Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
is that 2 weeks early after a delay or the original ship date?
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I finally got mine
Installed WoW after I disabled the User Account Control, because for some reason it wasn't reading my CD as one with data on it (it tried to burn to the installer CD as if it was a blank...), but after I disabled the UAC, it worked fine. Apparently, that's the cause of most of the problems with Vista, and as I don't really consider myself terribly ignorant, I figure I'll leave it off and deal with the occasional nags from the security center.
The screen graininess...all I can say is that in the startup screen, at lower resolution, it looked grainy-ish when one of the starburst backgrounds was set, and there wasn't a lot of sharp color definition. I don't know how much of that was the background choice, and how much was the low resolution running on the 1440x resolution screen. When I enabled 1440x resolution when logging into Vista, and set my background as a nice lake with a mirror effect of the mountains in the background (comes with vista), it was breathtakingly beautiful, and not grainy in the SLIGHTEST.
The first thing I did when I got the laptop was to reinstall Vista to remove all the bloatware (namely Norton and the Dell software crap) and after doing so, the computer is VERY speedy in everything from boot-up to shutdown, and everything in between. I haven't actually played WoW yet to see what the graphics look like, but I don't think I'll be unimpressed. I'd recommend reinstalling Vista as there is a noticable difference between the shipped state of the laptop and the cleaned-up install. The only note I have when reinstalling is that the Dell driver cd lists the driver for the 8600m GT as "nvidida 84 drivers" or something like that...don't let the 84 fool you, it's the appropriate drivers and everything is recognized as it should be.
Sadly, the noise in the headphones as previously reported is present in mine. It does NOT go away while playing anything, and I'm going to see if I can research a fix. I may try and obtain some sort of credit from Dell for this problem, as it is a VERY large nuisance when using headphones with the laptop.
Additionally, I was promised an expresscard remote when I ordered the laptop from the sales rep I spoke with, but this was not included either. Hopefully, Dell's customer support will send me one as a "replacement."
I'm very impressed with Vista; the only compatibility problem asides from the WoW CDs was with Aim Ad Hack, but I got this resolved by installing AIM separately from the install, and it works decently after the install. -
As I said before in a differnet thread: The anti-glare diplay will speed things up, not the lid color. At least that's what Dell told me. There is a worldwide shortage on the glass they need for the glare displays. But I wnat one anyway!
With the headphones: Do you know if I can add BT to my order while it is still in preproduction? I use headphones all the time and because of that noise I would like to switch to BT, BUT being a real hero I did not order BT as I thought I would not need it... and I don't wanna have to put the USB stick in the notebook everytime I want to use the headphones...
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you'd better add Audigy or the dedicate audio card instead of BT... or even both! I have the Audigy card and I have NO weird sounds in my headphones... anyway, did you guys tried other headphones except those Creative earbuds?
theTORCH, we have the exact order even with shipping dates !
only that I have webcam, 3945ABG, BT, Audigy... how about yours? -
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LMAO. Can't believe I haven't even thought of suggesting upgrading the sound card.
Will that really help when the problem is CPU interference though?
In any case, Bluetooth is still a worthwhile upgrade, for it allows you to add a lot of nice accessories later on.
Jaymz: I didn't get the webcam, I upgraded my wireless to the N-card, I have bluetooth, and I didn't bother upgrading the sound.
Reasons: I don't really use webcams, and when I do, I'll probably use the one that I just slap on top of my screen. I got the wireless N-card because I plan on having this laptop for quite awhile, and someone will eventually have an N-router. Bluetooth, well, cause its bluetooth . Finally, no Audigy for me, I'm going to be using this notebook in quiet places, so I'll either be keeping it quiet or using headphones.
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Audigy is not a better amplifier but has a better sound quality with no distortions and/or buzzing sounds!
of course I got it! i told you we had the same order/shipping/arrived days
see above! and please don't discourage people choosing Audigy. it is definitely better than the base audio card option
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Yeah, its in the "build" stage, its been there since I ordered in on July 13th
and it is suppose to ship tomorrow.....
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Glad you got yours, but pissed since I still haven't received mine and ordered before you.
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Well, it wasn't $600 more for me--only about $400 and the G1S had wireless N, a faster processor, Bluetooth, and of course much better graphics performance. The headphone noise was something of a last straw--it's just such a ridiculous quality control issue that I don't want to support Dell anymore (even though the 1520 was my third laptop from them). The G1S has a two year warranty and the Dell had a three year warranty with Complete Care, but I can get an accidental damage policy through my insurance company for $44 a year that gives me the value of the laptop instead of just the ability to send it to *shudder* the Dell depot and possibly get a refurbished computer in return. Plus I decided since I was already sacrificing mobility for graphics performance for the first time, I may as well get the best performance possible in this size range.
I am NOT bashing the 1520--it has lots of good points and I'm hoping that these delays mean Dell is fixing the headphone jack issue (I expect the screen to remain grainy and the graphics card memory to remain GDDR2).
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Well now I am confused. If the Audigy option is software, it won't help with the noise problem, right? It would still be the same connection for the earphones...
The Audigy express card however could help, because I would then plug the headphones there. But it would stick out a bit... I wont use the remote anyway.
So now I have three options: Audigy express card, Bluetooth, USB
Any suggestions???
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HP claims that Turbo Memory represents poor value and that it limits flexibility. Speaking to ZDNet UK, HP's senior category manager for business notebooks in the U.K. and Ireland, Steven Gales, said the company decided to omit Turbo Memory as a result of internal tests. "We have done quite a bit of research on this [to see] whether there is any true value for our customers, rather than taking what is available and putting it in," he said.
Steve Doddridge, senior notebook technology consultant for HP Personal Systems Group for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), added: "We looked at the baseline system performance of a standard system (with 1GB of RAM) without any Robson or ReadyBoost type of technology added, and we then compared that to the same system with Robson, and the same system but just with an (equivalently sized) SD card or USB stick."
Using Intel's benchmark test for evaluating the performance of Turbo Memory, HP's team did see the improvements in performance that Intel had predicted. However, because 1GB of Turbo Memory is effectively split into two--with one half serving ReadyBoost and the other ReadyDrive--adding a 512MB SD card or a 512MB USB stick to the baseline system resulted in the same improvements.
The greatest improvement came as a result of adding more actual RAM to the system. "We added 1GB of RAM and saw a much higher improvement in performance compared to using any of the ReadyBoost or Robson technology," Doddridge said. He added that: "If you have enough system RAM in the system already, ReadyBoost doesn't give you a lot."
so I guess I would rather wait to upgrade my 2Gb to 4Gb than using Robson or ReadyBoost !
Is there at least one owner on this forum with Audigy and still jack problems ? You never told us what was your audio card option.
I don't think Dell will continue to sell grainy screens anymore, although they are 5% or less... never heard of a grainy anti-glare so far though...
I have the Audigy option and it seems to be another configuration as I don't have any sound issues.. I'd recommend you to go with Audigy and only if you are not content.. go for an external solution.
yea.. that was my thought too when choosing between the two. they have almost identical performances (if we compare them with the same processor) and I believe that the extra 5-600 is not justified. moreover, the G1s doesn't look as sturdy as the new Inspirons do
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with that money I would have bought the MBP
one important issue I forgot to mention is the ever winning Dell battery! I left it open to drain out the battery with playing radio with wireless on and max brightness and it lasted a little over 3 hours !
I mean if the smallest battery (56W) is that good, how about the 9 and 12 cell ones ?
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Is this a good 3d mark 06 score? no OC stock drivers
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Inspiron 1520 owners lounge
Discussion in 'Dell' started by Jaymz, Jul 2, 2007.
