AFTER MUCH CONTEMPLATION, RESEARCH, COMPARISON, AND SAVING, I FINALLY DECIDED ON PURCHASING THE DELL INSPIRON 8100. THIS LAPTOP WAS WHAT I NEEDED IN TERMS OF POWER, ECONOMY, AND CONVENIENCE.
FOR $2550, INCLUDING INCENTIVES, I WAS ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER A KICK A-- MACHINE THAT RIVALS SOME DESKTOPS. I DECIDED ON A 1.0 GHz PENTIUM III INSTEAD OF THE 1.13 GHz,(13/100 GHz WAS NOT WORTH THE COST OF THE UPGRADE), 512 MB OF SDRAM, 133 M 2 DIMMS, 32 MB DDR 4X AGP NVIDIA GEOFORCE 2 GO VIDEO CARD, GO GB INTERNAL HARD DRIVE, MINIPCI 56K + 10/100 INTERNAL MODEM, 8X CD RW INTERNAL DRIVE, 8X DVD MODULAR DRIVE, 15 IN. UXGA SCREEN, A MODULAR FLOPPY DRIVE, SPARE BATTERY, AND BOTH THE JOY STICK STYLE MOUSE AND THE PRESSURE PLATE MOUSE.
THE SOFTWARE PACKAGE INCLUDED WINDOWS XP, INTERVIDEO SOFTWARE DVD, AOL 6.0 (6 MONTHS FREE), MSN (6 MONTHS FREE), SYMANTEC NORTON ANTIVIRUS 2002, DELL PICTURE STUDIO, MUSIC MATCH 6.0, MS WORKSUITE 2002, AND THE DELL RESOURCE CD.
I FOUND THE WINDOWS XP APPLICATIONS TO BE EASY TO USE AND MOVE AROUND IN. THE PICTURE STUDIO, THE CD BURNER, MUSIC MATCH, AND THE DVD SOFTWARE VERY SIMPLE TO USE. THE ONLY PROBLEM I HAD WITH THE SOFTWARE IS TRYING TO RUN SOME OF MY OLD GAMES WHICH DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THE VIDEO CARD. OH YES, THIS MACHINE WEIGHS IN AT A WHOPPING 15.5 POUNDS, INCLUDING THE SPARE BATTERY.
I AM VERY PLEASED WITH THE INSPIRON AND I WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE. I WOULD SUGGEST BARGAINING WITH THE DELL SALESPEOPLE BECAUSE YOU CAN PUT TOGETHER A GOOD MACHINE AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE. BY THE WAY, GO IN WITH YOUR OWN FINANCING, IT WILL GIVE YOU MORE LEVERAGE.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 2550
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: over 1000
Internal Storage: CD-RW
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50