Dell Inspiron 5100 - Features Review
The Dell Inspiron 5100 laptop has many fine features. Let us go over them in detail so you can see that this Inspiron in worth your money...
Overall Speed:
When plugged in using a DC Adapter, the Inspiron 5100 is fast. Note: most laptops will slow down when operated on battery because in battery mode the CPU doesn't get enough power to go full speed.
Productivity:
The Inspiron 5100 can handle multiple tasks with ease. I've had no problems running MS-FrontPage, MS-Excel, MS-Word, Winamp, E-mail software, several copies of Internet Explorer, Paint, and Dell Media Player (playing a DVD movie) simultaneously. On other occasions I run Oracle 9 Database (PC vesrion), SQL Navigator, Visual Basic, Word, Excel and Internet Explorer, MS-Outlook with no performace issues.
CPU:
The Inspiron 5100 uses the more powerful Desktop version of the Pentium 4 processor as opposed to the Mobile Pentiums that can be found in many top
of the line laptops. The Desktop type Pentiums drain more power and thus produce slightly more heat. Higher heat output is absorbed by several additional cooling fans that in turn require more battery power. So the trade off is that this faster chip cause additional weight of fans and a larger battery, and makes the laptop heavier and shortens battery life.
Memory and Memory Upgrade:
Depending on when your Inspiron was manufactured, one of the memory slots may not be user accessible because it was set at the Dell. But the more recent versions have both slots available for upgrade. The way I have mine set up is the overall RAM split equally between the two slots and each half can be replaced. In any case, you'll be able to at least double your memory with an upgrade.
To keep under a price cap I went with a standard 256 DDR SDRAM (upgradeable to 1 GB). I don't think it's worth to pay over a $100 extra for more memory. When I feel the need to upgrade than I'll be able to buy more at the continuously falling prices, and I'm yet to see the need for this... it is plenty to me.
Hard Drive:
I got the 30GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive, and it is fast enough at 4200 RPM and is large enough to handle my needs. You can get a faster 5400 RPM drive for around $100 more or better yet see if you can get a free upgrade to 60 GB. I don't store music or movies or large video game files on my hard drive... thus the standard 30GB is plenty.
Video Card:
The 5100 Inspiron is a step up from Dell's lowest-end model Inspiron 1100. One of the main differences is that 5100 comes with a non-integrated graphics
card - the Mobility Radeon 7500 32MB. In plain english, 5100 is equipped with a separate graphics card that uses its own 32Mb memory. And this is what really important for gaming laptops
- have a dedicated graphics memory. The more the better. And so 32Mb of video RAM lets 5100 into the door of laptop gaming. With this video card, Inspiron 5100 will perform all tasks except highly
advanced graphical games and some intensive graphical engineering programs such as CAD).
Screen:
I got the 15" XGA 1024x768 screen, and I'm very satisfied with it... It is easily readable from a large angle. It produces nice colors and resolution, has a perfect size, contrast and brightness. With the 15"
screen it feels like you're looking at the desktop monitor. I'm often using it instead of a DVD player.
Optical Drives:
CD-RW/DVD combo drive is also a fine combination. This laptop makes a very nice DVD player... Burning a music CD's with the 24x drive takes 10
minutes. Optical drive is not that 'fixed' like some people think - the release latch is located under the Memory cover, so it can be upgraded...
Floppy drive:
The Inspiron 5100 has no built-in floppy drive option. It is only available as an USB external floppy drive. Why this may be an issue for some I didn't care since
neither at work nor home I use a floppy.
USB Memory card:
Is optional with Inspiron 5100. I hesitated to buy a laptop with no floppy at first... but the USB card proved to be a very convenient feature and is
well recommended as many people are switching to this portable media. Mine, with its 64MB well outruns a floppy disk.
Keyboard:
This Inspiron has a fine keyboard. It doesn't feel too 'plastic' but kind of soft. It makes some good use for the 'Fn' key. The delete and insert
keys are moved to the lower right, which I had to get used to. It is solidly built and seems very well constructed...There is more than enough free laptop surface to support your palms when typing.
Touchpad:
The touchpad is very simple - there are only two mouse buttons, and some people complains that the scrolling with this touchpad isn't easy or Dell
should've kept the joystick-mouse in the center of the keyboard... but I really don't care because I've never used the touchpad or the joystick anyway... My preference was always an external mouse, so I disabled my
touchpad.
USB Ports:
The 5100 series has 2 USB 2.0 ports... unlike most other current laptops. USB 2.0 is up to 40 times faster than USB 1.1. If you need to attach many external devices than get a USB replicator or a $10 USB hub.
Internet Ports:
The 56K Modem and 10/100 Ethernet network card both work well - both come as standard built-in features. The Modem card is located under the same cover
as the Wireless miniPCI card is.
Wireless:
You can choose the optional Dell TrueMobile 1300 WLAN (802.11b/g, 54Mbps) miniPCI Card for your wireless connection. If you do than it'll come built-in. You would also need a wireless router to go wireless - I had the
router and the card inlcuded for around $120 US.
Speakers:
The built-in speakers are reasonably weak. The 5100 has an audio-out port and an integrated sound card to connect external speakers.
Casing:
Inspiron 5100's casing is solidly built, has a combination of blue and grey colors with a neat Dell's logo displayed on the cover.
O/S:
Windows XP Home is a perfect choice for most people... unless you're planning to connect to an outside area network like the one you have at work. Than get Windows XP Pro as it comes with additional components specific to network connection.
Prepackaged Software:
Standard software is fine. The laptop comes with Word Perfect suite preloaded but I would prefer Microsoft Office instead...
Portability:
Yes, it is heavier than more expensive laptops... but it is very manageable 8lbs. Why is it heavy? Because of the larger Lithium-ion battery and additional
cooling fans required to support a faster Desktop type Pentium 4 chip!
Battery:
Battery lasts for 3 hours on full charge... which is great for the Desktop P4 running the system. Some say they were able to play Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Collector's Edition in its entirety without the laptop shutting off... It is more than enough for most projects.
DC Adapter:
This is one thing I don't understand... why should it be so big... like it used to be 3-4 years ago. But then again, you got what you paid for...
Warranty and Dell's Customer Service:
I've purchased three times from Dell this year, and I haven't seen any issues yet... One time my shipping was re-scheduled to a much later time,
so I called Dell and said that I will cancel if they cannot ship on time... they immediately came back to me with a closer date which I was ok with, and I got it on time... Dell sells most affordable warranty, and
only at Dell you can get it up to 4 years.
Tech Support:
People call Dell tech support a 'mixed bag' meaning that it can be helpful and useless at the same time. I'm yet to figure this out - I haven't had any needs for support so far...
Pricing:
If you order on the internet, you often get free shipping, no sales tax (if shipped from outside of your state), and various promotions that Dell
changes almost weekly. Couple of things here: 1 - often you can get a better deal if shop under the Small Business section vs. the Home section, 2 - don't open the Dell's preferred account - they'll get you with 20% interest rate which amounts to almost $54 a day interest for every $1000 your spend.
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