Inspiron 1545 *dumb* questions

I bought a new 1545 & should have it delivered this week. Just found this forum while researching many things the past couple daze and have some very dumb questions that I would think you folks can answer in 2 seconds so....pardon me for asking these...


(1) Does the 1545 come with bluetooth support standard or is that an option you have to select (like the webcam). I purposely did not get a webcam but can't recall seeing anything asking me about bluetooth when I bought it, and don't see it mentioned on the Dell purchase inventory thing on their website like with the webcam where it says "NO WEBCAM OPTION". And there is nothing that says "bluetooth such and such" or "NO BLUETOOTH OPTION", so I don't know if the PC is coming with that or not.



(2) Part of what I need to do with this PC is to setup a new hard drive for running XP (apart from using the delivered VISTA install on the included drive). I have some "smart" questions relating to that I will ask in a different thread but here is a real stupid one relating to a driver I see on Dell's website - what is a "Realtek RTS5158E card reader"???? Does this come standard with the PC??? I don't see it listed in the inventory and again, I don't recall it coming up in the options to select when I bought it. I've tried googling it and I can't figure out what it is other than some kind of device for reading memory cards like with digital cameras (???), but don't understand if it is something that is BUILT INTO the laptop or a totally seperate device which someone then plugs into one of the PC's USB ports??? I am totally confused. Again, I am asking about this because I want to know if I will need to install this driver which I already downloaded from Dell for my XP build for a built-in device that is already IN the PC, or if it is something that is external that I don't have so therefore I don't need to install the driver when I work on the XP install.


(3) I bought the cheapest included DVD burner that came with the unit, figuring I will replace it with something better based on my own research knowing what I am getting, but - I'd like to know WHAT drive they are actually including. I will figure this out pretty ez once the PC arrives and I scan it with PCWIZARD and BELARC advisor, but it is something I am curious about now, if anyone knows. All Dell calls it in their inventory sheet is "8X DVD+/RW Dual Layer Drive", and on their support website there are like 6 different DVD firmware drivers for cryptically named models like "OPTIARC AD-7580S" or "TSST - TS-L633C" etc. And all of the drivers say "SATA" for CD/DVD burners. I know the hard drive included (and a new one I also bought) are SATA (and ATA compatible) but will the burner also be SATA? Or IDE/ATA???



(4) I am reading the bloatware removal threads & want to follow those as best I can for the VISTA configured drive that I am getting from Dell to get rid of all the bloatware that I'm sure will be loaded on the machine. Some of the items iin the inventory list I know what they are & know what I don't want, but these I'm not sure what they are:

-Dell Dock Consumer
-Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
-Dell Support Center Software 32 Bit 2.0
-Windows Live Search,Multiple User Interface
-Dell Movie Store
-Dell Connect 2.1
-DataSafe Local BackUp 2.0 Basic
-Cyberlink Power DVD 8.2 Playback
-S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks

Are these explained anywhere on Dell's website?


(5) The new drive that I bought for running XP is a 7200 rpm one. I was going to just get another 5400rpm drive thinking maybe a 7200 might be too noisy or hot but a friend convinced me to go with a 7200 (Western Digital Black Scorpio). Anyone here running a 1545 with a 7200rpm drive? Any noise/etc complaints?


Enough dumb questions for one thread. Appreciate any hints. THANKS very much.

 

Question 1. No the Inspiron 1545 does not come with Bluetooth as standard. It is configurable via Dell online. There may be a spare port inside the machine if you wish to add it yourself. Not entirely sure though as this particular model ships with one of three different motherboards. I think there should be a free pcie slot, but not 100% certain.

Question 2. The realtek card reader is built in; it's at the front of the notebook next to the power light and audio connectors. I believe it is 8 in 1.

Question 3. Not sure. Dell could potentially use any of these, but I believe they are all SATA.

Question 4.
-Dell Dock Consumer Dells object dock software, not necessary, and with the pinnable start menu I'd say not even a really nice to have. Will be pre-loaded.
-Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp Restoration software, mine was on DVD and in hidden partition
-Dell Support Center Software 32 Bit 2.0 Not needed, will be installed by default
-Windows Live Search,Multiple User Interface I thought this was part of Vista SP2, so not sure why it's listed separately?
-Dell Movie Store Online download links - will already be on machine
-Dell Connect 2.1 Video chat software I believe - will already be on machine
-DataSafe Local BackUp 2.0 Basic online data backup, does anybody even use these things with HDDs being so cheap nowadays?
-Cyberlink Power DVD 8.2 Playback Media player software, should be on DVD + will probably be preinstalled
-S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks Some form of literature for returning machine if required I guess

Question 5. I am running a 7200RPM HDD (Seagate 7200.3 I think). It's a little noisier than the standard 5400.3 that ships with the machine I think, but not enough to make me cry.

 

I have the WDC Black Scorpio 320 GB 7200rpm in my studio...its pretty quick...I really dont find it noisy..though it heats up to a max of 51 under really heavy use...but tht cant be felt much thru the palmrests..

 

slipkid: I have the Hitachi-LG GT10N and Sony AD-7580S. You really can't be sure.

Fragilexx: There is no standard hard drive they ship with. Again, they just use whatever they can get their hands on for those kinds of components.

 

OK, but I have an Inspiron and I know two others that do also, all of us had Seagate HDDs; therefore one must assume that at the time I ordered that Seagate were their preferred supplier.

Of course this may change, I'm sure that pricing & availability come into play quite heavily. Theoretically though, for a HDD to be replaced by another HDD, they would need to test the machines compatibility with the new HDD (to test for heat more than anything else).

 

Thanks very much guys. Very helpful. The Fedex tracking info for my PC is finally showing up in Dell's website and should be here tomorrow!! I expect I'll be back here then too, with more dumb questions ;-)

 

Of the three I've investigated, the oldest of which is 2 months, one had a seagate 5400.5. There were different heatsinks, fans, hard drives, and optical drives. I can't tell if the heatsink is from a different manufacturer or if it is a redesign, but everything about them is different enough to to lead me to believe they were sourced from different manufacturers. Other than fitting the same laptop, they have nothing in common. The Hynix memory in each was identical though. Hyundai makes better RAM than they do cars, that's for sure.

I'm sure they test all components thoroughly, but I'm sure it wouldn't be much of a hassle. Memory and different drives are all built within certain guidelines that allow them to be swapped interchangeably.

These are really good laptops. I'm ordering another one tonight for my girlfriend, purple this time. I originally got my second one because the high resolution screen came out and the low, grainy resolution of my first one got on my nerves an hour into ownership. I was so relieved when it became an option a week later. I'm about to sell my first one on Ebay, as it is pristine and I upgraded it a bit. It has the 720p LED screen, T4200, 4GB mem, 500GB HD, Vista Ultimate, and Intel 5300 wireless. Good luck with yours!