Inspiron 1520 Ordering Quirks

The only optical drive options right now are Blu-ray and CD/DVD-RW combo. Dual Layer DVD-RW is not available. Do you guys think it's actualy a dual-layer burner with an incomplete description or did they temporarily remove DL as an option?

Lack of dual-layer burners is the only thing stopping me from ordering a 1520 right now.

I've done a lot of comparisons between 1520 and Vostro 1500 and realized that it's the exact same machine in a different color, but Vostro doesn't have 7200rpm hard drives or a built-in microphone for webcam/Skype use, so I'm chosing the 1520, even with its stupidly white keyboard (going to skip the 9-cell battery since it sticks out--what a bad decision on their part).

 

If you click on the "Help Me Choose" and then "Compare Side By Side" it says that for the DVD +/-RW Optical drive, the Media Data Capacity is 8.5GB for Double-Layer DVDs

I.e. Dell is still advertising that particular optical drive as Double-Layer compatible.

As for the battery sticking out being stupid - they GIVE you an option of a regular battery that doesnt stick out, for those obsessed with that, and the OPTION of a larger extended battery.

Would an extended battery that was the same size be nice? Sure. Would I want them to enlarge the notebook just to fit an extended battery, and waste space with a normal battery? No.

 

Good observation. I notice that as well, however they clearly differentiate DL from non-DL with other Inspiron models and even charge you extra for it. I would prefer not to gamble, and of course their sales people are completely clueless.

 

The best thing to do is chat with customer support, ask them point blank if the drive supports dual layer. If they say it does, and they ship it, and it doesnt, you'll have the chat logs, and based on that they will swap it out for free anyway, probably next day. They seem to be really good in that way.

 

Actually, I owned an E1505 which came with a 9-cell battery that didn't stick out, and that system had the same dimensions as the 1520.

 

I would say it is a Dual-Layer drive, my order page shows: 313-5197 8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive

When I get my laptop if it isn't that just means cash back for me!

 

Just spoke with Tech Support (not Customer Care). He said if you want DL, you have to order Blu Ray. I told him about the "Help Me Decide" page, he put me on hold, then told me that I had to order by phone and tell the sales person to give me a "8X DVD +/- RW DL" drive. He didn't provide a SKU for the part.

 

Look at my sig. I just got the 1520 with the Dual Layer DVD Burner.

 

Obviously you did, because your order review page probably said 8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive, right? Mine doesn't mention dual layer, that's the problem.

 

Just an update. Spoke with a manager in sales, dual layer is not available.

 

I just went and checked my order, placed July 6, still waiting for shipment, and it is for a dual layered drive. Please, can someone tell me what the difference is? I mainly use my laptop for work, internet based travel agent. The thing I use most is internet, and Outlook. I tend to have several tasks in Outlook open at once, along with several web sites, multi-tasking. My guess is that I am going to have a lot more technology then what I need, right? Time for the 50 year old to learn how to use it all.

Francine

 

hmm....
i got the dual layer, and i ordered on the 23rd of July. did they just remove that as an option?

 

Francine, Dual-Layer technology allows the drive to store twice as much data on the DVD (8.5 gigabytes vs 4.7)

You have to buy "Dual-Layer" DVDS to use that feature, and then they can only be read in other Dual-Layer capable drives. But you can also read/write normal DVDs in a Dual-Layer drive, up to the normal 4.7 Gigabytes, and then those normal DVDs will still be useable in other drives.

In non technical terms its just a slightly fancier option to be able to read and write more data or video onto a slghtly fancier DVD.

If you use your DVD to backup huge amounts of files, and only use those DVDs in your laptop itself, then dual-layer is great. If you dont need to cram huge amounts of data onto DVDs for backup purposes, then it's not really that important.