Dell vs. Toshiba....when it's your money
Written: Apr 28 '00 (Updated Apr 28 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Well made, reliable....and a gorgeous 15 inch screen
Cons: The Pentium III fan is noisy
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| Bonies7's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 5000 R500LO |
Okay, true confessions time again. I've been touting Toshiba laptops for several years to my friends and neighbors. But a big reason that I was so favorable towards them was the fact that they were provided to me by the corporate purchasing department of the company where I was employed - and of course I did not pay for them out of my own pocket. Thus the price/value ratio was not a consideration, nor was the external technical service support an issue. Simply put - if anything went wrong - I just called on corporate tech support internally.
So - what do I do when I decide to launch my own consulting firm? I buy a Dell laptop. The Dell Inspiron 5000 to be precise - at a price of just under $2700 out of my own pocket. And therein lies the tale of this particular review and why - when the money going out the door was mine - that I chose Dell after using Toshibas for the last five years.
The quick summary, for those of you skimming through several notebook reviews before you make a purchase decision, is two-fold. And neither involves Dell being cheaper than Toshiba, because the Dell was actually slightly more expensive. The first reason was the laptop screen - a Super XGA monster that actually offers 15 inches of display on this unit. Yes - a 15 inch integrated screen on a laptop. Heck - my first desktop only had a 14 inch monitor, and now Dell has a laptop with a screen larger than that. I found that amazing. And that Super XGA has 60% more pixels than the standard laptop screen features, for an added cost of about $150, which I considered money well spent to get that much screen real estate.
The second quick reason was reliability coupled with free lifetime technical support. I've owned Dell desktops for years at my home, and the handful of times that I've had problems, Dell tech support solved every one of them. There is a reason that Dell consistently shows up as number one in consumer computer ratings - and tech support is a key element. And although Toshiba makes a fine unit, I've had my share of problems with three different Toshiba laptops. Each problem, whether large or small, required a stay in the company tech hospital of one to three days. Now that doesn't bother you when you're able to pick up a "loaner" while yours is being repaired. But when the laptop you're carrying doesn't have a backup unit waiting in the wings, you've got to consider that downtime as potentially disastrous.
You may be wondering about the portability and weight of the Dell Inspiron. With integrated floppy, modem and 24x cd-rom - the unit weighs 7.2 lbs. There are lighter Dells, and lighter Toshibas available. But I definitely wanted the cd-rom integrated - and not as an external peripheral. I've had an external cd-rom with an earlier Toshiba model, but I still had to carry it with me when I travelled. So the weight was still there in my briefcase, just in two separate pieces. And yes - I'd consider myself a power user - with my laptop used as a desktop replacement, not just an email or internet connection device.
What else did I get for my hard earned dollars? A huge hard drive for a portable - 12 gigs of storage space. The ram is 96mb, and the graphics card is a robust ATI 8mb video card. Both are perfect for processing images rapidly - whether it be for a Powerpoint slide presentation - or the latest graphics intensive video game to keep me occupied when I'm in a lonely hotel room. The processor is a Pentium III, with 500 mhz speed. And that super fast processor does cause me a bit of consternation, since the noise of the fan is louder than any laptop I've ever owned. But in the battle of whether speed or comfort wins, I opted for the speed demon.
One other minor dislike is the material, or the shell housing, of the Dell. It is obviously made of the lightest material they can utilize, but the end result is that it is prone to show off fingerprints on its shiny black surface. A minor issue, to be sure. But the Toshiba's grey units do not suffer this same malady. And so the Dell looks "used" almost immediately, and I've been unable to clean the fingerprint smudges off the unit.
But that vibrant, large screen makes all the minor annoyances seem trivial. And I've gotten use to the touchpad after using a Accupoint pointing device on Toshibas all these years. I actually have fallen in love with the touchpad after being frustrated at its sensitivity the first week. And the reason is a simple one. You can click (or double click) by just touching the touchpad screen - as opposed to using a pointer to position the cursor, and a second finger movement to push the separate mouse button.
And yes - if you're still with me - the Dell came pre-loaded with all the software you need to run a business. The Microsoft Small Business 2000 Edition, with Word 2000 and Excel 2000. You also get a the Microsoft Bookshelf 2000 with all the reference books available on a cd-rom. And you get a nifty seven minute video that shows you a sample of the unit you've purchased, and exactly where to plug in all of the various cords and accessories. Quite helpful to those who don't want to bother reading an owner's manual - which of course is also provided.
I've now had the Dell Inspiron 5000 for three weeks, and have found it be to a superior unit to my previous Toshibas. Not only because of the faster processor, but also because of the intelligent design and engineering that is built solidly within the unit. The out of box experience was first-rate, and the usability of the Dell has exceeded my expectations after the first week of adjustment from using Toshiba machines.
Oh....and that 15 inch screen continues to amaze me. In one word - Wow....!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Bonies7
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: Jeff Clow
Location: The Lone Star State
Reviews written: 132
Trusted by: 1018 members
About Me:
Father, Husband, Consultant, Photographer, Writer, Conservative, Inquisitive, Texan
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