Any Dell Inspiron 1520 owners want to chime in?

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Gaiden133

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Aug 6, 2004
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Hey all.

Looking at getting a new laptop to replace my current laptop that I accidentally cracked the screen.

Things I wanted to know if owners could help:
- is how is the actual build quality on these things? (Dell laptops in general too)
- has the entire sales experience from Dell been relatively good? (Never owned a Dell machine..)
- if you're an owner of one, how is the LCD screen of the upgraded glossy 1680x1050 screen?
- is the warranty/accidental protection a must?
- Would you recommend it your best friend if he was in the market for a laptop?

This is the build I was considering..

  • Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250
  • Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic Edition
  • Midnight Blue
  • 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
  • High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1680x1050)
  • Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
  • Hard Drive 80GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) 80GB
  • Battery Options 85Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell) 9BAT
  • Warranty & Service 1Yr Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service
  • Miscellaneous Inspiron 1520 I152001 [466-7698]

Total is 1299, but the ticker is a $400 off coupon, dropping the price to 899, with free shipping as well. With tax, it comes out to near 980, but that's a pretty good deal i think :D
 
I received my 1520 about a week and a half ago and overall, I like it. Then again, I did pay only $860 total for mine.

- Build quality is good. It feels pretty sturdy and the hinge doesn't flop around. Time will tell though, since my GF's 1 year old Dell hinge is a little loose.
- I purchased mine as a Scratch and Dent model, so I can't tell you much about the purchasing experience. I was slightly annoyed with the long estimated ship date for a laptop that was already screwed together, but thankfully, it showed up earlier. I didn't have any tracking, which would've been nice.
- I have the 1680x1050 screen. Fonts were small on Vista, but after I changed the DPI, it's better. The extra resolution is a double-edged sword: the extra screen "real estate" is nice during everyday tasks, but you won't be running the newest games at the native resolution (HL2 does run at 1680x1050 though! :D) The screen could be brighter as well.
- I don't really have anything to say about the warranty, since I haven't used it. If you're clumsy or one who eats around their computers, the accident protection might be a very good idea.
- With the 9 cell battery, I can get about 3 hours of battery life while constantly using the hard drive and wireless. This is with 80+% screen brightness too.

Other problems:
- There's a high pitched noise that something emits. I've read that this is a widespread problem with C2D laptops, and it's not just the Dells. It has something to do with the CPU going into C3/C4 states (when the CPU automatically drops to a lower speeds when not in use). Sometimes it's annoying, other times I don't notice it.
- There is some static-y noises when using headphones. I believe that this is a Dell-specific problem, but it hasn't annoyed me enough to return or exchange it. However, I usually have the laptop on my desk, hooked up to speakers.
- The 5400 RPM HD is a tad slow for my taste. If your friend plays any games, a 7200 RPM drive would improve loading times and Vista startup times.
- The 1520 is thick and hefty, so it's not an ideal portable laptop. I would hate to have to take it to work/school everyday slung over a shoulder.

If you can live with these problems, it's a great laptop. I bought it primarily as a budget-gaming system for college, and for that it performs very well.
 
I got my 1520 almost a week ago. I think for the money, it's a great laptop. Mine was a bit more upgraded then yours and I also used a $425 coupon to bring the cost of mine down to $1250 shipped ($75 in taxes :eek:).
  • Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache)
  • Jet Black color w/ 2.0M pixel Camera
  • 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
  • High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1680x1050)
  • 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
  • Speed: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
  • Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
  • CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
  • Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
  • 85Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
  • 1Yr Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service
  • 90 Watt Spare AC Adaptor with 3FT Power Cord
  • Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
So far, I have had zero issues with this laptop. It was slow on the initial startup, but after all the Vista updates and a few reboots, the computer boots up very quickly. You'll notice that I only ordered 1 GB of RAM from Dell for this laptop. That's because Dell wanted another $125 for the other GB stick. I decided to stay with the 1 GB from Dell and then order 2 GB of Corsair Notebook memory from NewEgg ($55 for 2GB). You can use the $125 from the RAM option to upgrade the hard drive or upgrade the OS to Vista Home Premium (Basic is really blah).

- how is the actual build quality on these things?
The build quality is good. I'm used to using 17 Inch Laptops though, so this 1520 seems "dainty" compared to my previous laptop (Dell XPS M170). It's very light though compared to my old laptop and that's a good thing; I was sick of lugging around a boat anchor. I have played a couple games on it and it seemed to do OK (TF2, Portal, The Witcher). I had to jack the settings down a bit for The Witcher, but I was expecting that. The 8600GT is a decent gaming card, but not the greatest. I didn't want to spend $2500 + for a freaking laptop with an 8800M GPU, so decided to get the rather inexpensive alternative. I have my desktop PC for serious gaming anyways.

- if you're an owner of one, how is the LCD screen of the upgraded glossy 1680x1050 screen?
I really like the LCD screen on this system. I almost like it more then my Dell 2405 display that I use for my desktop. The quality of the laptop display seem much better. But then, my desktop monitor is 2 years old.

The speed of the hard drive you have will really make the laptop run like a dog. I bought my brother a Dell 1520 back in August and his came with a 5400 RPM drive. It was really sad how long it took for Vista to load on his laptop compared to mine. I upgraded his RAM using the Corsair option from NewEgg also.

- has the entire sales experience from Dell been relatively good?
I never deal with sales people from Dell unless I have to. I ordered my system directly off their website and (much to my surprise) I had my laptop a week after ordering it. When I ordered my brothers, it took them over 3 weeks to get the laptop to him (they were going through a hardware shortage at that time). Seems like they have those problems fixed though.

- is the warranty/accidental protection a must?
A warranty is good to have, but they give you the 1st year and you always have the option of extending the warranty later on if you want to.

- Would you recommend it your best friend if he was in the market for a laptop?
Well, I already bought one for my brother. Several people at my job buy Dell laptops because of my recommendations. My best friend and his wife bought a Inspiron 1500 a couple years ago because I recommended it. I am now on my 2nd Dell laptop. So, the answer is "yes", I suppose.
 
Ozy: Thanks for the comments. I've noted the comment about the fact that it is rather big. I'm currently used to using a 13.3" Sony Vaio SZ laptop, but my girlfriend does have a 15.4" laptop, so I wonder if the dimensions are similar ( i could test with my current backpack that has a holder for the laptop). In any case, I took a look at the Inspiron 1420 as well, and for the same price, I would be trading off a smaller screen, lower res, and slower graphics card for the same price. I think I should be able to live with the 15.4" laptop, hopefully haha. Thanks for the comments in regards to build quality & battery life!

gn0me: Thank you for the RAM tip sir! You definitely helped me in the sense that I took the 125 off the memory upgrade, and got a faster 120GB 7200RPM drive vs the 5400rpm, and can use the leftover money to get that corsair ram from newegg! Thanks for the comments on the screen too, that worried me a little as I searched on this forum and a few people were saying they were having problems with it. And duly noted on the graphics power, I think the 8600M GT should be able to handle any games just fine that I would run on it as I believe its comparable to the 7600/7800 series; and of course I do have my rig in the sig to handle serious gaming :D
 
Got the Dell Inspiron 1520 laptop.. specs are:

  • Intel® Core 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache)
  • Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
  • Ruby Red
  • 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
  • High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1680x1050)
  • Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
  • 120GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
  • CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
  • Battery Options 85Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell) 9BAT
  • Warranty & Service 1Yr Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service
  • 4Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
  • -- Add Accidental Damage and LoJack Theft Protection to 4Yr Warr.

The list price on the machine is 1878, and the instant rebate discount is 809.. dropping the price to $1069.

Fuck. I think I got an amazing deal.. with the other machine I spec'd, it was 900 without the warranty along with a slightly lower cpu. For the 4 yr warranty along with accidental dmg (water/lcd/drops) protection for 150 more than the other price, I'd say I am really happy since it values at 460 for the 4yr + accidental warranty.
 
So, you decided to stay with the 5400 RPM drive? How did you get an instant rebate of 809? I thought my coupon for $425 was good.. 809 off is unreal!

I think a 4 year warranty is a bit much, but I have never kept a laptop for more then a year and a half. I guess if you plan on keeping the thing for a while, it's worth it. Plus if you decide to sell it before the 4 years is up, the extra warranty adds resale value.
 
gn0me said:
So, you decided to stay with the 5400 RPM drive? How did you get an instant rebate of 809? I thought my coupon for $425 was good.. 809 off is unreal!

I think a 4 year warranty is a bit much, but I have never kept a laptop for more then a year and a half. I guess if you plan on keeping the thing for a while, it's worth it. Plus if you decide to sell it before the 4 years is up, the extra warranty adds resale value.
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Yeah, check out dell.com/udel for some INSANE deals sometimes.. Go to recommend builds and there's the 1520 I ordered; props to the fellows at SD for bringing it to light. The only advantage my other build I had at the regular dell home selection was that their hard drive was 7200RPM and slightly cheaper. I just couldn't pass up for this deal when it offered the 4 yr + accidental warranty for 100~ more. The biggest thing for me was the accidental protection as my last laptop retired due to me accidentally breaking the LCD.. and sony was charging 700~ without shipping to get it fixed. In either case, I'll upgrade the ram from newegg (the corsair one), it worked out great for you right?
 
Gaiden133 said:
Yeah, check out dell.com/udel for some INSANE deals sometimes.. Go to recommend builds and there's the 1520 I ordered; props to the fellows at SD for bringing it to light. The only advantage my other build I had at the regular dell home selection was that their hard drive was 7200RPM and slightly cheaper. I just couldn't pass up for this deal when it offered the 4 yr + accidental warranty for 100~ more. The biggest thing for me was the accidental protection as my last laptop retired due to me accidentally breaking the LCD.. and sony was charging 700~ without shipping to get it fixed. In either case, I'll upgrade the ram from newegg (the corsair one), it worked out great for you right?
Click to expand...

Sounds like a pretty sweet deal. You basically got your 4 year warranty for free. Their warranty prices are freaking retarded, so if you can get it for free, then you win.

The Corsair memory from NewEgg is working great in this laptop. $50 for 2GB of Notebook memory is awesome. Selling the original 1GB of memory that Dell included is a huge pain in the ass though and not worth the hassle.

When you got to swap out the memory, make sure you follow along with the Dell manual: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1520/en/sm/memory.htm#wp1180190

I was afraid I was going to break something (even though I've been working on PC's forever), so I followed the page and it helped out a lot. The 2 DIMMS are located in different locations on this laptop. One of which is under the keyboard. So, that was nerve-wracking the first time.
 
gn0me said:
Sounds like a pretty sweet deal. You basically got your 4 year warranty for free. Their warranty prices are freaking retarded, so if you can get it for free, then you win.

The Corsair memory from NewEgg is working great in this laptop. $50 for 2GB of Notebook memory is awesome. Selling the original 1GB of memory that Dell included is a huge pain in the ass though and not worth the hassle.

When you got to swap out the memory, make sure you follow along with the Dell manual: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1520/en/sm/memory.htm#wp1180190

I was afraid I was going to break something (even though I've been working on PC's forever), so I followed the page and it helped out a lot. The 2 DIMMS are located in different locations on this laptop. One of which is under the keyboard. So, that was nerve-wracking the first time.
Click to expand...

Yeah i'm glad with my purchase and if I see any HD offers down the road for a 7200RPM drive, i'll be sure to upgrade then :).

Thanks for the tips on the memory, I'll definitely keep those in mind!
 
Well just my 2 cents, but if your not too hung up on looks. I would say the vostro1500 is a cheaper option for a similar build. I'm planning on getting one in the coming days, and for 648$ with tax i get a c2d t5000 series 800mhz 2mb l2, 160 5400rpm HD, 1gb ram, 8x multi dvd, 8400 gs, vista home. When i tried to build an inspiron for that price all i got was a celeron, 80gb HD integrated graphics, 1gb ram 24x cd rom/dvd reader. when i built an inspiron with the same specs it was usually 200 + dollars more.
 
Gaiden133 said:
Yeah, check out dell.com/udel for some INSANE deals sometimes.. Go to recommend builds and there's the 1520 I ordered; props to the fellows at SD for bringing it to light. The only advantage my other build I had at the regular dell home selection was that their hard drive was 7200RPM and slightly cheaper. I just couldn't pass up for this deal when it offered the 4 yr + accidental warranty for 100~ more. The biggest thing for me was the accidental protection as my last laptop retired due to me accidentally breaking the LCD.. and sony was charging 700~ without shipping to get it fixed. In either case, I'll upgrade the ram from newegg (the corsair one), it worked out great for you right?
Click to expand...

The Dell website you recommend is for the University of Delaware. If I order from here I'll save like $200-300, but will I get in trouble? Anyone know?
 
LiveWire said:
The Dell website you recommend is for the University of Delaware. If I order from here I'll save like $200-300, but will I get in trouble? Anyone know?
Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply, but yes, I don't believe you'll get in trouble. A LOT of people have ordered the builds that Dell & the university of deleware have made. I'm actually posting from my very new Inspiron 1520 :) It's amazing.. so happy !
 
What are the specs on your old laptop? I might be interested in it if you have no use for it.

=)
 
I just got my 1520 1 month ago and all I can say is that is perfect!
The perfect gaming machine and it does everything I want it too.
The specs are in the sig.

The machine is big, heavy and thick. It's not something you want to carry to class or around all the time, but it is a sturdy machine. Runs cool and doesn't make any noise., There have been some issues with the CPU whine and The headphone jacks making static noise but I don't have that and many people don't neither, so I doubt its a rather big issue to care about.

Finally all I gotta say is that your getting a dell! its a nice machine and a lot of power packed into it also.
 
Yeah I received my new lappy approximately 2 days after ordering. I don't know how or why, but it happened. I wasn't supposed to get it until at least 6 days from now!

Anyhow I'm very happy with my purchase. I'm really impressed by how light this thing is. My last laptop was almost double the weight (then again that was bought 5 years ago). It looks beautiful.

I went with only 1gb of ram, but I'm going to upgrade to 4gb through Newegg for the same price as 2gb from dell.
xdviper said:
Runs cool and doesn't make any noise., There have been some issues with the CPU whine and The headphone jacks making static noise but I don't have that and many people don't neither, so I doubt its a rather big issue to care about.
Click to expand...

It's very quiet and I haven't noticed heat problems. I'm very happy the vent for the fan is on the left as I'm right handed and the heat always bothered me.

I haven't had any problems with my headphone jack yet. Even so the built-in speakers are pretty nice too.

The black matte paint is a little boring though. Looking back I would've gone with something shinier or brighter.
 
My headphone jack is staticy, you'd be surprised at the number of people that get a bad headphone jack. Still, I remedied this problem by buying a USB sound card. It sounds better than the stock sound card.
 
You can also solve the problem by asking a Customer Service Rep (NOT Tech Support, they wont do it) to send you an express card X-Fi sound card.
You have to be a little pushy and dont take any of their excuses, but after about only 5 minutes, I had one in the mail to me to solve this problem.
 
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