Dell Inspiron 9100 - Hefty !Hefty! Hefty!
Written: Jun 21 '04
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Pros: Full power Pentium 4 not a mobile processor, 1024 MB memory and DVD burner.
Cons: A bit heavy to carry around
The Bottom Line: I would recommend this to anyone looking for a powerful laptop where the weight isn't an issue.
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| opinionated3's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 9100 (9100rs2) PC Notebook |
My desktop PC at work started acting up and Windows XP was crashing on a regular basis. I figured since it was an under powered 1.7 GHz Pentium 4 it was in need of upgrading. I convinced my boss that what I really needed was a much more powerful laptop to replace this slower Dell Inspiron 1100. So what we came up with was the best of both worlds for me; a laptop that will replace my desktop and it is mobile for me troubleshooting jobs. This machine is much more powerful than my desktop and light years faster than my current laptop.
You are probably thinking what laptop would be powerful enough to replace a desktop and still be portable. The answer is the Dell Inspiron 9100 laptop and it is a truly wonderful piece of machinery.
Dell Inspiron 9100
The Inspiron 9100 laptop represents a major change in direction for Dell laptops, instead of worrying about portability and weight Dell pumped up the power and features. Dell packed this baby with a full featured Pentium 4 instead of a low power mobile processor. So when I first opened the box and pull out this monster laptop I knew it wasn't going to be a lightweight machine.
After pulling it out of the box I had to do all of our usual setup procedures; this includes the initial Windows XP installation and activation procedure. Once I had the preliminary steps out of the way, it was time to set up the network settings so I could connect to our network. The network connection was handled by the integrated Ethernet adapter. We also added a wireless Ethernet card into one of the open slots and this will allow me to roam around our plant. Let me tell you a little bit about the features and what I like about this latest laptop from Dell.
Processor and Memory: With so many laptop choices that are available on the market today, it shouldn't be hard to find a laptop that suits your needs. The Dell Inspiron 9100 Laptop gave us the all the features I needed to fit all my needs. As I stated I was wanting to use this as a desktop replacement as well as a portable machine for my troubleshooting jobs. The computer I was replacing is running a Pentium 4 1.7 GHz processor and running 1GB of DDR PC 2700 memory. Everything is mounted on a ASUS P4PE motherboard running 333 MHz FSB (Front Side Bus). As you can see I was running an under powered machine and the new Dell Inspiron 9100 just flat out blew it away. Dell packed powerful Intel Pentium 4 3.2 GHz processor with Hyper Threading technology and 1GB of memory onto its motherboard running 800 GHz FSB. All that power to run my programs and trouble shooting has made my job a lot more pleasant. If it becomes necessary I can pop out the two 512 MB DIMM memory modules and pop in two 1 GB DIMM memory modules from Kingston and I would have 2 GB of total memory.
The drives - fixed and removable media: We selected a 60 GB hard drive for this machine since I was going to be using it as a desktop as well as a portable I needed as much storage space. I was also glad it came with a CD/DVD WR drive. With this drive I am able to use a wider range of media for my burning needs. The DVD burner allows me to create a disk that has an entire printer service manual on it and I don't have to carry a big bulky book around with me. When the need I arises I can download drivers from the web and burn them to a CD-R disk and not have to waste a DVD WR disk. But one thing that I have noticed is that the drive is slower than my CD-WR I had in my desktop, so I have to wait a little while longer burning a disk.
Screen and Video: My laptop has the 15.4" TFT wide aspect screen with WXGA resolution. We chose the 64MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9700 AGP 8X Graphics. Since I use mine for network access and printer testing I don't need high end video, so this works great for me. If you were looking for a better graphics to play games you could chose the 128MB version of the Mobility graphics card.
Keyboard and touchpad: If you are familiar we laptop keyboards then you won't have any problem with the Dell Inspiron 9100 since it has the same keyboard style as your typical laptop and it has the touch pad for the mouse movement. Since this is a desktop replacement I only use the laptop keypad and touch pad if I am away from my desk with it. When I am at my desk I use a wireless keyboard and optical mouse plugged in USB.
Modem and Network Connections: The Dell Inspiron 9100 comes with two integrated features for communications, one is the 56K modem and the other is the integrated 10/100 network interface card or NIC for short. Fortunately for us Dell included the NIC on this model since I use my laptop to connect to our corporate network and IBM AS400. The network connection was simple to setup through Windows XP and I up and running on our network. It come with an internal wireless NIC as well as the 10/100 wired NIC.
The 56K integrated modem will come in handy if I have to go out of town to one of our other facilities. With the integrated modem all I have to do is plug a phone line into the modem connector on the back and I am ready to dial into our network and I can receive email and talk to our corporate network.
Software and Operating System: My boss chose Windows XP Professional version as the operating system for all the laptops since the professional version of Windows XP works best with our corporate network. It came preloaded with Microsoft Office Professional 2003 and that was good since we will soon be upgrading all of our workstations to Office Professional 2003.
Portability: If you are looking for a thin notebook computer that is light and easy to carry around, this isn't the one for you. This model weighs in at a whopping 9.0 LB and is 2.0" thick closed up. But because I don't have to carry this laptop around for long distances it's size and weight doesn't bother me at all. The overall dimensions of this laptop are; 14.1" W x 10.8" D x 2.0" H. It fits nicely in the carrying case that my boss ordered with it along with my other tools I need to work on printers and PC's.
Specs
Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz Processorw/HT
1024 MB DDR 400 MHz
60 GB Ultra ATA HDD
15.4 WXGA TFT Screen
8X CD/DVD WR drive
64MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9700 AGP 8X Graphics
Integrated Sound
Integrated 56K modem
Integrated 10/100 NIC
Dell 1450 Dual Band Internal Wireless card
WinXP Professional OS
I/O ports ( 4 USB, 1 Firewire port, RJ-11, RJ-45, 15pin din, S-Video and DVI)
94Whr Lithium-ion battery with subwoofer
Final Thoughts
I haven't had this laptop for more than a month, but I am wondering how I have done without it. I am amazed at how much power that this portable computer has and I am sure I have barely scratched the surface of what it can do. I really like the wide aspect screen (15.4" TFT WXGA ) and the internal sound system is pretty good with the special subwoofer that is built into the battery. This allows me to listen and watch my training videos that are given to me on DVD.
Even though it is on the heavy side (9lb) I don't have problem with it when I have to work on a problem away from my desk. I am more concerned that the processor is fast enough and that it has enough memory (1 GB) to run all of my necessary programs. With it's built in 10/100 LAN connection and integrated Dell 1450 Dual Band Internal Wireless card I can easily connect it to our network on my desk or connect wireless throughout the plant.
The DVD burner is a really nice feature and I have used it on several occasions so far. I ended up loading Roxio CD Creator 7 on this since I was used to running it on my desktop. The way I figure it if you are used to something you might as well stick with it and just because a company loads a certain software on it for you it doesn't mean you are stuck using it. I can burn driver CD's for printers that I am working on in a matter of minutes or downloaded services manuals in about 10-20 minutes.
Fortunately there are two external monitor connectors (SVGA 15pin Din and DVI for digital monitors), they allows me to connect the my 17" Kogi Flat Panel monitor. I had to get a USB hub so I could connect all of my external devices (optical mouse, wireless keyboard and printer) this also make sit easy for me to just pick it up and carry it for a job.
As I explained earlier if you are looking for a slim and light laptop this is not for you. All you have to do is look at the case and you will see that it is designed for sitting on your desk and if you need to bring it home you can put it on your desk at home. Unlike a slimline laptops and notebooks this unit has thicker and more squared case design that has what looks like small feet in each of the front corners and a bar that goes across the full width and together it forms a pedestal to make it sit more stable on your desktop.
Unlike a desktop computer there aren't a whole of upgrades that can be done to a lap. As I described earlier the memory can be upgraded and it can be done easily by accessing the memory slots from the bottom of the laptop. You then just pull out the existing memory modules and put in the new ones.
One negative that I would point out is that the battery power doesn't not last very long and that is due mainly to the fact that it has a full power Pentium 4 processor and not a low power mobile version. If you are going to be away from your desk with this machine I would recommend you purchase a higher capacity battery from Dell. You can purchase a secondary battery from Dell which is a 132 WHr this will give you more battery life than the standard 96 WHr battery.
In closing I would definitely recommend this laptop for anyone that is looking for a PC that is powerful enough to keep up with most desktop computers and it is portable.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2500.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: Greater than 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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