New Vostro Lineup (3350, 3450..)

If you're not into games or any kind of 3D graphics, you'll be happy with Intel's integrated graphics card. Dropping the 6490M will save you some money as well as some issues with GPU switching.

Although Dell has recently released a fix for ATI GPU switching (as mentioned a few posts earlier), the technology still requires a little bit of handling. Running apps on the discrete GPU, when not necessary is a waste of battery and you said it's important to you.

 

Thank you for the quick answer!
The thing is that I dont have the option to change GPU. Only things I can change is CPU, RAM(go for 6GB) and hard drive. I am thinking of getting more RAM by myself since the 60euros they want for the extra 2GB sounds too much.
From what I have seen things are going well with this series, meaning that I do not see any major complaints from users apart from the ATI graphics that cause the switching problems to all laptops with ATI.
I know that nvidia optimus is a bit better but all the other parts seem to make this a great laptop.
Hope I am right!

 

Well, yes, overall it is a great laptop and I'm sure it will serve your needs

See if you can switch that Dell 1702 card for an Intel 1030 (or 6230). The Dell one is a branded Broadcom chip, which can be troublesome, especially in non-Windows environments.

 

mkj thanks for the info. I ordered it finally today. I changed the wireless with the one from intel 1030. Is it something special about it or is it just more reliable? Propably now I wont have bluetooth right? Not that it matters that match.
About the graphics I couldnt change the card but I managed to get the English version of windows.
So I might need your advice soon on how and which 4GB memory to add so that I can have total 8GB. I propably have to open and see the specs of the current Ram so I can buy same specs.
And also if its not a problem you could tell me how better the laptop is with the SSD although that having 7200rpm hard drive is decent also.

 

No problem. I'm glad you made up your mind

I've had a couple of Dell Wireless (Broadcom) cards and I faced some reliability issues under Windows as well as compatibility/support issues under Linux (which matters if you happen to use it or would like to give it a try sometime in the future). Intel 1000 has no BT, but the 1030 is WLAN + BT

Vostros come with single 4 GB memory stick, so you should be fine with adding any other SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 MHz stick. It's not easy to find a Samsung, Hymnix or Nanya Elixir sticks on the market (which is what Dell installs in the factory), but getting an exact stick is not necessary as long as parameters are kept.

HDDs, even fast ones, have become a bottleneck for modern systems and SSDs are far beyond that. There's just no comparison between speeds and access times. Day to day usage of a system running on an SSD is a pure pleasure - not only is the boot time significantly shorter, but also opening every application is ridiculously fast. One other advantage is that these drives make no noise (as opposed to spinning platters in HDDs), so when the fan is off, the 3350 runs noiselessly - like it was turned off

 

I purchased one of these recently. It is suppose to arrive today between 9am and 6pm !

225-1116 VOSTRO 3350 FAST TRACK 35D
1 312-1192 8-CELL,LION,PRIM BATT,VOS
1 317-6447 4GB,DDR3,1333MHZ, 1 DIMM VOS
1 317-6452 Intel Core i5-2410 Vos
1 318-0526 Aberdeen Silver WIFI Vos
1 318-0531 8X DVD+/-RW,VOS
1 320-2146 PLMRST, w/FPRDR, VOS
1 320-2149 AMD Radeon HD 6490
1 320-2152 13.3" WLED HD (1366 x 768) w/AG Vos
1 330-6322 WINDOWS 7 NOTEBOOK LABEL,LAT/VOS/MPWS
1 331-1741 ENG DOC,TSH,VOS
1 331-1794 ENG BACKLIT KB W/ Gesture TP Vos
1 331-1800 DELL,ADPT,AC,DLTA,90W,3P,ARM,WW,VOS
1 331-1801 DELL,CORD,PWR,125V,1M,C5,US,VOS
1 331-1858 Dell Resource DVD, Vostro 3350
1 331-2033 BOTTOM BASE FOR DVD+/-RW VOS
1 342-2385 320GB HARD DRIVE, 7200RPM VOS
1 410-0553 ADOBE ACROBAT READER X
1 421-2262 Windows 7 XP Mode,Opti/PWS/Lat/Vost
1 421-3881 MS OFFICE STARTER 2010, VOS
1 421-4597 ROXIO CREATOR STRT KIT,VOS
1 421-4728 ROXIO CREATOR STRT, FI, VOS
1 421-4735 DELL SPRT-CTR SW 3.0
1 421-4739 LCD W/CAMERA DIG MIC, VOS
1 421-4740 FINGERPRINT READER W/SW VOS
1 421-4746 Windows Live Wave 4 Vos
1 421-4768 SKYPE VOIP SOFTWARE APPLICATION VOS
1 421-5105 CYBERLINK PDVD 9.5, VOS
1 421-6061 Win 7 Professional 64 SP1,NB ENG Vos
1 421-6146 Trend Worry-Free Security 3.5,15 Mth Vos
1 421-6195 DELL DBRM,W7,MUI,SP1,VOS
1 430-4058 DELL,CRD,NTWK,1030,VOS
1 929-8087 HW WRTY + SVC,VOSTRO V3350,UNY,INIT,REL
1 953-1860 PS NBD OS,VOSTRO V3350,UNY,INIT,REL
1 986-4970 PS TECH SPT,VOSTRO NB,INIT,REL
1 007-1524 TOTAL INCLUDES SHIPPING AND HANDLING
1 331-1737 Aberdeen Silver Vos
1 331-1803 Energy Star 5.0 3350 Vos
1 331-2741 VOSTRO LBL FAST TRACK 35D
1 430-4055 No Mobile Broadband, VOS
1 988-7289 PS NBD NO WARRANTY YEARS 2 AND 3
1 989-3449 INFO,PS TECH SPT CONTACT,CLIENT
1 600-0043 ON $0.70 EHF NOTEBOOK

Paid $640 with taxes! Got over $400 discount apparently. Now I will have this and a V131 to compare. One of them will sadly have to go back to the store. I will write a comparison review if anyone is interested =]

 

Yea would presiade that! My sis is looking for 13inch one. I was wondering which one to go. v131 is slimmest, but some peopel tell it's load

 

Woot. I got it! It arrived 5 hours after the V131 for some reason -.-

Both laptops showing 7hours of battery life with wifi and brightness at half, listening to dubstep on youtube and looking at notebookreview. Much more to come on Saturday when I will have plenty of time to type up a review!

 

I saw you on RFD as well.
I wish I had jumped on that deal on the 3350, but once I made up my mind, it was over.

Instead, got a Dell Outlet New 3550 for $574 shipped (Good deal?).

i5-2410
6GB DDr3
AMD 6630
Backlit Keyboard
9 Cell Battery
Intel 1030

I've read most of this thread and found out that the wifi range is not good on the 3550 w/ the 1030. Can someone please chime in or suggest any fixes.

Also, for those with a 9-cell battery, how long does it last with wifi on/off?

Cheers.

 

My new Dell Vostro 3350 i5 just arrived with the 8-cell battery. It's not as bad as I initially thought. Keeps the laptop off my lap. I like how slim this thing is...slimmer than I imagined. Got it with 4GB RAM but will add another 4 soon to get total of 8GB.

Was told the max ram for the 3350 i5 is 8GB. Why the limit?