Dell Inspiron Micro Desktop €149 @ DELL Ireland

long_b · 16-09-2015 11:46am

ablelocks wrote: »

just in case anyone is thinking of getting the monitor with it - the one that Dell is bundling with it (Dell 19 Monitor E1914H) doesn't have a display port or hdmi connector, only VGA. The Dell 20 E1914H does have a display port and is €24.60 extra

That's HILARIOUS!

marcbrophy · 16-09-2015 11:55am

Oh yeah, I had noticed that alright.

The monitor that they were bundling with the €249 version was not compatible with the machine, without a separate adapter

It's available for about €39 on their site though :pac:

degsie · 16-09-2015 1:11pm

Sheeps wrote: »

Considering a windows 10 license is €135 you could transfer the license, upgrade to windows 10 and then use this as a cheap €14 media server

How do you transfer a licence?

54and56 · 16-09-2015 1:40pm

Got it, unboxed it, installed it to my TV (alongside my Minix Xh-Plus) and bingo, It's working. 5 minutes tops.

BTW, as I didn't ge tthe keyboard and mouse I just plugged the USB dongle from my Logitech K400 keyboard into it and as soon as it booted up I was able to use it.

Won't get to play with it properly until the weekend but it looks like it will do a nice job acting as a HTPC for Kodi/Netflix/YouTube/Sports Streaming etc if I can get the oversize screen issue I seem to have resolved i.e. there are shortcuts on the left of the screen which I can only see half of and the same applies to the task bar on the bottom. I can only see the top of the icons.

First thing it asks you to do is upgrade to Win 10.

marcbrophy · 16-09-2015 1:56pm

I have an old remote control with usb dongle IR receiver that came with an old Packard Bell (remember them

) desktop.

It was used with windows media center.

I wonder if I can get it to work with Win 10?

BabySlam · 16-09-2015 2:24pm

Chorus_suck wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

see post 88:)

16-09-2015 2:33pm

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Got it, unboxed it, installed it to my TV (alongside my Minix Xh-Plus) and bingo, It's working. 5 minutes tops.

BTW, as I didn't ge tthe keyboard and mouse I just plugged the USB dongle from my Logitech K400 keyboard into it and as soon as it booted up I was able to use it.

Won't get to play with it properly until the weekend but it looks like it will do a nice job acting as a HTPC for Kodi/Netflix/YouTube/Sports Streaming etc if I can get the oversize screen issue I seem to have resolved i.e. there are shortcuts on the left of the screen which I can only see half of and the same applies to the start bar on the bottom. I can only see the top of the icons.

First thing it asks you to do is upgrade to Win 10.

This issue is solved on my tv (sony bravia) by setting screen format to "full pixel", it happens when laptops are connected via hdmi. There should be something similar on your tv to fix the scaling issue.

54and56 · 16-09-2015 2:48pm

Ricardo Full Opulence wrote: »

This issue is solved on my tv (sony bravia) by setting screen format to "full pixel", it happens when laptops are connected via hdmi. There should be something similar on your tv to fix the scaling issue.

I'll see if I can find a setting like that. It's an 8 year old Samsung Plasma HD Ready TV which might complicate things a bit.

54and56 · 16-09-2015 3:46pm

OSI wrote: »

You should have a setting in your TV called aspect ratio, with options similar to Widescreen, Full Screen or 16:9, 4:3 etc. You're looking for the option "Just Scan".

Cheers, I'll see if I can suss that out.

One complication may be that I'm routing a Sky Satellite box, a Chromecast (which I probably won't need any more) and a Minix Android Media box as well as the new Dell Win PC into the TV via a 6 way HDMI switch as the TV only has one HDMI port. If I change the TV aspect ration to work with the Dell it'll possibly not work for the other devices. Strange that the Chromecast works 100% no problem with the screen without having to tailor any settings but the Win PC doesn't automatically diagnose and adapt to the TV settings. (I'm probably misunderstanding the tech so I'll shut up at this point)

BabySlam · 16-09-2015 4:06pm

do i need a cable to connect to monitor/tv? nothing in the box..?

lulzordan · 16-09-2015 4:21pm

BabySlam wrote: »

do i need a cable to connect to monitor/tv? nothing in the box..?

Yeah, you'll need to get a hdmi cable or displayport, the box only has the PC and power supply.

I just got mine, now to see what to do with it

Kristopherus · 16-09-2015 4:22pm

BabySlam wrote: »

do i need a cable to connect to monitor/tv? nothing in the box..?

Yes. USB 2 or 3. Or maybe a HDMI cable if there's a socket for it.

dawidnowak2005 · 16-09-2015 4:51pm

I didn't got any popup or anything to upgrade to windows 10. Do I have to "click" something?:-) and can I upgrade to windows 10 with 32gb and external hd if 32gb isn't enough? Thank you

SickBoy · 16-09-2015 4:58pm

Handy 20gb Dropbox upgrade for 1 year for signing up/in with the Dell Dropbox thing on the desktop

lulzordan · 16-09-2015 5:23pm

dawidnowak2005 wrote: »

I didn't got any popup or anything to upgrade to windows 10. Do I have to "click" something?:-) and can I upgrade to windows 10 with 32gb and external hd if 32gb isn't enough? Thank you

Were you online during the setup process? It's literally the last option you get after you do everything. You see an option to start downloading/upgrading to Windows 10

dawidnowak2005 · 16-09-2015 5:25pm

lulzordan wrote: »

Were you online during the setup process? It's literally the last option you get after you do everything. You see an option to start downloading/upgrading to Windows 10

Yea I was online, maybe I missed it. Do you know how to do that if I missed it on setup ? And 32gb be enough to upgrade? Thanks for help

lulzordan · 16-09-2015 5:27pm

dawidnowak2005 wrote: »

Yea I was online, maybe I missed it. Do you know how to do that if I missed it on setup ? And 32gb be enough to upgrade? Thanks for help

Yeah, I think the download is only 2 or 3GB, you'd be grand with 32gb. You should eventually see the Windows icon in the tray next to the clock/date which would also prompt you to update

Otherwise, try running Windows Update and seeing if it automatically starts

dawidnowak2005 · 16-09-2015 5:48pm

lulzordan wrote: »

Yeah, I think the download is only 2 or 3GB, you'd be grand with 32gb. You should eventually see the Windows icon in the tray next to the clock/date which would also prompt you to update

Otherwise, try running Windows Update and seeing if it automatically starts

Resetting all now, will start again:-) windows icon also missed, I'm messed up:-) thanks for your help

Xcellor · 16-09-2015 6:07pm

Anyone getting a whistling high pitched electrical noise from unit? Given that it only has one fan im expecting its that.

dawidnowak2005 · 16-09-2015 7:03pm

Xcellor wrote: »

Anyone getting a whistling high pitched electrical noise from unit? Given that it only has one fan im expecting its that.

No, mine is quite, it's even hard to say it's work at all

Xcellor · 16-09-2015 9:02pm

dawidnowak2005 wrote: »

No, mine is quite, it's even hard to say it's work at all

OK in a quiet room mines has a whirring changeable noise... Dodgy fan bearing I reckon

Will phone them tomorrow !

Mahogany Gaspipe · 16-09-2015 9:20pm

I think I will purchase this tomorrow. Is it an easy job to bump up the RAM on these machines?

I found a nice little review and discussion on the machine here http://www.atxgeek.me/2015/05/dell-inspiron-3050-micro-teardown.html

theShire · 16-09-2015 9:56pm

Mahogany Gaspipe wrote: »

I think I will purchase this tomorrow. Is it an easy job to bump up the RAM on these machines?

I found a nice little review and discussion on the machine here http://www.atxgeek.me/2015/05/dell-inspiron-3050-micro-teardown.html

It's very easy to take apart, undo 4 screws, then gently prise off the lower case.
I just ran my nail around the top cover to ease the tabs open.

Changing RAM is just a matter of undoing the metal locking tabs on the dimm slot.

Just be sure to buy the correct RAM, its PC3L, which means its the lower voltage 1.35V rather than 1.5V - this was pointed out to me by another user earlier in the thread

marcbrophy · 16-09-2015 10:41pm

Xcellor wrote: »

OK in a quiet room mines has a whirring changeable noise... Dodgy fan bearing I reckon Will phone them tomorrow !

Yeah man, must be something wrong with it, mine is practically silent

54and56 · 17-09-2015 12:02am

Very quick review.

Set up to my old Samsung Plasma took five minutes.

Have a slight issue with screen overlap but that's probably the TV. Tried a few suggestions I got earlier in the thread but no joy yet, I'll figure it out eventually.

Uninstalled all the bloatware, everything "Dell" except the registration app, McAfee, MS Office and the Amazon.com App.

Signed up for the Win 10 upgrade and am waiting for that to be pushed out to me, will probably take a day or two.

Downloaded PrivateInternetAccess VPN to give me some unmentionable benefits with a popular streaming service.

Downloaded Minecraft and Chrome browser.

Set up Netflix on Chrome and it works 100% crystal clear HD with absolutely zero buffering. Best I've ever seen Netflix.

Will download and install TVMC from here http://www.tvaddons.ag/tvmc-windows and I should be 90% set up.

Looks like a bargain for the money and it runs silent as far as I can tell, so far anyway.

Thanks for the BA OP, it's up there with the $100 32GB HP Touchpad a few years ago which sits right beside it now funnily enough

Chorus_suck · 17-09-2015 12:06am

This post has been deleted.

54and56 · 17-09-2015 12:28am

Chorus_suck wrote: »

Thanks je_suis

I may have some questions ... ok to pm you over the next day or two?

Sure, no problem but I'm not a guru. Plenty of people on here with a lot more knowledge than me. I can't even get the right screen size set up!!

gillamandango · 17-09-2015 12:41am

I spend a little while looking and all I can see is the following as the best value..Any opinions before I pull the trigger?

128gb SSD €68.88
https://www.memoryc.ie/storage/ssd/128gb-transcend-m2-ngff-42mm-sata-iii-6gbps-mts400.html

4gb RAM €27.99
https://www.memoryc.ie/computer-memory/ddr3-sodimm/4gb-gskill-ripjaws-ddr3-1600mhz-ddr3l-sodimm-low-voltage-1-35v-module.html

marcbrophy · 17-09-2015 12:51am

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Sure, no problem but I'm not a guru. Plenty of people on here with a lot more knowledge than me. I can't even get the right screen size set up!!

Had screen overlap on my TV also.

Went into the zoom feature and it was set at 16:9.
Setting this as 1:1 on my set got rid of the overlap.

Might help you out

On a side note, Win 10 was pushed straight to me the minute the desktop first loaded!
Might be something to do with me being an insider before and already updating a laptop to Win 10 using the same MS account, not too sure.

Just finalising the install of it now.

lulzordan · 17-09-2015 1:49am

gillamandango wrote: »

I spend a little while looking and all I can see is the following as the best value..Any opinions before I pull the trigger?

128gb SSD €68.88
https://www.memoryc.ie/storage/ssd/128gb-transcend-m2-ngff-42mm-sata-iii-6gbps-mts400.html

4gb RAM €27.99
https://www.memoryc.ie/computer-memory/ddr3-sodimm/4gb-gskill-ripjaws-ddr3-1600mhz-ddr3l-sodimm-low-voltage-1-35v-module.html

Do you know if that stick will fit? I have no idea about the dimensions but I would consider getting a low profile one or whatever they're called. I bought one of those for my desktop and they came with an ornament that made it like 10cm longer :P

Dell Inspiron Micro Desktop €149 @ DELL Ireland

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