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

Compaq Presario C300 Laptop Review 6/10 + repair

Compaq Presario C300


For a week now I have been testing out the nicely styled Compaq Presario C300 laptop. This laptop is very nice for the person out there looking for the basic computer setup mainly for surfing the internet watching videos and viewing pictures. It is also great for listening to music and watching DVDs. The 15.4" WXGA 1280x800 LCD display offers excellent vibrant color display and has a very sharp picture. I also really like how the LCD display sits back behind and higher than normal above the laptops base which makes it easily viewable by offering a more comfortable angle when sitting in a chair but also when you the laptop is sitting stationary on a flat surface.

Intel's Celeron M CPU operating at 1.6GHZ really pulls through for this computer. It handles simple task like word processing all the way up to running several demanding programs at the same time without hanging up due to heat or general overload of information flowing through the CPU. Switching between programs on this computer is very quick and straight forward without delay.

The sound from this computer is offered up by a nice set of Altec Lansic speakers that have a very crisp tone which is supplied by a 3D Soundblaster Pro. I found it to be a very nice feature when watching DVDs because it doesn't have only highs and slight mid range sound like most laptops with small speaker setups. Makes a great computer for your MP3 collection as well.

The battery life on this computer is surprisingly well compared to most laptops of its size. Again the Intel Celeron M CPU pulls through because of its intelligent use of power when operating on battery power. I normally got around 1.5hours of use on a fresh charge and that's doing basic web browsing with the sound on and the LCD brightness turned all the way up.

Final thoughts. Although this computer is well rounded it does have a few things that were less desirable in my eyes. When typing on this laptop the keys have almost a loose feeling and are just a little bit to firm. Pressing down on them when typing fast almost gives you the same feeling of when grit or sand like material sometimes finds its way under the keys. The laptop is also a little on the hefty side as far as width, thickness and weight which makes for a sometimes slightly uncomfortable computer to be sitting in your lap for a long period of time. One thing I do not for the life of me understand is that given the size of this computer they did not install the useful SD card reader which makes transferring large amounts of data really quick and painless. Lastly the test unit I had didn't have a DVD-RW, only a a CD-RW which again makes the backup of data and transfer of data more time consuming and even frustrating when you think about the wasted space. This last paragraph is why the C300 only scored a 6/10 rating with me.
It was a great platform that could have been a lot better with just a little extra effort. Again though for those out there looking for a fantastic basic internet browsing, basic media laptop the Compaq Presario C300 is a great value which can typically be had for around $250-$400 used sometimes even cheaper. - Jesse T

Features vary for different C300s range from the features below (some specs are slightly higher and not listed);

* The following processors, varying by computer model:
* Intel Core Duo T2250 (1.73-GHz), T2300 (1.60-GHz),
or T2050 (1.60-GHz)
* Intel Celeron 430 (1.73-GHz) or Intel Celeron 420
(1.60-GHz)
* 15.4-inch, WXGA, TFT (1280 × 800) display with antiglare
or BrightView, varying by computer model
* 120-, 100-, 80-, or 60-GB high-capacity hard drive, varying
by computer model
* 256-MB DDR1 synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) at 667 MHz
and 533 MHz, expandable to 2.0 GB
* Windows® XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional,
varying by computer model
* Full-size Windows keyboard with embedded numeric keypad
* TouchPad pointing device, including dedicated horizontal
and vertical scroll regions
* Integrated 10Base-T/100Base-TX Ethernet local area
network (LAN) network interface card (NIC) with RJ-45 jack
* Integrated high-speed 56K modem with RJ-11 jack
* Integrated wireless support for Mini Card IEEE 802.11a/b/g
WLAN device

My test computer has the following specs;
*Intel Celeron M CPU @ 1.6GHZ
*512MB DDR2 ram
*80GB sata Hard Drive
*DVD Player CD-RW optical drive
*Windows XP Professional
*All the other non optional basics listed above

***Repair Tips and Notes from me for this specific laptop and others are found here-Compaq Presario C300/C400 Repair Blog
***

Sony Vaio VGN-TX750P Review 10/10 + repair notes

Here is Sony's wonderful tiny Vaio VGN-TX750P notebook computer. Great value packed into an extremely compact and powerful laptop. Read on for a great review of this laptop as well as repair tip for those of you who do laptop repair.



The basic features are:
*Intel Pentium M Processor Ultra low voltage 753
*1.2ghz CPU Speed
*512mb of integrated DDR2 PC2-3200 upgradable to 1.5gb 400mhz
*80gb Ultra ATA 4200rpm hard drive
*DVD-RW/CD-RW
*11.1" WXGA LCD "RAZOR THIN PANEL", XBRITE LCD Technology with 1366x768 resolution
*Reads SD and Memory stick PRO cards
*Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 video card with 128mb memory
*802.11b/g Integrated wireless card, built in Ethernet modem, wireless blue tooth and v.92/v.90 modem
*Microsoft XP Professional
*Weighs 2.76lbs with standard battery and measures 10.7"(width)-1.12"(h)x7.7"(d)

I am not sure were to start on this review. Should I start from the fact that it is one of the best laptops I have ever tested/reviewed or about how many features Sony managed to pack into this little computer?

Don't let its size fool you. This laptop with a 1.2ghz Intel Mobile CPU along with built in 512mb of DDR2 ram and a 4200rpm hard drive packs a powerful punch especially for those of you who do business on the road. Its very light weight even with the battery and the keyboard is just perfect for the average sized hands. One of the other great features about this laptop is that it never gets to hot on your lap like most laptops out there, no matter how hard you push it.

The powerful yet conservative Sony Li-Ion battery compliments this great little machine by giving you on average up to 2 hours of non stop run time before recharging. This is also running the laptop with the LCD brightness turned all the way up. Turn the brightness down and watch the time estimated for the battery charge quickly rise. Even running the wireless doesn't seem to phase the battery life hardly at all.

After my first testing of this computer I fell in love with it to the point to where I went straight out and purchased one almost a year ago. This computer has never had any issues since I have owned it, no dead pixels, never frozen or overheated. It truly is one of the very rare newer but dependable laptops and I just can't say enough great things about it. Although it is "Vista" compatible I haven't tried a copy on mine yet. If and when I do I will be sure to do a follow up review of how it functions on that operating system as well.

Price wise on these computers you will be looking at anywhere from the $550-$800+ range used but I promise it is worth every penny not to mention that is much cheaper than the MSRP of $2,299.99!

**REPAIR TIPS/Notes** for the Sony Vaio VGN-TX750P repair page from me click here-Sony Vaio VGN-TX750P Repair Blog***