Dell Inspiron 1545 Review

Editors note: This Dell Inspiron 1545 review was submitted by Mike D, one of our new readers.

I use my Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop all the time and when I say all the time I really do mean about every waking moment I am sitting on the couch, I have my laptop on my lap. I am constantly multi-tasking because I have a very hard time focusing. First off, my wife and I both use this computer. She uses it mainly to check her email and run her google calendar. I use it to run my Internet business and other various tasks.

I got this laptop about 2.5 years ago and I bought it right off of Dell’s website cause that was the best deal on the web. I looked at other discount laptops but none of the compared to what I would get with just buying a Dell. I upgraded the wireless card to draft N because speed is of the upmost importance and I also upgraded the screen, we will get to the screen part later.

The computer rarely crashes but when you get too many things running at the same time it does slow down. If I had to do it all over again I would get 8 GB of memory in it instead of 4. Another thing I wish it had was a backlight for the keyboard. Good thing I know how to type cause it gets tricky trying to work on this when there isn’t that much light around.

Another problem is the power supply. Either the power supply or the connection has gone bad because it no longer charges the battery when plugged in. It gives me an error saying it has the wrong power supply connected even though it is the one that came with the laptop.

Overall for the price I have been really happy with this laptop. Dell laptop prices are comparable, if not better than others on the market. While my dell was in my backpack, my backpack slipped off of my shoulder and hit the ground resulting in a broken screen. Since I was cheap and didn’t want to buy the accidental insurance dell offered I had to fix the screen myself. Fortunately dell has a great support website with a walk-through on how to replace the screen. I ordered a screen off of a description on a computer supply website and had it shipped to my house. Took the entire laptop apart to find it was the wrong screen. This time I ordered the screen based on the part number and I got the right screen and everything went back together perfectly. So I can say the computer is definitely repairable and fairly easy to work on, thanks to Dell’s great support walkthroughs.

I am unsure if I am going to buy another Dell laptop. I keep hearing great things about macbooks and want to try one of those out for size. The only problem is that a lot of the applications I run only run in a PC environment so I am going to have to figure something out there. Overall I am very happy with this laptop as I think it only cost me about $700 and I have gotten a ton of use out of for that price.

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Review: Dell Laptops

I’ve had several different brands of laptops over the years, but the brand I keep coming back to over the years is Dell. They have a huge selection of laptops to choose from, everything ranging from a purse-sized netbook, to an entry-level laptop, to the ultimate gaming laptops.

The first laptop I ever purchased from Dell was an Inspiron 15R. The Inspirion 15 starts at about $399, making it ideal for first-time laptop users, students, and anyone else looking for a sturdy, dependable, entry-level model. Fully customizable, the Inspiron line features 2.26Gh Intel Core processors – fast enough for any computing the average user does and comes preloaded with Windows 7. The basic Inspirion comes with 2GB single-channel memory, but I recommend upgrading tot he 4GB dual-channel, as I find it adds significantly to the performance/speed of the laptop. All Inspirions come with a massive 320GB hard drive, Intel HD Graphics card and 5-hour battery, although for heavy users you may want to upgrade the battery or purchase an additional one. It’s one of the best cheap Dell laptops you could buy.

The next laptop I purchased from Dell was my netbook, or as Dell calls them, “Minis”. These are by far the best cheap laptops out there. I got mine refurbished for under $200 on Dell’s outlet store; a new model starts at $299. The thing I absolutely LOVE about the netbooks are the small size. I can tuck it into my diaper bag or purse whenever I go out – it’s perfect for web browsing and or writing that essay I’ve been trying to postpone. I have to admit I jumped the gun a bit and bought one of the first Mini 8′s. With an 8GB hard drive, it was virtually impossible to run anything on it. However, all the Minis now come with a minimum 160 GB hard drive so that’s no longer an issue. That being said, the Minis aren’t great on power. You really can’t have any apps on them or they tend to run at snail’s pace, so make sure you have another laptop or desktop to run your beefier programs on because the Minis come with a mere 1GB of RAM. However, if you are looking for a truly portable laptop for web-browsing, the Mini is what you want.

If you are looking for a powerful, and I mean powerful laptop, check out Dell’s Alienware line. My most recent purchase, the Alienware laptop was my husband’s last Christmas present – he was not disappointed! Built for gaming, the Alienware 15X is available with a Intel® Core™ i7 940XM Quad Core Processor, the fastest laptop processor in the world. You can also pack in a whallopping 8GB of dual-channel (yes, I said dual) memory and an available 256GB solid-state hard drive. The 15X comes with a beautiful HD screen, and with an available 1 GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX video card, you can make sure all your graphic-intense games look great on it. The 15X starts at $1350, but with available options can top out at well over $3000. For hard-core gamers, it’s a small price to pay for premium performance.

Dell laptops are available nationwide at retailers such as Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. You can also customize your laptop online (their Studio line is available in 200+ designs) at dell.com. If you are truly looking for a great deal, check out their online outlet. You can get brand-new and refurbished laptops at a fraction of the cost, so if that costly system you’ve been eyeing has been alluding you, you’ll definitely want to check them out.

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Comparing Netbooks: HP And Dell

A worthwhile trend nowadays when shopping for laptops on sale is the netbook, which is available from the folks at Dell and HP.

Smaller and more convenient weighing in at 2 and a half pounds each, they feature a 10 inch screen and both come in a variety of bright colours. One would be surprised at how easy they are to use as well, seeing as they both feature a keyboard that is about 90% the size of a normal one.

Now for the differences folks. Price: Dell costs $239 and boasts 24 hour shipment and HP costs $229 and is available locally. The slight difference between the two does not indeed change the fact that these netbooks which work as well and as fast as a basic laptop cost half as much as their larger counterparts. Shopping for cheap new laptops is not hard when you know what each company offers.

One thought is that although they are a bit less beefy than larger screen laptop computers they are still only about a year behind and have a great price for the service they offer. RAM on each is 1GB and hard drive for each is about 60GB, great for a normal computer user.

The best function besides price is style. Compact, attractive and available in many colors they look great and somewhat futuristic at any age. WiFi makes it an ideal toy for checking email at the cafe or looking up quick facts at the lunchroom or library before a meeting.

Yes, there are a lovely variety of protective cases available for 10 inch netbooks, many of which are designed to look like a purse with art or floral patterns. If I were to choose a brand I would choose the HP in pink.

Although the Dell netbook has convenient options like payment plans, 48 hour delivery and a toll free technical assistance line for Dell owners, the HP has a slight edge in price and is generally of better quality and longevity. Dell has much better choice of colour in a multitude of strong candy-coloured casings but overall HP is still thinner, sleeker and more attractive. There are some cheap Dell laptops on the market though that might be just what you need.

If this does not sound like the type of device for you, then consider it for a young one on your gift list, as it is cheap and a fun starter computer. The best of luck selecting your next computing device.

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Laptops On Sale – Dell Vostro

Have you noticed that there are many different places out there competing for your business so much that they’re ready to just give you the laptop. Actually not for free, but almost everyone out there has laptops on sale. In some cases the prices are just too hard to believe.

The need for computers are growing by leaps and bounds, but the prices have come down greatly. Now is the time to check out some of the leaders of technology and see what kind of laptop for sale they can offer you.

Take a look at Dell, they have their new Vostro 1720 laptop which is great for small and medium size business owner. If there was ever a time to invest in a good quality notebooks on sale without spending too much. I picked up this one at such a great price at just under $1000.

The reason I paid even that much was because I wanted the 4GB of memory. If I wasn’t looking for the extra memory then I could have save another $300 by getting the one with just 1 GB of memory. Cheap Dell laptops are a great buy no matter what. I don’t recommend getting a laptop of any kind with just 1GB of memory. The reason for that is that you’ll find that the system doesn’t run as efficiently has it should. You can get the unit with 2GB of memory and spend less than $850 for it.

As for the rest of the Vostro, it has everything I need, a 17″ screen, an 80gig hard drive along with Windows Vista. I will say that if you are the type of person that uses Skype or any other VIoP type system, this laptop doesn’t have a integrated webcam or microphone. Like I said the Vostro 1720 has everything I need.

Maybe it’s all you really need too.

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