Dell Inspiron or HP ZE4610us for my needs?

Hi,

First of all, this site has been a tremendous resource of good information for me....thanks a lot guys for bothering with the work to host this!

Ok, Here are my needs:
I am a college student who will primarily use this for word processing, Outlook, and websurfing. I intend to take the laptop with me everywhere I go to increase productivity and time management. I am looking for a low price laptop with good reliability/durability/battery life. I want to keep the price between $750-1000 so that the machine is essentially disposbable should something go wrong (I dont wnat to buy a $250-300 extended warranty). However, bear in mind I am very good with my gadgets and tend never to use those extended warranties anyways; but with a laptop I am a little concerned because of their fragile very expnesive screens. Thus, one of the primary areas of durability I am concerned about is the strength of the screen. Dell's I have squeezed seem pretty sturdy, (Im not all that thrilled about their styling, but thats secondary to durability/reliability). The HP is a looker, but is it relaiable/sturdy?

As far as features, I want atleast 256MB, 15", CD-RW/DVD ROM, the best deal on the processor I can get, a processor that does not get too hot (ouch!), the longest lasting battery, and additional batteries and RAM that arent too expensive.

Dell Business has the Inspiron 5100 configured with P4 2.8GHz, 384MB, 30G, CD-RW/DVD, 15" XGA.

BestBuy has HP ZE4610us for $699 after rebates. Has Anthlon 1.87GHz ("2500+"), 256MB, 40G, CD-RW, 15" XGA.

So which one based on reliablity/durability? How good is the battery life on this HP, and how expensive are spares? The Dell has a really good battery life rating on cnet.

Thanks for all your help!
Neil

 

oops!...here is teh link to that Dell: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&kc=6W300&l=en&oc=i5100lo&s=bsd

PS: Also, it would be good to be able to watch DVD's with good images....will the XGA suffice. Im not sure of the video processing abliities between the Dell 5100 and HP ZE4610

Neil

 

Hi Neil,

The Inspiron 5100 would probably be a little faster, but I have heard that they can get pretty hot, anything that uses a desktop processor will get pretty warm, so that would probably be an issue for both computers. As for reliability, I know a few people that have the 5100 and love it, and have had no issues with it. However, Dell in general has had a few quality issues lately...but for the most part the 5100 has been okay.

From my friends who have it...they will usually get between 2 and 3 hours of battery life. For what you are going to use it for, you should get the 3 hours without much problem.
Can you afford upgrading to the SXGA screen? I am not a big fan of the XGA. DVD's will probably be okay with it, but you probably won't have a super sharp screen for other things. I just think a SXGA really makes a laptop screen look much better. But that is just my opinion.

Overall I think both computers would suit your need, but i do believe you will get a better performance out of the 5100. So, I would probably recommend that.

Good luck!

 

Hey Neil,

I didn't realize the HP was a Mobile Athlon...that should give it a pretty good battery life and would probably not run quite as hot.

It looks like it doesn't come with a wireless card built in. I would double check with the HP website to see if it says anything more about that.

If indeed it doesn't come with one, then you are going to need to buy a wireless pcmcia card which would be fine for a wireless network. You would be losing your pcmcia slot (slot on the side of notebooks)

The Dell 5100 has the option for an internal wireless mini-pci card which means you wouldn't have lose your pcmcia slot.

 

There are a number of people who have bought that same HP lately and have been very happy. Given the tight budget, I think it's a pretty solid offering.

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

 

Heres the BestBuy ad for the HP:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?j=1&id=1069300677464&skuId=6237351&type=product


Does it have a built in antanae for 802.11G....I guess not. So if I get a "G" card it will only have the antenna thats built in to the card? What kindo fo range/receptivity would that work out to? Would it be fine for a wireless home network or a university library?

Thanks,
Neil

 

Hello Nesbo,

I was at school bookstore and they had a Dell laptop there on display and I touched it and the dang thing was uncomfortably warm! ....obviously it was on all day. Im not sure the model, but obviously it was not a mobile processor. The other Dell laptops they had were all cool to the touch.

If you see the details in the BestBuy ad, it says the HP uses an AMD Anthlon XP-M Mobile processor.

For $100 more, you can upgrade the Dell to SXGA; I do not believe you can upgrade the preconfigured HP at BestBuy to SXGA. However, there is a large price difference here we are talking now. The HP is $750 out the door with tax, and the Dell is about $950 with XGA/$1050 with SXGA.

Since price is the key factor for this starving student, and quality/durability/product satisfaction a close second, I guess my question boils down to which is the better machine overall, and in terms of dollar value?

Thanks,
Neil

 

I would also agree with Brian...I think you will be happy with the HP. That is a great price and should cover everything that you need.

 

I agree with Nesbo and Brian. I am in the same situation as you, I'm a college student and looking for a reliable budget notebook. I was looking at the the Dell Inspiron and the HP 4610us. I found a good deal on the HP 4610 (not as good as your's), but still good ($750.00 after rebate). I talked to the Experts[ ] here and decided on the 4610us. I think its and good notebook for your money. I ordered it and expected to get it this week. I did alot of research and found that HP is not just "all looks", thier products are known for being reliable. I think I made the right choice and i personally think the HP 4610 is the better buy. let us know what choice you make. Good luck!![ ]

 

Word of warning on the HP....

I just picked up that unit yesterday, along with a Microsoft MN720 Wireless 802.11 G adapter.

After struggling with that for hours (i have other machines in the house on the wireless network), and now having done some research...

its beginning to look like HP notebooks with mobile athlon processors have a problem with some cardbus devices.

Is there conclusive evidence? Not right now, but many of us owners have spent several hours on the phone with MS, and there has been no luck. Mine MN720 is going back tomorrow, and I'll probably get the USB version. Other users reported the same problem I'm having with Linksys cards as well.

Of course, if anyone could tell me I was completely wrong, along with a way to fix things, i would gladly eat my words/crow/hat ....

Regards
Mike S.

 

Ok, doing some more reading of users comments at cnet, Im gathering that the 5100 is:

* good value
* heavy 8lbs (plus AC)
* powerful with that desktop P4
* HOT-running with that desktop P4
* does not run W2K
* has excellent battery life (about3.5hrs, which is better than many Mobile processors)
* good screen
* 'ok' keyboard


Would you suggest I upgrade to 64MB video over the stock 32MB to get good DVD performance, or not necessary accept for gamers?

Would you suggest upgrading +$59 to a HD with 5400rpm over the stock 4200rpm? I read that that makes a big difference in system performance.

My brothers friend said, "Windows XP Home is garbage - basically Windows ME with some skins. Windows XP Professional is based on NT/2K and isn't too bad once you get used to it; I wouldn't go anywhere near XP Home if you can avoid it. Most (including me) consider W2K to be the best, most stable and "secure" all around system especially if you use something besides IE and Outlook on it (Mozilla, Opera, firebird/firefox)."

So, already we're talking an additional $79 to get the XP Pro. (someone said XP PRo is better for laptops than W2K due to better powersaving configuration options...?)

What OS does the HP ZE4610 come with? Does it support W2K? I have it already for my desktop. And have MS Office 2000 Professional as well.

Thanks,
Neil

 

BTW, the bases price of the 2.8MHz P4, 384MB, 30G 4200rpm, CD-RW/DVD equipped Dell 5100 is $938. Offer ends Weds 2/11.

Add $79 XP Pro
Add $50 SXGA

Total is $1067

Add $59 40G 5400rpm HD (have to verify its 5400rpm)

Total would be $1126.

 

Well, if you are going to play any games at all, you will need a 64MB card. If you are only going to watch DVD's, 32MB will be fine.

Actually, both computers should support Windows 2K (others might want to help me out here), it's just that Dell only sells Windows XP for their laptops. I can't guarantee this though, however I see no reason why Windows 2K wouldn't work.

Windows XP home is also based on 2000/NT...one of the major differences between the home and pro, is that pro offers more security features like encryption, and allows for remote connecting, that is you can log onto your computer running pro, from another computer. However, both home and pro are very stable.

As for the hard drive question...I first had a 4200 rpm drive, replaced it with a 5400 rpm drive, and really saw no difference. I did replace it with a 7200 rpm and saw a huge difference.

Hope that helps.

 

Here is the cost of memory upgrades at Crucial:

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?Mfr%2BProductline=Dell%2BInspiron&mfr=Dell&cat=RAM&model=Inspiron+5100+Series&submit=Go

Till Weds, the Dell 5100 comes with 256MB, plus 128MB = 384MB.

Crucial site says regarding the 5100: "The standard memory is installed in a socket which cannot be accessed by the end user. The second memory socket supports the end user upgrades. In order to reach the maximum you may need to have the standard memory replaced by an authorized service center."

So, if I upgraded the ram, that 128MB card would get chucked since it must be on the second socket. So for $100 additional, I would have total of 768MB. The free memory upgrade deal from Dell from 256MB to 384MB expires on 2/11, but if done through Crucial, doesnt matter too much. Dell ususally offers free CD-RW/DVD and shipping anyways, so no biggy.

And here's the list of (somewhat useful) cnet user comments:
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Dell_Inspiron_5100/4852-3121_16-20893580.html?tag=box

Neil

 

A lot of people on that above list of cnet users comments on the Dell 5100 report that W2000 will not run....can anybody explain the mechanics behind why this could be?

Thanks,
Neil

 

I'm sitting here working on my 3 day old 4610 now, overall it's a impressive machine. For my business use it's been as effecient as my more powerful desktop, the screen is solid and bright and while the machine gets warm when working it hard for extended time it's not uncomfortable. It does not have the built in wireless, but the additional card is cheaper than buying the higher cost HP, even if I added the $100 bux BB wants for an additional 512 stick to give it 768 ram. A upgrade I will likely do on the way home later this week.

Office applications, dvd playback, mpg, and avi playback are seemless. Battery life so far has been about 3.5 hours give or take for normal mixed useage, gaming, working, and video watching. It plays wolfenstein ok at the lowest settings, but BF 42 is having issues and I feel that is perhaps becuase it isn't uncommon on my home system to see it using nearly 500mb of ram. It comes preloaded with XP home and thankfully no added "fluff" like compaq used to put on their systems. As an old NT, then 2000 user, the adaptation to XP is seamless and I would not go back.

I caught a one day sale on this at best buy for 650 after rebates, a no brainer if you can catch a deal like that yourself.

I found this post after researching the game issues with BF42 hoping for some answers, wanted to give you some first hand feedback on the 4610 though. Either unit is a winner, so as they appear nearly equal in the major respects, I would say price is the only factor to consider in the purchase.

 

FYI, I found a windows patch that addressed games crashing after the intro movie, I installed it and now 42 works perfectly, again, at low settings, but hey, that was my only gripe with the 4610 and now seriously douby I'll spend the other 100 bux on a stick of ram at this time.

 

Did you actually get a wireless card to work on the HP ?

mikes

 

I haven't tried it yet, it's actually still packed. If I have time and am in a hotspot I'll post the results. I have a G network at home so I can at least try it there and see. Everything else has set up perfectly so far, hope that's the same

 

I would also like to know if a wireless card is gonna work correctly with this laptop. I just ordered a DLink 'B' card and was planning on buying the ze4610.

 

at the BB website it shows that this HP laptop is available at my local store. When i enter the zip and then continue it does nothing. Nothing in the cart, so how am i suppose to check out for store pickup?

 

Excellent point Merty,

Im going to check right now. How about in other locations....what do you know about which platforms tend to be suported?

The is getting more and more interesting...

Neil

 

NBC, if you're counting on computer support on your college campus, make sure to check if they support XP on the campus network: many campus ITS departments do NOT configure their network to work with XP. I would also check with them to see if they reccommend Home or XP as being easier to use on campus; I know my own reccommends Professional over Home, hands down

 

some college campuses will allow you to access your personal network account via a web address, as I learned last semester using XP with a non-compatible network system. Just ask ITS -- an admin/helpdesk person will tell you exactly what the platform issues are (I don't know myself).

 

The ze4610us is Out Of Stock at Best Buy
can you recommend a other laptop as good as this in the same price frame??

 

see if they can order yoou one. Mine told me that another shipment is coming saturday but if i dont get one then they would order me one.

 

I used my wireless card tonight, plugged it in, ran the disk, no problems, I use a D-Link airplus G card, hooked into a B network.

 

rumor has it that circuit city and compusa will have simialr deals as BB did on the HP 4610. keep your eye peeled.........

 

CompUSA this weekend confirmed; CC not.

Be aware that BB imparts a 15% return fee and CompUSA does not permit returns/refunds in pc's...only exact item exchanges for reason of defectiveness. Just read on their website.

Neil

 

I have the HP ze4610US got it for $850 at CC about 1 month ago. and i have a microsoft wireless card. When i got it it ran slow but i did a Full Microsoft update on the pc and downloaded all the updates to a cd(for later reinstall) once they where all in place the laptop rocked. To get a mini pci card look up the version up on the Hp PARTS SITE you can buy the mini pci card from there. or you can call and order all the parts a local Laptop DEaler and they will mod the laptop for the ir and the internal wireless. Also you can Buy the floppy disk drive for the laptop and the new Laptop bottem and MB mod for Docking stations. But for the price it comes with everything you need. DVD-CDRW, 1.87 ghz (which conformes to process running(It will Run at low speed to keep the batt from running out and keep laptop cool untill you need more speed then it will raise the cpu speed.)) Very cool laptop just needs more ram

 

Guys, this site is awesome to begin with.

I just sold my IBM Thinkpad R30 for $500, I had bought it refurbished from IBM 2 years ago for $1000.

So I have $500 right now and am looking for a great bargain.

I love Thinkpads, they are a solid machine, even my R30 was strong just until now when it started giving me trouble, though I was not a fan of the R30.

I just saw this HP deal on CC, BB, and CUSA. I believe CC is the best choice to purchase, since their return policy does not charge restocking fee.

My biggest dilemma is that should I get this machine? I would love a Thinkpad but have not found any good deals, I want to stay less than $1000 range preferrably if it is a Thinkpad, otherwise this seems like I am paying $200 and getting a brand new laptop with warranty.

Advice would be appreciated. Especially what is the resale value on these.

Lastly, I wanted to know do you all purchase those extended warranties from tehse retail stores, are they worth it, do they even work well?

I know these are a lot of questions but would appreciate the quickest replies, since if I decide on purchasing this laptop, I would do so today.

Thank you.

 

Actually Amazon is selling the HP one for $949 - $200MIR = $749.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/shopping-basket/ref=top_nav_sb_pc/002-9772976-5477630

Which seems is better than the rest comparing that you don't pay taxes, plus if you use the Amazon card you get pts.

What do you all think?

Also, can someone help me with concerns above.


Thank you.

 

My opinion of the extended warranty is sure, dependent on where you bought it. I picked my 4610 up from BB, their plan for 3 years is $250, for that through BB though I recieve the option of replacing the battery as many times as I feel necessary, no questions asked, merely call the 800 number, tell them my battery life is shorter than it should be and they send me a new one. All I have to do is send the old one back in the included package in less than a month, or they bill my BB card the retail of a new battery. At $120 bux a pop, I can pick up a fresh battery every 6 months and more than pay for the warranty cost, and at the end of the 3 years, if she's still living, close the warranty out with a new battery and go on my merry way. Plus, I have the fairly liberal repair warranty with it if it whigs out on me, or I drop it and manage to not cause any "abnormal" external physical damage which would void that aspect of the warranty. The cost of one fragged LCD replacement in 3 years from damage, to many pixels out or the like also justifies the warranty IMO. Key is to read the fine print there and make sure you know what your buying and from whom. Customer service is alot more important here than the cost of the plan.

 

Greetings to all! Thanks for the great site.
I got the ze4610us at bb for 650 a/r. I have no
problems with the wireless card using the Mn 520
"b" card. I've had it for 2 weeks now and have no complaints.
This was purchased to replace a dell. It was the best bang for
the buck considering used,older,slower and unwarranted laptops
go for more at ebay and overstock. Hope this helps.[8D]

 

Sgt. Snuffy:

So you got just a regular "extended warranty" from BB, and not a "anything happens" one?

How would you describe the effectiveness of the extended warranties you looked at compared to the BB?

Thanks for the tip.

Neil

 

I purchased the 3 year performance plan from BB, it seemed to offer the most ROI versus any other plan based on the specific items as listed above. As most are aware, laptops are vulnerable, and are as likely to sustain serious damage from handling regardless of age or care. My experience since the 286 days is I have not had a issue, knock on wood, with laptop breakage due to my own fault/negligence as I have careful laptop habits, and solid mobile carrying/protection bags and the like. I did not look into any "specific" no questions asked plans as I have no experience in them and items like that pop little alarms off to me that I'd end up with more downtime and headaches paying/dealing with them than the BB warranty I purchased, which I've used on my other BB products in the past. Hope that's a bit more insight, but bear in mind, its all IMO

 

I just hooked up a D-Link AirPlus Extreme G with no problem. The D-Link Super G wireless card works fine. Total time to get up and running was 20 mins.
<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by mszak

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Hman250

 

I have the HP & the wireless connection is extremely slow - I am using a netgear MA521 802.11b card. I've used the same card on 2 other laptops with the same network and had no problem.

Did you ever resolve the problem? Will buying a different card help?

Thanks.

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

 

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

 

I've had no problems with the speed, if I have the connection, I have good performance. I've been most dissapointed with the range of my D-Link airplus g card. Everywhere I've been it's needed to be extremely close to the repeater to hold a connection. In my home I'm limited to about 3 rooms, where the PCI cards in my systems stretch from one end of the house to the other. On the road, I've often needed to get a repeater from the hotel to get a reliable connection in the room.

 

I own 5100 for several months now:
2.66GHz, 256MB, 30GB hd, miniPCI wireless (802.11 b/g compliant) built-in, 15" XGA, 32MB ATI Mobility Radeon 7500.
And I got Dell TrueMobile 2300 Wireless Router (b/g) with it...

I was up and running wireless internet in 5 minutes! It works everywhere in my house.

No complains. Watching DVD's is just fine - haven't noticed any slowdowns. Perfect picture quality. Running multiple software programs at the time with no performance issues. I got a 64MB USB memory card with - it works great.

The screen is better than my Dell 18" UltraSharp flat panel.



Looking for cheap laptops? http://www.cheap-laptop-and-used-laptop-review.com

 

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

 

Hi All,

Just lurking through and read a few issues I can clear up.

I have users with $3k notebooks wanting to trade for the dang big and bright display.

WIFI 802.11b and g with the LinkSys = Cisco cards words just fine.

I bought 4 each at the $699 price and am bidding on another in E-Bay.

Great machine with a great display.

I am using Windows XP Professional since I need them to share files on a MS Domain.

No Big deal on getting them to share WIFI and hardwire back and forth also no issues on any applications yet.

I am looking for a source without all the rebates and send me a note BS. It is a big problem on a company card.

Later,