Burn, Baby...Burn!!! Dell Inspiron 8000
Written: Apr 06 '01
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Pros: Burn CDs with this incredibly powerful notebook and then sit down and watch a DVD
Cons: Still a little on the heavy side. Comes with Adaptec's Easy CD Creator
The Bottom Line: This machine really does replace your multimedia desktop. It burns CDs, plays DVDs and is truly a presentation machine.
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| gym-378's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 8000 Series |
So my boss needs a new laptop and he comes to me and let's me know that he wants me to start exploring the options. My first response is to ask him what he wants out of this new machine. His response:
1) I need it to be a true presentation machine. Lots of video memory, DVD drive, Video out leads, etc...
2) I want it to burn CDs. I'm tired of having to have a notebook and a desktop. Find me one with a CDRW drive.
3) It needs to completely replace my desktop machine. I want to bring it in, dock it, and be ready to type on my keyboard, use my mouse, and view the desktop on my 21" monitor.
4) Fast processor and lots of memory.
5) I still want a large display. When I'm traveling, I want to be able to view a 15" viewable screen.
When he got done, I was a little worried about whether or not such a machine actually existed. My biggest concern was whether I could find a laptop with a CDRW drive.
One stop at Dell's web site, however, and my fears were gone. The Inspiron 8000 offered exactly what we needed and the configuration we purchased was:
PIII 850
15" viewable screen (equivalent of some 17" monitors)
ATI Mobility video card with 32MB of memory
256MB Single DIMM so we could add another 256 if necessary
20GB ATA 100 Hard Drive
8X CDRW Drive
DVD/CD Drive
Sounds a lot like a desktop, eh? Well it runs like one too! Out of the box, this machine has been a dream. Installation of Windows 2000 Profesional was a snap (we install the OS ourselves rather than pay Dell's price for it) and the machine is smoking fast.
I was pleasantly surprised to find no burned out pixels in the display since any laptop with a 15" screen is within Dell's quality control standard if it has less than 4 burned out pixels and the video quality is excellent.
I was not very happy with the fact that the CDRW drive came with Adaptec's Easy CD Creator since I find this program to be inferior to programs such as Nero or CDR-Win, but I can live with having to buy another license for one of these products.
The only other downside to the machine is that it is still as heavy as the Inspiron 7000s. But I guess when you pack all that power into a slimline case it has to weigh a little more than the average puny portable.
As for replacing a desktop, we also purchased the 8000 series port replicator which comes with a build in 10/100 ethernet jack, audio inputs and outputs, monitor input, and serial and ps2 ports. The port replicator also comes with a monitor stand, but the stand only supports a maximum of 100 lbs so we opted not to use it for his huge 21" monitor. The port replicator also has the great feature of being able to control the machine's power, so you can slip the laptop in place with the top down and turn the machine on and of by pressing a button on the port replicator instead of having to open the top each time.
Overall I am VERY impressed with the 8000. It may be a little heavier than some of the portables on the market, but the extra weight is worth it to anyone who needs true multimedia machine capable of playing DVDs and burning CDs.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 3900
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 801-900
Screen Size: 15
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20
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gym-378
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Location: Kansas City, MO
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