7/23 Inspiron 1520 Impressions

My screen isn't half as bad the one in the pics, maybe i just got lucky.

My $20 radioshack headset has no interference(i've posted this so much, sorry)

 

whats wrong with that screen (i can barely judge on the display quality)?

 

This is my first post on this forum, but I've been lurking for a while so please be gentle and kind...

Is the grain those white specks in the one pic or the pixelation in the other? If it's the white specks, that's definitely the anti-glare coating and needs to go back. If it's an internal screen issue then that can be fixed via a BIOS update or by getting a replacement screen.

Somebody please explain what I am or should be looking at.

 

Actually, the graininess is not picked up by the camera. Any graininess in the photo is due to being out of focus, or the lighting conditions.

 

Bizekiel... your system has the exact same specs as the one I just ordered. How are you enjoying yours so far? Any regrets? Graininess? Headphone noise? HD getting warm under the wrist?

 

sorry for not posting pics yet, I just got back from my vacation on Monday and had forgot to plug in my rechargeables for my camera. I killed them all with some incredible pics . Anyway, look within the next hour or so for a some pics from me.

 

I love my lappy
Graininess is there, but I don't notice it anymore really, though I haven't done any extensive digital painting or typing so I can't fully judge it yet. Headphone noise is there, but I plan on buying an external usb soundcard anyway; plus, I usually use a high quality usb headset, and the speakers are pretty nice for a laptop.
I've had no heat issues so far (5400 rpm HD); it does get hot next to the side vents when gaming, but it quickly cools down afterward (and by hot, not anything like scalding hot - more like a warm breeze)

one thing I'd like to repeat is to do the RMclock trick when you get your laptop to stop the whining sound coming from it. This is a problem with nearly all Core2Duo notebooks, so you should be able to find good tips on how to get rid of it.

Feel free to ask any questions, though bare in mind that I'm not the most comp-savvy person on the boards, so I can't get tooooo technical

 

hows the gaming performance on that?...my vostro 1500 will be the exact same config almost

 

Bizekiel, thanks for the pics and review

Can you please describe exactly where I can get this rmclock thing and how to set it up to stop the noise coming from the computer? It really bothers me!

I'm also a designer and noticed that the 1520 colors look completely different from my 2005fpw monitor. Have you tried using a color calibration tool? I'm thinking of giving either the Pantone Huey or the Spyder2express a try to see if I can match my monitors up.

 

By the way , you can cut down some of the whine of the sound problem by disabling the power management feature in the sigmatel control panel applet.

I am not sure if its there by default though because I remember digging around the registry with the sigmatel entries so I might have enabled the checkmark box via registry.

The noise is there but it helped tone the whine down to a hiss wich helped greatly.

It did not get rid of the nosie completely just helped make it much less annoying.

 

Here are the instructions that worked for me:
http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=3516

And here you can DL Rmclock: http://cpu.rightmark.org/download.shtml
(3rd from bottom)

 

To answer some of the questions:
I ordered mine on the 7th and got it on the 23rd.
The color is more like dark re velvet ( the first pic I posted which shows the cover is much closer to the real deal (especially the edge closest to the camera shot).
The pics of the screen don't really do it justice (its only a 5.1mp camera ) I can't actually see any boxes, but the screen does look sort of pixalated.
The actual "grainyness" is probably due to the uneven coating on the screen. It looks like very tiny evenly paced pattern of lighter and darker dots.

 

The gaming is pretty nice. Don't expect 8800gtx performance, but I can run CS:S, HL2, UT2004 and BF2 maxed out without OCing at all (I don't plan to(. CnC3 I can run at medium settings with max framerate (the game auto-caps at 30fps), which looks really, really nice already.

I can't get the free version of 3dmark06 to test at 1280x1024 resolution, but my default resolution in the test got about 3200 3dmarks; other people have tested to about 2900 3dmarks at the higher resolution. Supposedly, the newest drivers bring this up to about 3200 at the higher res; I personally havent tried this yet.

 

If for some reason I want to return to default settings, is there a "reset to default" on rmclock or would it go back if I uninstall it?
Just wondering in case I screw something up! thanks

 

yup each tab has a reset to defaults option.

edit: although it wouldnt hurt to write down the initial settings somewhere, just in case

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2217655#post2217655

As promised, there is pics and a small review, sorry for the jumbling together, the formatting of the words completely went away went it posted.

 

For those of you, who suffer from the grainy screen, you may want to consider getting the Sony Vaio FZ instead. It's screen is sharp and clear at about the same resolution. The Nvidia 8400M GT with current drivers scores around 2700 on '06 benchmarks, so you won't loose much performance. Lower weight and sleaker design may also sway your decision. Sorry, if this view is unpopular in the Dell Forum.

 

The 8400 has less stream processors then the 8600 so in other games there could be a huge difference in fps scores.

 

I know that benchmarks have only limited use, though I am still amazed that the 8600M in the 1520 is scoring fairly low for a card supposedly that powerful. (More what I expected for a 8600M GS) I heard talk that this is due to the type of RAM Dell chose for the GPU. From experience with my FZ I can only say that I am very pleased with the 8400M GT. FSX, which is known to be a resource hog runs very decently at high settings. (Well, 3GB RAM should help a bit, too) So I don't think that it's really a step down from the Inspiron 1520 to the Sony FZ. I admit that I might be biased after having replaced an Inspiron 5150, which always ran much slower than it should have, with my FZ, which is quiet, powerful and elegant, at least after uninstalling the bloatware that came with it.)

 

If the latest driver 3dmark06 scores are to be believed, the 8600m gt on the 1520 can get about 3200 at 1280x1024, without overclocking, putting it a fair 500 points above the 8400m gt.

I did look at the sony, and while it seemed a good laptop, the same configuration would cost me quite a bit more than what I paid for my inspiron, and without the option of the 8600m gt. For me, personally, it doesn't appeal as an option.

 

The 8600M GT also overclocks really well.