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i8500 review as promised
I have recently received my i8500 with the following spec
Inspiron i8500 Pentium 4-M 2.4 GHz
15.4" WUXGA
1024Mb 226MHz DDR (1*1024Mb)
60Gb IDE
64Mb NV28 Video
2 * 72Whr LI-ION Battery
I thought I would try and lay to rest some of the guessing with regards to what this machine actually looks like and performs like etc.
I have an i8000, 512 Mb , PIII 1Ghz, 15" LCD to compare to so many of my comments may reflect the differences.
15.4" WUXGA Screen
==================
This is a truly amazing component. I really wasn't sure at first because it is very different from the i8000 but after a few hours you realise that the loss of about one inch in height is not that
big a deal when you consider the native resolution means you get as much on the screen. In fact it is the extra real estate from the width that has already proved to be useful. The only issue I
have now with the widescreen is that some websites use tables that 'Fit to width' so sometimes you have an option to press on the left of the web page and then you have to move the mouse cursor
over to the extreme right (a long way) for another option!!
One obvious difference is the brightness. This screen now makes the i8000 look yellow and stained. The whites are very white. Viewing angles a far superior and you get a little Dell tool to adjust
the font sizes if the are too small.
Case Material/design
====================
Now to the case....
While the base is most definitely plastic it is painted with a metallic silver effect. The blue surrounds are done in a similar way to give a very 'brushed steel' kind of effect. I think it is
pretty nice. The screen front is the same. The top is very nice and seems to be metallic in construction. The top is lighter silver than the rest of the machine with the new Dell propeller across
it. Some people will definitely wish that the whole machine was made of the same material as the top, it looks pretty good.
Build quality in most cases is far superior. Anyone heard their i8000 'creak' when you pick it up as the casing flexes under the weight. This doesn't happen with the i8500. The base and the screen
are a lot more rigid and not made of a similar brittle plastic to the i8000. The screen doesn't flex and the hinges are more solid. I like the LEDs in the right hand hinge.
My biggest criticism is of the keyboard. It is very soft and flexible and tends to bounce a bit. In addition the buttons that you are supposed to use with the pointing stick I think will rarely be
used as the need to be pressed a long way. The blue surround does not look as bad as people think.
I ordered the Venice blue snap on cover with my machine and, whilst it makes the machine look very different from the outside, it doesn't look as good as the silver native colour. The covers also
add a little to the thickness of the machine.
The two spindles issue seems to have cropped up quite a bit but it definitely makes the machine lighter. I order a spare 72Wh battery rather than the modular 60WH battery that goes in the media
bay. It is cheaper and means that you can use one battery after the other with the DVD player in place.
Machine General
===============
i8KFanGui 2.0 seems to work fine and reports that the heat of the cpu, HD and GPU run far cooler than the i8000 for similar apps. The bottom of the machine does get hot near the hard drive but
nothing like the 8000. One cooling vent is on the top of the machine so there may not be such an issue if you use the machine on your lap. The fans and the hard drive are not nearly as noisy as my
old machine. In fact you can barely hear the drive.
Another neat feature that I have really only just realised is that the RJ45 and RJ11 ports are at the back of the machine. This may seem trivial but I always use a mouse with my machine and am
right handed. On my i8000 these ports are inconveniently situated on the right side of the machine, towards the front edge. This means that I have a tangled mess of cables that get in the way of my
mouse.
All in all I think Dell have made a great job of the new Inspiron form.
I would have liked one more PCMCIA and 2 more USB slots (and maybe a DVD RW) but you can’t have everything in the first go.
I’m off to play but if anyone has specific questions then don’t hesitate to post and I’ll see what I can do. I will do a more accurate review of performance, heat etc. once I have used it a bit more.. I will post some pictures soon
Cheers
MAD
SauerDanFossil
5 Posts
0
April 5th, 2003 20:00
Yes, I wanna know about the sound quality too. does it still make the cracking ground effect sound like my 8200 does ?
btw, what sound card does 8500 use anyway?
Great review MAD!
Thanks
MAD_M2
6 Posts
0
April 5th, 2003 20:00
First set of i8500 pictures. Not patricularly good light. will do some more later.
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?m=50842759205.82093759205&n=1228550291
You need to sign up for free to get the pictures.
cheers
MAD
twi
5 Posts
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April 5th, 2003 20:00
caboosemoose
240 Posts
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April 5th, 2003 21:00
MAD_M2
6 Posts
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April 5th, 2003 21:00
caboose.
I will take some hi-res photos tomorrow in daylight. The light in my office doesn't really do the case any justice.
re. the sound the card is a Sigma Tel C-Major Audio. Quality is pretty good although don't normally listen to much on the laptop. Seems the driver doesn't allow adjustment of treble/base. Also notice a high pitched whine when on battery and using the Alps pad. Not an issue for me 'cos I always use a USB mouse.
MAD
Devils Advocate1
4 Posts
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April 5th, 2003 22:00
Jaybee23
2 Posts
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April 5th, 2003 23:00
Excellent ...it looks great.
Got one on order.
Sure is a wide footprint!
Thanks a lot..
Will post mine in high res when it arrives (if!)
twi
5 Posts
0
April 6th, 2003 06:00
MAD_M2
6 Posts
0
April 6th, 2003 07:00
You can boot from a usb device in BIOS A01 which, I have just checked.
MAD
twi
5 Posts
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April 6th, 2003 08:00
teoruiz
4 Posts
0
April 6th, 2003 12:00
Or just copy the exact model that WinXP claims it to be, please :)
I think it is a Broadcom.... isn't it?
Thanks!
teoruiz
4 Posts
0
April 6th, 2003 12:00
I'm in Spain, do you know if all the Dell computers are made in Ireland? It's important to know for making my calculus.
Let's see... it was shipped last friday at... plus 2000 kilometers... ;-)
twi
5 Posts
0
April 6th, 2003 13:00
Yes, all the computers shipped to Europe, (Northern) Africa and the Middle East are supposedly produced in Limerick, Ireland
teoruiz
4 Posts
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April 6th, 2003 13:00
twi
5 Posts
0
April 6th, 2003 14:00