Dell Inspiron 1100 7/10

DELL INSPIRON 1100 used Laptop Review



What can I say about this tank other than its been with my wife through thick and thin. After us owning this computer for a couple years now I will try my best not to be bias about the review but to be honest there aren't to many bad things to say about this computer anyways but I will be fair still.

I remember when the Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop first came out. It had exciting new styling which consisted of rounded corners, neat colors and big logos. Even know this is an older computer it is still worth buying if it can be had at a descent price. Its a very good computer for web browsing, word processing/blogging and picture editing. Although it lacks a built in wireless card, DVD-RW and a build in SD card slots it still serves as a great computer to charge up, take out on the back deck, sit in the sun and do your morning web browsing/email while sipping on a nice cup of coffee. Very nice at a used price on average of $240-$350 for a very dependable laptop.

I have the ram upgraded on my wifes just at 512mb and it still runs really quick. Most programs won't bog it down much at all and its possible to have several programs running at the same time with only minimal lag.

I love typing on this computer. The way its setup with the keyboard way farther to the back of the base than most computers makes it really easy to sit around with it in your lap and just type away. Its a little thick and heavy (7.8 lbs) but the way the weight is distributed it doesn't feel like its going to fall backward off of your lap and its not unconfortable to sit it in one spot for a while before shifting it around. The battery life is intermittent. Some days it seems to stay on for a couple hours and the next you will only get about 15 minutes out of it even when performing the same less than average battery draining tasks.

The computers display is actually quite amazing. Compared to many newer laptops on the market even with the True-Brite technology and higher resolution this laptop displays images with incredibly crisp viewing. I love this computer for picture editing. The colors that come through are so vivid it sometimes makes the same images on my Sony Vaio VGN-TX750P look dull.

Its basic features are (on model tested)-

*Intel Celeron 2.0 GHz

*128.0 MB / 512.0 MB (max) DDR SDRAM

v60GB Hard Drive

*CD-RW / DVD-ROM

*Windows XP Home Edition

*15.0 in TFT active matrix @ 1024 x 768 resolution

*Intel Extreme Graphics Card

*Lithium ion battery

*2 USB ports, Single PCMCIA Port, Monitor out, Ethernet and Modem


My final thoughts on this computer is that its simply a trooper. It rarely has problems whether it be software related or hardware related and when it does its usually a very simple and easy fix. If you can get one at a good price just get a good PCMCIA wireless card and call it a day. It would also be great for the kids if you want an affordable computer for them to learn on or play around with. On the used computer scale I give it a 7/10. Jesse T