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I recently purchased a Dell E1405 during the Dell 10 days of Deals, about 3 weeks ago. Ever since then it has been my primary computer for everything from Photoshop to the internet. (Note that I am not a big gamer (right now) and have only played emulators for old genesis games on it, so I won't be reviewing that kind of performance)
-----Begin Spec Jabber-------
The platform the E1405 is based on is quite nice. Centrino Core Duo at 1.6 ghz a piece. Integrated Intel Pro wireless. No bluetooth on my model, I didn't need it, but it was an option. Storage is a 100gb Toshiba branded drive. 5400rpm. 1GB of ram running at 533mhz. 14.1 (I believe it's 14.1 but may be 14.4, It doesnt really matter, it's just smaller than the normal 15.4) wide-screen WXGA+ at 1440x900 pixels with TruLife. DVD+/-RW drive which actually shows up as a Sony DW-Q58A model. Intel 945GM graphics chipset. Ports include 4 USB 2.0, 1 S-video, 1 pc card slot, 1 4 pin firewire port, ethernet, dial up modem, VGA, and a multi car SD slot that reads SD and xD.. maybe one other format, its an all in one though and works well with my xD cards.
My total price minus tax was $739. 699 plus 40 for the TruLife WXGA+ screen. If you like the glossy style screens like some sonys ans toshibas have, the TruLife is for you. I personally like it, looks a bit more high class IMO.
-----End Spec Jabber-------
OK to my three week review. Like I said I have had it for about three weeks now for which its the only computer I have been using.
Aesthetics- Not bad. I was slightly surprised at how nice the keyboard is to work with as well as the feel of the touchpad. The touchpad isn't real sticky like others I have used that catch my finger and piss me off. The laptop is all plastic though, and creaks a bit around the edges. It does not feel like a very strong laptop like my older 3.06ghz HP was. This dell doesn't feel like it would survive a fall off a table. The weakest panel feels like the casing around the hardware lock attatchment point. The hinges feel strong though. The power button is right in the center above the keyboard and is a silver metal looking color, although it too is plastic. It looks a bit cheesy IMO. The lights and whistles though are all nice and I love the port placement. DVD, VGA, net, and USB on the right, S vid, firewire, pc card and media on the left, with two USB ports and the charger in the back. The paint scheme is kinda strange, silver panels with a black keyboard and white trim. doesn't really go well but it doesn't really matter. If you are looking for a laptop to match your D&G carry all, this isn't it.
Power- The dual core really does shine for multitasking. I haven't thrown anything massive at this thing, but it runs photoshop like a charm, faster than my g4 mac and faster than my athlon 2200+ gaming rig I think. That may be due to the gig of ram, while the other computers I own are only half a gig. CPU usage is always very very low. For internet usage it is great, no slowdowns. Startup and shutdown times are fast (after bloatware removal, see below). The graphics isn't anything to brag about but it plays my Sega Genesis emulators great and that pleases me. Plus it runs 3D studio MAX 6 for some 3d work I do just fine, no slowdowns.
Software- Dell preloads their laptops with shit you don't need. Period. First thing I did was uninstall all the free Earthlink free AOL crap, along with the dell media player or whatever it was. I didn't need it. Got rind of anything I didn't see necessary on the taskbar. Also got rid of the trial McAfee and instantly installed AVG free. I have anything but AGV free. And I installed Spybot. So I started off like a new WinXP install pretty much except for the Dell Quickset taskbar icon which quickly switched options to do with power settings which I find I need to change every now and then. If you want to enjoy your new laptop uninstall the bloatware before doing anything. the computer will startup quicker and generally run better, even if I am just imagining it, it will.
LCD- The trulife 14.1" (correct me on the size if I am wrong) WXGA+ at 1440x900 is nice. It looks absolutely great as all Dell LCDs. I don't think there is a better looking display for it's size out there. I opted for the 14.1 inch instal of the 15.4 or whatever the E1505 is because I needed a more portable, smaller lighter package. I was expecting a 1280x800 display for some reason. Let me tell you, the 1440x900 is great. I know the E1505 offers an even higher TruLife resolution screen, but 1440x900 on a 14.1 inch widescreen is great. It is very bright in any light it seems. Glare on the glossy Trulife is not a problem to me, but some people complain. If you don't like it, don't get the Trulife. The standard doesn't come with a glossy panel look, at least it used to not to and I'm nearly sure it still doesn't.
Weight and Battery Life- I believe dell says it weights about 6.0-6.2 pounds. I don't know but it is pretty damn light. Light enough to feel like I could break it easily
unlike the 3.06ghz HP 4:3 beast. It is lighter than the E1505 and smaller which is why I got it. I use it for college and it is easily portable. as far as battery life. I have actually gotten upwards of 4:00 hours of bat life with the wife turned off, the internal network card turned off, no cd rom use, and slightly reduced screen brightness (but not much). Even with a fully bright screen never letting it turn off with the wife off and not using the cdrom I can easily get 3:00 hours on a full charge. I rarely have the thing plugged in, but when I do, I am sure to let it charge fully before unplugging it.
Upgradeability- Of course no upgradeable graphics. But this isn't a gaming laptop so you shouldn't be worry about that. The hard drive, ram, network card slot and processor are easily, easily accessed by anyone with a screwdriver. No voiding warranty stickers if you do open them up either. I don't know how upgradeable the processor socket is yet, I haven't researched that yet. The harddrive is a given, easy upgrade down the road if you need more space. There is only 1 easily accessible ram slot and it has a 512MB stick already in it for 1gb. So in the future I guess if you wanted to give it 2gb you could, if you wanted to put forth the effort of taking the whole thing apart (which doesn't seem hard at all).
Overall verdict-
A very well built and satisfying laptop. for the money I don't think there is anything out there that can compete with it. But then again I got it during the 10 days of deals. I am not sure what kinda of sales they have on the E1405 right now but I'm sure you can still find ways to get it cheap. The original build price before the 10 days of deals discounts was about 1160$. I don't know if I would have paid that much, but I know people who have gotten a lot less than what this thing has and paid a lot, lot, lot more.
'It is so choice, if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.'
I am still looking for info about processor upgradeability. If any has any info about that, or any info at all to add to my review you are more than welcome to. I hope this may help someone interested in the Inspiron line. If you also own one of these please comment on what you think of yours, and how it may compare to the other laptops you have used or owned. I wouldn't mind expanding this into a E1405/1505 resource of sorts since
I know many many people picked one up during the 10 days of deals.
Thats all from me for now.
-----Begin Spec Jabber-------
The platform the E1405 is based on is quite nice. Centrino Core Duo at 1.6 ghz a piece. Integrated Intel Pro wireless. No bluetooth on my model, I didn't need it, but it was an option. Storage is a 100gb Toshiba branded drive. 5400rpm. 1GB of ram running at 533mhz. 14.1 (I believe it's 14.1 but may be 14.4, It doesnt really matter, it's just smaller than the normal 15.4) wide-screen WXGA+ at 1440x900 pixels with TruLife. DVD+/-RW drive which actually shows up as a Sony DW-Q58A model. Intel 945GM graphics chipset. Ports include 4 USB 2.0, 1 S-video, 1 pc card slot, 1 4 pin firewire port, ethernet, dial up modem, VGA, and a multi car SD slot that reads SD and xD.. maybe one other format, its an all in one though and works well with my xD cards.
My total price minus tax was $739. 699 plus 40 for the TruLife WXGA+ screen. If you like the glossy style screens like some sonys ans toshibas have, the TruLife is for you. I personally like it, looks a bit more high class IMO.
-----End Spec Jabber-------
OK to my three week review. Like I said I have had it for about three weeks now for which its the only computer I have been using.
Aesthetics- Not bad. I was slightly surprised at how nice the keyboard is to work with as well as the feel of the touchpad. The touchpad isn't real sticky like others I have used that catch my finger and piss me off. The laptop is all plastic though, and creaks a bit around the edges. It does not feel like a very strong laptop like my older 3.06ghz HP was. This dell doesn't feel like it would survive a fall off a table. The weakest panel feels like the casing around the hardware lock attatchment point. The hinges feel strong though. The power button is right in the center above the keyboard and is a silver metal looking color, although it too is plastic. It looks a bit cheesy IMO. The lights and whistles though are all nice and I love the port placement. DVD, VGA, net, and USB on the right, S vid, firewire, pc card and media on the left, with two USB ports and the charger in the back. The paint scheme is kinda strange, silver panels with a black keyboard and white trim. doesn't really go well but it doesn't really matter. If you are looking for a laptop to match your D&G carry all, this isn't it.
Power- The dual core really does shine for multitasking. I haven't thrown anything massive at this thing, but it runs photoshop like a charm, faster than my g4 mac and faster than my athlon 2200+ gaming rig I think. That may be due to the gig of ram, while the other computers I own are only half a gig. CPU usage is always very very low. For internet usage it is great, no slowdowns. Startup and shutdown times are fast (after bloatware removal, see below). The graphics isn't anything to brag about but it plays my Sega Genesis emulators great and that pleases me. Plus it runs 3D studio MAX 6 for some 3d work I do just fine, no slowdowns.
Software- Dell preloads their laptops with shit you don't need. Period. First thing I did was uninstall all the free Earthlink free AOL crap, along with the dell media player or whatever it was. I didn't need it. Got rind of anything I didn't see necessary on the taskbar. Also got rid of the trial McAfee and instantly installed AVG free. I have anything but AGV free. And I installed Spybot. So I started off like a new WinXP install pretty much except for the Dell Quickset taskbar icon which quickly switched options to do with power settings which I find I need to change every now and then. If you want to enjoy your new laptop uninstall the bloatware before doing anything. the computer will startup quicker and generally run better, even if I am just imagining it, it will.
LCD- The trulife 14.1" (correct me on the size if I am wrong) WXGA+ at 1440x900 is nice. It looks absolutely great as all Dell LCDs. I don't think there is a better looking display for it's size out there. I opted for the 14.1 inch instal of the 15.4 or whatever the E1505 is because I needed a more portable, smaller lighter package. I was expecting a 1280x800 display for some reason. Let me tell you, the 1440x900 is great. I know the E1505 offers an even higher TruLife resolution screen, but 1440x900 on a 14.1 inch widescreen is great. It is very bright in any light it seems. Glare on the glossy Trulife is not a problem to me, but some people complain. If you don't like it, don't get the Trulife. The standard doesn't come with a glossy panel look, at least it used to not to and I'm nearly sure it still doesn't.
Weight and Battery Life- I believe dell says it weights about 6.0-6.2 pounds. I don't know but it is pretty damn light. Light enough to feel like I could break it easily
unlike the 3.06ghz HP 4:3 beast. It is lighter than the E1505 and smaller which is why I got it. I use it for college and it is easily portable. as far as battery life. I have actually gotten upwards of 4:00 hours of bat life with the wife turned off, the internal network card turned off, no cd rom use, and slightly reduced screen brightness (but not much). Even with a fully bright screen never letting it turn off with the wife off and not using the cdrom I can easily get 3:00 hours on a full charge. I rarely have the thing plugged in, but when I do, I am sure to let it charge fully before unplugging it.Upgradeability- Of course no upgradeable graphics. But this isn't a gaming laptop so you shouldn't be worry about that. The hard drive, ram, network card slot and processor are easily, easily accessed by anyone with a screwdriver. No voiding warranty stickers if you do open them up either. I don't know how upgradeable the processor socket is yet, I haven't researched that yet. The harddrive is a given, easy upgrade down the road if you need more space. There is only 1 easily accessible ram slot and it has a 512MB stick already in it for 1gb. So in the future I guess if you wanted to give it 2gb you could, if you wanted to put forth the effort of taking the whole thing apart (which doesn't seem hard at all).
Overall verdict-
A very well built and satisfying laptop. for the money I don't think there is anything out there that can compete with it. But then again I got it during the 10 days of deals. I am not sure what kinda of sales they have on the E1405 right now but I'm sure you can still find ways to get it cheap. The original build price before the 10 days of deals discounts was about 1160$. I don't know if I would have paid that much, but I know people who have gotten a lot less than what this thing has and paid a lot, lot, lot more.
'It is so choice, if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.'
I am still looking for info about processor upgradeability. If any has any info about that, or any info at all to add to my review you are more than welcome to. I hope this may help someone interested in the Inspiron line. If you also own one of these please comment on what you think of yours, and how it may compare to the other laptops you have used or owned. I wouldn't mind expanding this into a E1405/1505 resource of sorts since
I know many many people picked one up during the 10 days of deals.
Thats all from me for now.
