The Dell Inspiron 9300 (I9300L1) PC Notebook is simply great
Written: Aug 03 '05 (Updated Dec 21 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: large screen, great multimedia package
Cons: hot to hold on your lap
The Bottom Line: I don't have a single serious complaint
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| some_guy5's Full Review: Dell Inspiron™ 9300 (I9300L1) PC Notebook |
I recently bought what I can only describe my favorite toy ever, the Dell Inspiron 9300. This can be used as a total desktop replacement, but I have chosen to keep my desktop and add a router for wireless networking/internet capabilities. Now I can spend time working or playing on the laptop and still spend time with my family. My notebook’s capabilities are as follows.
• Intel Pentium Processor at 1.73 GHz
• 17 inch Ultrasharp Wide screen XGA+ Display
• 512MB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm
• 128MB ATIs Mobility Radeon X300 Video Card
• 80GB Hard Drive
• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
• Integrated 10/100 Network Card and modem
• 8x CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double layer write capability
• Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)
• 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
• 3 Year Warranty
When purchasing any Dell it pays big dividends to do your homework. For starters they e-mail me coupons of varying value on a weekly basis. You can also search online and find general coupons that anyone can use. Keep a sharp eye out and you will be able to save $750 or more. My system was priced at about $2,200 and I payed $1,600 including tax.
Shipping and Delivery
Shipping is one area where I have been simply thrilled with Dell. The deal that finally caused me to pull the trigger happened to come up about 10 days before I was to leave for vacation. I bought the notebook fearing the hassle I would have to go through to keep it from getting returned to Dell while I was gone. 7 days from my order date UPS made the first delivery attempt at my house. I called UPS and was able to pick up my notebook that same night. The delivery came about a week before their predicted date range. On the downside, Dell requires a signature in person on all their items, so I have to go to UPS every single time. Oh well.
Looks and Function
The Dell Inspiron 9300 is surprisingly large on first impression. I think that is the price you pay for the large screen and all its functionality. It measures 1.6 inches high by 15.5 inches wide by 11.3 inches deep. The Dell Inspiron 9300 weighs 7.85 pounds. The upper case is all silver, with a Dell logo on the upper lid. “Inspiron” is printed on the bottom of the upper lid. The bottom of the case is black plastic. Within the open clamshell is the screen (obviously), the keyboard and the touchpad. The keyboard takes up surprisingly little of the available space and below the keyboard is the touchpad. Given that there is so much extra room I wish the keyboard could be a bit bigger, with larger keys and it would be nice to have the numeric keypad since there is room. As far as the touchpad, well this is my first notebook so I have no frame of reference, but I don’t like it and within a week I bought a mouse. I am told it is quite good for a touchpad and I just need to get used to it. I didn’t want to get used to it. Along the left side is the DVD tray and two USB inputs. The front of the unit has multimedia controls such as volume, play, pause, etc. The right side of the unit has a secure digital slot, headphone jack, microphone input and another input labeled 1394, which is a firewire port. The rear of the Dell Inspiron 9300 includes the AC input, 4 USB ports, a S-video output and several other jacks I don’t recognize.
Screen and Sound
The screen is actually my one regret regarding this purchase. I opted not to get the upgraded UXGA screen. The costs were mounting up in a hurry and I felt the standard screen would be fine. I have noticed some quality issues while reading or viewing pictures. I don’t blame the Inspiron, but rather me not knowing exactly what I was doing. The screen is however nice and large, a 17 inch widescreen. Strangely I have watched several movies on the computer on a recent trip and didn’t have single complaint with how those looked. In order for the screen to function best, you need to be directly in front of it. That is to say that the screen looks best when pointing directly at you. If you get too far above, below, or two either side then the visibility of the screen starts to fade out.
As far as notebooks go I would rate the sound as phenomenal. You can actually sit and listen to music and enjoy it. I am not talking about tinny little barely audible music. The audio is exceptional with headphones on and the included speakers are hands down the best I have ever heard in a notebook.
Battery
The first thing I have to say about the battery is that when you are operating from the battery the screen is dimmer. I don’t like it. I am sure you could change the setting, but then also drain the battery faster. I think my battery life (I have the 6 cell) is a little over two hours. I have never drained it from full to empty but I project over two hours based on about 90 minutes of use and how much the indicator projects that I have left. I don’t have to use the battery all that much but in hind sight it would be nice to have the upgraded battery.
Heat
The Dell Inspiron 9300 seems to handle heat very well. There are exhaust vents at the rear of the unit. The air coming out has always seemed very cool. When working with the Dell Inspiron 9300 on your lap is where I notice the heat. Even through a pillow it can super heat my lap over time. It doesn’t seem to have any problem keeping itself cool, but I am another matter.
My Experience
From an entertainment perspective I would say I have put the Dell Inspiron 9300 through its paces rather thoroughly. For starters, I have watched probably 5 movies on it since I have owned it, including on an airplane. It was honesltly a bit large to fit on the tray table on the plane but the movies have looked and sounded great, using both the speakers and headphones. I have used the DVD burner to burn 3 DVDs and have again been thrilled. Burning is very easy with the included utility. I also listen to music on the laptop. I have copied 15 or so discs directly from cd to the laptop at an average speed of about 10x, using both Music Match and Windows Media Player. Additionally I shared the music from my desktop computer and copied about 100 discs over the wireless network to my hard drive in about an hour. Most of the time I use the Dell Inspiron 9300 to surf the internet over my wireless connection. This isn't any great strain for most computers, nor is it on this one. I haven't yet played any games (well other than a little solitaire on the plane) so I can't speak to what it would do with a serious sound and graphics test but it has been great so far.
As far as work, I have done a bit of word processing but other than that, all I need is a stable internet connection to log in remotely. The Dell Inspiron 9300 is more than up to my work needs.
Bang for the Buck
I did not buy the Dell Inspiron 9300 as a budget item. I think you could get a new, bare bones laptop in the $400 to $600 range. I think if you want to surf the web and maybe listen to cd's then an entry level laptop could be great for you. I wanted several higher end options that quickly drove the price up. For one, I opted for 80 gig of hard drive space. I don't expect to tax the hard drive especially but space is something I never wanted to have to worry about. I wanted a DVD burner. I have a new baby and it is nice to be able to share the home movies. It is also nice to have the DVD burner integrated so you don't have to struggle to get it working properly when you add it later. I also upgraded to 512 Meg of RAM, purely because someone told me that I needed that much. One of the justifications for me getting a laptop is that it could double as a portable DVD player. For that reason I wanted large and wide screen. While I certainly could have gotten by on less I think the Dell Inspiron 9300 delivers a good amount perks for its hefty price.
Conclusion
I give my Dell Inspiron 9300 an A+. It has only a few minor drawbacks, but I have been very happy with every function I have put it to. I guess this notebook is on the high end price wise, but in this case I think you get what you pay for.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1600
Operating System: Windows
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: Greater than 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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