I am starting MBA in fall and my school requires all the students have a notebook. I decided to buy Dell Inspiron 2500, because at that time Dell offered the best deal comparing to Compaq, Toshiba or IBM. I paid for my notebook $1,670.

My notebook specifications are:
· Processor/MHz Intel Celeron 700
· RAM 128MB, 2 DIMMS
· Hard Drive 10GB
· CD/DVD 8X DVD-ROM
· Display 15'' XGA
· Ethernet 10/100
· Modem 56K V.90
· Video Card 4 MB
· 2 USB ports, 1 serial and 1 parallel port
· Floppy Drive
· PC Card
· 59WHr Lithium Ion 8-Cell Battery
· 3 years warranty – parts and mail in with life time telephone support
· Operating System WinME – actually I wanted Win 2000 Professional, but this offer had only WinME. I don’t like WinME, because it is unstable and crashes often. My notebook is designed also for Win 2000 Professional and recently installed it by myself. Now the system works very good.

In addition, the computer came with the following software bundle:

· Intervideo Software DVD
· Norton Antivirus 2001
· MS Works Suite 2001 Standard/ Microsoft Office 2000
· Free Internet Access Service DellNet by MSN 1 year/ 6 months AOL

I have been using my notebook for approximately two months and so fare I am happy with it. It works very good and it very fast. What I like about Dell Inspiron 2500 hardware is that it has an intergrated DVD/CD-ROM and I also have a free place for installing a ZIP drive or something else in the future. I like also the keyboard and the shape of Dell Inspiron 2500.

What bothers me a little is that my RAM used already my two Dimms (two 64 RAM chips) and if I want to extend it I have to buy two 128 RAM chips.

The monitor is XGA and has 15” display and this eases the work with the computer. However, its resolution can only go up to 1024 by 768, which is not a lot. Anyway, I must say that I watched movie on it and the quality is quite good.

I did not like that Dell had only this offer with WinMe operating system. I wanted to install Win2000 Professional and I called the technical support twice to be sure that my notebook will work with it. They told me that Dell does not support upgrades from WinME to Win 2000 Professional. They only support upgrades to Win XP. I do not understand why Dell does not offer support for upgrading Inspiron 2500 with WinME to Win 2000 Professional, although they already sell other notebook systems with Win 2000 Professional.

I did not want MS Works bundle, because I use Microsoft Office 2000 Professional, but it was included.

What I also like about Dell is the financing opportunity for qualified customers for up to 48 months. Recently Compaq also offers it, too. Others have only a leasing option for businesses.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1670
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Celeron
Processor speed: 601-700
Screen Size: 15
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20