Dell Inspiron 15r - Core i3 - Dedicated GPU - circa €434 delivered

Effluo · 18-07-2011 01:42PM #1

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Dell_Inspiron_15R_1085131.html

Around €434 delivered

Great entry level lappy for gaming.

Graphical performance benchmarks can be seen in the following link.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-5650.23697.0.html

jayteecork · 18-07-2011 05:28PM

Fairly good deal alright, also has hdmi.

dazzday · 18-07-2011 06:21PM

As said excellent card for low level - mid gaming. Can be overclocked to monstrous levels. (Starcraft 2 at high settings anyone!)

However be warned that some 15r GPUs are underclocked from 550Mhz/750Mhz to 450Mhz/800Mhz so they wont perform as good as perhaps the 5650 in say the acer 4820tg etc. Also the cooling system in the 15r is somewhat undesirable imo for gaming.

But as said for the price, that can at least play modern games at low-medium settings, good find.

eoinf · 19-07-2011 09:20AM

anyone got any other thoughts on Dell as a brand.

Apparently they bundle on a load of software which cripples the PC.

I presume it would be easy enough to put a clean version of W7 and get all the drivers?

machalla · 19-07-2011 09:39AM

eoinf wrote: »

anyone got any other thoughts on Dell as a brand.

Apparently they bundle on a load of software which cripples the PC.

I presume it would be easy enough to put a clean version of W7 and get all the drivers?

Dell are fairly variable in their quality to be honest. Like any of them it can be the luck of the draw. For instance in one place I've worked in several hard disks died in a batch of "new" laptops (3 months old) all within a day or so of each other. Now thats most likely a fauly batch of hard disks but its the kind of thing I came to expect from Dell as a rule.

Overall I personally would rate them as low end stuff, cheap and cheerful most of the time. For quality I would go to someone like Asus. At the price of this machine though you can probably risk it. If you look for something equivalent on dell.ie you are looking at about €600 for the slightly newer model of the same laptop.

For removing rubbish software this is useful :

http://pcdecrapifier.com/

Although a clean install would be better. I don't know if they provide media with their machines anymore (they used to provide Dell bios locked disks)

dazzday · 19-07-2011 10:12AM

eoinf wrote: »

anyone got any other thoughts on Dell as a brand.

Apparently they bundle on a load of software which cripples the PC.

I presume it would be easy enough to put a clean version of W7 and get all the drivers?

Bloatware is quite common with most brands these days. As mentioned pcdecrapifier is a safe,quick, easy way of cleaning up a new computer for a considerable boot-up time improvement.

For your other option, doing a fresh reinstall is quite easy if you get a clean iso, use ABR (active backup restore to copy over your oem windows 7 certification and activation) and a driver backup (although win7 will find 99% of these automatically). Plenty of guides online.

In terms of Dell they are pretty much 3 separate companies when it comes to laptops:

The consumer class are pretty meh in terms of quality imo (inspiron particularly feels cheap) particularly compared to other brands at similar price ranges. The cooling systems are somewhat undesirable (particularly on the studios with mid-range gpu). And the support...woeful.

The business class are excellently built and specced...including 1080p RLED screens and more. Very impressed with the new ranges.

And Alienware. Overpriced but as brand conscious as a macbook!

Wcool · 19-07-2011 10:53AM

I am interested in this laptop but it seems they don't deliver to Ireland.
Anyone knows another supplier with the same price?

terencemc · 19-07-2011 11:20AM

Come on Wcool, get with the times.
Saveonlaptops will deliver to ireland - they charge about 9GBP for this.
Give them a ring and they'll sort it out for you.

Wcool · 19-07-2011 12:18PM

I must have missed something then. I hit create account and am only allowed to enter a UK address. No country code.

But indeed I now see in Delivery prices:

£9.95 - Non UK Mainland & North Scotland - 2-4 Days (North Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Isle of Man etc.)

Will give them a call so

NTMK · 19-07-2011 12:48PM

eoinf wrote: »

anyone got any other thoughts on Dell as a brand.

I have this exact model Their very good for that price i paid €150 more for it 6 months ago and couldnt be happier.

For a dell theres not an awful lot of crap on it(I could be wrong but i dont recall having to delete much)

Effluo · 19-07-2011 01:58PM

The quality of a said laptop is generally not manufacturer specific, but more model specific.

There isn't any PC manufacturer that can offer great laptops right across it's range, reliability can be (as was said before), "the luck of the draw".

Research is key when buying any laptop, I haven't done any research on the build quality of this, but tbh with the specification at this price... It's going to be a bargain anyway

jayteecork · 19-07-2011 06:37PM

I@ve always had a dell but the last one ran like ****e, even with 4GB RAM.

It came full to the brim with horse**** like Dell media player.
Also, they have their own custom drivers so you can't download them directly from say Intel's website - very annoying.
They didn't update the GPU driver since 2008(I onyl bougth it in 2007)

By the end of it there it was taking over 5 mins to get from turning on to firefox.

I just got the Lenovo deal that was posted here for 330 and it takes less than a minute to do the same.

Effluo · 20-07-2011 04:13PM

A little update on this:

Also available in red for around €11 less
And also in pink for €22 less

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/products/keywords/15r/ex/clearance%2cdummy%2ctradepack%2cdummy-warranty

Awesome Sauce

Edit:
If any mods are bothered they could edit the opening post & title

paddyp · 20-07-2011 06:12PM

jayteecork wrote: »

It came full to the brim with horse**** like Dell media player.

Hence the link to pcdecrapifier above definitely recommended for a new computer.

Drakar · 22-07-2011 11:37AM

jayteecork wrote: »

...Also, they have their own custom drivers so you can't download them directly from say Intel's website - very annoying.
They didn't update the GPU driver since 2008(I onyl bougth it in 2007)

Sadly many laptop manufacturers do this.

TheChevron · 25-07-2011 09:09PM

Woukd this be ok for running VJ software, eg PCDJ DEX.

I want to set up an extended desktop with the videos going on another screen, and the software GUI on my laptop screen.

Effluo · 26-07-2011 01:31PM

http://www.dabs.ie/products/dell-inspiron-15r-core-i3-380m-15-6--3gb-320gb-6cell-w7hp-black-7L0C.html?q=15r

Now €387 delivered

From an Irish retailer?!!?!?!!

machalla · 26-07-2011 01:40PM

Effluo wrote: »

http://www.dabs.ie/products/dell-inspiron-15r-core-i3-380m-15-6--3gb-320gb-6cell-w7hp-black-7L0C.html?q=15r

Now €387 delivered

From an Irish retailer?!!?!?!!

Well Dabs are more UK than Irish but I see your point. Thats odd. There must be a big overhang of stock on these somewhere.

sweetie · 27-07-2011 03:21PM

this or the samsung R540 for similar price at saveonlaptops? I'm leaning towards the sammy

dazzday · 27-07-2011 05:19PM

sweetie wrote: »

this or the samsung R540 for similar price at saveonlaptops? I'm leaning towards the sammy

If you want to do any gaming, the dedicated GPU >> integrated GPU (particularly in this case with the 1st gen i-cores). The 5650 will comfortably play any new game on medium settings.

Otherwise, the samsung is a very valid choice.

eoinf · 07-08-2011 02:21PM

can anyone tell me what the inspirons are like without the snap on cover?

IE can i buy the pink one for less money and just pop the cover off?

jmorrisey · 07-08-2011 05:14PM

paddyp wrote: »

Hence the link to pcdecrapifier above definitely recommended for a new computer.

Okay got the Ibood dell

http://www.ibood.com/ie/en/product_specs/5973/Dell_Inspiron_173_inch__Notebook_with_i3_Processor_and_HD__WLED_screen_and_Bluetooth/

as a present for a relation and they wouldnt be too technical (nor me for that matter) so intent on tidying it up a bit before i give as a gift. What software can I typically remove from a new Dell without much thought?

(So far I ve installed VLC media player, Openoffice, removed Mcafee and replaced with Clamwin....)

Many thanks in advance for any advice ...

Badgermonkey · 07-08-2011 05:41PM

Not sure about Dell's bloatware but check out Lifehackers essential Windows downloads

http://lifehacker.com/5826909/lifehacker-pack-for-windows-our-list-of-the-best-windows-downloads

You can choose to download the whole pack or elements of same here: http://ninite.com/lifehacker11

They choose Libre office over Open office btw

LibreOffice

OpenOffice doesn't have the momentum it used to, and the OpenOffice community has left Oracle's offering in favor of LibreOffice, the new standard open-source office suite. It's got a few features OpenOffice doesn't, as well as a more active community. If you don't want to pay for Microsoft's offerings, LibreOffice is the way to go.

CCleaner

Over time, your hard drive gets filled up with leftover files, temporary caches, and other cruft that can slow your computer down. CCleaner is the best tool around for cleaning it up, and you can even run it on a schedule so you never have to think about it. If you're using Windows, it's an essential tool to have.

Microsoft Security Essentials

Antivirus programs abound on Windows, but you really don't need to pay money to get good security. Microsoft's tools are great at catching viruses, integrate well with Windows, and do their job in the background without ever nagging your for money. It's also lightweight, which is a big plus in the security department. Save your money—Microsoft Security Essentials is all you need.

Dell Inspiron 15r - Core i3 - Dedicated GPU - circa €434 delivered

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