Help me spec a replacement Dell laptop

JohnDigital

I’m in the middle of an insurance claim for a stolen laptop and Dell are being useless in helping me spec an equivalent replacement laptop. Would someone mind giving me a point in the right direction as to the closest replacement of the current Dell range to my original laptop?

Original spec was:
Inspiron 5160 Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor 532 with HT Technology (3.06GHz,533MHz FSB, 1M Cache) + 15.0 XGA LCD (full spec below) This machine was built in Jan 2005. Total €1,316.20

I asked Dell to spec a like for like replacement for me and they came back with an XPS M1530 CORE 2 DUO T8100 2.10GHz,800,3M which was far higher spec and came in at €800 more than I paid, so not like for like as you can appreciate. Total €2,107.00 (They also included full 4 year warranty etc when my original had base warranty)

Now the insurance company are suggesting that the closest replacement to mine is an Inspiron 1525 with an Intel® Celeron Processor 550 (2.0Ghz, 533 MHz FSB, 1 MB L2 cache) Total €871.32

All above include MS Office 2007 (originally had 2003)

Surely my original P4 3GHz was of higher spec than that Celeron, or is it?

For info here is the full original spec of my Laptop

INSPIRON 5160 MOBILE INTELPENTIUM 4 PRO
UK/IRELAND - SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION
ENGLISH - SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION
IMAGE RESTORE UTILITY
512MB 333MHZ DDR MEMORY (1X512MB)
60GB (5,400RPM) IDE HARD DRIVE
RECORD NOW AND MY DVD SOFTWARE
DVD CYBERLINK DECODER SOFTWARE
8X DVD+/-RW
130W AC ADAPTOR
PRIMARY 96 WATT/HOUR, 12 CELL BATTERY
64MB DDR NVIDIA(R) GEFORCE(TM) 5200 GO A
IRISH/SPANISH MODEM CABLEAND ADAPTER IN
INTEGRATED 10/100 NETWORKCARD
ENGLISH - (QWERTY) - INTERNAL KEYBOARD
SOFTWARE DRIVERS (WIN XP)
ENGLISH - GENUINE WINDOWSXP HOME SP2
ENGLISH MICROSOFT OFFICE 2003
ENGLISH - COREL PHOTO ALBUM6 TRIAL EDITI
ENGLISH - COREL PAINT SHOPPROX TRIAL ED
ENGLISH - ADOBE READER 8.1
DELL SUPPORT 3.2
ENGLISH - MCAFEE SECURITYCENTRE V6.0 90
KENSINGTON POCKET MOUSE PRO WIRELESS MOB

What I need to do is spec a machine that is going to be of equivalent replacement to my missing one (not necessarily on price, more on capability and tech spec). But I'm not up to speed on the differences of the current range of processors. Now this new machine is going to have to be built with Vista (as Dell don’t do XP on home range any more) so will require considerably more memory to function proficiently so I'm told.

Machine is just really used for home web usage, some image editing and MS Office applications, I’m not into gaming so don’t need something that hot.

Thanks,

John

dilallio

Hi John,
You are correct - The laptop you had a nice spec when u bought it and I wouldn't settle for a Celeron (especially running graphics applications under Vista). You are also correct that 512K memory was fine when running XP but you would require at least 2Gb (preferably 3Gb) with Vista.
You also had a dedicated graphics card on your previous laptop and should go with the same again for the replacement.
Dell do 3 types of laptop for home users with a 15.4 inch screen (actually they do more but I'm ignoring the Vostro and other business machines). These are the Inspiron 1525, the Studio 15, and the XPS range.
The 1525 doesn't currently offer a dedicated graphics card, while the XPS may be an overkill (but if the insurance company would go for it, this is what I would go for). The following Studio 15 spec should suit your requirements, taking into account that you will now be running Vista rather than XP. It comes at 979Euro. This doesn't include the Corel software. Feel free to PM me if u have any questions.
John

ComponentsBASEIntel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5750 (2.0 GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 Cache)[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(1, 1, _Action);"]edit[/URL]OPERATING SYSTEMGenuine Windows Vista SP1™ Home Premium - English[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(1, 11, _Action);"]edit[/URL]HARDWARE SUPPORT 1 Year Base Warranty[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(1, 30, _Action);"]edit[/URL]COLOUR CHOICEJet Black Colour with Matte Finish[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(1, 380, _Action);"]edit[/URL]LCD15.4" Widescreen WXGA+ WLED (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(1, 760, _Action);"]edit[/URL]MEMORY3072MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [1x2048+1x1024][URL="javascript:to_page_mod(1, 3, _Action);"]edit[/URL]HARD DRIVE250GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(1, 8, _Action);"]edit[/URL]GRAPHICS CARD256MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3450[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(1, 6, _Action);"]edit[/URL]OPTICAL DRIVEFixed Internal 8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(1, 16, _Action);"]edit[/URL]PRIMARY BATTERYPrimary 9-cell 85 WHr Lithium Ion battery[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(1, 112, _Action);"]edit[/URL]BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATIONNo Biometric Fingerprint Reader[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(1, 1319, _Action);"]edit[/URL]AccessoriesCARRY CASESNo Carrying Case[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(2, 118, _Action);"]edit[/URL]BLUETOOTHDell™ Wireless 370 Bluetooth + Mouse[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(2, 59, _Action);"]edit[/URL]WIRELESS CONNECTIVITYDell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g)[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(2, 19, _Action);"]edit[/URL]MICROSOFT APPLICATION SOFTWAREMicrosoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word)[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(2, 1002, _Action);"]edit[/URL]Services & SoftwareACCIDENTAL DAMAGE SUPPORTNo Accidental Damage Support[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(3, 463, _Action);"]edit[/URL]PROTECT YOUR NEW PCMcAfee® Security Centre™ 9.0 - 15 Month Protection - English[URL="javascript:to_page_mod(3, 1014, _Action);"]edit[/URL]Also included with your systemKeyboardInternal UK English Qwerty KeyboardCables1 Meter Power Cord (3 Wire) - UKShipping DocumentsEnglish - Documentation Studio 1535Gedis Bundle ReferenceN0753508Standard Warranty1Yr Limited Warranty - Collect & ReturnOrder InformationStudio 1535 Order - IrelandDell System Media KitStudio 1535 Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)Camera2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera - LEDPower SupplyAC Adapter 90W - 3 PinLabelsWireless Label (Dell Wireless Cards)- Core 2 Duo

JohnDigital

Cheers mate, that's fantastic.

Run_to_da_hills

Celeron are utter rubbish if you intend to do anything demanding. An up to date 2008 Celeron processor would be more inferior to your former 2005 built P4 processor. I.e. useless for graphics, decrypting DVDs, file crunching, and general performance.

I am using a Celeron 900 in an EEEPC at present and it is good enough for browsing and doing small tasks on the move, the solid state HDD gives it a bit more access speed

Col_Loki

If you can get the €870 then you should be able to get a pretty decent laptop. Have a look on the dell outlet store and you should be able to pick up an XPS laptop for around that.

Like was said before, Celerons are rubish. The new Core2 CPU's are fantastic and would perform much better than your old CPU (even ones half the speed). Also 2GB memory running Vista if possible.....

Sample from the outlet store, 4GB Ram and a nice fast 2ghz Core2 CPU.
INSPIRON XPS M1330 (System Identifier. EEC3415J)
XPS M1330 CORE 2 DUO 2.00Ghz ( 128 MB 8400M )
English Windows Vista Business

System Price EUR 677.70 - Eur €820 including VAT

Dell recommends Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional

Operating System: English Windows Vista Business
Memory: Memory Dual Channel 4.0GB (2x2048) 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Disk Drive: Hard Drive 120GB Free Fall Sensor (7200RPM)
NoteBook Screen: 13.3 WXGA (1280x800) White-LED Display with TrueLife?
CD Read-Write Drive: 8xDVD+/-RW Slim Slot-Load Drive
MISC: English Genuine Windows Vista SP1 Business
Tuxedo Black 0.3 MP Camera for White-LED
Intel 3945 WLAN Mini-Card EUR
European Dell TrueMobile 355 internal Bluetooth Module
Primary 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion Battery
Uk/Irish Internal Keyboard (QWERTY)


You would need to get MS Office 2007, many ways of doing this including Student Offers which work out quite cheap.

dilallio

Yes - The Dell Outled Store has some excellent deals also. Just be aware that the prices quoted are ex-VAT & shipping (but they often offer free shipping)

JohnDigital

Thanks for all the input guys, I have sent a revised request to the insurance company.

JohnDigital

Got a wonderful letter from the insurance company this morning!

Here’s the important bit……

"Insurers do not consider a laptop to be a personal possession so there is no cover in force under the automatic unspecified all-risks section of your policy."

If a home laptop is not a personal possession then what the heck is it :mad:

They have had me jumping through hoops getting copies of the original invoice, detail of the full specification of it. Detail of replacement machine, filling out 3 different claim forms. Why couldn’t they have just said that from the start and saved me wasting time over the last two weeks.

Anyway thanks for the help guys, I guess I’m just going to have to by a second hand one to tide me over for a while until I save up for something better.