I was never a big fan of Dell, but after the Inspiron, I will never go back. I would have given them no stars if I could. Here are all the problems I have had in the last 1 1/2 years...

1) Heat. The fan is not sufficient to keep the machine cool. If you use this on your lap, it will start to burn you and overheat (and subsequently crash) in about an hour.

2) Noisy. When the fan does kick in, you better have headphones. It is loud and whiny.

3) Mouse buttons. The left mouse button under the spacebar constantly breaks off. The plastic that secures the button the the case is poor. The worst part is you have to send your computer to Dell to have the button replaced. Mine has broken off three times!

4) Memory slots. When I went to upgrade my memory for 256MB, the memory socket failed. It kept crashing my system and I had to eventually send my computer back to have the motherboard replaced.

5) AC. My latest problem is keep it powered up. When you plug in the AC adapter, the system continues to run on batter power. I still haven't figured out how to get this fixed.

6) Crappy support. Buy a speakerphone before you call them. You will be on hold for at least an hour. Email support takes a week for a response.

7) Battery recall. Certain batteries spontaneously combust.

Like the subject says, buy something else. I won't touch a Dell ever again.

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 2200.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 401-500
Screen Size: 12
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: CD-ROM
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20