Inspiron 1318? What is this? New or Old?

Hey I am in the UK and looking for a new laptop as a suprise for my girlfriends 21st as hers is now 3yrs old and I thought a nice present would be a new laptop for her final year at uni.

The old spec is a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro, in which the wireless card broke 6 months ago and she now has to use a seperate card which she hates. The specs are:

• 1.6 Pentium M
• 512mb DDR Ram (2 x 256mb)
• Windows XP Home
• Integrated Graphics
• 80Gb HDD
• Wi-Fi
• 14" Screen

I saw in my local PC World a Dell 1318 (I am assuming an Inspiron line) for £499. It has:

• Intel Pentium Dual Core processor T2390 (1.86 GHz, 533 MHz,1 MB cache)
• Genuine Windows Vista (R) Home Premium
• 2GB Memory
• 160 GB Hard Drive
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Integrated Web Cam

I have a few questions:

1) I don't see this on the Dell Website. Is it an old line that they are selling off in PC World stores or is it being sold in stores first and will soon be available to customize on the dell website?

2) What are these Pentium Dual Cores like performance wise. I have an XPS with a T8100 Core 2 Duo, will the Pentium Dual Core perform much worse, is it just the budget version of a core 2 duo? Just to get an idea

3) Am I right in assuming the processor is a lot faster than her 3 year old Single Core 1.6 Pentium M processor?

I know that Vista requires more power than XP and understand why etc etc, and I know how well Vista runs on various hardware including my own laptop.

She is a history/politics student, so she doesn't use a PC for anything like I do. Just Web Browsing, Email, Writing Essays etc Hence why I am opting for something like this which is smaller in size but lower in spec compared to say the Samsung R510 which is the same price.

The Samsung R510 is better spec'd for less money / the same depending on config, but I think its quite chunky compared to my XPS and she probably wouldn't like it.

Wish this was available online for customizing but I maybe plan to buy 2GB stick of RAM for my XPS to bring it to 4GB and stick the spare 1GB into this, voila.

Just never used this "Pentium Dual Core" type processor and confused as obviously the C2D is better, but if the PDC is the budget version of the C2d, then what is the Celeron Dual Core lol.

 

As far as the age of the laptop I believe its fairly new. In the states Walmart sells the Inspiron 13 which might be a cousin to to.

The processor though is a Core Duo, not a Core 2 meaning its only 32-bits, but for what your girlfriend is uing it for, it should be MORE than enough to get her tasks done.

 

So when they say "Pentium Dual Core" it is basically the older Core Duo processor?

Is it still dual core but 32-bit or is it a single core 32-bit processor?

 

The Pentium Dual Core is a Core 2 Duo with less cache and a slower FSB, it is based on the most recent 65nm C2Ds (now out of date), so it supports 64bit as well.
I am currently typing this on a Celeron, which is quite literally half the T2390 (half the cache, one core), and it is pretty snappy with Vista, with what your girlfriend is doing, the T2390 should be more than enough.

 

It's not a cousin. It's the same computer.

 

It might be worth taking a look at the Vostro 1310 in the small business section at Dell. It's a different computer but I would have thought you could get a better machine for your money than the I1318. The only real downside with the Vostro is poor sound quality.

 

Sound quality isn't too important I guess as she uses her iPod and iPod speaker/dock for music mostly.

I am really hoping the 1318 goes on the Dell website soon because I know they can take a while to get newly released laptops out to customers due to demand, and I need to have it in time for 20th Oct.

I want it to be on the Dell site so I can get the 1318 in Red instead of Blue because I know thats what colour she has always wanted a laptop in, but its not a necessity, she would be happy with any colour lol.

I'm going to check out the Vostro 13" though and see what they have. I'm sure I read they re-designed the vostro line recently to attract more young professionals to it lol.

 

At this point, the 1318 is only offered in blue. So, even when it does go up on Dell's UK site, red won't be a possibility.

 

Bah that's annoying

I was thinking they might offer up more colors soon as it goes on the website. It is actually a really nice deep blue though, I think it looks lovely.

It's one of the best laptops i've seen in a long time, the best looking in PC World in the UK at the moment, only area I didn't think looked that good was the black plastics on the palmrest and keyboard but i'm used to seeing the inside of my XPS.

1318 is still gorgeous though and small enough to just slip into a bag when shes goin down the library, no need for a laptop case which just screams "Steal Me"

 

I'm quite happy with mine, more than I have been with a computer since my m1210 (should have never sold that one, BTW).

I don't think the plastics are that big of a deal. It's one of those things that kind of bugs you for the first couple of days, but then you never think about it again.

 

Mick 4394 or anyone else - I just purchased the Inspiron 1318 via bestbuy.com. I am worried based on recent customer reviews online stating that the 9 cell batter protrudes greatly from the computer - although the picture on the website shows the battery is flush with the laptop. Could you please advise how much the 9-cell battery sticks out - if at all - or even post a picture. Would be a great help... I can't go see it at a store in person as I am currently deployed overseas. Thank you very much in advance for your guidance.

 

Here are some pics I posted in a previous thread of my 9-cell vs my 6-cell. As you can see, it's a pretty huge difference. I'm not a fan of the 9-cell. It adds a lot of size and a lot of weight. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

 

Thanks for the pics... I have a question for all you more experience laptop users. If you could purchase an XPS M1330 w/ 6 cell (slimmer) versus a Inspiron 1318 w/ 9 cell battery - and all the other specs are identical (processor, Ram, HD, etc.) - which would you purchase - if he XPS is $300 more... thanks.

 

All things being equal. If I had the money to blow, I'd get the m1330. It's a nicer machine.

Personally, I didn't want to spend XPS money on a notebook. So, I have the Inspiron, which offers pretty good bang for the buck.