebooks and sligly heavy (around 7 lbs)
Review: I have no complaints regarding this notebook. I bought it 4 months ago and I've not trouble with it so far.
it has been great with games (GTA Vice City, Need For Speed Underground) great with Movies and DVDs. good storage (80 Gigs, althought you have 70 in fact).
wireless is not bad. I usually get to connect for free because it catches wireless almost anywhere.
also the Video card is really good. I have the option to plug my TV to my laptop and watch DVDs, PLAY games and watch my own videos in my TV. all from the hard drive of my inspiron 6000.
suggestion: get a good case is you move around alot. get the best in the performace of the system when you costimize it. it might make it a big expensive, but if this is what you really want, you will have a long lasting and reliable machine.
the second choice I suggest, if you are concern about price and weight...is Dell Inspiron 600m, smaller and lighter. price not too different.
good luck with your purchace.
it has been great with games (GTA Vice City, Need For Speed Underground) great with Movies and DVDs. good storage (80 Gigs, althought you have 70 in fact).
wireless is not bad. I usually get to connect for free because it catches wireless almost anywhere.
also the Video card is really good. I have the option to plug my TV to my laptop and watch DVDs, PLAY games and watch my own videos in my TV. all from the hard drive of my inspiron 6000.
suggestion: get a good case is you move around alot. get the best in the performace of the system when you costimize it. it might make it a big expensive, but if this is what you really want, you will have a long lasting and reliable machine.
the second choice I suggest, if you are concern about price and weight...is Dell Inspiron 600m, smaller and lighter. price not too different.
good luck with your purchace.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Unreliable; Abysmal support
Pros: Feature rich
Cons: Unreliable; extremely bad support
Review: We bought the Inspiron 6000 seduced by the multimedia features. We were primarily going to use it for watching DVDs. The first disappointment was that Dell did not ship an OS CD. Since the laptop comes loaded with all kinds of unnecessary frills, there was no way for us to rebuild the laptop other than open up a support ticket after being on hold for over an hour.
The real shock was when the system died within 2 months; not even able to carry out a POST. After being on hold with Dell for over an hour; during which we carried out a bunch of their suggested troubleshooting steps, we got hold of a technician that told us to repeat all of the above steps; then agreed to an RMA.
The laptop was returned very quickly. Imagine our consternation, however, when we see not only superficial issues like scratches and a broken DVD door, but the sound card not functioning properly. I have no idea why they did not test the system before releasing it back to us.
Currently; after having run around in circles with Dell technicians who want to try everything short of standing on your head; our problem has still not been solved.
Being in the industry, I have never seen as abysmal a support as Dell's. If they do have "follow the sun" support its not obvious; the Dell support people in India do not have the same time zones as the US and its extremely hard to get a hold of them. We are lucky if we hear back from them within 24 hours, so troubleshooting is like playing ping pong with a 24 hour lapse between each round trip.
Usability is always more important than features to me; and after a short 2 months, we have been saddled with a completely useless white elephant.
The real shock was when the system died within 2 months; not even able to carry out a POST. After being on hold with Dell for over an hour; during which we carried out a bunch of their suggested troubleshooting steps, we got hold of a technician that told us to repeat all of the above steps; then agreed to an RMA.
The laptop was returned very quickly. Imagine our consternation, however, when we see not only superficial issues like scratches and a broken DVD door, but the sound card not functioning properly. I have no idea why they did not test the system before releasing it back to us.
Currently; after having run around in circles with Dell technicians who want to try everything short of standing on your head; our problem has still not been solved.
Being in the industry, I have never seen as abysmal a support as Dell's. If they do have "follow the sun" support its not obvious; the Dell support people in India do not have the same time zones as the US and its extremely hard to get a hold of them. We are lucky if we hear back from them within 24 hours, so troubleshooting is like playing ping pong with a 24 hour lapse between each round trip.
Usability is always more important than features to me; and after a short 2 months, we have been saddled with a completely useless white elephant.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Price, Performance, Unreliability - You Get What You Pay For
Pros: comfortable keyboard, superb Apple-quality touchpad, musical speakers, battery life gives Methuselah a run for his money
Cons: poor build quality (loose panels, screen lid askew), heavy, dead pixels, narrow viewing angle, unreliable, OS lacks stamina - must be reloaded often, video performance leaves something to be desired
Review: I'm happy with this computer in that it came at a good price and has a large screen, comfortable keyboard and superb touch pad. The aforementioned touch pad even has mouse-wheel like areas, which I find very useful. Unfourtunately, three days out of the box, I found three dead pixels - two in the center and one to the right. They are distracting to say the least.
If don't mind playing slightly older games, this machine will work fine. Halo doesn't run so well, though.
Other performance advice: if you want to do video work, use an external HDD. This thing doesn't like to play DV from the hard drive!
Over all, I wouldn't recomend this computer to anyone, despite the advantages.
I've had this computer for 3 months. I've reloaded the OS 5 times. Twice from viruses that the included anti-virus software didn't detect, three times because this computer just runs slower and slower and slower. I have no idea why it does this, but needless to say, I am not pleased.
My experience has tought me that I am much better off buying an Apple computer. My friends' Powerbooks and iBooks don't have these problems. I've edited two feature films on Final Cut Pro without a single problem from the OS. Windows XP acts like the bad little brother - much less refined, attracks attention to itself constantly, and talks back too much. I guess I got what I paid for.
Please learn from others' mistakes - buy a Mac!
If don't mind playing slightly older games, this machine will work fine. Halo doesn't run so well, though.
Other performance advice: if you want to do video work, use an external HDD. This thing doesn't like to play DV from the hard drive!
Over all, I wouldn't recomend this computer to anyone, despite the advantages.
I've had this computer for 3 months. I've reloaded the OS 5 times. Twice from viruses that the included anti-virus software didn't detect, three times because this computer just runs slower and slower and slower. I have no idea why it does this, but needless to say, I am not pleased.
My experience has tought me that I am much better off buying an Apple computer. My friends' Powerbooks and iBooks don't have these problems. I've edited two feature films on Final Cut Pro without a single problem from the OS. Windows XP acts like the bad little brother - much less refined, attracks attention to itself constantly, and talks back too much. I guess I got what I paid for.
Please learn from others' mistakes - buy a Mac!
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
An excellent purchase!
Pros: A lot of upgrades at a great sale price
Cons: Ultra Sharp screen isn't
Review: I purchased this notebook with the 1.6 Pentium, 512 (2 Dimms) memory and 80 gig hardrive, wireless option ultra sharp screen with no additional warranties/no software upgrade and an internet wireless router. I mainly bought this for work and some personal use.
I'm satisfied with the quality and performance and would recommend it to friends, colleagues, etc. The only drawback is the lackluster delivery of the ultrasharp screen. But for basic e-mail and word processing purposes, the job gets done. However, if I knew about the screen problem, I would not have shelled the money out for it.
But, I certainly got my money's worth. Dell was having a promotional sale and I bought the notebook (minus shipping/taxes) for $1,236.00
I'm satisfied with the quality and performance and would recommend it to friends, colleagues, etc. The only drawback is the lackluster delivery of the ultrasharp screen. But for basic e-mail and word processing purposes, the job gets done. However, if I knew about the screen problem, I would not have shelled the money out for it.
But, I certainly got my money's worth. Dell was having a promotional sale and I bought the notebook (minus shipping/taxes) for $1,236.00
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
more than I expected
Pros: sound, 4 usb ports, price, good experiences with Dell's Service
Cons: not many themes and screen savers
Review: I bought the basic one for my son going to college, with only a couple of upgrades, 60 HD, 512 ram, DVD R/W, wireless, basic screen.
I was pleasently surprized with the sound (you can actually hear it when people are talking) I had an old inspiron 7000 and you would struggle to hear the sound.
I had no trouble getting it to work with the wireless sys. in the house. DVD's worked great.
I was disappointed in the lack of screen savers and themes that come with the computer. They have really cut down on any kind of extras that you use to get with your computer. You should get more software.
They should also offer the reg version of Adobe Photoshop,instead of Elements. I like it better than the Dell version
I ordered one for me,faster speed,1 gig ram, larger HD, and the best screen available. I will update you on how the screen looks... whether or not it's worth the extra bucks. I am not a gamer so the computer's not geared for that.
I was pleasently surprized with the sound (you can actually hear it when people are talking) I had an old inspiron 7000 and you would struggle to hear the sound.
I had no trouble getting it to work with the wireless sys. in the house. DVD's worked great.
I was disappointed in the lack of screen savers and themes that come with the computer. They have really cut down on any kind of extras that you use to get with your computer. You should get more software.
They should also offer the reg version of Adobe Photoshop,instead of Elements. I like it better than the Dell version
I ordered one for me,faster speed,1 gig ram, larger HD, and the best screen available. I will update you on how the screen looks... whether or not it's worth the extra bucks. I am not a gamer so the computer's not geared for that.
Updated
I just recieved my dell 6000. I ordered one with the WUXGA screen. The Resolution just makes the letters TOO small, although you can still read them fairly well. So far I have tried to change just the resolution to 1280 X 1024 or the Text size. The letters are not as sharp or or are pixelated on the edges and the pictures are slightly distorted. I will try resetting some other things and see what happens.
I reccomend just getting the WXGA screen. I don't know what the resoultion is of the WSXGA screen, but that may be OK too.
I just recieved my dell 6000. I ordered one with the WUXGA screen. The Resolution just makes the letters TOO small, although you can still read them fairly well. So far I have tried to change just the resolution to 1280 X 1024 or the Text size. The letters are not as sharp or or are pixelated on the edges and the pictures are slightly distorted. I will try resetting some other things and see what happens.
I reccomend just getting the WXGA screen. I don't know what the resoultion is of the WSXGA screen, but that may be OK too.
Updated
Yes, the Letters are very small. Most people I believe would like the WXGA screen the best.
There is a couple of thing you can do without distorting pictures or bluring the letters.
First right click on the display screen,then properties,then appearance,go to font size and change to extra large.
The go to advance settings, click on the aroww where it says desktop, scrool down to Icon Vertical Spacing, click on it and change the spacing to 50.
When reading the internet, click on view at the top of the screen, then text size, change it to larger.
You can also change the resoution to 1680 X 1050 without much distortion.
The Resolution of the WSXGA Screen is 1680 X 1050.
Hope this helps. I still think this is a very good computer and rate it a 9
Yes, the Letters are very small. Most people I believe would like the WXGA screen the best.
There is a couple of thing you can do without distorting pictures or bluring the letters.
First right click on the display screen,then properties,then appearance,go to font size and change to extra large.
The go to advance settings, click on the aroww where it says desktop, scrool down to Icon Vertical Spacing, click on it and change the spacing to 50.
When reading the internet, click on view at the top of the screen, then text size, change it to larger.
You can also change the resoution to 1680 X 1050 without much distortion.
The Resolution of the WSXGA Screen is 1680 X 1050.
Hope this helps. I still think this is a very good computer and rate it a 9
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great desktop replacement that is still mobile enough to carry around and has excellent battery life
Pros: Performance, battery life, screen, price
Cons: None other than i have found the touchpad to be a little too touchy
Review: I bought my Inspiron 6000 just a few weeks ago after spending lots of time researching to find just the laptop that would fit my needs. I decided on the Inspiron 6000 more in spite of the CNET review instead of because of it and I am glad I did. My laptop has a 1.86 GHZ centrino (802.11b/g) processor, 2GB RAM, 128 MB PCI EXPRESS ATI video card, SXGA+ widescreen, upgraded battery, bluetooth 2.0, etc. It ended up costing me just about $1900 which I consider to be a very good bargain. I cant find a better deal out there especially considering I also have a 3 year warranty with dell. The performance of the laptop is just superb w/ the 2 GB of DD2 RAM and the 128 MB Radeon video card (PCI Express) really comes in handy when it comes to gaming and digital picture editing. With all this performance and the relatively large (15.4 widescreen) display i did not anticipate a very long battery life however I have been pleseantly suprised. I can get about 5 hours of use out of it doing doing things such as word processing, listening to music, and browsing the web. My only complaint is the touch pad is a little too touchy at times however that can be solved with the bluetooth mouse which i have yet to buy.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Don't buy this computer
Pros: Helpful sales person in Dell Kiosk at the mall
Cons: Hard drive crashed after 28 days with minimal usage and no travel.
Review: The hard drive in my Inspiron 6000 crashed 28 days after receipt of computer (7 days after return warranty expired). This computer was never used for travel. It was not dropped, damaged or mistreated in any way.
In addition, I received multiple "critial windows system" errors from first day of use. When I tried to update Windows as recommended using the Windows registration number on the bottom of the computer, I was informed there was no such number in the system.
Customer service reps are difficult to understand (heavy foreign accepts.)
If you must purchase a Dell, pay for your purchase using a credit card. The credit card company may be your best (and only) recourse when your Dell computer dies days after its return warranty expires.
In addition, I received multiple "critial windows system" errors from first day of use. When I tried to update Windows as recommended using the Windows registration number on the bottom of the computer, I was informed there was no such number in the system.
Customer service reps are difficult to understand (heavy foreign accepts.)
If you must purchase a Dell, pay for your purchase using a credit card. The credit card company may be your best (and only) recourse when your Dell computer dies days after its return warranty expires.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Wonderful laptop if you can afford it.
Pros: Battery life, Screen, Touchpad, Dvd/Cd burner, and Overall performance.
Cons: A bit heavier than some laptops. (not really a con for me, but its all i could think of)
Review: -THE PLUS SIDE-
PERFORMANCE:
In my system i have the 1.6ghz Centrino processor, 512 mb of ram, and a 40 gig harddrive. The speed of this laptop is amazing. I was a little worried about the 1.6 ghz processor, because my desktops all run processors 3.0ghz and up. I was surprised to notice that the mobile processor in my Inspiron 6000 was not that much slower than the processor in my desktop. Overall the performance of this laptop is excellent!
BATTERY LIFE:
I decided to keep it cheap and get the 6-cell battery. To my surprise, my computer runs for up to 4 hours on this battery. Another big plus for this system
SCREEN:
Widescreen rules and so does the quality of this screen!
TOUCHPAD:
I have seen many reviewers name this as a CON, but i happen to like the high sensitivity of the touchpad.
DVD/CD BURNER:
For the price the included dvd burner was a great deal.
-THE "DOWN" SIDE-
(not much to talk about here)
WEIGHT:
This laptop is a little heavy at about 7 lbs., but it is still very portable. The weight doesnt bother me, but i could see how it would bug others.
********OTHER COMMENTS**********
I have heard alot of complaining about dell's tech support, so i decided to call them and see for myself. I armed myself with a few questions: (1) How to clean the lcd screen (2) How to restore my computer to its original state. (3) How to burn the operating system to a cd ((dell does not include a seperate cd with windows xp on it. you have to use a program that dell includes to burn the cd yourself))
After waiting on hold for about 10 minutes, a tech took my call. I was surprised to find that she was a well spoken "english sounding" tech. I thought dell's tech support staff was in a different country, but i couldnt even detect an accent. My questions were answered one by one very quickly and without confusion. The entire call lasted less than 20 minutes and all three of my questions were answered! Despite other reviews, I GIVE THE DELL'S TECH SUPPORT AN A+
Also if your looking to buy an Inspiron notbook check www.gotapex.com for some excellent dell coupons. I bought my Inspiron 6000 from Dell using one of their coupons ($750 off $1500 purchases!).
Hope this info helps guys. Good luck buying your laptop
PERFORMANCE:
In my system i have the 1.6ghz Centrino processor, 512 mb of ram, and a 40 gig harddrive. The speed of this laptop is amazing. I was a little worried about the 1.6 ghz processor, because my desktops all run processors 3.0ghz and up. I was surprised to notice that the mobile processor in my Inspiron 6000 was not that much slower than the processor in my desktop. Overall the performance of this laptop is excellent!
BATTERY LIFE:
I decided to keep it cheap and get the 6-cell battery. To my surprise, my computer runs for up to 4 hours on this battery. Another big plus for this system
SCREEN:
Widescreen rules and so does the quality of this screen!
TOUCHPAD:
I have seen many reviewers name this as a CON, but i happen to like the high sensitivity of the touchpad.
DVD/CD BURNER:
For the price the included dvd burner was a great deal.
-THE "DOWN" SIDE-
(not much to talk about here)
WEIGHT:
This laptop is a little heavy at about 7 lbs., but it is still very portable. The weight doesnt bother me, but i could see how it would bug others.
********OTHER COMMENTS**********
I have heard alot of complaining about dell's tech support, so i decided to call them and see for myself. I armed myself with a few questions: (1) How to clean the lcd screen (2) How to restore my computer to its original state. (3) How to burn the operating system to a cd ((dell does not include a seperate cd with windows xp on it. you have to use a program that dell includes to burn the cd yourself))
After waiting on hold for about 10 minutes, a tech took my call. I was surprised to find that she was a well spoken "english sounding" tech. I thought dell's tech support staff was in a different country, but i couldnt even detect an accent. My questions were answered one by one very quickly and without confusion. The entire call lasted less than 20 minutes and all three of my questions were answered! Despite other reviews, I GIVE THE DELL'S TECH SUPPORT AN A+
Also if your looking to buy an Inspiron notbook check www.gotapex.com for some excellent dell coupons. I bought my Inspiron 6000 from Dell using one of their coupons ($750 off $1500 purchases!).
Hope this info helps guys. Good luck buying your laptop
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Very Impressed
Pros: Screen, case design, Dual Channel Memory, 533 bus speed, no dead pixels
Cons: weight, comes with 400 Mhz memory- need to upgrade to get full memory benefit
Review: Nothing in life is perfect so I gave it a 9, but I am very impressed with this bad boy. I originally purchased a inspiron 9300, then shortly after realized that not only was it too big, but if I'm only going to go after the 128 meg ati card then I might as well get this system instead and return my 9300. This to me is basically a smaller version of the 9300 for those that arent all too interested in gaming. Even so, you have dual channel memory and still the same 533 frontside bus speed, so this wont disappoint all that much in that area. I got the standard XGA screen and to me it seems fine, saving the money and not choosing to upgrade it to the sxga was a good decision. One downside is Dell doesnt sell this with memory sticks that run at 533, the system can handle it though so youd have to upgrade it yourself. Overall very pleased with the purchase and would easily recommend it.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Good so far
Pros: Screen quality, speed,
Cons: Keyboard layout.
Review: Overall I am very happy with my purchase. Runs nicely, with good speakers and excellent screen.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Happy for now - Time will tell
Pros: Coupon deals let you get a great price
Cons: Customize with care - screen choice is critical
Review: Have had my Dell 6000(d) for about three weeks now. I have the 1.6 Pentium M Centrino model with 128 ATI PCI-E Graphics. The rest of my config is 40 gig hd, 9 cell battery, xp pro, dvd writer, and wsxga display, 2 year warranty (cost $1250). Except for the usual windows bugs, the machine has worked fine. Perhaps I expect too much but it's frustrating to have to deal with fine tuning on a brand new machine. It is what it is, if you're a pc user you know that you will have driver issues, hardware issues, and the general tweaking issues to get your machine exactly how you like it.
Most people know by now that dell runs periodic deals that allow you to get their machines for well under $1000. However, if you want to add options, you'll pay a bit more. Still, after configuring my machine, I checked hp.com, ibm.com, sony.com, etc., and the same machine from any of those manufacturers was more expensive.
The most critical decisions to make on this machine are a) getting the ati graphics card, and b) choosing the proper screen. The ati graphics card is vastly superior to the intel motherboard graphics option. If you don't get the ATI version, you'll never be able to upgrade later. Peformance with the ATI is leaps and bounds superior.
AS for the screen, Dell offers three resolutions. If you've never had a laptop before or don't know much about lcd displays, know this, lcd's are designed to perform best when used at their native resolution. Higher resolution means that more information can be displayed on the screen which is great if you do a lot of graphics work, it's not so great when surfing the web and the text is microscopically small. If you have a home pc, play around with the screen resolution to find out what resolution works best for you. It makes no sense to get a high resolution screen to then use it at a lower resolution . Not only will you be "wasting" a feature you've paid for but you'll also be getting inferior graphics quality. For most people the base screen is the best choice.
All the other options are a matter of personal need and choice. Most people think it looks good. It feels solid but then again, it's brand new. So far so good, I hope I can say the same in a couple of years. Time will tell. My 7 rating is simply a hedged bet that this machine, being budget oriented, will be good but not quite up there with the cost is not an issue feature leaders.
Most people know by now that dell runs periodic deals that allow you to get their machines for well under $1000. However, if you want to add options, you'll pay a bit more. Still, after configuring my machine, I checked hp.com, ibm.com, sony.com, etc., and the same machine from any of those manufacturers was more expensive.
The most critical decisions to make on this machine are a) getting the ati graphics card, and b) choosing the proper screen. The ati graphics card is vastly superior to the intel motherboard graphics option. If you don't get the ATI version, you'll never be able to upgrade later. Peformance with the ATI is leaps and bounds superior.
AS for the screen, Dell offers three resolutions. If you've never had a laptop before or don't know much about lcd displays, know this, lcd's are designed to perform best when used at their native resolution. Higher resolution means that more information can be displayed on the screen which is great if you do a lot of graphics work, it's not so great when surfing the web and the text is microscopically small. If you have a home pc, play around with the screen resolution to find out what resolution works best for you. It makes no sense to get a high resolution screen to then use it at a lower resolution . Not only will you be "wasting" a feature you've paid for but you'll also be getting inferior graphics quality. For most people the base screen is the best choice.
All the other options are a matter of personal need and choice. Most people think it looks good. It feels solid but then again, it's brand new. So far so good, I hope I can say the same in a couple of years. Time will tell. My 7 rating is simply a hedged bet that this machine, being budget oriented, will be good but not quite up there with the cost is not an issue feature leaders.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great Laptop
Pros: Centrino CPU Big 60G HD
Cons: weight, keyboard
Review: I just got this Dell a few days ago. And Wow! I love the 15.4 inch widescreen. The Centrino CPU is great. It has never lost connection. I'll be using this laptop for fun and for school. All computers have flaws. The only flaws on the 6000 is that it is heavy and the keyboard is quite small.
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Consider it disposable
Pros: Fast, light and attractive
Cons: warranty support is unbelievably bad. Paid for their 2 year next day service. It is now 3 weeks and computer is still broken and I can not get past their tech support in India.
Review: Stay away from them. Nice computer if all goes right. God help you if you need tech support!!!!!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Alot in small package !!!
Pros: First comp I've seen with capability to expand beyond the onboard graphics. The Pentium M 1.6 / 533 is great !
Cons: The silver casing shows scratches.
Review: The inspiron 6000 was the best buy for the money. I shopped online long and hard before I settled with Dell. As a Sony VAIO refugee I wanted a computer that had a company with a decent track record. I'm a Physics and Electrical engineering major at University of Memphis so I know what to look for. Anyone who expects to use a notebook for gaming or heavy video editing has OPTIONS on this unit with the ability to upgrade beyond the on board video. Overall I am quite impressed with my DELL. The Widescreen takes a bit of getting used to but the Battery life of this PC is AWESOME !!! I really like being able to check the battery without having to power up the unit. The Little battery check button on the back is a great feature !!! Anyone who intends to use a laptop for intense gaming DOES have the option for 128 ATI radeon PCI 16 express card. Gamers stop wining !!! So far So good with this unit !!!
PS: Shame on Sony My Vaio didn't even last 3 years !!!
PS: Shame on Sony My Vaio didn't even last 3 years !!!
User Rating:
2.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
STOP! WUXGA Stinks! Touchbad is SHAMEFUL!
Pros: Keyboard layout, Price, and Features
Cons: Screen, Touchpad, Dell Return Policy
Review: The screen I purchased is the WUXGA 15.4. I can't stand to look at this laptop screen. The resolutions is to high and doesn't display internet sites properly. Many pictures on websites are distorted. I've tried to adjust the dpi's and the overall resolution, neiter helped. The native resolution is set to 1920 X 1200, so adjusting this will cause bluried text. I recommend the WXGA, if I did this all over again. The touchpad doesn't respond properly and the click buttons are junk. This puppy is going back to Dell with no after thought. I like the price and features, but the screen is the biggest eye sore. Shipping cost are the responsibility of the consumer to ship back to dell. This sucks also. I do recommend calling dell and bartering with them for free stuff. I probably could have recieved a free mp3 player or digital camera to keep the laptop. Dell wants to do anything to persuade you in keeping the product. I just couldn't get past the dimm and blurry screen.
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Everything but a Quality Screen
Pros: Feature laden, Fast Upgrade Options, Full Spectrum of Ports, Nice Keyboard, Battery Life
Cons: Flakey Touchpad and Screen has serious issues
Review: I ordered a custom, spare no expense model because I need the best for my business and work remotely quite often, also because I want to watch movies while flying. Because I multi-task significantly online, I ordered the fastest Pentium M (760) though would have liked the 770, Dell does not yet carry it. The 60 GB 7200 RPM HD was available, and I added 1 GB RAM. It's nice and fast. I will say that one does hear it when the HD engages, not a big noise, but still noticeable. The IBM/Lenovo T42 was absolutely silent in comparison. I like all the ports, and many features such as the hybernate and suspend options, which allow one to extend the already excellent battery life without interrupting tasks. Pretty machine as well and the keyboard is excellent, just the right size and also half-stroke for speed. The touchpad is average and while neither terribly responsive nor accurate, works. However, the screen is a problem. I had no idea there were any screen issues with Dell until I came here to write a review. My PC is a Dell purchased in 2000 and still a great machine. However, I do note now that there's been a problem with Dell screens as reported on CNET. What I find is that the colors are washed out, unacceptable because I do a great deal of digi-photography and editing. Plus sometimes a line of writing on a page will appear fuzzy and or sketchy, as if it did not completely load. This happened on websites that I am familiar with so I know its unique to this machine, plus I ordered the top of the line 15.4" wide screen WUXGA LCD panel with their only dedicated memory option, 128MB ATI dedicated graphics...the full label is "128 MB ATI Mobility Radeon X300 Video Card, for Inspiron 6000". The latter may be the problem, and I would guess ATI's other products are just fine. I've only had it a day, but while surfing on CNET, it also went completely dark and then the screen flashed on and off a few times, with spotty resolution. Fortunately, it came back to full function so that I could write this review before I wipe it clean, turn it off, and box it up for the return via UPS tomorrow. The quest continues.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great Computer So Far
Pros: Widescreen; Durable (heavy and tough); Looks
Cons: No audio levels controls (bass, etc...); Not the most easy to lug around
Review: I've had mine for just about a month now and love it. First laptop though, but have had many computers. Seems a lot of reviews rip on its ability to handle graphics...I dont play games, but do a lot of design on it and seems to be fine, even better, in some aspects, than the Mac I use at work (an early G4). Everything looks fine while using Photoshop/InDesign/Illustrator. I'm sure that doesn't put it up to the work of a video game, but still looks good to me. It's a bit heavy, which is good and bad: I don't have to move it around a lot, so I like it's sturdy and hefty; but the times I have had to lug it around, kinda uncomfortable.
I put a lot of use on this computer and have not had any problems yet. Throw on some nice speakers, and you won't even miss your old desktop.
I was a submit button click away from getting a powerbook, before I reconsidered and thought about bang for buck and what I could get for the same price or less. Ultimately decided on the Dell cause I could get more for less. I get razzed and poked fun of from my other design friends, but we all do the same quality work, and they paid $500 more for their notebooks (for aluminium casing and fruit)
I put a lot of use on this computer and have not had any problems yet. Throw on some nice speakers, and you won't even miss your old desktop.
I was a submit button click away from getting a powerbook, before I reconsidered and thought about bang for buck and what I could get for the same price or less. Ultimately decided on the Dell cause I could get more for less. I get razzed and poked fun of from my other design friends, but we all do the same quality work, and they paid $500 more for their notebooks (for aluminium casing and fruit)
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
With price breaks, a good notebook for the money
Pros: Everything you need for a basic notebook
Cons: Not a lot of extras or software
Review: I think the cnet review was dead on. This is a good basic notebook. Nothing special, but everything you need for basic day to day computing.
A couple of weeks ago Dell was offering 33% off these models. That made this a good deal for the money.
A couple of weeks ago Dell was offering 33% off these models. That made this a good deal for the money.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Fast laptop, but screen quality is disappointing
Pros: Easy set-up, fast machine, cool looking
Cons: Display quality, keyboard, & long waits for customer service
Review: I love the appearance of this widescreen laptop! I ordered it with 512 MB RAM, an 80 GB HD, and a 64 MB video card. NO complaints about the speed. It's terrific! Getting the laptop up, connected to my wireless network, and pulling email took about 20 minutes.
When I first started using it, I was surprised at the quality (or lack of it) of the screen display for text. I called Dell customer service which told me that they hadn't had complaints. There were LONG waits on hold. Once I got a helpdesk rep, it took a long time on the phone while they had me try a bunch of different things. However, Dell did not give me any hassles - offered to send another machine or let me return it for a refund.
This laptop is exactly what I want, so I asked them to send another machine. The display is the same.
Letters are faded in places and some text appears blurred. Positioning the screen can make it a little better, but then images don't look as good. Haven't found any position where both text & images are clear.
The quality of text display is truly disappointing. Only other complaint is the position of keys - delete, screen up, screen down, etc. are not in standard positions. That's a MINOR complaint - it's not hard to get used to a keyboard setup.
If not for the screen, I would give this laptop an excellent rating.
When I first started using it, I was surprised at the quality (or lack of it) of the screen display for text. I called Dell customer service which told me that they hadn't had complaints. There were LONG waits on hold. Once I got a helpdesk rep, it took a long time on the phone while they had me try a bunch of different things. However, Dell did not give me any hassles - offered to send another machine or let me return it for a refund.
This laptop is exactly what I want, so I asked them to send another machine. The display is the same.
Letters are faded in places and some text appears blurred. Positioning the screen can make it a little better, but then images don't look as good. Haven't found any position where both text & images are clear.The quality of text display is truly disappointing. Only other complaint is the position of keys - delete, screen up, screen down, etc. are not in standard positions. That's a MINOR complaint - it's not hard to get used to a keyboard setup.
If not for the screen, I would give this laptop an excellent rating.
Updated
First . . . I have tried adjusting all the display settings for the laptop's screen. Nothing helped. (I'm not a newbie - this is my fourth laptop.) I will probably keep the 2'nd one they sent but text quality is still disappointing.
When Dell sent the 2'nd laptop they did not include the paperwork necessary for returning the first one. Getting that taken care of has been very frustrating requiring four phone calls to Dell customer service. The fact that the customer service is all outsourced doesn't help communications one bit.
First . . . I have tried adjusting all the display settings for the laptop's screen. Nothing helped. (I'm not a newbie - this is my fourth laptop.) I will probably keep the 2'nd one they sent but text quality is still disappointing.
When Dell sent the 2'nd laptop they did not include the paperwork necessary for returning the first one. Getting that taken care of has been very frustrating requiring four phone calls to Dell customer service. The fact that the customer service is all outsourced doesn't help communications one bit.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great for what I need! Great price!!
Pros: Aesthetically pleasing, DVD burner, Great value, Lots of shortcuts, Very user friendly!
Cons: Preloaded with lots of useless software.
Review: I cannot be more pleased with my purchase! Shipping was a little longer than anticipated (3-4 weeks) because of backorder on some components but this computer is great for what I use it for (Photoshop,Illustrator,Dreamweaver MX) and the screen is really quite good. I got the upgraded battery and this really is a necessary upgrade. Some people may complain its not fast enough for gaming and that may be true but for the basic computer user this laptop is wayyy above average. And I got it with a 60GB HD and 512 Ram with a DVD burner for about $1400CDN. Great value and a great computer. The volume and CD controls on the front are a great addition too and you can listen to music with the lid closed.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great Mainstream Notebook
Pros: Nice Widescreen Display
Cons: Cheap Build Quality
Review: This laptop is an awesome..The display is great, in fact just ass good as my Dell UltraSharp Desktop LCD. Speed is good too (I have 1.6GHz, 512MB) For those who are trying to find out how this compares to desktop processors: I would say for everyday tasks (word, photo editing, web,) this would compare to a 2.8 - 3.0 GHz P4. Everything else i very good...light weight for its features. The keyboard and touchpad are very comfortable too. The overal look is very good as well. My ONLY TWO complaints is that there is no printed manual (because they want to save trees they say) and the build quality is not too good. I compare this to a Toshiba Tecra S1 and an older Dell notebook. However, everything is going plastic these days!
Updated
Sorry....I meant to say (as) not (as*)
Sorry....I meant to say (as) not (as*)
User Rating:
5.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great all-around desktop replacement
Pros: Long battery life, nice keyboard, wide screen...I love it.
Cons: None so far
Review: A very powerful machine at a reasonable price...plays all the latest games smoothly, and with a high resolution, you can fit a lot of windows on one screen for easy navigation. Great computer!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Plays Half Life 2 great
Pros: Runs Half Life 2! Very long battery life. Nice graphics card. Great price with discounts.
Cons: Came with slow 4200rpm drive. Heavy, but not the heaviest model.
Review: 1.86 Pentium-M CPU
512 MB DDR2 memory
40GB 4200RPM Hard Drive
WSXGA Widescreen LCD Display
Long-life battery
PCI-Express ATI-X300 128MB Graphics Card
8x DVD-RW drive
$1300 or so after $700 discounts.
One question that always bothered me before buying this computer was, "Can I run Half Life 2 with this machine?" I wanted this computer because Dell was having one of its big discount periods on laptops, and I found the Inspiron 6000 to have all the power and features I wanted without being TOO heavy and bulky. So I got it, and loaded up my Half Life 2.
The default settings that HL2 chose for my computer were approximately medium settings. I don't remember what the default resolution was for HL2, but on the lowest resolution (768x480), the game looks incredible and plays absolutely smoothly (probably 30fps or more). The only time it lagged for me was when it was reading from the hard drive to load up additional sounds. With a faster hard drive or more ram, I probably wouldn't have this problem, but it only happens occasionally and pauses the screen for less than a second each time. It doesn't slow down at big scenes either. At the next higher resolution (1280x768) the frame rate drops a little and there seems to be a little lag, so I didn't play with that. Half Life 2 is a great-looking game even at low resolution since you are playing widescreen. I was actually able to increase some graphics settings a little bit without noticeable degradation in performance, but don't bother increasing Textures to high because it is too intensive for the system. This quick HL2 performance review is good for my specs, but might not be accurate for others.
I always run my display at the internal resolution, which in my case was 1680x1050 for my WSXGA display. Anything other than the internal resolution would make the display a little fuzzy, but that is expected.
Battery life is amazing. Using the extra long-life battery and lowering my display brightness to about halfway lets me run over 5.5 hours.
In other areas of performance, such as office tasks and multimedia, there are no problems. However with more memory and a faster hard drive you could really bring out the potential in this computer.
512 MB DDR2 memory
40GB 4200RPM Hard Drive
WSXGA Widescreen LCD Display
Long-life battery
PCI-Express ATI-X300 128MB Graphics Card
8x DVD-RW drive
$1300 or so after $700 discounts.
One question that always bothered me before buying this computer was, "Can I run Half Life 2 with this machine?" I wanted this computer because Dell was having one of its big discount periods on laptops, and I found the Inspiron 6000 to have all the power and features I wanted without being TOO heavy and bulky. So I got it, and loaded up my Half Life 2.
The default settings that HL2 chose for my computer were approximately medium settings. I don't remember what the default resolution was for HL2, but on the lowest resolution (768x480), the game looks incredible and plays absolutely smoothly (probably 30fps or more). The only time it lagged for me was when it was reading from the hard drive to load up additional sounds. With a faster hard drive or more ram, I probably wouldn't have this problem, but it only happens occasionally and pauses the screen for less than a second each time. It doesn't slow down at big scenes either. At the next higher resolution (1280x768) the frame rate drops a little and there seems to be a little lag, so I didn't play with that. Half Life 2 is a great-looking game even at low resolution since you are playing widescreen. I was actually able to increase some graphics settings a little bit without noticeable degradation in performance, but don't bother increasing Textures to high because it is too intensive for the system. This quick HL2 performance review is good for my specs, but might not be accurate for others.
I always run my display at the internal resolution, which in my case was 1680x1050 for my WSXGA display. Anything other than the internal resolution would make the display a little fuzzy, but that is expected.
Battery life is amazing. Using the extra long-life battery and lowering my display brightness to about halfway lets me run over 5.5 hours.
In other areas of performance, such as office tasks and multimedia, there are no problems. However with more memory and a faster hard drive you could really bring out the potential in this computer.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great Price and Works Fine So Far
Pros: Nice Screen, unbelievable battery life, decent bonuses, works quick and looks slick
Cons: A little on the heavy side, has frozen on me twice in my first month (this might be an ominous sign?)
Review: I'm a research fellow and also a student, so I needed a new laptop to take my work home with me. I was looking for a new laptop to replace my old one (four year old IBM thinkpad, P3, nothing remarkable for these days). After looking carefully at Toshiba, IBM, ASUS, and HP I quickly realized that Dell gives you the most bang for your buck. Even when I factored in the educational savings offered through my university it was still FAR cheaper to buy directly through Dell for the specs I was looking at!
I ended up buying the system featured in the editors review - with a few changes:
-1.5 GHz/400 MHz FSB - slower, but fast enough for the basic applications that I use
-WXGA instead of WSXGA - it still looks amazingly crisp to me!
-9 cell battery - which lasts an unbelievable 6 hrs!
So far the system works very well for my basic MS Office applications, SPSS (a memory intensive stats program), and all my other graphing and stats programs. I haven't tried gaming on this comp yet - I play counterstrike all the time on my desktop - but I suspect that it won't perform well since the graphics is integrated on the chip.) So far, my only concern is two unexpected freezes I've had - I was literally working on basic programs when this happened. In both cases a manual shut down and reboot was all that was required to get the comp back up and running.
What really put the pricing over the top were the BONUSES:
-upgrade to 60 G from 40 G hardrive
-upgrade to 512 MB RAM
-router (Wireless 2350 WLAN Broadband Router - works extremely well)
-922 dell colour printer/scanner/copier, which actually works quite well (and got a decent review by cnet)
-lap top bag (which is very protective, but turns out to be too bulky for my use)
It's been a month+ since I bought this laptop and I am very happy. I haven't seen the bonuses be as good on Dell.ca since then, but I'm sure if you wait you'll get a good deal.
I ended up buying the system featured in the editors review - with a few changes:
-1.5 GHz/400 MHz FSB - slower, but fast enough for the basic applications that I use
-WXGA instead of WSXGA - it still looks amazingly crisp to me!
-9 cell battery - which lasts an unbelievable 6 hrs!
So far the system works very well for my basic MS Office applications, SPSS (a memory intensive stats program), and all my other graphing and stats programs. I haven't tried gaming on this comp yet - I play counterstrike all the time on my desktop - but I suspect that it won't perform well since the graphics is integrated on the chip.) So far, my only concern is two unexpected freezes I've had - I was literally working on basic programs when this happened. In both cases a manual shut down and reboot was all that was required to get the comp back up and running.
What really put the pricing over the top were the BONUSES:
-upgrade to 60 G from 40 G hardrive
-upgrade to 512 MB RAM
-router (Wireless 2350 WLAN Broadband Router - works extremely well)
-922 dell colour printer/scanner/copier, which actually works quite well (and got a decent review by cnet)
-lap top bag (which is very protective, but turns out to be too bulky for my use)
It's been a month+ since I bought this laptop and I am very happy. I haven't seen the bonuses be as good on Dell.ca since then, but I'm sure if you wait you'll get a good deal.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
TOUGH notebook, great features
Pros: TOUGH, fast, great battery
Cons: off-shore support
Review: Pros:
-TOUGH! I was riding my road bike to class today and I fell HARD with my laptop in my backpack. It runs fine still after taking that beatings.
-Battery life. I've gotten 5.5 hours each recharge, using wireless, 2nd brightness setting. Runs for 3 hrs watchind DVDs or gaming
-Quiet and cool
-Nice display
Cons:
-Offshore tech support. I called them to check my warranty status and I got an Indian guy (not as in Native American) who couldn't figure out what I was saying.
-TOUGH! I was riding my road bike to class today and I fell HARD with my laptop in my backpack. It runs fine still after taking that beatings.
-Battery life. I've gotten 5.5 hours each recharge, using wireless, 2nd brightness setting. Runs for 3 hrs watchind DVDs or gaming
-Quiet and cool
-Nice display
Cons:
-Offshore tech support. I called them to check my warranty status and I got an Indian guy (not as in Native American) who couldn't figure out what I was saying.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great laptop well worth it especially with Dell's bonuses going on
Pros: Fast, loaded, easy to start and run. Picked up the computer for new job, and it meets any and all expectations
Cons: None so far except Dell loads too much sales crap on it without giving me the chance to say "no thanks".
Review: I don't know what some people were saying about how dim the screen was when running on batteries... but mine is fine. Also I upgraded to 1.2 mb RAM and this thing blazes
User Rating:
2.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Not too impressed.
Pros: Hi-res screen, good keyboard feel, price
Cons: awful touchpad, prominent light leakage, keyboard problem
Review: (1) My biggest frustration is with the touchpad, which has serious response lag. Dell support is supposed to send someone to replace it this week. I hope the fix works. (2) The screen has considerable light leakage, easily visible as bright bands along the top and bottom of the screen when the screen is black (for example, when a DVD is playing). This is annoying, but I don't watch DVD's often on the computer, so I'm not sure it's worth the bother to replace. Still, the screen on my old Inspiron 5000 was much better. It was also much taller -- none of this wide-screen garbage -- and much more pleasant to work with. I don't understand what people like about these ubiquitous short fat screens. Give me a square screen any day. (3) The keyboard has good feel, but the keys are very shallow, and it's extremely easy to get your finger caught under the edge of a key. It's happened to me many times already, and sooner or later I'm going to a pop a key right off the keyboard, I'm sure of it. So, for a $2000 machine (-$800 coupon), I can't say I'm very impressed. I hope that within the next few years everyone will realize the foolishness of wide-screens, and give us good square screens again.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
a good laptop
Pros: screen, wireless, keyboard layout, easy BIOS to work with, battery management
Cons: no recovery disk, hard drive space used by Dell, no driver disk, does not come w/ 533MHz memory
Review: After a long search for a laptop I settled for a Dell Inspiron 6000. Upgraded the proc to 1.6, the screen to WSXGA+, HD to 60Gb and added the DVD-ROM/CD-RW. With educational discount price came in under 1100 and they threw in a free printer. It arrived 4 days ahead of projected date.
My first experiance with wireless and it is great. The pro2200 card works nicely w/ linksys WRT56G. Laptop is snappy and comes with bunch of extra software which makes booting take longer that it should.
The good;
Nice laptop design. Connections are well placed and don't get in the way. Front buttons are handy and glow blue. The function key is used a lot for controlling brightness, volume, etc and works great. The screen is amazing. Would recommend the WSXGA. Higher res might be too small for extened use.
The bad;
Does not ship w/ recovery or driver disk. Straight away create the recovery disk from the Dell utility. The 3G partition which holds all of this info can then be wiped away giving you the full hard drive you paid for. After having this for a day the XP home that came with it has been deleted and XP pro installed. No drivers came w/ the laptop, so they had to be downloaded from Dell site. Also avoid paying outrageous prices for extra "Dell" RAM. My unit shipped w/ 256Mb of RAM which only runs at 400MHz, even though I paid to have the processor upgraded to get the 533MHz FSB. I will be buying true PC-4200 RAM that should utilize the faster FSB.
Overall a good investment so far. The widescreen high res LCD panel is very nice. System is fast enough for a semi-power user to do most things. Would recommend this unit.
My first experiance with wireless and it is great. The pro2200 card works nicely w/ linksys WRT56G. Laptop is snappy and comes with bunch of extra software which makes booting take longer that it should.
The good;
Nice laptop design. Connections are well placed and don't get in the way. Front buttons are handy and glow blue. The function key is used a lot for controlling brightness, volume, etc and works great. The screen is amazing. Would recommend the WSXGA. Higher res might be too small for extened use.
The bad;
Does not ship w/ recovery or driver disk. Straight away create the recovery disk from the Dell utility. The 3G partition which holds all of this info can then be wiped away giving you the full hard drive you paid for. After having this for a day the XP home that came with it has been deleted and XP pro installed. No drivers came w/ the laptop, so they had to be downloaded from Dell site. Also avoid paying outrageous prices for extra "Dell" RAM. My unit shipped w/ 256Mb of RAM which only runs at 400MHz, even though I paid to have the processor upgraded to get the 533MHz FSB. I will be buying true PC-4200 RAM that should utilize the faster FSB.
Overall a good investment so far. The widescreen high res LCD panel is very nice. System is fast enough for a semi-power user to do most things. Would recommend this unit.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great laptop, hits the sweet spot for performance vs price
Pros: sturdy case, nothing flimsy anywhere. Nice feel to keyboard, graphics are fine, battery is amazing and that's just the 6-cell
Cons: The cdrw/dvd is a tad noisy
Review: I've had this laptop for a couple of weeks now. I shopped for 6 months; I didn't want to spend so much money on a laptop. I've built a few desktop machines from scratch and from bare bone configs through the years for myself, family and friends, so I know a couple of things about computers. Some were high performance gaming machines, and the rest were casual user machines. So I didn't "need" a laptop per se, as I already have a performance desktop machine. I'm also a casual gamer; these days I don't have much time. But I wasn't going to pay an extra $1500 on a laptop so I could play a game I like once in a while. But at the same time, I didn't want to sacrifice too much on performance. I knew I'd be very disappointed if I paid $1000 and I couldn't play a reasonably recent game like Age of Empires Kings, Dungeon Siege, Call of Duty, or Rome Total War. This laptop hits the sweet spot for price and performance for me perfectly; it runs fast, and cool, and I can play a newer game like Rome Total War on it at a lower resolution. I also tried out Call of Duty on it, and it did sputter a little when things got busy, albeit at 1024x768 resolution. I haven't tried Dungeon Siege or Age of Empires on it yet, but I'm confident Age would run fine as it's an older game. I went with a non-integrated video, I think you have to have at least that if you have any serious notion of being able to play a few games on your laptop. I can also surf the internet for 4+ hours, with the wireless on. It also plays DVDs just fine. I've been watching the prices on similarly configured laptops and it reassures me I got a great deal. Watch for the sales. I have read elsewhere in here that Dell could have offered a better video card than the X300, though I'm happy with the 128 MB X300. I also don't think it feels that heavy. The AC power adapter is small and not clunky. The laptop feels sturdy, there isn't anything flimsy about it. This is not a gaming laptop, but it does well enough for what I wanted to be able to do on it. I'm very happy with it. Here are my specs:
Pentium M 730 (1.6 GHz 2 MB)
15.4 WXGA
512MB DDR2
128MB DDR Radeon X300 PCI
80 GB HD
6 cell battery
Integrated Wireless INtel Pro 2200
Pentium M 730 (1.6 GHz 2 MB)
15.4 WXGA
512MB DDR2
128MB DDR Radeon X300 PCI
80 GB HD
6 cell battery
Integrated Wireless INtel Pro 2200
Updated
I played a multiplayer game of call of duty over the weekend 1v1 with a friend on my local lan, and in this mode I had absolutely no trouble playing the game. After 3 hours of playing, the box was slightly warm on the right hand side,but I thought it was relatively cool all things considered, as it gets the about the same warm-ness (allow me to make up a word) when I surf.
I played a multiplayer game of call of duty over the weekend 1v1 with a friend on my local lan, and in this mode I had absolutely no trouble playing the game. After 3 hours of playing, the box was slightly warm on the right hand side,but I thought it was relatively cool all things considered, as it gets the about the same warm-ness (allow me to make up a word) when I surf.
Updated
Have had it for a while now, still no complaints! Works great.
Have had it for a while now, still no complaints! Works great.
User Rating:
3.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Nice - but not for me. Beware of returns policy
Pros: Wide Screen, Good Processor
Cons: Resolution woes, cheap plastic build, Dell Customer Services
Review: I have only had this machine a few days.
This was my first widescreen laptop and I have discovered that high resolution screens are not for me.
When you browse the web, you have the choice of a decent sized web site view but with fuzzy images, or good images but tiny web sites (high resolution).
You need to adjust the registry to make the change. I hoped to use the laptop to demo web sites - but it is no good for this. Either the audience can't see the detail, or they see fuzzy images. No win.
Also - if you drop the resolution to anything less than the max, you get a very poor screen quality.
I tried to return the machine as it is no good for me. Technical support agreed with me and said returning the product would be 'no problem'. I discovered that business customers can not return items to Dell and that customer services seem to have a one line script when it comes to discussing this point.
Be sure that you know what tradeoffs you need to accept when using a high resolution screen. It is not for everyone.
This was my first widescreen laptop and I have discovered that high resolution screens are not for me.
When you browse the web, you have the choice of a decent sized web site view but with fuzzy images, or good images but tiny web sites (high resolution).
You need to adjust the registry to make the change. I hoped to use the laptop to demo web sites - but it is no good for this. Either the audience can't see the detail, or they see fuzzy images. No win.
Also - if you drop the resolution to anything less than the max, you get a very poor screen quality.
I tried to return the machine as it is no good for me. Technical support agreed with me and said returning the product would be 'no problem'. I discovered that business customers can not return items to Dell and that customer services seem to have a one line script when it comes to discussing this point.
Be sure that you know what tradeoffs you need to accept when using a high resolution screen. It is not for everyone.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
LOVES IT!!!!!
Pros: big crisp screen, clear graphics, high productivity, good preformance great price, wireless enabled, excellent battery life
Cons: um....don't know yet
Review: It's hot. Tons of my friends have the Inspiron 1150 and one has the applie ibook. It is significantly better than the 1150 and comparable if not better to the much-favored Apple iBook. Great Price, Great look. Playing movies is a dream. Tips and Advice, watch out for the integrated graphics, they can eat up to 128 MB of memory. I upgraded to the Inspiron 6000D which uses seperate memory for the graphics and I also upgraded my screen and am experiencing none of the pixalation or other problems that others have complained about. Too get rid of the dimness when the screen is on battery (default to save power) just press Fn and the up arrow...problem solved.
Oh, and the battery life is superb (I have the 9 cell battery and definitely suggest shelling out the extra cash for this upgrade. I was surfing the web and installing programs and scanning my notebook and the battery lasted about 4 hrs. off AC! That's pretty unheard of.
Also, it is a little big but not that heavy. It's for those who want the power of a desktop computer with the option of moblility (not for those who NEED to be mobile, it would be burdensome)
All in all this is the perfect notebook for a student like me, I love it.
6000 D
1.5 GHz Pentium M Processor
512 MB DDR2
15.4" Ultra Sharp Widescreen
64 MB ATI Mobility Radeon X300
60 GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
Intel Pro/Internal Wireless 802.1 a/b/g
9-cell lithium ion battery
24 X DVD/CD-RW combo
Oh, and the battery life is superb (I have the 9 cell battery and definitely suggest shelling out the extra cash for this upgrade. I was surfing the web and installing programs and scanning my notebook and the battery lasted about 4 hrs. off AC! That's pretty unheard of.
Also, it is a little big but not that heavy. It's for those who want the power of a desktop computer with the option of moblility (not for those who NEED to be mobile, it would be burdensome)
All in all this is the perfect notebook for a student like me, I love it.
6000 D
1.5 GHz Pentium M Processor
512 MB DDR2
15.4" Ultra Sharp Widescreen
64 MB ATI Mobility Radeon X300
60 GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
Intel Pro/Internal Wireless 802.1 a/b/g
9-cell lithium ion battery
24 X DVD/CD-RW combo
Updated
oh and the keyboard is SUPER quiet...and my touchpad is fine, not too sensitive like some have complained about.
oh and the keyboard is SUPER quiet...and my touchpad is fine, not too sensitive like some have complained about.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
As close to perfection this side of death
Pros: speed, reliability, build
Cons: nothing really
Review: I flip-flopped from PC to MAC and back again - long story. I went from an Ibook to the 6000 (1.6 Sonoma,512 RAM,40HDD,WSXGA screen, 128 Video RAM, CD-RW/DVD, 9 cell battery). I am very happy with this machine so far. And I am breathing easier because I bought the 3 year warranty and accidental protection plan. I do carry this around - and yes, it is a bit heavy at times - but I am pleased with the way it performs. If anything, I wish that PC makers would skip the tray mode for optical drives and move to the slot - if it had that - I think I would have died and gone to heaven!
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great laptop for the budget conscious
Pros: Big widescreen and it runs Flight Simulator 2002
Cons: Noisy keyboard, slow when overworked, noisy DVDRW
Review: After weeks and weeks of research, and having checked out all the Toshiba Satellites, Sony Vaio S and T series laptops over CNET and in person, the budget conscious me decided to go with the Dell 6000 for the simple reason that both Toshiba and Sony are sold at a premium between 40-70% over the Dell 6000 and and I was not convinced that both Sony and Toshiba were 40-70% better. I bought my 6000 in HK and the system has 1.6Ghz Sonoma, 512mb DDR2 Ram, DVDRW, 80GB, Ultrasharp and 128mb shared video memory and it cost less than US$1,200 (HKD9,300). This is significantly higher than what Dell US offers but is below the market average (HKD10,000) in HK.
To my surprise, my Dell 6000 with an integrated 128mb vid card runs Flight Simulator 2002, a very graphics intensive program, better than my desktop which has a discrete 128mb Nvidia FX5200 card. CONSIDERING FS2002 is the only game I play, I AM VERY STOKED ABOUT 6000's PERFORMANCE!
Different reports have indicated that people thought the screen was too dim so I opted for Ultrasharp and I am happy with the product. Of course you can't compare it with top of the line Vaio S or Toshiba Satellite M35 with their fancy ultrabrite/superbright business, but so far as I am concerned, I am happy with Ultrasharp - it provides very crisp and smooth imagines.
6000 is not as fast as I thought it would be - it takes a while for WinXP to load up and it hiccups a bit when I have Limewire running in the background (P2P programs chew up a lot of memory). Everybody surfing or word processing is not a problem for the 6000.
Like I said, I opted the Dell for its price and it offers very similar components (except for the screen) as Sony and Toshibas. I think 7.5/10 is a very fair score for the 6000 and I am happy with my purchase. If I had received this year's bonus, I would probably have gotten the Toshiba Satellite M35 (HKD14,950).
Also, if you are wondering whehter you should go for the 700m or 6000, let me tell you, the screen of 700m is waaaay to small and so what if it is brighter than the 6000 if you end up going crosseyed trying to read the damn thing. 6000 is not as heavy or bulky as you think and I am glad I did not go with the 700m. If you fly a lot and really need an ultraport, then it is a different story.
To my surprise, my Dell 6000 with an integrated 128mb vid card runs Flight Simulator 2002, a very graphics intensive program, better than my desktop which has a discrete 128mb Nvidia FX5200 card. CONSIDERING FS2002 is the only game I play, I AM VERY STOKED ABOUT 6000's PERFORMANCE!
Different reports have indicated that people thought the screen was too dim so I opted for Ultrasharp and I am happy with the product. Of course you can't compare it with top of the line Vaio S or Toshiba Satellite M35 with their fancy ultrabrite/superbright business, but so far as I am concerned, I am happy with Ultrasharp - it provides very crisp and smooth imagines.
6000 is not as fast as I thought it would be - it takes a while for WinXP to load up and it hiccups a bit when I have Limewire running in the background (P2P programs chew up a lot of memory). Everybody surfing or word processing is not a problem for the 6000.
Like I said, I opted the Dell for its price and it offers very similar components (except for the screen) as Sony and Toshibas. I think 7.5/10 is a very fair score for the 6000 and I am happy with my purchase. If I had received this year's bonus, I would probably have gotten the Toshiba Satellite M35 (HKD14,950).
Also, if you are wondering whehter you should go for the 700m or 6000, let me tell you, the screen of 700m is waaaay to small and so what if it is brighter than the 6000 if you end up going crosseyed trying to read the damn thing. 6000 is not as heavy or bulky as you think and I am glad I did not go with the 700m. If you fly a lot and really need an ultraport, then it is a different story.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Very good value for money vs specs
Pros: can upgrade to a monster
Cons: don't know yet
Review: Ordered this I6000 with very good specs: Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology with Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 (1.73Mhz, 2MB L2 cache, 533Mhz FSB) & Intel® Pro/Wireless 2200 (802.11a/b/g), 15,4" TFT WSXGA+ LCD-monitor(1680x1080),1024 MB RAM, 80GB ATA-100HD, 128 MB ATi Mobility Radeon X300 Graphics, 8x DVD/RW Drive, 80w- 9 cell lithium battery (5-5,5 hours), and the price is about 5 000 kr (700 $)less than any other notebook with these specs. So I only hope it meets my expectations.
Updated
I've now had my I6000 one day... and must say I am impressed. It is fast, quiet, display is excellent and multitasking is a joy. It works very well with both modem and mobile 3G internett. The speakers aren't of the best quality, but what do you expect? They meet my needs. DVD is no problem although the sound experience is not what you get on our home system. So far I'm - just loving it Would grade it to a 9 instead of 8.
I've now had my I6000 one day... and must say I am impressed. It is fast, quiet, display is excellent and multitasking is a joy. It works very well with both modem and mobile 3G internett. The speakers aren't of the best quality, but what do you expect? They meet my needs. DVD is no problem although the sound experience is not what you get on our home system. So far I'm - just loving it
Would grade it to a 9 instead of 8. User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Even more than I expected
Pros: Screen, speed, battery
Cons: none so far
Review: Configuration:
Intel Pentium M 750 (1.86 GHz)
80 gB HD
1 gB memory
WSXGA TFT LCD
Upgraded 9 cell lithium
128MB ATI X300 Video
Windows XP Pro
Intel wireless (802.11 b/g)
CD-RW/DVD Rom
Price including shipping: approx $1400
This time around, my wife and decided to use this box as a desktop replacement. And I am happy to say the unit does not disappoint.
The Pentium 750 M(1.86) is plenty snappy. I would say (subjectively) that the laptop is 20 to 40% faster that my Dell 8200 1.8 gHz desktop on similar tasks. Obviously the newer pentium, plus a faster FSB (533 mHz) helped up the performance.
The unit runs quite cool (a little warm underneath) and quiet with the only real noise coming from the CD when in use (no big deal).
The WSXGA screen is crystal clear and came with no dead pixels. Movies played with vey little discernable blur. The WSXGA is the mid size screen. I am happy I did not get the highest def screen as I not sure I would be able to see it!
The 9 cell lithium gave me about 5 hours when I was testing it. The screen does dim when on battery, but I frankly did not find this a problem. In any case the screen can be adjusted not to dim when on battery.
The build in wireless works great and have had a full 802.11g signal everywhere in the house I have tried it.
The keyboard is quite responsive but has a short space bar.
I recently hooked up my hp dc5000 (movie writer) to copy an old VHS camcorder video, and the unit, as I said, outperformed my old desktop when rendering by quite a large margin.
It is slightly heavier than some laptops, but this box will be going more from room to room than site to site.
If your looking for a reasonably priced, well built box, I certainly have no problem recommending it.
Intel Pentium M 750 (1.86 GHz)
80 gB HD
1 gB memory
WSXGA TFT LCD
Upgraded 9 cell lithium
128MB ATI X300 Video
Windows XP Pro
Intel wireless (802.11 b/g)
CD-RW/DVD Rom
Price including shipping: approx $1400
This time around, my wife and decided to use this box as a desktop replacement. And I am happy to say the unit does not disappoint.
The Pentium 750 M(1.86) is plenty snappy. I would say (subjectively) that the laptop is 20 to 40% faster that my Dell 8200 1.8 gHz desktop on similar tasks. Obviously the newer pentium, plus a faster FSB (533 mHz) helped up the performance.
The unit runs quite cool (a little warm underneath) and quiet with the only real noise coming from the CD when in use (no big deal).
The WSXGA screen is crystal clear and came with no dead pixels. Movies played with vey little discernable blur. The WSXGA is the mid size screen. I am happy I did not get the highest def screen as I not sure I would be able to see it!
The 9 cell lithium gave me about 5 hours when I was testing it. The screen does dim when on battery, but I frankly did not find this a problem. In any case the screen can be adjusted not to dim when on battery.
The build in wireless works great and have had a full 802.11g signal everywhere in the house I have tried it.
The keyboard is quite responsive but has a short space bar.
I recently hooked up my hp dc5000 (movie writer) to copy an old VHS camcorder video, and the unit, as I said, outperformed my old desktop when rendering by quite a large margin.
It is slightly heavier than some laptops, but this box will be going more from room to room than site to site.
If your looking for a reasonably priced, well built box, I certainly have no problem recommending it.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Very pleased with my purchase
Pros: Runs very cool and quiet, nice design, very fast, big display, scroll areas on touchpad, long battery life
Cons: A bit heavy for traveling but most 15.4 inch notebooks are
Review: I spent about 3-4 weeks researching notebooks before purchasing the Inspiron 6000, using CNET user reviews as my primary source. I have had this notebook for about 2 weeks now and I am really enjoying it. Let me start by saying that this is my very first notebook, so I can only compair the Inspiron 6000 to notebooks owned by friends and family. I configured my 6000 online with the following:
Intel Pentium M Processor 750 (1.86 GHz)
WSXGA LCD panel
1 GB DDR2 RAM
128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X300 Video Card
60GB Ultra ATA 7200RPM hard drive
Windows XP home
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 (802.11 b/g)
Bluetooth card
Upgraded 9 cell battery
3 year at-home warranty
I really love this notebook. I am really bad about having too many web pages and programs open at once, but the 6000 can handle it with no problem. If you can afford it, I highly recommend the 60GB 7200RPM hard drive because the 7200RPM is so fast. My father has a 6000 with a 60GB 4200RPM and he is not very satisfied with its performance. The 1GB RAM (memory) is also a great upgrade if you can afford it. If 1GB is too much, get the 512 1 DIMM which will allow you to easly upgrade to 1GB later. Your level of satisfaction will greatly depend on how you configure it. Expect to spend a good amount of money on the hard drive and the memory if you want a notebook that will perform well and satisfy your needs for a long time.
The picture quality is not as crisp and bright as the Sony VAIO laptops, however the WSXGA in combination with the upgraded video card listed above is well suited for web surfing, word processing, and occasional DVD viewing. I have been told that highest priced LCD (which I beleve is the WUSXGA) is not as good as the one I selected.
The battery life is amazing (if you upgrade and get the 9-cell). I surfed the web with my wireless card and with full display brightness (two things that really eat battery life) and my battery lasted me for 4 hours. Turn off your wireless card when you are not using it and the battery should last even longer.
One of my biggest concerns was how hot and loud many notebooks on the market are. This notebook runs very cool and quiet, even after hours of use. The scroll areas on the touchpad are wonderful; I have used them so much more that I thought I would. It makes the transition from a mouse much easier. The wireless card works very well on the wireless network set up in my home. I have not tried using it in a "hotspot" yet.
I know Dell's customer support reputation has not been as good in recent years, however from my research it appears that most computer companies are not rated well in that area. I liked the fact that Dell will come to your home to fix your notebook so you don't have to part with it for a week or more wondering when you will see it again. My last computer was a Dell Desktop that gave me little trouble. You do have to troubleshoot with Dell over the phone before they will come to your home to fix the problem, however this seems to be the norm among computer companies.
If you are a student, staff, or faculty member of a college or university, check and see if you can receive a discount through Dell. I received a 12% discount ($200 off) for being a staff member at a University that has a campus agreement with Dell. Also, Dell's prices change constantly on their website, so keep checking until you get the price you want.
Intel Pentium M Processor 750 (1.86 GHz)
WSXGA LCD panel
1 GB DDR2 RAM
128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X300 Video Card
60GB Ultra ATA 7200RPM hard drive
Windows XP home
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 (802.11 b/g)
Bluetooth card
Upgraded 9 cell battery
3 year at-home warranty
I really love this notebook. I am really bad about having too many web pages and programs open at once, but the 6000 can handle it with no problem. If you can afford it, I highly recommend the 60GB 7200RPM hard drive because the 7200RPM is so fast. My father has a 6000 with a 60GB 4200RPM and he is not very satisfied with its performance. The 1GB RAM (memory) is also a great upgrade if you can afford it. If 1GB is too much, get the 512 1 DIMM which will allow you to easly upgrade to 1GB later. Your level of satisfaction will greatly depend on how you configure it. Expect to spend a good amount of money on the hard drive and the memory if you want a notebook that will perform well and satisfy your needs for a long time.
The picture quality is not as crisp and bright as the Sony VAIO laptops, however the WSXGA in combination with the upgraded video card listed above is well suited for web surfing, word processing, and occasional DVD viewing. I have been told that highest priced LCD (which I beleve is the WUSXGA) is not as good as the one I selected.
The battery life is amazing (if you upgrade and get the 9-cell). I surfed the web with my wireless card and with full display brightness (two things that really eat battery life) and my battery lasted me for 4 hours. Turn off your wireless card when you are not using it and the battery should last even longer.
One of my biggest concerns was how hot and loud many notebooks on the market are. This notebook runs very cool and quiet, even after hours of use. The scroll areas on the touchpad are wonderful; I have used them so much more that I thought I would. It makes the transition from a mouse much easier. The wireless card works very well on the wireless network set up in my home. I have not tried using it in a "hotspot" yet.
I know Dell's customer support reputation has not been as good in recent years, however from my research it appears that most computer companies are not rated well in that area. I liked the fact that Dell will come to your home to fix your notebook so you don't have to part with it for a week or more wondering when you will see it again. My last computer was a Dell Desktop that gave me little trouble. You do have to troubleshoot with Dell over the phone before they will come to your home to fix the problem, however this seems to be the norm among computer companies.
If you are a student, staff, or faculty member of a college or university, check and see if you can receive a discount through Dell. I received a 12% discount ($200 off) for being a staff member at a University that has a campus agreement with Dell. Also, Dell's prices change constantly on their website, so keep checking until you get the price you want.
Updated
Less than 4 months after I purchased this laptop, the motherboard completly died with absolutely no warning. Dell tech support frustrated me. They asked me to try to turn it on four times even though I told them it would not power on. Then they had me take the entire thing apart: I took out the battery, the hard drive, the memory, etc. After an hour on the phone, they determined it was a bad motherboard. When the repair people recieved the motherboard, they said they could not come out to my home after 5 pm even though I paid extra for that privilege. Overall, I am disappointed in the reliability of this laptop. In my opinion, the motherboard should not die in the first 4 months. I really hope nothing else dies on me!
Less than 4 months after I purchased this laptop, the motherboard completly died with absolutely no warning. Dell tech support frustrated me. They asked me to try to turn it on four times even though I told them it would not power on. Then they had me take the entire thing apart: I took out the battery, the hard drive, the memory, etc. After an hour on the phone, they determined it was a bad motherboard. When the repair people recieved the motherboard, they said they could not come out to my home after 5 pm even though I paid extra for that privilege. Overall, I am disappointed in the reliability of this laptop. In my opinion, the motherboard should not die in the first 4 months. I really hope nothing else dies on me!
User Rating:
1.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
DELL SUCKS
Pros: Good equipment
Cons: Horrible Service
Review: Dell went downhill. Their computers are top notch but if you ever have a problem...plan to spend at least a half hour per problem.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Excellent! Great Buy, Just what I need
Pros: Powerful computer for a good price
Cons: could be lighter
Review: My system:
Inspiron 6000,Intel Pentium M Processor 730(1.60GHz/2MB), Windows XP pro
15.4 inch WXGA
1GB, Shared DDR2
Integrated Intel Media Accelerator 9000 Graphics, Hard drive 60GB Ultra ATA 7200RPM, DVD/R/RW,6 cell battery plus the extra 9 cell, wifi, bluetooth.
My previous computer was a Sony Vaio which I loved but had outgrown. My first choice was the new Sony FS series, but when I looked at those specs and compared that with what I could get on the Dell 6000 and the price, I opted for the Dell. Don't get me wrong, the screen on the FS is awesome and it's more stylish, but the Dell 6000 has more substance. The truth is that for my needs the Dell is more functional and practical. I was concerned that the Sony screen, while beautiful for movies, might have too much glare for what I really use mine for, MS office programs, accounting programs and web surfing. I do some pictures and graphics, but not much, and it would be rare for me to watch a movie on my laptop. Not a gamer either.
I decided for the WXGA screen because I was concerned that a higher resolution screen would be hard on my 40 something eyes. My work laptop is a Latitude with high resolution that I've had to adjust downward and quite frankly the quality goes down too. With the LCD screens, you really have to be confortable with the native resolution for optimal viewing. They don't adjust as well as a CRT monitor.
Some have reported that the WXGA screen is dull on battery. There is a simple fix. Press the function key and up arrow, and your screen is as bright as if you were plugged in.
Battery life is substantial even with the 6 cell. I love being totally wireless. My idea of multitasking is sitting back working or surfing while watching my Sony KD-34XBR960.
I've had this for a day and so far so good. Very happy with my choice.
Inspiron 6000,Intel Pentium M Processor 730(1.60GHz/2MB), Windows XP pro
15.4 inch WXGA
1GB, Shared DDR2
Integrated Intel Media Accelerator 9000 Graphics, Hard drive 60GB Ultra ATA 7200RPM, DVD/R/RW,6 cell battery plus the extra 9 cell, wifi, bluetooth.
My previous computer was a Sony Vaio which I loved but had outgrown. My first choice was the new Sony FS series, but when I looked at those specs and compared that with what I could get on the Dell 6000 and the price, I opted for the Dell. Don't get me wrong, the screen on the FS is awesome and it's more stylish, but the Dell 6000 has more substance. The truth is that for my needs the Dell is more functional and practical. I was concerned that the Sony screen, while beautiful for movies, might have too much glare for what I really use mine for, MS office programs, accounting programs and web surfing. I do some pictures and graphics, but not much, and it would be rare for me to watch a movie on my laptop. Not a gamer either.
I decided for the WXGA screen because I was concerned that a higher resolution screen would be hard on my 40 something eyes. My work laptop is a Latitude with high resolution that I've had to adjust downward and quite frankly the quality goes down too. With the LCD screens, you really have to be confortable with the native resolution for optimal viewing. They don't adjust as well as a CRT monitor.
Some have reported that the WXGA screen is dull on battery. There is a simple fix. Press the function key and up arrow, and your screen is as bright as if you were plugged in.
Battery life is substantial even with the 6 cell. I love being totally wireless. My idea of multitasking is sitting back working or surfing while watching my Sony KD-34XBR960
.I've had this for a day and so far so good. Very happy with my choice.
User Rating:
0.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
nice desing - can' t stand the sparkling display
Pros: nice design
Cons: sparkling display makes me feel dizzy
Review: I have had different laptop from Dell or other brand but never had a sparkling display that makes me feel dizzy. Im a graphic designer so I notice right away the whites and colors are not well rendered but this sparkling effect is something nobody can work with. I began to feel dizzy after no more than 10min.
( wsxga (1680x1050) with ati radeon mobility x300.)
( wsxga (1680x1050) with ati radeon mobility x300.)
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Best Laptop I have ever owned
Pros: Great battery life, bright & clear WSXGA display, fast 533 FSB processor with very good keyboard
Cons: No parallel or serial ports with limited upgradability
Review: I bought the I6000 model, not the I6000d which has upgraded graphics and processor choices. I received it a week before the new 'd' model came out. None the less, I am very happy with this laptop.
My model has the 1.6 ghz 533 FSB processor, 512 DDR2 ram, 60 gb HD, Intel PRO 2915 a/b/g int. wifi, WSXGA 15.4 display with on-board Intel GMA 900 graphics, CDRW/DVD, and WinXP Pro. CNET's review did not do the I6000 justice. They reviewed the lowest configuration Dell offers with the 1.5 ghz 400 FSB processor, which is not even close to the top of possible customizations offered now.
I have had my unit for over a month and it keeps impressing me. I use it mostly as a business travel and desktop replacement computer. The WSXGA screen is bright, clear and crisp. Spreadsheets and presentations are clear and easier to work with on this wide display. Large files open quickly. Enbedded objects, i.e., graphics and videos, are handled very smoothly.
The occasional DVD looks great and the sound is impressive too. I am not a gamer, but the few I have play just fine and even better than my Home computer with 2.4 ghz with Nvidia 5200 128 mb board. I think the on-board Intel GMA 900 graphics is better than it is given credit.
The battery life is very impressive with the 9 cell 80 Whr battery. I have clocked close to 5.5 hours with most pwer saving features activated. the enhanced battery added only about 0.1 lbs extra weight.
Others complain about weight, but to me the total weight is just fine. I looked at other units (Win based) with 15" screen size and the lighter ones did not have the features and/or cost more than double. (I paid $1284) So the 6.7 lbs+ is not a major concern. Beside my last laptop was 8.5 lbs, so I loss weight.
Last week I dropped in another 512 mb ram and after some tweaking to change windows cache and mem settings, the I6000 gave me a whole new performance level. So you may want to consider 1 gb ram in you do not get the upgraded graphics model (I6000d).
This is my second Dell laptop and 5th one over all. My last Dell was a I8100, which worked good, but was contructed very cheaply. The I6000 is made very weel and appears to be quite sturdy. I recommend trying this model if your needs are similar and do not ned the extreme performance levels. Serious gamers and power junkies should look elsewhere.
My model has the 1.6 ghz 533 FSB processor, 512 DDR2 ram, 60 gb HD, Intel PRO 2915 a/b/g int. wifi, WSXGA 15.4 display with on-board Intel GMA 900 graphics, CDRW/DVD, and WinXP Pro. CNET's review did not do the I6000 justice. They reviewed the lowest configuration Dell offers with the 1.5 ghz 400 FSB processor, which is not even close to the top of possible customizations offered now.
I have had my unit for over a month and it keeps impressing me. I use it mostly as a business travel and desktop replacement computer. The WSXGA screen is bright, clear and crisp. Spreadsheets and presentations are clear and easier to work with on this wide display. Large files open quickly. Enbedded objects, i.e., graphics and videos, are handled very smoothly.
The occasional DVD looks great and the sound is impressive too. I am not a gamer, but the few I have play just fine and even better than my Home computer with 2.4 ghz with Nvidia 5200 128 mb board. I think the on-board Intel GMA 900 graphics is better than it is given credit.
The battery life is very impressive with the 9 cell 80 Whr battery. I have clocked close to 5.5 hours with most pwer saving features activated. the enhanced battery added only about 0.1 lbs extra weight.
Others complain about weight, but to me the total weight is just fine. I looked at other units (Win based) with 15" screen size and the lighter ones did not have the features and/or cost more than double. (I paid $1284) So the 6.7 lbs+ is not a major concern. Beside my last laptop was 8.5 lbs, so I loss weight.
Last week I dropped in another 512 mb ram and after some tweaking to change windows cache and mem settings, the I6000 gave me a whole new performance level. So you may want to consider 1 gb ram in you do not get the upgraded graphics model (I6000d).
This is my second Dell laptop and 5th one over all. My last Dell was a I8100, which worked good, but was contructed very cheaply. The I6000 is made very weel and appears to be quite sturdy. I recommend trying this model if your needs are similar and do not ned the extreme performance levels. Serious gamers and power junkies should look elsewhere.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
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.
Review: 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
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
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
My first laptop...and I love it
Pros: Beautiful 15.4" screen, excellent controls, many connectivity options
Cons: Keyboard is a bit small...
Review: I had my Inspiron 6000 custom built by Dell, so my notebook is a bit different than specified. I upgraded to a 15.4" ultrabright TFT LCD screen, 60 GIG hard drive and an ATI Radeon 64 MB video card. I love all of the connecivity options on it, including:
- Up and down sliders on the touchpad
- Quiet, easy to use keyboard
- Beautiful screen and a 1680 x 1050 resolution (maximum)
- DVD/CD-RW drive
- Firewire port
- S-Video port
- SD media card port (for downloading pictures from a digital camera)
- 4 USB 2.0 ports
- PC Card slot
- port for microphone and headphones
I also got 3 years of Dell Complete Care, so I don't have to worry about accidents, because they're all covered.
My biggest gripe is the size of the keyboard. It is slightly too small, which might increase the risk of carpal tunnel and sore wrists for those who are prone to it so I do recommend that people do take a break once in awhile. Other than that I love this notebook and will recommend it to anyone.
- Up and down sliders on the touchpad
- Quiet, easy to use keyboard
- Beautiful screen and a 1680 x 1050 resolution (maximum)
- DVD/CD-RW drive
- Firewire port
- S-Video port
- SD media card port (for downloading pictures from a digital camera)
- 4 USB 2.0 ports
- PC Card slot
- port for microphone and headphones
I also got 3 years of Dell Complete Care, so I don't have to worry about accidents, because they're all covered.
My biggest gripe is the size of the keyboard. It is slightly too small, which might increase the risk of carpal tunnel and sore wrists for those who are prone to it so I do recommend that people do take a break once in awhile. Other than that I love this notebook and will recommend it to anyone.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
My First Notebook
Pros: Nice large screen, dedicated graphics, Sonoma Tech, lightwieght
Cons: Haven't gotten to use much of it, web pages appear pixelated at high resolutions
Review: I ordered the 6000D (meaning integrated ATI X300 chip). Very stable, clear screen. (Ordered 2nd best one). Very light for the size of the machine. Don't listen to non buyers. This one is a deal.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Large Laptop - excellent battery life.
Pros: Large Screen, awsome battery life, great features
Cons: On the heavy-side, loud optical drive.
Review: Let me first start by saying that the battery life on this laptop is very surprising. When first looking at it you doubt the claim that it can last 5-6 hours on the battery life (it does have a 15.4in widescreen), but the claim is true. I have taken this laptop out multiple times, mostly using the WiFi enabled, and come just under 5 and a half hours. I do however find myself regreting the weight, its not a laptop for someone who travels often. Other then that I can offer no complaints, it performs quite well and has the battery life of a champ. I recommend it.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Very pleased!
Pros: Widescreen, Sonoma technology with 533MHz FSB, DDR2 RAM (I got 1GB), wireless connection with Dell 1350 b/g card is great in my apartment. Very long battery life, cool design.
Cons: Can't select 1440x900 resolution so far with WSXGA, I'm running 1680x1050 which makes text a bit small. I'm looking into a video driver solution now, so we'll see...
Review: Overall I'm VERY happy with this laptop. I was looking at a number of different options before settling on the Dell. The battery life on this thing blows my mind... when typing in Word, wireless card on, screen brightness 70% I'm getting close to 5 and a half hours! BTW, some have mentioned Dell's screens are dim but I've found it is actually too bright for me on the full setting... I tone it down to about 70% brightness. Media buttons on front are handy, they work with whatever application you're currently working with (iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc) so you can pause, mute, change song track.
Updated
Another thing to mention is this machine is not for gamers. The integrated graphics card has been fine for me as a non-gamer (that's what my Xbox is for). I do, however, edit photos and videos and this video card has been able to handle it. If you often play games you should definitely look to the new option for the i6000 of adding an independent graphics card that is now available.
Another thing to mention is this machine is not for gamers. The integrated graphics card has been fine for me as a non-gamer (that's what my Xbox is for). I do, however, edit photos and videos and this video card has been able to handle it. If you often play games you should definitely look to the new option for the i6000 of adding an independent graphics card that is now available.
Updated
Another thing to mention is this machine is not for gamers. The integrated graphics card has been fine for me as a non-gamer (that's what my Xbox is for). I do, however, edit photos and videos and this video card has been able to handle it. If you often play games you should definitely look to the new option for the i6000 of adding an independent graphics card that is now available.
I used cnet reviews a lot while researching this laptop and wanted to let everyone know of my great experience with this machine. Enjoy it!
Another thing to mention is this machine is not for gamers. The integrated graphics card has been fine for me as a non-gamer (that's what my Xbox is for). I do, however, edit photos and videos and this video card has been able to handle it. If you often play games you should definitely look to the new option for the i6000 of adding an independent graphics card that is now available.
I used cnet reviews a lot while researching this laptop and wanted to let everyone know of my great experience with this machine. Enjoy it!
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
A Strong Contendor
Pros: Sonoma, Excellent Battery Life, Many Options, Great Value
Cons: No High-End Graphics Options, Questionable Customer Support
Review: The Inspiron 6000 posesses a fairly clean set of attributes. The unit itself is somewhat stylish, runs cool, and is reasonably light (usually less than 7 pounds.) The widescreen display and Sonoma components make it feel distinctively new and deliver better-than-good performance. While the standard screen may be a bit uninspiring, upgrades to WSXGA+ and WUXGA (HD Quality) screens are reasonably priced. The available 9 cell battery also yields a class-leading 6 hours of life. While Dell customer support may be underwhelming, it is navigable if you exhibit some patience and smarts (if you wait for more than 5ish minutes, just hang up and start over, you will soon get a real person.) Overall, the i6000 is a solid midrange notebook ideal for those who seek the latest technologies at an affordable price.
Also note: the CNET review, as with most other reviews, tested the i6000 with a 1.5 gHz Dothan processor and the Intel graphics card. Since then, more Sonoma processor options have been introduced (all of which have 533 mHz FSB, the top one clocking at 2.1 gHz.) Also, two ATI discreet graphics card are currently available. Had a setup like this been reviewed, the CNET score would likely have been higher.
Also note: the CNET review, as with most other reviews, tested the i6000 with a 1.5 gHz Dothan processor and the Intel graphics card. Since then, more Sonoma processor options have been introduced (all of which have 533 mHz FSB, the top one clocking at 2.1 gHz.) Also, two ATI discreet graphics card are currently available. Had a setup like this been reviewed, the CNET score would likely have been higher.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great Machine
Pros: Awesome Battery Life! Super quiet and very cool running
Cons: With the integrated video gaming is out. Get the ATI if you want to play games
Review: Very happy with this machine. With the 9 cell battery you are looking at 5 1/2 plus hours on a single charge. Not a gaming notebook without the dedicated video card now offered.
Updated
Had the laptop plugged into my stereo playing music that was on my desktop computer. It was sitting on top of the stereo stand and the dog happend by and snagged the cord plugged into the headphone jack. All I heard was a sickening thud and I realized my brand new computer had fallen about four feet onto the floor! But the music did not miss a beat and thankfulling no damage done! I'm now even more impressed.
Had the laptop plugged into my stereo playing music that was on my desktop computer. It was sitting on top of the stereo stand and the dog happend by and snagged the cord plugged into the headphone jack. All I heard was a sickening thud and I realized my brand new computer had fallen about four feet onto the floor! But the music did not miss a beat and thankfulling no damage done! I'm now even more impressed.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Fast large screen PC
Pros: Fast machine, the dimmer screen is only when running on the battery, other than that the screenn is fine
Cons: dimmer screen when running on the battery
Review: this is a great machine. It seems to run fast and handle photos fine. the dvd quality is great. I am not a gamer so the video seems fine.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Nice unit and great value
Pros: Wsxga screen is nice, good power and battery life for my stuff.... But it is not a gaming rig nor did I expect it to be. Keyboard is better than past models(8600). I got it with the 1.6, wsxga and 40 HD with 512 ram for about $1050.00 with the special
Cons: I wish it would have had an 8-1 card reader not just the SD one!!! come on dell.
Review:
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
sleek little widescreen
Pros: very nice laptop that runs very cool and lasts! get the best monitor you can if you want to be happy with the display. little bulky but well laid out, has everything a college student would need.
Cons: graphics card isn't the best, but if you wanted to game get the dell gaming laptop it's sick
Review:
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Good large screen travel laptop
Pros: The WSXGA screen is very good. My screen is clear and bright edge-to-edge. I recommend the Intel Pro 2915 int WIFI. It has excellent range and reception. The I6000 build quality is good and much better than older Inspiron models. The Keyboard is also good
Cons: Mouse pads is touchy on my unit and will take some getting use to using. Silver color is OK, but the white trim is passable at best. Not my first choice. No extra bay for another battery or drive. No parallel port, so you must get a USB to parallel adapto
Review:
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 93 user reviews
Great value for an average user
Pros: WUXGA screen DVD player quality Multimedia controls appropriately positioned Wireless Remote option Excellent performance Keyboard feel Excellent Wireless capability 6 hour battery life (9V) Aggressive pricing with online coupons (www.techbargains.com or
Cons: Integrated 128 MB video Heavier than average for 15.4" class White Trim is chintzy
Review:
User Rating:
1.5 stars
out of 93 user reviews
over-rated
Pros: size, ergonomics
Cons: relies on brand recognition, little if anything remarkable about the box itself. $150-200 over-priced.
Review:
