Excellent machine
Written: Feb 14 '05
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Pros: performance/cost ratio
reliability
Cons: That stupid CD-Rom
The Bottom Line: Excellent computer. It's all laid out in the review.
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| pompous's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 5100 (5100BS1) PC Notebook |
The Dell Inspiron 5100, while having its share of weaknesses, is a more than competent machine at a comparatively low price and, having owned one for almost two years, I have no regrets in choosing this computer. Being a laptop, it is not the most amazing machine for gaming, but still manages to perform at a reasonable level. On the other hand, it outperforms most laptops in the market and does so with low prices and excellent technical support.
The computer comes with 256 MB DDR SDRAM, which does not allow for the most impressive gaming speeds; however, it still manages to run even the most modern games. Microsoft’s very graphic intensive Halo runs with very few problems, and the very recently released Battle For Middle Earth runs smoothly despite its lofty requirements. These games do run on the computer; however, the fact that it is a laptop means decreased performance and ultimately means that some of the graphic settings need to be lowered significantly before the game will run at a reasonable speed. The decreased graphic settings lower game quality, but that is to be expected out of a laptop.
The strongest aspect of this computer is its reliability. After nearly two years of use, there is only one component of this computer that has given any trouble at all. The CD-ROM went out twice, but when this happened technical support was very helpful and the warranty covered the damage with no questions asked. The main problem with technical support is that they give you two options: You can send the computer in to have them replace the bad part, or you can replace the part yourself. If sent in, it will take a long time for them to receive the computer, do the swap, and get it back to you. If doing it yourself, just keep in mind that laptops are very small and there is extraordinarily little space to work inside the computer. Seeing as replacing the CD-Rom myself is the option I chose, I would know that very well. It was quite straightforward, and the only challenges were managing to grab the puny screws and fit my hands in the small holes but there were times when I had proof that bigger is not always better (having bigger hands would have made this job a nightmare). Aside from that, everything runs as smoothly as it did the day it first showed up in the mail.
If I may return to the issue of technical support for a minute, I have seen some people blast Dell for having poor technical support. First off, this guy was mad at them because his computer was loaded with spy ware. When it comes down to it that isn’t their fault and they shouldn’t know what to do about it. When it comes to problems that Dell is actually responsible for (for example, their CD-Rom breaking within six months of use) they were quite prompt and exceedingly helpful. I’m not sure if I can legitimately say that their tech support is prompt all the time since I called at 4AM (if you want prompt service, do it when nobody in their right mind is awake), but I can tell you for sure that it is open 24 hours a day. On the other hand, I feel no guilt telling you that the assistance was excellent. I called, gave them the ID number off of my computer, told them the CD-Rom wasn’t functioning and the tech guy said I would receive a new one in the mail within 3-5 days. Four days later I had a brand spanking new CD-Rom and, since the one in my computer had been discontinued, it was a better model than what I originally had. Oh yeah, did I mention that everything was covered by the warranty? Not a penny out of my pocket for prompt replacement (and upgrades) of my broken part.
This laptop shines where other laptops seem to fail. At first, it seems obnoxious that it may be a little heavier, but shortly after you will come to understand why. The main weakness that many laptops have is battery life. After all, what’s the point in having a laptop if you can’t even use it without plugging it in? The main example of how this computer beats the others in this aspect is watching movies. Most laptops that I have experienced were unable to show a full movie without running out of batteries. The Inspiron 5100, however, displays the entirety of Matrix Reloaded before proudly laughing and demanding more. It seems to have a run-time off batteries of approximately 3.5 hours, even under the most strenuous conditions (such as movie watching or playing the games which overload its’ RAM and video card). This computer tends to outdo all the other laptops simply based on its’ battery life.
Ultimately, the Dell Inspiron 5100 is a very good machine to purchase. It is surprisingly capable for gaming despite being a laptop, remarkably reliable, tech support is quite good, and it has a longer battery life than the competition. The one thing to watch out for is the CD-ROM breaking, but that really isn’t much of an issue since it will be covered by Dells warranty. When it comes down to it, I think that it would be very difficult to beat the price/value ratio of this computer.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1100
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: Under 200
Screen Size: 15 inches
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 31-40
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pompous
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