Looking to get a Dell Mini

wheatln2

Hi there, so i'm heading away for 7 weeks in June and figure what better time than now to get myself set up with a dell mini!

So right now I've only got around €200 to spend. The dell outlet store seems like my best bet. At present they have "inspiron 1010" which I assume is the original mini, and "inspiron mini 1011", which is the 10v. Both are retailing at about €150. Anyone got any opinions on which would I be better to try and get?

The 1010 has the Intel ® Atom™ - 1330 and is on XP with 1GB of RAM. And the 1011 has the Intel ® Atom™ - 1600.

I know the 10v is better for hackintosh and stuff like that but I'd like to install Windows 7 (from my retail copy, making a USB boot) and get the second gig of RAM in.

Dell Factory Outlet [click stockroom - "Inspiron Notebooks" > "Inspiron 1010" or "Inspiron Mini 1011" and hit filter results]

Any thoughts on anything there as there seem to be identical models of the 1011 on sale for different prices. E6V3PAVR looks like the favourite. Once it isn't pink I'm happy! Thanks again!

asgaard

I'll go with Dell 1011. The processors were made in same time, but N270 (except Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x), Idle States and Intel® Demand Based Switching) is a lite bit better than Z520. Here is the link http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=35466,36331,
I'm looking also for a netbook, but with hdmi output (Dell Mini 1010)

eamon234

Just beware of the trackpad it's terrible. Make sure they throw in a mouse!

wheatln2

Thanks for that asgaard, everything seems to point toward the 1011, in terms of upgrade potential and price. The only downer is all those models on the Dell Outlet store just come with the 3-cell battery as opposed to the 6-cell which some have. But it would be easy enough to upgrade at a later date too.

wheatln2

eamon234 wrote: »

Just beware of the trackpad it's terrible. Make sure they throw in a mouse!

Yeah so I hear! I figure you can get a dinky little usb mouse for a fiver so will have to make do.

asgaard

wheatln2 wrote: »

all those models on the Dell Outlet store just come with the 3-cell battery as opposed to the 6-cell which some have. .

The 3-cell battery is really bad, so save money for 6-cell

wheatln2

asgaard wrote: »

The 3-cell battery is really bad, so save money for 6-cell

Any advice on the best place to get one? The only ones I see on ebay are based in the US or Canada... If there's a nice reliable and affordable site like crucial.com for batteries then we'd be laughing!

asgaard

I try find out for You and let you know after if i find something.

http://www.ukbattery.net/laptop/npdez83.html?gclid=CO--hdSk96ACFQuElAodYkF6tg

wheatln2

Ordered the little red 10v from the outlet store in the end. €172 excl VAT and delivery. Should be set up for the Windows 7 dualboot upgrade and then down the line might try to get the RAM situation sorted out too. Had a look at asgaard's link for the battery but they seem to only have the 3 cell at the minute... Have found one on ebay for €54 excl shipping but they could take ages to get delivered and be liable for customs duty... Hmmm.

Looking forward to getting this Mini though, Dell are saying it'll be delivered in about 8 days.

JayDubiya

Hey wheatln2, is there any chance you could post up when you receive delivery of this. Ordered a 1010 this morning and am hoping to get delivery before I go on holidays in 2 weeks time.

Just looking to get an idea of how long the delivery process takes (I read somewhere that the estimated delivery put on the order confirmation for Outlet deliveries bears no resemblance to the actual order time)

wheatln2

OK, so I ordered it there late on Saturday and on Wednesday the status changed from processing to "shipped". Because of the courier they use I can't do tracking but I would expect it to be with me on Monday? Had hoped it would be there this morning but no sign of it yet. If it gets here on Monday it will mean an 8 day turnaround (5 working days).

JayDubiya

Thanks for the update. To be honest I'm a bit pessimistic about it getting to me in time. The outlet homepage has a warning saying that it'll take approx 10 working days from payment clearance which puts it at friday fortnight. I'm heading away for 2 months on the following saturday so thats precisely no room for error!!

So frustrating that there isn't a number to call just to get a quick heads up as to the likely delivery time before ordering. Mailed that outlet email address but nothing back from them.

Theres no doubting that theres some great bargains on there if you're not too pushed about timing/scratches etc but it's a total shot in the dark for me. Fingers crossed!

wheatln2

Just for reference, this arrived yesterday morning, april 21st. So I guess it was 8 working days? I'm impressed so far, if they'd only put a better touchpad into it, it'd be a real winner!!