i bought this computer to replace my desktop which was getting old and slow. it came with Windows XP media center, but they offered a Vista Home Premium upgrade for very cheap which i took. i have now owned this laptop for 1.5 years, and thus i have got around to figure out most of the pros and cons of this computer.
looks: the look is not great, but because the laptop was cheap i didn't complain...
screen: the screen is quite decent, even though it is not as bright as most of the desktop's LCD screens.
Processor: the in built 1.6GHz processor is quite fast and works perfectly fine with various applications open at the same time.
Memory: the 1 gb memory that comes with the laptop is not enough to run Windows Vista Home Premium if you use memory intensive applications such as an internet browser, and i have thus upgraded it to 2gb, with up to 79% of ram used after my computer had been on for 2 months in a row with many applications open.
HDD: the hard disk drive is definitely too small (66gb of windows partition -15 gb of which are taken by windows- and 10 of recovery partition), but with the now cheap external hard drives we can find nowadays, it doesn't really bother me.
keyboard, trackpad: both the keyboard and the trackpad are quite good, but i haven't found out a way to take the keyboard out to clean all the dust under the keys.
DVD-RW- the dvd player/burner wors perfectly fine, except that in my computer if i try to rip a cd using windows media player it starts spinnig very fast making a very loud noise!
Ports: there are definitely not enough port, since the 56k modem is missing, the 3 usb ports are not enough, escpecially since one of mine broke, and possibly a pcmpcia card slot and an sd card reader would have been quite useful.
Graphics: the graphics card is quite good, except that it's not fully vista compatible and it tends to crash and recover every now and again, especially when trying to play a video file on a secondary screen. the graphics card does allow you to play games though, and it has never crashed whilst playing.
network: the ethernet is limited to 100mbps, but they're quite sufficient since most of the connections have the same limit, and the 54mbps wireless card is really good, and also gets networks from my neighbours.
speakers: the speakers are quite decent, even though they don't have any bass, so i'm using some external speakers now.
the battery is possibly the worst component in this computer, since it lasts about an hour and a half in energy saving mode and 55 minutes in high performance mode, but new batteries with twice the capacity can be found on their website for about 100 pounds.
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(+) cool and quite robust trackpad, good display,64-bit windows 7 (-) few connectors,dell drivers only, not realy for gameing (most models), finger print prone!
This Replacement Laptop AC Power Adapter/Charger for your laptop enables you to operate ... more
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Brand-new | Output 19V 3.42A | 65W Produced exclusively for Smart Parts UK. UK power cord ... more
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Apr 18th, 2008
very helpful by (100%):
