BleepingComputer.com: Buying a new Laptop

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Buying a new Laptop Dell Inspirion 1525

#1 Charlie929

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Posted 18 September 2009 - 08:36 AM

Can anyone advise if this is a good unit to consider. I want something for home use, surfing playing DVD's downloading tunes etc. Comes with Vista. I belive this one I'm looking at is not current as listed on the Dell site. I think it;s the 15.4" screen so that makes it the '08 model? Any input pro's and cons would be appreciated.
Charlie

#2 RainbowSix

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Posted 20 September 2009 - 07:16 PM

Here are the specs I found for it.

15.4-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) CCFL TrueLife (glossy) screen
2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7250 processor
2GB DDR2-667 SDRAM (up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM available)
120GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD
8x Dual-layer DVD±RW drive
Video: Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Wireless: Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card

It doesn't look bad, but I would recommend you upgrade to 4GB RAM.

#3 Charlie929

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Posted 21 September 2009 - 07:51 AM

Thanks for the input RainbowSix. This unit has the intel Celeron processor and is loaded with Vista '07. So I guess that makes it actually an '07 model?

#4 RainbowSix

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Posted 21 September 2009 - 07:54 PM

Celeron processors are for basic use only. If you're ever going to play anything more advanced than solitaire, you should try to find one with the Core 2 Duo.

This post has been edited by RainbowSix: 21 September 2009 - 07:55 PM

#5 Aaron James

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Posted 22 September 2009 - 06:29 PM

Try to consider where will you use your laptop. If you will only do some internet surfing and searching, that could be a good specs. But if you install programs that require higher memory, have a laptop that has faster clock speed such as dual core or core 2 duo.

#6 Swordie

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Posted 25 September 2009 - 02:58 PM

If you are using for basic daily use, such as web browsing, e-mail, office documents, and maybe a little music and movie, that computer will do just fine. But anything beyond that, I would set this limit:

3 GB RAM
250+ GB SATA Hard Drive
No Chipset Graphics Cards
Dual Core Pentium, Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon x2, AMD Turion X2, Centrino Mobile X2 are all good processors, most likely you will fine Dual Core Pentium though.

Who said I couldn't have everything?