Dell 9100 review from me too

Well I made my decision and ordered the 9100. Thanks to everyone that answered questions.
I will try to give a little review when I receive it to help anyone in the market for a machine like this. I wont be running "benchmark" tests but I will let you all know about it otherwise.
One frustrating thing, I ordered yesterday and then today they changed all the promotions and they are actually a little better. Im calling them trying to get them to change it. They are supposed to allow returns minus shipping but I got free shipping so perhaps I can do this with nothing lost. Well see. Its worth a try.
dave
Oh and when I get it perhaps I will take pictures and post them since I know there are some here that think that it is just a beautiful machine.

 

Ok Just talked to Dell. So I just wanted to let everybody know what they did for me. They had a few promotions for the 9100 that ended yesterday (free shipp, free HD upgrade, 10% off price). So I ordered yesterday. Today they had a new set of deals for the same computer that was 100 dollars less for me. So without question, they changed my order (I used the difference to get the faster hard drive) to the new promotions.
So far Dell is looking quite good in the customer service department for me. I will let you all know how the computer is.

My config is/will be:

9100 P4 3.2G, 15.4 WSXGA, Win XP Home, 512Mb ram, 128MB Radeon, CD/DVD 4X burner, 60GB 7200 HD, A/B/G wireless card, Office Small business,
with shipping and tax (california) $2374
Keep in mind the office price was 249 of that!!

 

That'll be a powerful notebook and that's really cool they changed the order like that for you. I saw that today they had some pretty nice promotions, no free shipping though. I hate playing that game with Dell, you think if you wait just one more day you might get a better offer and then it sucks and you lose the current deal. But then when you eventually order the next promotion rocks. Seems that way at least.

It'd be really great if you could post any thoughts on this and we'd be happy to host any images on our server that you take of the 9100.

And now as we say you get to

wait.

and wait.

and .....

 

Another Inspiron 9100 buyer here.

(We need to add the 9100 pic to the avatars too )

 

Purchased my very first notebook today. Very hard decision between the Dell 9100 and the HP 7000, but I went with what I think is the more powerful, the Dell.

Specs: P4 3.2 / 1 GB / 15.4" wuxga monitor / 60GB 7200 rpm /128mb ati mobility radeon 9700 / XP pro / true mobile 1400 with DI-624 airplus xtreme router / and the 4X dvd cd burner & 3yr warranty and other xtra's blah, blah, blah...

total is $2763.00 icludes the $200.00 rebate Dell is offering however s/h and tax is extra, so the rebate is basically a wash.

Thoughts?

 

Smart to get the warranty. As far as specs go...you're going to be at the top of the pile for a while. Have fun with it!

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Still waiting for my 9100....

....my gosh has it only been 3 days???

...........

 

I'm looking at purchasing the 9100 as well.

Why is this machine not available with the windows XP media edition? I really don't understand why this is not an option, Sony, Hp and others are now building laptops around the media edition OS. The HP laptop with 17" screen has a built in TV tuner for using the laptop as a PVR type device (I would love his TIVO like ability). I dont' believe dell has this option or would you have to go USB with an external capture device(more wire)? I really want to make this machine a total media center. The DVI outputs look very attractive on the 9100 but it is lacking in other areas. What machine is the best option here?

Thanks.

 

this link may help you

http://start.earthlink.net/newsarticle?cat=2&aid=308024639_5311_lead_story

Its a story about software that does the tivo like stuff MCE does and better.
You can use it on any laptop if you get a video capture card.

dave

 

you should have gone for the WUXGA and just use lower resolutions
you should have gone for the DVD/RW
you really don't need the 7200rpm HDD or the a/b/g wireless, just the b/g wireless

in my opinion...



<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Sequoia225

 

Well since you are not answering any question I had as I didnt have one, and youre just giving me your opinion, I will respond with an equally pointless post to this topic.

I opted for the SXGA screen cause I had already gone over my spending plan and I was more interested in speed than the highest resolution. I dont feel I need the UXGA esp if Im just going to be "turning it off" by switching resolution. And can someone prove to me that its going to not tax the machine more and slow it down with the UXGA?? I dont need that either. Not to mention the problem thats been mentioned on another Dell line with the UXGA flickering with no fix for the problem. Thats a risk for a cost that I dont feel I need. And Im NOT new at laptops. The SXGA is all I need - in my opinion. Besides, I already asked a question here regarding screens and I didnt see you respond then. Im happy with my choice.

Regarding the DVD/RW, I DID get that drive and listed it here as a CD/DVD burner. I thought that would make it quite clear that it burns both DVDs and CDs as the other option only burns CDs to my knowledge. But I apparently didnt make it obvious enough for you kronie. Sorry.

As for the drive speed, I plan on running music software that requires a minimum 7200 speed drive and why not get the latest technology available, as thats what you preach regarding screen resolution despite what people are saying they want to look at.

And finally regarding the wireless card option. It was an 18 dollar difference. I figured what the hell. Id hate to need "a" once and not have it for 18 dollars on my $2300 dollar laptop.

So there you have it.

I imagine you can now tell me about things you purchase after the fact and then I can tell you what I thought you should have done......

But I bet you wouldnt really care at that point. [ ]

 

LCDs should never be used in a non-native resolution. The end result is garbage, so when purchasing a notebook, be sure to buy the res you plan on using. A high res screen looks like crap at lower resolutions.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Hey congrats on the purchase. I recently ordered one too--right before they changed the promotions around. I looked around the site the next day and saw that they a 512 mb RAM upgrade for free, but took out the free 60GB HD offer that I had on my order. It looks like the main things that Dell switches around during these promotions are the HD and RAM upgrades; sometimes they throw in the free DVD/RW. However, if you look closely at the types of free upgrades they offer, you'll see the free component is an inferior version of what they usually offer. In other words, they don't offer the free 400mhz 512mb RAM upgrade, only the 333mhz. Nor do they offer the free 7200rpm 60GB upgrade, only the regular one. Tricksy hobbitses, those Dell guys [ ]

 

Ha I think you ordered the same day I did. Is your ship date this coming Friday??
Yeah they are tricky. They also put stuff on your order that costs more and you have to really be paying attention to know its there and then when you tell the sales person you dont want it, they REALLY try to sell it to you. They really tried to sell me a surge protector that I didnt need that automatically was selected when I built the machine online. She almost had me convinced it was part of the laptop. But to their favor, I still have to say my exp with the 2 women I dealt with so far was VERY good. They have been very good to me.




Funny line about the hobbits. My boss is a huge LOTR fan here in LA and she has seen the movie about 29 times now. Thats NOT an exageration.
I hear that line about every day.

 

Hey guys,
I bought my first laptop on 3-2-04 and it was hte 9100 baby!

specs-
15.4 WUXGA Wide Screen
P4 3.0
512MB DDR SDRAM
128 MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
60GB ATA HD
24x CD/DVD combo
1400 Dual Band WLAN card
3 year warranty
and all that good software!

How long do you guys think the 9100 is gonna stay strong on the market and how do you think it matches up to the Alienware jaz! oh yea I got the message from dell today that my shippment is prolonged till like april anyone else hit that problem?

 

Yes, others are reporting shipment delays too, the demand might have outpaced Dell's expectations it seems.

 

Actually,

The shipment delay may be due to the problems with the XPS as it may affect the 9100 as well.

According to some users who have contacted Dell.

Hope I am wrong!

 

Hi all,
A BIG salutations from a small country namely Singapore. [ ]
I've been checking out this forum since i ordered my 9100 on the 8thMarch (almost 12 long painful days ago). Unfortunately, like most of you guys, its been delayed. Judging from this thread, i guess its worldwide delay. According to the DELL sales rep, the delivery date is scheduled on 21st, recieving on the 24th. Not too sure if its gonna be accurate, sure hope so though. Cant wait to test out the 9700Mobility.

Has anyone goten their new toy yet??? Waiting for personal reviews from ya guys. [ ]

 

Mine is still "in production" though the ship date is tomorrow but judging by these posts, I am not guessing its going to ship tomorrow.....

hmmmmmmmm

 

I ordered a 9100 for my wife back on March 3rd, and its estimated shipping date was for today March 18th. I have not recieved any emails about delays, yet my order status is still in the "In Production" process. I sent an email to them hopefully getting an answer regarding shipping times. I'll let you know what they say when they reply.

She will be really bummed if it is delayed.

 

Mine's in production as well, according to the website.

Looks like we're the 1st batch of 9100 users. Oh boy .... i dun like the sound of that! [xx(]

 

Well, I never got an email back, but I got an automated call saying that my order has been delayed due to parts that were not available, and my new estimated ship date is for March 25th, I'm just hoping they mean in 2004. [ ]

 

I ordered my 9100 on 3-2-04, and i just contacted dell by phone yesterday. Throughout the conversation i was informed that it was a shortage of the motherboard... and that the ship date was around the 9th - 15th of April!!! Sounds really rediculous to me, but i guess this is what we get for being on top of the game. I hope i can wait, because another month is gonna kill me [ ]

 

How does the 9100 compare to the M60? M60 has a better graphics board (quadro 1000)? I'm thinking in purchasing one of these for multimedia applications such as premiere, 3d max, flash...thanks guys

 

Just called Dell and the reason for my new April 16th ship date (it was supposed to be today) is due to the screens not being available. They are awaiting shipments of the screens.

So we have all sorts of reasons.

 

Bad news guys,

I ordered my 9100 in february, and am STILL waiting. (current ship date is 4/7)

Got to the root of the problem tho- There is a flaw in the design. The notebook will not work unless the battery AND the power cord is plugged in.

Hope they work it out soon.

 

Oh yeah, see

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=cc_order_status&message.id=83677&view=by_date_ascending&page=1

for more info. It appears that we are not alone.

 

In my many countless hours of reading I discovered one thing about a higher speed hd. If your running just off of battery power it will suck up your battery life.

 

IVe had a laptop since 98. Ive probably used the battery about 10 % of the time Ive had it. Id rather have the boosted speed and one program I am going to use actually requires that speed so Im just thankful that its offered.

dave

 

Just wondering if anyone has received their Dell 9100. I ordered mine on the 2ed of March and it should have been to me by the end of March. They sent me a email and said that it would not ship until the middle of April. Was really surprised that it is showing that it has made it thru kitting, build, testing and now it's been in the "boxing" phase since the 27th of March. I've bought several Dell's in the last few years and it has always shipped with in 24 to 48 hours. Just worries me that they haven't shipped year. Anyone have a clue?

 

Just so all will know. Just looked at the Dell forum and it's been said that the XPS models are in the hands of some customers and one of the poster's has said that his I9100 has been sent to the shipping department. Looks like they are getting these laptops out finally. I'm sure they would not ship if any of these have any problems. Here's a url..

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=cc_order_status&message.id=85757

 

Hey fellas i ordered mine on march 2nd and it is on it's way as of TODAY and is due at my house on wedsday! I will post pics and a review of this crazy laptop! games that will be tested on it are, UT2k4, Tactical ops, and Need 4 speed Underground, and the oldieStar wars jedi knight II Jedi Outcast! Looks like dell is moving things along i got worried there for a secondbut hang in there guys they will come, "If you build it, they will come".

On the way I hope!!! Dell Inspiron 9100
P4 3.0, 15.4 UXGA Wide Screen, 512 DDR SDRAM 400MHz, 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9700, 60 GB Ultra ATA HD, 24x CD-RW/DVD, TrueMobile1400 WLAN!

 

Gigabyte:
Recent Dell history would certainly indicate the possibility of Dell rushing things again. Had they done things right to begin with, the 9100 wouldn't have been offered until the bugs were worked out. Instead, they rushed it and ended up shipping less-than-good units.
Hopefully for y'all things are fixed, but I'd keep my fingers crossed.

 

I have my 9100 here. It's decked out except I have a 60GB 7200rpm drive. I had an 8600 before this, but the 9100 came out in time for me to swap it.

The machine in the freak'in ticket. I play warcraft III TFT here, and it is the fastest machine in the office, even over desktops. I can actually see all my units attacking now. The machine puts the 8600 and ATI 9600 to shame. I love this thing.

I'm also a java developer, and compile times are about half now as well. I haven't tried rendering yet, but I'm sure 3D work will be just as nice.

A few interesting notes, the 10lbs doesn't bother me, but the notebook is THICK! This is mainly due to the heatsync for cooling on the bottom, but still I have to get a new notebook case. Also the processor fan comes on less for this machine than my old 8600. It stays VERY cool.

However wait to you guys see the power supply! It's about 3 times the size of a normal power supply, and it gets rather warm. As for me, I couldn't care less about this stuff... I have been waiting on this type of laptop for about 4 years now. I'm so freak'in stoked!

Email: [email protected] if you have questions.

 

me too

my power bar thing is warm most of the time, im really quite suprised its not hot, its like.. "luke warm" if you could compare it to that lol, even when i play games and the fans start goin on