Dell Inspiron 4100, Great Laptops don't have to be Cumbersome.
Written: Jul 16 '02 (Updated Jul 17 '02)
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Pros: Fast, up to 1.2 GHz of P3-M pure power, attractive, desktop replacement capability, variety.
Cons: Only one USB port, No IEEE 1394, pricey options.
The Bottom Line: If you think that powerful laptops have to be heavy and cumbersome, the Dell Inspiron 4100 redefines what a powerful laptop is meant to be.
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| lavoisier's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 4100 PIII-M 1.13 GHz / 20GB / 128 MB... |
The Inspiron 4100 series is the middle of the line notebook computer that Dell offers for the consumer market, compared to the Latitude for the corporate market; it was powerful enough to qualify as a desktop replacement laptop. However, unlike many desktop replacement laptops, this laptop is thin, light and much easier to carry compared to the Dell Inspiron 8100, 2500 and any other desktop replacement laptops.
Basically this is just a relocation of my original Dell Inspiron 4100 that I've posted on Mar. 5, 2002 since epinions merged the previous Inspiron 4100 topic into the Dimension 4100, come on; the Dimension is a desktop, not a laptop. Why would epinions do such a thing. For members, please, if you happend to have written a review on the Inspiron 4100, please relocate your review to this topic.
When in search of a laptop computer, I wanted something that has the capabilities of a desktop replacement laptop, but I wanted it lighter, because I use it while I travel or in school. There are many choices out there, but many of the ones that I'm looking for didn't even include a modular floppy drive, and that many have a short battery time. When I looked at the selection that Dell has with their Inspiron lineup, their battery time was what really amazed me and their Inspiron 4100 has it. It's lightweight and thin (under 1.5-inch thick) dimensions really make it a great deal.
Features
Processors and Memory:
The selection of Pentium 3-M processors was what really attracting me to buy a Dell laptop. With a choice between 1.0GHz to 1.2GHz, I can choose the processor that I need based on my applications. In my case, some entertainment and work.
For the memory, the system can come with at least 128MB of memory up to 1GB of memory, but the prices of memory upgrades are too expensive and it can be easily be upgraded economically by the user. Of course on an occasional basis, Dell offers good promotions like hard drive upgrades for no extra charge. So shoppers should keep an eye on their nation's Dell website.
Storage and the Modular Bay
For file storage, Dell also offers a variety of options for hard drives and optical drives. AS for the hard drive, you can choose from capacities of 20 to 40 GB of storage space (user accessible bay) and there's also a wide variety of optical storage options available too, from a plain CD ROM to the ultimate CD Rewriter/DVD combo multifunction drive.
The nice thing about the optical drive bay is that it's removable for all possible configurations. You can even shed some weight from the laptop with the travel light module for the bay when you don't need any drives other than the hard drive. With the modular bay, you can even house an extra battery for hours of productivity without sacrificing mobility. Even the floppy drive can be used along with anything (except for the travel light module) that is in the modular bay when connected through the parallel port.
Display
Although screen sizes are limited to the 14.1-inch display, but you can choose from 3 separate resolutions, depending on applications. Most people will do just fine with the XGA format resolution, which is plenty for a 14.1-inch screen. But I would recommend that buyers go for an SXGA screen instead, because it doesn't really cost much more than the XGA and it produces sharper colors, brighter display, have a greater viewing angle and higher resolution is supported. But for even brighter colors, sharper images and a wider viewing angle, the UXGA screen is recommended for photography and some video editing to properly display lifelike colors.
For the external video, the laptop features an ATi Radeon mobile graphics chip to produce professional slide shows, presentations or to display into a professional monitor without sacrificing image quality. With the optional Nvidia GeForce2 Go graphics chip, it can even make your laptop image even better than most integrated graphic chips and it's ideal for those who are using the laptop for entertainment purposes like gaming. The laptop also includes a TV output port for displaying your laptop screen to projectors and TV for your DVD movies to be viewed on a larger screen.
Although this isn't much of a multimedia machine, because of the lack of integrated Firewire ports, but it's considered a worthwhile compared to Dell's heavy Inspiron 8100 series.
Peripheral Connection
For connecting to your peripherals, there are several ports that can do just that. With the printer port it allows you to easily connect a printer; it also provides a PS/2 port if you do happen to prefer an external keyboard or mouse instead of the laptop's keyboard or mouse; a serial port for some of your older devices such as your older handheld computers; an infrared port also allows you to use a printer that is far from where you use your printer without hooking the printer cable to your laptop; it also features an S-video output for projecting a larger image of your laptop screen, it also features 2 Type I/II PC card slots or one Type III PC card slot for your wireless network cards, additional ports and even as a multimedia card reader such as an SD/MMC card adapter. However with the power of the desktop in a thin and light form, it was a shame that the laptop didn't even feature a Firewire Port for your digital camcorder or high-speed devices. But that is available through 3rd party vendors under a PC card interface. Even with the many USB devices out there, the laptop only featured one USB port, which means you have to buy a portable hub to connect more USB devices without giving up one USB port or buy a PC card adapter for even more USB ports.
For going online, there are two choices for doing that, either the traditional phone line through the 56K V.90 modem or broadband with the integrated Network card. Either way, you can get online easily with the free Internet access for a short time (some restrictions do apply though) when buying your laptop through Dell.
If you do want to enjoy some audio personally, I would really recommend getting a set of external speakers or headphones, because laptop speakers aren't usually designed for heavy multimedia use.
Other Features
As for the keyboard, Dell's laptop keyboards can feel a little springy at first, but once you get the hang of it, you'll get used to it and it types very quietly. For cursor pointing, Dell offers 2 options in the Inspiron 4100, as they include a touch pad or eraser head. Again if you don't feel comfortable using either device, by all means you can still use the PS/2 or USB keyboard or mouse.
Even as a full featured laptop, it didn't even include Internet shortcut buttons like e-mail, homepage or search. If it did, it would really make our lives easier with this laptop.
As for the software, the selection included the Microsoft Works Suite or Microsoft Office depending on the user preference. But it really is just productivity software. They do feature an Anti-Virus software, but it only lasts for a short 90 days for a trial. Currently the operating system availability includes the Windows XP Home or Professional.
Although this is often ignored, but buyers can actually dress up their laptop with color palm rests. Although useless, but if the user likes to really personalize their laptop, by all means go for it.
The warranty is basically just up to the industry standard of just one year, but you can actually pay extra for longer term manufacturer warranty, but it could really add up to the cost quickly.
With a weight of as little as 5.5 lbs. and a thickness of just 1.47 inches, the laptop really makes it really easy to carry thanks to its 2-spindle design. It's ideal for those who would like a desktop replacement laptop, yet concerned about the weight and size when carrying it around. It isn't super thin or super light like those sub-notebooks of those mobile warriors use like the Toshiba Portege. With a notebook battery time of up to over 3 hours, this really gives you the power without the sacrifice of inconvenience. With the price starting at about $1200 or more, depending on the user options; this laptop is really a great deal. With such a great deal and power, they should really have the Inspiron 4100 as the flagship of consumer laptop for Dell instead of the Inspiron 8100 and it also acts as a faithful replacement to the Inspiron 4000. But if you happened to purchased an Inspiron 4000 over the last year or two, it will still last you for a good amount of time.
My Notebook:
Intel Pentium 3 at 1.13GHz
128MB of SDRAM (Upgraded to 512MB)
30GB Hard Drive (Free Upgrade)
8x CD-RW/DVD combo drive
56K Modem + 10/100 Ethernet Card
2nd Battery
14.1-inch SXGA screen with 16MB ATi video.
3-year warranty with 3-year phone support
MS Works Suite 2002
Windows XP Home Edition
Paid well under $1900 for that, but it's worth it over the Inspiron 8100.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1950
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 14
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30
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lavoisier
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Member: Hugh Jazz
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Reviews written: 180
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