What's Inspiron 6000 Like?

Question

Hi

I'm getting a bit closer to the time when I might be buying a notebook so I'd like people's opinions on the Inspiron 6000. I've been looking at Thinkpads (the R51 and R52) but I've noticed the Inspiron 6000 seems to suit my budget. I'm looking at a version with a proper video card, either 64mb or 128mb depending on pricing at the time.

I'm a part time IT student (I'm studying to be a programmer) and I'm trying to start up an IT business using Java for web development (JSP 2/Servlets). I really need a notebook for presentations as well as for web development etc. Playing games and watching DVDs is fine but I'd be happy to have a notebook that's a solid reliable workhorse.

I've been told by one guy that where he works they have lots of trouble with Dell notebooks and that IBMs and Toshibas are more reliable. What do other people think of Dell notebooks? Is the Inspiron 6000 good with being well made and with the hard drive protection like they have in IBM notebooks?

My first computer was a Dell NetPlex 486 desktop that I bought about 10 years ago.

Thanks

Peter Mount
Australia

Paul1987 · Answer

only IBM uses that technoligy to secure harddisks before impact but if you want this notebook, go find al really good job or else you will not be able to afford it. dell is a good alternative is not expencive and i havný got any problems with both of my note books (I8200 I6000) the I8200 is almost 3 years old, but we never had to replace anything, and my 6000 has not had any problems until now.

Peter Mount · Answer

Hi Thanks for your reply. Your English seems fine to me Have a good day Peter Mount

Paul1987 · Answer

I've never seen dell mensouning about any kind of hard disk protection like ibm does it. But if you do, i wouldn't rely on it to save my system, the only advantage that it has on regular harddisks is that is secures your data, the rest of your notebook could get easely destoryed in such a fall. so i reccomend that you think about chosing a dell as your new notebook, and that you often make a full system backup. so you, even when your harddrive is destroyed keep your data safe.   ohw one thing, sorry for my bad english. I'm dutch so english is my second language and not my first. Message Edited by Paul1987 on 08-02-2005 09:29 AM

Peter Mount · Answer

Thanks for your reply.

I did read somewhere that Dell notebooks have some sort of protection for the hard drive. As it's not the same as the IBM hard drive protection then how has Dell implemented it?

Thanks

Peter Mount

ejn63 · Answer

Lenovo (the ThinkPads belong to Lenovo now, IBM having sold off its PC business) and Apple are the only two using the shock-sensor drive-park mechanism.

If you're looking at the ThinkPads, consider the Latitude D810, which is a fairer comparision to the Lenovos. It's a more solidly built notebook with a much better base warranty than the Inspiron 6000.

The 6000 is designed to be a consumer-grade machine and compete with the sales-floor models from HP/Compaq, Gateway and Acer. The Latitude D810 is a business-class machine that's more polished, less flashy, and better built.

Peter Mount · Answer

Hi ejn63

Thanks for your recommendation. I just looked the price of Latitude D810 (in Australian dollars) and it's beyond my budget at the moment. I suppose it depends on what sort of finance I can get (i.e. depending on the monthly repayments) but for now it just seems the Inspiron 6000 is more within what I can afford. I'd like to know if the Inspiron 6000 is built well enough to survive the knocks etc.

Thanks

Peter Mount

Paul1987 · Answer

My experience with the inspiron 6000 (i'm a student) is that i use it every where, in the train, bus, at home at work at school so it has to endure a lot of pichups and put downs. and he's holding quit good til now. the external case of the inspiron also feels stable (not sloppy or breakable) so the 6000 would also work for you

Peter Mount · Answer

Hi Paul1987

Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it.

I'm leaning more towards Dell now. After my class tonight I asked a couple of people about Dell compared to IBM and I got a bad comment about IBM service. I'm in Melbourne, Australia so obviously I can't comment about IBM's service in the rest of the world. Added to that I have already received recomendations for Dell by people I know who use Dell notebooks themselves.

It will be at least a couple more weeks (depending on other expenses) before I buy a notebook so I might be asking a few more questions before then. I'll keep looking at the Inspiron 6000 as my Dell notebook of choice

Have fun

Peter Mount

Paul1987 · Answer

I'm glad i could help you with my opinion,  if you have any questions at all, you could allso mail me @ Paul.tuinhout@gmail.com this way you'll get an responce even faster.

beestea · Answer

I just purchased my first new laptop after having a old Dell Latitude Notebook for about 4 years. The old notebook held up pretty well, my only complaint is it did seem to burn through keyboards pretty fast ( I had 3 different keyboards in it over 4 years... after a while certain keys would just stop working) The repairs are easy to do yourself and the parts are available cheap on ebay or other places .... a big positive in my books.

2 weeks ago I just bought a brand new Inspiron 6000.... so far I love it. I got an incredible system for $800 including shipping and tax.

1.6ghz Pentium M, 256megs of Ram, ATI x300 w/ 128 graphics, WUXGA+ screen (this thing is the sharpest LCD panel ive ever seen 1920x1200 stuffed into a 15.4" package).

I upgraded the ram with an additional 1 ghz DDR2 stick from Kingston for another $115 bux and this thing flys.

My two suggestions are, 1 follow some of the deal forums like www.techbargains.com, and try to catch a Dell coupon sale of 750 off 1500 (they usually have these every 3 weeks or so).

And most importantly.... when you get the laptop from Dell, do a format / reinstall of the Operating System right away. Even with the 1.25 Gigs of ram, my system speed increased maybe 15-20% after taking off all of the crazy preloaded trial software and unneeded Dell software.

nyhunter · Answer

My wife's first 6000 ran too hot . They finally sent a new one and it seems to be running fine now. They said the original motherboards were defective.

BlackLotus.pe · Answer

This inspiron is really a cool pc, and it has a good endurance of shocks. But if you're carrying it most of the time, you should consider the weight of this system (more or less 7~8 pounds!)For example, in my case, carrying my laptop, pencilcase, notebooks when i go to my university in one bag is something uncomfortable. This system is reasonable: they have good prices and good hardware(they use the ultimate intel mobile chipset:915) but they're weighty, while the lighter ones have higher prices and lower speed hardware(intel 855 and 8xx family chipset)

Peter Mount · Answer

beestea: Thanks for the advice. Have fun Peter Mount

Peter Mount · Answer

nyhunter:
Did they give you a hard time with replacing it or were they co-operative about it? I'm assuming the current Inspiron 6000 notebooks don't have that problem any more.

BlackLotus.pe:
Interesting about the weight but I'm impressed about what you said with it's endurance against shocks. I might look at notebooks with similar weights to see what they are like to carry. We don't have a Dell store here in Melbourne Australia (it's strictly online or on the phone) so I'll have to feel the equivalent weight of a different brand to get an idea of the weight of the Inspiron 6000.

Have fun

Peter Mount

Dstubbs28 · Answer

double post woops   Message Edited by Dstubbs28 on 08-04-2005 10:26 AM

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What's Inspiron 6000 Like?

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