I bought this laptop for myself early on in August 2007 after researching many laptops.
For my perfect laptop it had to have the following features: - Price ( Under £400 ) - Graphics ( 3D ) - Ample Memory ( Ideally 2GB ) - CD/DVD Writer - Wireless (G) - More than 2 USB Ports - Not too Heavy (Not more than 3KGs)
The main reason I wanted to get a laptop was to be able to do my own computing projects from anywhere in the house.
One of my projects involves using a service called Second Life, which is basically an online 3D chat environment. The laptop that I got had to be able to run their application.
Most laptops I looked at contained 512MB or 1GB ram which is not enough to run Windows Vista comfortably.
This is a fairly tall order for a cheap laptop. Especially as I am a Pro Computer user.
The specifications of Dell laptops always seem to be getting better. I made the decision to buy.
The snag I found was this Dell Vostro 1000 was a range that is only available to business customers. This wasn't really a major problem, as I could just buy it as a business. Purchasing as a business has a drawback, but it also has a pro point.
The drawback to buying as a business is that the distance selling regulations only apply to consumers, so you cannot send it back within 7 days if you change your mind.
The pro point is that the laptops tend to have less rubbish installed on them, than their equivalent consumer models.
The specifcation of the Laptop I purchased was:
AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 Dual Core Processor TK-53 (1.7GHz,512KB) 2GB RAM Integrated ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 HyperMemoryTM 15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280x800) display 120GB Hard Drive DVD+/-RW with Dual Layer DVD+R write capacity 4 USB Ports Wireless (G) Windows Vista Business (32 bit) SD Card Reader ExpressCard slot Weights less than 2.84Kgs (Not sure of actual weight; 2.84Kgs is the weight of the same laptop with a larger battery) Full Restore DVD Microsoft Works 8.5
The specification was more than I expected.
And the cost to me?
£352 including VAT and Delivery.
The laptop was shipped to me pretty quickly as well. From the time of ordering, it took 5 days to be delivered to my door.
The acid test was the Second Life application, which is passed. I can use it online with no problems. You can't turn up all of the eye candy, but it is still highly usable. It can also play Command and Conquer 3 very easily. This was a very nice added bonus.
In conclusion this laptop is the best laptop for around £350. I am very glad I chose this laptop.
However Windows Vista is still in question.
Vista completely locks up at least every other day, but I did experience this with XP on previous computers.
Microsoft are suggesting SP1 for Vista will be released Q1 2008. In hindsight I would probably have choose XP as a build to order option (It costs the same whether you choose XP or Vista)
I still think Vista was a better option, but because it is newer and everyone will support it eventually. After using Vista, I can say I do like and prefer it to XP. Though its use of DRM and Aero can limited your computers performance. Aero has now been disabled, and as a result this laptop runs a lot cooler.
I have also decided to turn off User Account Controls, as they were so annoying. Every time I tried to remove something from the start menu I was prompted.
The choice between Vista or XP is yours, and you will have to decide for yourself.
Update:
I have performed a couple of 3D Benchmarks to give you an idea of this laptops 3D potential.
3D Mark 06 170 3D Mark 05 666 3D Mark 03 1335
You can see that the 3D capabilities of this laptop are much better with older 3D titles or titles with newer special effects turned off.
Update: 11 October 2007
I have removed Vista and install XP Service Pack 2
The 3D Mark has been rerun and here are the new results:
3D Mark 06 219 3D Mark 05 696 3D Mark 03 1402
All tests were run with almost a bare operating system, and all quitable programs closed.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
(+) positive aspects include the speed, apperance/design of the laptop, and the enhanced performance. (-) i have a matt black laptop and it shows dirty finger prints.
I have ordered an external hard drive so I can backup my work, and install XP + Linux. I will post the new 3D Mark scores for XP; so you can see if Vista or XP makes any difference to performance.
hackzilla 30.09.2007 16:39
I can say after using Vista for over a month, I wish I had gone for XP.
Vista is very unstable.. It crashes at least once a day.
It appears that Microsoft allows you to downgrade your copy of Vista if it is Vista Business or Ultimate. However I can find out how your supposed to achieve this.
hackzilla 11.09.2007 10:00
I have added 3D Mark scores to give you an idea of how good this laptop is at playing 3D games.
very helpful by (56%):
helpful by (44%):
